Germany and WW1 Flashcards
(34 cards)
Who ran the German government in WW1, and how did this come to be? How did this change, and why?
- The political parties in the Reichstag made a political truce to support the Kaiser and his military high command
- However, the Kaiser was not a capable war strategist, so the military high command took control of the country
- They were led by Paul von Hindenburg and Eric Ludendorff
How was Germany ran under the military high command?
- As a military dictatorship
- The Reichstag still met, but was ignored by the generals
How successful were the military at governing Germany? What impact did this have?
- They took Germany to the point of collapse militarily, economically and socially
- As a result, there was huge political unrest
List 3 reasons why it was decided that there should be a change in Germany’s government.
- In September 1918, it became clear that Germany was going to lose the war
- As a result, the army leaders wanted to appeal to the USA to gain more favourable peace terms by becoming a democratic country
- It was thought that this would also put an end to social unrest
- They did not want to take the blame for losing the war
What was the change in government called, and when did it take place? List 4 changes that it entailed.
- The ‘Revolution from Above’
- It was officially inaugurated on 28th October 1918
- It created a constitutional monarchy
- The army leadership stepped down
- Prince Max von Baden was the new chancellor
- The government was mainly based on the support of the democratically appointed parties in the Reichstag
What were 2 political views on the shift to democracy, why did these exist, and what was the main problem with them?
- Conservatives and nationalists supported the move to democracy as they thought it would prevent a communist revolution
- Communists preferred democracy to the nationalist authoritarian government that they had had before
- However, none of the groups saw democracy as the ideal end point
When did Germany first ask for an armistice, and how did the Allies respond?
- 3rd October 1918
- Britain and France were willing to accept this
- The USA wanted to march on Berlin and force Germany to surrender
Give 3 details of what social conditions were like in 1918, including figures.
- People were dying from starvation and hypothermia; 293,000 in 1918 alone
- Malnourishment was so common that in one district of Berlin 90% of all children from 2 to 6 were undernourished
- Infant mortality and stillbirths were high due to the poor health of the mothers
List 3 reasons why starvation was such a big problem during the war.
- It was hard to farm effectively when all of the horses had been taken to the Front
- Most food produced also went to the Front
- The Allies blockaded ports to prevent supplies from getting to Germany
List 4 specific issues with the economy during the war.
- The government had spent all of its gold reserves on the war, so it had resorted to printing more money, which resulted in severe inflation (there had been 6,300 million marks in circulation at the start of the war, but there was 33,000 million by the end)
- Wages and savings lost their value, while prices shot up (they increased by 3 times on average)
- Trade was disrupted by war, so businesses suffered and there were fewer jobs
- Due to inflation and the lack of goods, a black market had developed
What 2 constitutional reforms did Prince Max’s government introduce?
- The vote was extended to all men 25 and over
- Ministers and the army now had to answer to the government instead of the Kaiser
Did Prince Max’s reforms end unrest? Give 4 details.
- No, as there were:
- Mutinies
- Strikes and rebellions in major industrial towns such as Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne
- Soviets were set up in cities and towns in November
- Bavaria declared itself a republic on 8th November
Which mutiny caused a lot of unrest, when was it, and what were 2 reasons why?
- The Kiel Mutiny in early November
- The sailors took control of their base and refused to fight the British
- They demanded an end to the monarchy
What were 3 factors that caused the Kiel Mutiny?
- The sailors at Kiel believed the Kaiser and army leaders were using the navy to undermine peace negotiations
- They knew they were about to lose
- The economic crisis the country was in
What did the Kiel Mutiny mark the start of?
- The ‘Revolution from Below’
What significant shift of power was there in November 1918, and what were 3 reasons why it happened?
- The Kaiser’s abdication was announced on 9th November, and he fled to Holland the following day
- There had been calls in the Reichstag for the Kaiser to resign
- The SPD (the main partners in Prince Max’s coalition government) threatened to withdraw their support if the Kaiser did not resign
- Prince Max insisted the Kaiser’s abdication was the only way to prevent a civil war
What political shift was the Kaiser’s abdication followed by?
- The SPD withdrew their support from Prince Max’s government, which caused it to collapse
- They then set up their own, called the Council of People’s Representatives
When did the Council of People’s Representatives take power?
- 10th November 1918
Give 2 details about the Council of People’s representatives.
- It was a provisional coalition government with Friedrich Ebert (leader of the SPD) as chancellor
- It was meant to govern until elections could be held for a National Constituent Assembly
Who were the main parties in the Council of People’s Representatives? What impact did this have on the government?
- The SPD (Socialist Democratic Party) and the USPD (Independent Social Democrats)
- It was therefore a left-wing government
How did revolutionary councils feel about Ebert’s government, and what were 2 reasons why?
- They did not support it as Ebert wanted to turn Germany into a democratic republic such as the USA, which they felt would just favour capitalists
- They wanted a government made up of soviets, such as Lenin had promised Russia
What did Ebert do in order to protect the government against the increasing unrest? Give 2 details.
- He made a pact with the army chief Wilhelm Groener, known as the Ebert-Groener Pact the same day the Council of People’s Representatives took over
- It ensured that the army would support the government, as long as the government was against the more left-wing ideas in the Reichstag
- The army’s independence would be respected as a result
What was the first thing that the new government decided to do, when did they do it, and what issue arose from this?
- End the war
- The armistice was signed on 11th November 1918
- The Allies told Germany that they would not have a say in the peace negotiations
List 4 things the government did to deal with the social unrest following the war.
- It introduced social reforms:
- 8-hour working day
- independent trade unions
- help was made available for ex-soldiers to find work
- health and employment benefits were widened
