part 1: weimar democracy Flashcards
(77 cards)
1
Q
where do the spartacists lie?
A
left wing
2
Q
who were the spartacists led by?
A
rosa luxembourg and karl liebknecht
3
Q
when was the spartacist revolt?
A
january 1919
4
Q
3 strengths of spartacists
A
- money and support from russia
- 40,000 members
- published 33 daily newspapers
5
Q
why did the sparticists revolt?
A
ebert sacked the police chief of berlin
6
Q
describe the spartacist revolt
A
- communist uprising aiming to take over Berlin
- they took control of important buildings like newspaper headquarters, and 50,000 workers went on strike in support
7
Q
how did the weimar government respond to sparticists?
A
- ebert sent in the freikorps to stop the protests
- luxembourg and liebknecht were arrested and shot
8
Q
where did the freikorps lie?
A
right wing
9
Q
who were the freikorps?
A
- ex-ww1 soldiers who returned to germany with their weapons
10
Q
how many freikorps were there?
A
250,000
11
Q
when was the kapp putsch?
A
march 1920
12
Q
who led the kapp putsch?
A
wolfgang kapp
13
Q
why did the freikorps challenge the weimar republic?
A
- ebert needed them but they were getting too powerful
- they were arresting and beating up communists on the street
- ebert wanted to reduce their size
14
Q
describe the kapp putsch
A
freikorps marched into berlin and attempted to push ebert out of power
15
Q
how did ebert stop the freikorp take over?
A
- regular army refused to attack them
- so government asked workers to strike
- they did strike, bringing the country to a halt and kapp was forced to retreat
- proved he didn’t have enough support
16
Q
describe political assassinations / instability
A
- 376 political murders
- however not one right-wing murderer was sentenced
- because many of the judges were right-wing and biased
- proves that even the judges undermined the weimar republic
17
Q
why did the spartacist rebellion fail?
A
the uprising was badly planned as the spartacists didn’t get support from the other left-wing groups
18
Q
describe hitler’s early career 1914
A
- joined the german army and fought in ww1
- received the iron cross for bravery twice
19
Q
describe hitler’s early career 1918
A
- the army used him to spy on political parties to discover any threats
- regularly attended meetings of the german worker’s party (DAP)
20
Q
describe hitler’s early career 1919
A
- hitler joined the german worker’s party (DAP) as he liked their ideas
- they had little money and few members
21
Q
who was the leader of the DAP when hitler joined?
A
anton drexler
22
Q
describe hitler’s early career 1920
A
- hitler became head of the DAP’s propaganda
- hitler changes the party name to gain wider support to NSDAP (nazi party)
- the NSDAP starts to use its logo (swastika and salute) to make the party stand out
- bought their own newspaper
23
Q
describe hitler’s early career 1921
A
- hitler contested with drexler for the leadership of the NSDAP and won
- hitler created the SA (stormtroopers)
24
Q
describe hitler’s early career 1922
A
- hitler stopped the election of leaders to the NSDAP which left him as leader without challenge
25
how did hitler take over the DAP party in 3 years (acronym)
BLAST
brownshirts
leadership skills
twenty five point programme
strategy/strong ideas
appeal
26
brownshirts
- kept control of his own party by using the SA led by ernst rohm
- ex-soldiers who were paid by the nazis
- controlled crowds at meetings and removed opposition
- made NSDAP look strong and official
27
leadership skills
- elected leader of party in 1921 due to popularity
- brought in his own supporters to help him
28
appeal
- talented public speaker
- rehearsed his speeches to sound passionate, powerful and attract attention
- hand gestures and eye contact
- knew the power of propaganda
29
strategy/strong ideas
- set up a permanent office
- better at raising money for the party
- changed name of party to include 'nationalist' and 'socialist' to broaden its appeal
- used swastika as logo
- bought own newspaper
30
twenty five point programme
- destroy weimar government
- re-gain land lost after ww1
- remove democracy
- to make a bigger army
- ignore the treaty
- remove jews and unite all germans
31
why did hitler want to start a putsch?
- weak government
- germany in chaos
- time was right
- nazis were strong enough
32
describe the events of the munich putsch
- 8th November 1923: Hitler and 600 Nazis seized the Burgerbraukeller where Kahr and Lossow were having a meeting.
- Hitler forced them to rebel at gunpoint.
- SA took over army HQ and offices of local newspapers
- The next day Lossow and Kahr called police
Hitler continued his march.
- Hitler's army was no match for the armed police.
- 16 Nazis and 4 policemen killed.
- Hitler arrested 2 days later, and was angry at Lossow and Kahr for switching sides
33
describe the short term failure of the munich putsch
- 16 Nazis were killed
- showed Weimar Government had enough power to defend itself
- Hitler fled the scene in a panic and was arrested 2 days later
- nazi party banned
34
when did the munich putsch take place?
november 8th 1923
35
describe the long term success of the munich putsch
- Hitler gains support and media attention during 24 day long trial, using publicity
- judges were lenient (showed their support) and sentenced Hitler to 5 years in prison, which he used to write his book (mein kampf) which would later become the blueprint for the Nazi Party
- He realised he needed to change strategies and be elected, and this way the Nazi party became largest party in 1933, the same year Hitler became Chancellor, then foreign minister
36
who was stresemann?
man in charge of the economy & germany's reputation, chancellor of germany from august to november 1923
37
when was stresemann appointed and by who?
