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germany - chapter 2 Flashcards

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1
Q

what was the result of British ships stopping supply ships getting to Germany

A

shortages of food, medicines and clothing

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2
Q

how did the people show they were tired of the war in 1915, and then again a year later, in 1916

A

in 1915, 500 women gathered outside German parliament buildings saying they wanted their men back from the trenches
in 1916, 10,000 workers gathered in Berlin shouting ‘Down with the war, down with the government’

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3
Q

by 1918 what were the German people surviving on

A

turnips and bread

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4
Q

what was the result of the deadly flu epidemic sweeping the country

A

killed thousands who were already weak from a poor diet

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5
Q

what did General Ludendorff tell the German politicians in October 1918

A

they could never win the war

he advised the kaiser that the British and French may be more fair to Germany if the country was democratic - he advised the Kaiser to transfer some of his powers to the German parliament

reluctantly, the Kaiser allowed the main political parties to form a new government and transferred some of his powers to the Reichstag

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6
Q

what were the German navy ordered to do on 28th on October 1918, and what really happened

A

the navy was ordered to attack the British ships that were stopping supplies entering Germany

sailors on the ship refused because they no longer want to fight

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7
Q

what was the result of sailors on ship refusing to follow orders in October 1918

A

workers in the towns supported them
soldiers were sent to deal with the protests, but ended up joining them
took over towns and set up special councils to run them
in just 6 days, worker and soldier councils were governing towns all over the country
country was in chaos and kaiser lost all support
the kaiser abdicated on 9th November 1918

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8
Q

who took over the country temporarily after the Kaiser abdicated

A

Freidrich Ebert

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9
Q

what did Freidrich Ebert promise to do after temporarily taking over control of Germany

A

hold an election

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10
Q

when did Germany surrender from WW1

A

11th November 1918

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11
Q

what were the impacts of the war on germany by 1918

A

Germany was virtually bankrupt

the war had divided German society even further

Germany had become more politically unstable

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12
Q

why was germany virtually bankrupt after the war

A

Germany had lent some money to their allies - would they ever get it back?

Germany had borrowed money from abroad (eg. the United States) to pay for the war - they need to pay this back

the war left 60,000 war widows and two million children without fathers - war pensions would cost the government a fortune in the future

german factories were exhausted by the war as they had been producing guns, bullets and shells - not producing goods to sell abroad and make money

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13
Q

why had the war divided German society further

A

some factory owners made a fortune during the war, while German workers had restrictions placed on their wages

women worked in the factories during the war - some thought this damaged traditional family values

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14
Q

why had Germany become more politically unstable from the war

A

before the war, germany had been a stable, rich nation - after the war there was mutiny and revolution

many ex-soldiers and civilians felt Germany could have won the war - felt betrayed by the politicians (the ‘ November Criminals ‘) who had ended it and refused to support them

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15
Q

when did the kaiser leave Germany

A

9th November 1918

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16
Q

what were the first actions Ebert took as president of Weimar republic

A
  • signed an armistice to end WW1
  • ordered improvements to working conditions, help for the unemployed, improved housing, and more food supplies
  • he guaranteed freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and arranged elections for new german parliament
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17
Q

what did the Spartacists believe in

A

a new idea, called communism

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18
Q

how did the Spartacists want Germany to be run

A

wanted germany to be run by small councils of soldiers, not one large government

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19
Q

when was the Spartacists uprising

A

6th January 1919

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20
Q

Spartacists uprising:

A
  • spartacists tried to take over Berlin
  • thousands of them roamed the streets, firing guns, trying to take over important buildings
  • Ebert sent the Free Corps (a group of 2000 ex-soldiers) to attack the spartacists
  • after 3 days of street fighting, the Free Corps recaptured buildings and arrested Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
  • after beating them, the free corps murdered them
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21
Q

who were the leaders of the Spartacists

A

Rosa Luxemburg
Karl Liebknecht

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22
Q

what party won the first election of the Weimar republic and who was the first president

