Impact of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany Flashcards
(39 cards)
1
Q
German reaction to the Treaty ?
A
- Greeted with horror and disbelief by the majority of Germans
- Almost universal resentment at the harsh terms
2
Q
Why were German shocked with the signing of the armistice ?
A
- Until 1914, Germany had been one of the greatest military powers
- Much of the war and especially early months of 1918, war effort portrayed as close to victory in official propaganda
- Neither ordinary soldiers were told how desperate German’s military effort was on the Western Front.
3
Q
What did Wilson’s 14 points say about national self determination ?
A
- stressed the importance of the basis of national self determination as a basis for just peace
4
Q
Did Germany get national self determination ?
A
- this right was denied to the German themselves
5
Q
How did Germany not receive national self determination ?
A
- Millions of German people who spoke German and considered themselves German were now living in non German states like Czechoslovakia and Poland
- Separation from East Prussia from the rest of Germany was a major source of resentment
6
Q
Why did the germans object the War Guilt Clause ?
A
- seen as a national humiliation
- Germans believed that they had been forced into total war against the Allies, who attempted to encircle Germany.
7
Q
Why did Germany object the reparation fee ?
A
- major case for anger
- Germans felt that the level was too high and would cripple the German economy
8
Q
Why did Germany object the territorial losses ?
A
- Allied occupation of parts of Western Germany and French control of Saarland coasted mines led to continuing friction
- German nationalists were outraged by the outlawing of nationalist groups and banning of German patriotic songs and factions in areas under French control.
9
Q
Why did Germany object disarming and exclusion from the League of Nations ?
A
- seen as an unjust discrimination against a proud and once powerful nation
10
Q
What did almost all minsters believed about accepting the Treaty of Versailles settlement ?
A
- accepting the settlement would be incompatible with German honour
11
Q
When did the Germans have to accept the treaty ?
A
- Demand for acceptance of the treaty was seven days
12
Q
Why was there a political crisis in June 1919 ?
A
- disagreements over the Treaty of Versailles settlement
13
Q
Who wanted to reject the treaty ?
A
- Schiedemann and some of his ministers wanted to reject the treaty
14
Q
Who wanted to accept the treaty ?
A
- Majority of the cabinet and of the SPD members of the Reichstag believed that Germany had no other choice than to sign the treaty
15
Q
What happened as a result of the political crisis of June 1919 ?
A
- Schiedsmann resigned and a new coalition cabinet, led by Gustav Bauer, was formed
16
Q
What was occurring, meanwhile the political crisis of June 1919 ?
A
- high ranking officers in the German army were discussing the possibility of resisting the treaty through military action
17
Q
Detailing between Ebert and Groener about resisting the treaty ?
A
- Ebert told Groener that he would support a rejection if there was any chance of military success
- Groener informed Ebert that military resistance would fail and there was no other option than to sign the treaty ?
18
Q
Why did Groener believed that military resistance would fail ?
A
- Groener was a realist
19
Q
What continued to dominate optical life throughout the years of the Weimar Republic ?
A
- divisons over the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
20
Q
What did the SPD would believed would happen to them after the signing of the treaty ?
A
- SPD and its allies in government were aware that the signing the treaty would rebound on them
21
Q
What did the SPD and its allies do as they felt threatened ?
A
- asked their major opponents in the DNVP, DVP and DDP to state that those voted in the treaty were not unpatriotic
22
Q
What was the reaction of the pro - republican parties ?
A
- Signing of there treaty turned some ( even supporters ) against the Weimar Republic.
23
Q
Impact of the Versailles Settlement on the pro republican parties ?
A
- it alienated those who had been happy to accept a new constitution and its promises of a ‘ better ‘ Germany, but who could not stomach politicians who appeared to have betrayed an unbeaten country.
24
Q
Impact of the Versailles Settlement on the Weimar Republic ?
A
- Treaty causes political demoralisation of the Weimar Republic a the very centre of government, associating the Republic with weakness and failure
25
How did German nationalists feel ?
- could not accept the fact of Germany's military defeat, nor the establishment of the Weimar Republic.
26
How did the nationalists view the politicians ?
- viewed the politicians who now governed Germany as lacking any legitimacy because they betrayed the ' Fatherland ' several times
27
How did the politicians betray the ' Fatherland ' several times ?
- in the dethroning of the Kaiser
- signing of the armistice
- acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles
28
What were the politicians and their actions called ?
- These politicians became labelled the ' November Criminals ' and their actions of betrayal as the ' stab in the back ' theory
29
How did the Treaty of Versailles affect right wing resentment ?
- Right wing resentment of the Republic was intensified by the signing of the Versailles Treaty
30
What was the ' stab in the back ' theory ?
- Poltiifans betrayed / stab in the back to the German soldiers and people in the war
31
Who advocated the ' stab in the back ' theory ?
- ' stab in the back ' theory was actively promoted by General Ludendorff and his superior von Hindenburg
32
Impact of the ' stab in the back ' theory ?
- was the justification of continued nationalist attacks on the Republic, its political supporters and on the treaty
33
Who was the ' stab In the back theory ' especially appealing to ?
- particularly appealing to ex - soldiers who had suffered in fighting for what they regarded as a noble cause
34
Did all ' soldiers' against the Republic ?
- Not all soldiers were hostile to the Republic
- Many working class soldiers, previously members of trade unions and supported SPD, supported new democratic system
- Others gravitated to the communists
35
Why and where were many soldiers attracted to ?
- Many could not adjust to civilian life and yearned for a sense of purpose that the war years gave them
- Many soldiers gravitated to the Freikorps and other nationalist groups
36
Impact of many soldiers joining nationalist groups ?
- democratic politics was under constant threat from violent nationalist groups
37
Who did the ' stab in the back ' theory blame for stabbing Germany in the back ?
- unpatriotic and weak politicians
38
How did the ' stab in the back ' theory impact the Weimar Republic ?
- The belief that Germany was stabbed in the back by unpatriotic socialists was quickly used to criticise the democratic Weimar Republic.
- Weimar Republic became associated with German's undeserved defeat and the humiliation of the peace treaty
39
impact of many elite figures preaching the ' stab in the back ' theory ?
- reinforced the hostility of many Germans to the new Weimar Republic.
