part 1 topic 1

Question 1

what was the role of the kaiser?

Answer 1

-inherits position and rules like a king
-personal control of army and foreign policy
-appoints and dismisses chancellor
-can dissolve Reichstag
-has the most power

Question 2

when did the kaiser rule?

Answer 2

1888-1918

Question 3

what did the kaiser want for germany?

Answer 3

-to show the world how mighty germany had become and how he didn’t want to share his power
-believed in militarism and wanted to increase germany’s military power
-wanted to have an empire like britain and france
-believed in traditional class system
-maintain powerful army

Question 4

what was weltpolitik?

Answer 4

world policy-kaiser wanted germany to be a world power

Question 5

what laws did kaiser wilhelm pass and when?

Answer 5

-navy laws from 1898 to 1912

Question 6

what was the strongest german state?

Answer 6

prussia

Question 7

why did the states unify?

Answer 7

rid the threat of invasion from surrounding big countries, become more powerful

Question 8

how was the kaiser related to the british royal family?

Answer 8

queen victoria’s grandson

Question 9

industrialisation

Answer 9

building up germany’s industry to make it as great as britain

Question 10

what happened in 1913?

Answer 10

germany was producing more iron and steel and as much coal as britain

Question 11

wilhelm’s personality

Answer 11

-energetic, strong, outgoing
-charming, kind
-impatient. rude
-sack ministers if they didn’t do what he wanted

Question 12

why was militarism so important to the kaiser?

Answer 12

he spent most of his youth in the army

Question 13

role of bundesrat

Answer 13

-members are representatives from each state in the German Empire
-its consent is needed for all legislation, but it can be overruled by the Kaiser

Question 14

role of old reichstag

Answer 14

-members elected by the public every 3 years
-members pass or reject legislation put forward by the Bundesrat, couldn’t suggest own laws

Question 15

role of chancellor

Answer 15

-runs government and proposes new legislation
-doesn’t support of Reichstag or Bundesrat’s support to stay in power

Question 16

what was the kaiser’s foreign policy and why did he adopt it?

Answer 16

-‘a place in the sun’
-distract attention from the socialist and increase support for monarchy and military

Question 17

why did he introduce naval laws?

Answer 17

to build up the size of his navy and to compete with britain

Question 18

who was the key figure in expanding the navy?

Answer 18

admiral von tirpitz

Question 19

what did each naval law do and when?

Answer 19

-first 1898: 19 battleships, 8 armoured cruisers, 12 large and 30 light cruisers
-second 1900: doubled size of fleet from 19 to 38 battleships
-third 1906: building of 6 large cruisers
-fourth 1908: reduced age at which battleships were to be replaced from 25 to 20 years
-fifth 1912: three more battleships

Question 20

why do countries need a strong navy?

Answer 20

-trade protection
-defence
-empire
-power

Question 21

effect of naval laws on britain

Answer 21

worried so continued to strengthen own navy, releasing the dreadnought in 1906 which germany later released

Question 22

how many seats did the SPD lose in the 1907 election due to the government’s propaganda?

Answer 22

36 seats

Question 23

what political problems did the kaiser face?

Answer 23

-a socialist party supporting workers (SPD) who were put into bad living situations due to the industrial revolution - they wanted all wealth to be shared
-german politics became more radical and the popularity of extreme nationalist parties was also growing as upper classes feared growth working class
-Kaiser was under pressure to introduce social reforms, but doing so would anger his followers
-popularity of SPD also made it hard for the Chancellor to gain enough support in the Reichstag to pass new legislation

Question 24

problems caused by weltpolitik

Answer 24

-debts grew as it spent more more money on the army, navy and colonies
-debt grew to 490 billion marks by 1913
-put pressure on ordinary people and government found it difficult to raise extra taxes

Question 25

success of weltpolitik

Answer 25

-pleased kaiser, determined germany would become a world power
-increased support for kaiser and his government, appealed to sense of patriotism
-won government support from politicians

Question 26

what economic and social problems did the kaiser face?

Answer 26

-workers in new mines were unhappy with low wages, poor conditions, and high costs of taxes
-more and more workers joined trade unions to try and change things
-SPD party became popular and more extreme
-lots of people thought the government shouldn’t waste money on the navy
-initially, gov didn’t pass reforms (afraid of encouraging socialism) so SPD gained lots of support
-by 1914, trade union membership was around 3.3 million

Question 27

how did the kaiser deal with growing socialism?

Answer 27

-tried to reduce discontent by introducing some reforms, like the Worker’s Protection Act in 1891
-in 1897, he adopted the new policy of of Weltpolitik to distract people from socialism, and increase support for the monarchy and navy
-gov used propaganda to promote navy laws and inspire patriotism
-the laws became popular and socialist opposition to them was seen as unpatriotic

Question 28

why was socialism an issue?

Answer 28

-rapid industrialisation meant by 1910 there were 10.86 million industrial workers in germany
-faced poor living and working conditions
-all males could vote so they influenced politics through support SPD
-party became biggest in 1912

Question 29

how many seats in the reichstag did the SPD have from 1887 to 1903?

Answer 29

11 to 81

Question 30

how many germans voted for the SPD?

Answer 30

around one third

Question 31

views and aims of the SPD

Answer 31

-improve conditions for working class
-disagreed with privileges held by monarchy and military