A

SPD
Freidrich Ebert became first president

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23
Q

is communism left or right wing

A

left wing

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24
Q

what did communists believe

A
  • everyone is equal
  • no private property and the gov run farms and businesses for the benefit of all people
  • little need for money or laws because everyone lives a simple life
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25
what was the Weimar constitution
a formal set of rules for how germany would be governed
26
how was the new weimar constitution very fair
- all germans had equal rights - all over 20 could vote (including women)
27
why was proportional representation a weakness of the weimar republic
- meant lots of different political parties were able to win seats in Reichstag - sometimes there were over 20 different parties arguing over a single issue - meant it was difficult to make a decision - between 1919 and 1933 no political party ever won more than half the votes, meaning there was no majority - no majority lead to smaller party’s forming coalition governments
28
why were coalition governments very weak
it was made of at least two different political parties meaning they would have different views so it would be difficult to make decisions
29
what were the politicians who lost the war in 1918 called
the November criminals
30
what were the politicians who lost the war in 1918 called
the November criminals
31
the president of weimar republic:
- elected every 7 years - controlled army, navy and air force - stay out of day-to-day running of country - could pass article 48 in a state of emergency and rule without decree (without support of reichstag)
32
the chancellor of weimar republic:
- chosen by president - responsible for day-to-day running of country, such as law and order, taxation, schooling, healthcare - must have support of at least half of politicians in reichstag to pass new laws
33
the reichstag:
- discussed and introduced laws - members were elected every 4 years - voting system was proportional representation
34
the german people (electorate) in weimar republic:
- all men and women over 20 could vote - elected the president and politicians in the reichstag - constitution guaranteed them basic freedoms, such as freedom of speech
35
who were the main supporters of the communist party
working class
36
communist party attitude to weimar republic
anti-republic
37
policies of communist party
thought germany should be a communist country and run by workers councils, not by parliament
38
who were the supporters of the social democratic party
mostly working class
39
social democratic party attitude to weimar republic
pro republic ebert was a social democrat
40
social democrats policies
believed everyone was equal, wanted democracy and reforms to help ordinary workers
41
supporters of social democrats
middle class, for examples writers or lawyers
42
german democrats attitude to weimar republic
pro republic
43
policies of german democrats
believed in individual freedom, for example rights to hold peaceful meetings, freedom of speech
44
supporters of central party
catholics from all classes
45
central party attitudes to weimar republic
pro republic
46
policies of central party
supported interests and beliefs of catholic church
47
supporters of peoples party
middle class, mainly businessmen
48
people party attitude to weimar republic
pro republic, but would like a return of a kaiser in the futures
49
policies of peoples party
supported any policy that promoted trade and industry (to make money)
50
supporters of national peoples party
middle and upper classes, some ex-soldiers
51
national peoples party attitude to weimar republic
anti republic
52
policies of national peoples party
wanted strong gov, perhaps one led by a strong leader or a kaiser again
53
supporters of national socialists german workers party (NSDAP or Nazis)
unemployed, mainly ex soldiers; some support from middle and upper classes who feared communism
54
nazi attitude to weimar republic
anti republic
55
policies of nazi party
wanted germany to be a great nation with great military power again; hated democracy and wanted a strong gov ruled by one man. hated communism because it states all people are equal; nazis believed some races and nations were better than others
56
what did the treaty of versailles state
- article 231 said germany had to take full responsibility for starting the war - war guilt clause - armed forces were reduced to 100,000, no armoured vehicles, aircraft or submarines, and could only have six warships - forced to pay £6.6 billion in reparations - to pay for damage caused by germany in the war - lost its empire - areas around world that used to belong to germany were now called mandates. they were put under control of winning nations by the league of nations - rhineland demilitarised
57
when was germany forced to sign treaty of versailles
28th June 1919
58
why did the germans hate the treaty of versailles
- they felt it was too harsh -> treaty took away large areas of land, which meant losing people, factories, farms and mines -> had to pay reparations to winners -> felt humiliated and angry with the way germany was treated - hated that it was forced on them -> ordered to sign treaty with no discussion -> called it a ‘diktat’ (a dictated peace) - many germans felt they hadn’t lost the war at all -> thought germanys new politicians had betrayed the country -> thought germany could have carried on fighting
59
how much did germany had to pay for reparations
£6.6 billion / 132 billion gold marks in yearly installments
60
how many years did germany have to pay reparations
66 years (yearly installments)
61
what year did germany fail to pay reparations
1922
62
what did france and belgium do when germany couldn’t pay reparations
- in jan 1923, 60,000 soldiers marched into the Ruhr (a rich, industrial area of germany) - took control of every factory, mine and railway in region - also took food and goods from shops and arrested anyone who tried to stop them
63
how did hyperinflation happen
1) French and Belgian soldiers began to take what was owed to them from Germany back to France 2) the german gov ordered its workers to go on strike (but still get paid) and not help the soldiers remove goods from the country - known as passive resistance 3) french and belgian soldiers killed over 100 strikers and threw 15,00 out their homes as punishment 4) germany was running short on money because the Ruhr wasn’t producing coal, iron and steel to sell to other nations 5) to pay their striking workers, the gov printed a lot of money 6) striking workers were being paid for not working so began to spend their money quickly - in response shop keepers began to up their prices 7) as shopkeepers raised their prices the gov responded by printing more money to help people buy things - the more the gov printed, the faster prices went up 8) the faster prices went up, the faster workers spent their wages. soon workers were being paid twice a day. the price of goods rose between joining the back of the queue and reaching the front 9) weimar politicians lost a lot of support in 1923 as people looked for someone to blame - their savings had become worthless
64
what did germans start to do with their money due to it becoming so worthless
started using money to light fires, or to make paper planes or kites to fly
65
how did hyperinflation affect people with savings
their savings became worthless
66
how did hyperinflation affect elderly people
those who lived on fixed pensions found that their incomes wouldn’t buy them what they needed
67
how did hyperinflation affect small businesses
many collapsed as normal trade became impossible because of the daily price changes
68
how did hyperinflation affect those with debts
found it very easy to pay it back

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