1923, by president ebert
38
3 main reasons for germany's economic recovery
- rentenmark, new currency
- dawes plan
- young plan
39
what did stressemann aim to do?
- bring economic stability
- unite the germans
- stop them voting for extremist parties
- give germany a good reputation abroad
40
3 main reasons for recovery of germany's reputation abroad
- locarno pact
- league of nations
- kellogg-briand pact
41
describe the rentenmark
- new currency
- old 'worthless' money collected and burned
- gave stability
- people and industries liked it
- meant foreign governments could trade with germany with more confidence
- stopped hyperinflation
- however meant people lost savings and never got them back
42
describe the dawes plan
- 1924
- reparations stayed same but given a longer period to pay them
- temporarily made £50 million per year
- USA leant them 800 million marks
43
pros and cons of dawes plan
pros:
- allies now get their reparations
- french left the ruhr
- industrial production doubled
- higher employment
cons:
- extreme parties angry that germany was paying reparations again
- germany now relied on loans from america
44
describe the young plan
- 1929
- reduced reparations from £6.6 billion to £2 billion
- germany given an extra 59 years more to pay
- us to continue to loan germany money
45
pros and cons of young plan
pros:
- germany has more money for its own people
- had more money to spend on goods
- german people had more confidence in weimar
- 85% of population voted to support the plan
cons:
- extreme parties angry at paying for 59 years more
- hitler argued extending loan was 'passing on the penalty to the unborn
46
describe the locarno pact
- 1925
- germany, france, belgium, britain, italy signed pact
- Germany, France and Belgium agreed to respect each others territory
- Britain would defend any nation that was invaded
- Germany would respect the new borders set out in the TofV
- declared abandonment of the use of invasion and force
- by accepting, showed germany was accepting treaty of versailles and was accepted into league
47
pros and cons of locarno pact
pros:
-germany accepted a new border with france in return for peace
-all nations agreed to more negotiations with germany
cons:
-angered extremist parties
48
describe the league of nations
- germany allowed to join in 1926
- group of allies to discuss issues
49
pros and cons of league
pros:
- gave germany more status and power
- gave germany a say in events
- made germans more confident, boosted pride
cons:
- extremists hated league
- believed it would take advantage of germany
50
describe the kellogg-briand pact
- 1928
- germany and 61 other countries promised they wouldn't use war as a way to achieve foreign policy aims
- promoted peaceful international relations
51
how did the french move out of the ruhr?
- germany agreed to start paying reparations
- dawes plan
52
What was the "Great Coalition", and when did it fall apart?
- a group of moderate, pro-emocracy, socialist parties in the Reichstag who agreed to cooperate so that parliament could make decisions more quickly
- fell apart in 1929
53
problems during stresemann era
- middle classes had savings wiped by hyperinflation and rentenmark introduction
- farmers incomes very low
- relied totally on america, and their loans
54
what was unemployment insurance?
workers could pay into the scheme, and would receive benefits if they became unemployed, or were off with illness
55
when was unemployment insurance introduced?
1927
56
impact of unemployment insurance
- removed stress of unemployment and risk of returning to poverty
57
how much of the country were unemployed after ww1, then in 1926, then in 1928?
ww1-4%
1926-2 million
1928-1.3 million
58
what was the mass housing project?
- shortage of cheap homes after ww1 and government didn't have money to build them
- from 1924 to 1931, government supported the building of 2 million new homes
59
impact of more houses
- provided employment
- made germans believe country was back up and running again
60
describe the improvement in wages for german workers
- benefitted from having a shorter number of hours with higher wages
- increased 25% from 1925-1928
61
impact of better wages
- made german workers believe their government was helping and had more to spend
62
described improvement in education and impact
- number of students in higher education increased by 40,000 post ww1
- gave young people confidence and hope for a better future
63
described pensions for ex-soldiers and impact
- pensions now paid to 750000 war veterans, 400000 war widows and 200000 parents of dead soldiers
- acted as a reward and gave soldiers back dignity
64
problem with middle class
- these improvements mainly helped working class
- middle classes had lost savings so had to start again
- didn't like having to live same lifestyle as those 'beneath them'
- thought weimar had supported working class too much
65
list the improvements for german workers
- work
- housing
- unemployment insurance
- working hours and wages
- education
- pension for ex-soldiers
66
How did women gain more freedom after the war, and during Germany's recovery in terms of politics?
- gained more political representation and ability to vote
- between 1924-1929, 112 women were elected to the Reichstag
67
How did women gain more freedom after the war, and during Germany's recovery in terms of work?
- women showed they could be capable workers in the war, so there were more young women working
68
How did women gain more freedom after the war, and during Germany's recovery in terms of equal rights?
- divorce became much easier
- equal rights to men in law terms, however not in attitude
- divorce rights increasing
69
How did women gain more freedom after the war, and during Germany's recovery in terms of advertising?
- media accepted idea of 'new woman' so encouraged more women
70
How did women gain more freedom after the war, and during Germany's recovery in terms of leisure opportunities?
- birth rate falling
- young women could earn and spend own money
- bought more clothes, wore makeup, had short hair, smoke and drank
- went out unaccompanied by father/husband
- took advantage of more liberal attitude to sex
71
describe negative attitudes to women during weimar years
- some women scared by a different set of expectations
- some men accepted by most believe the role of 'new woman' would take over men
- some men believed women were taking their jobs
72
what were the 1920s known as in german?
roaring 20's
73
Why were the 1920s considered a golden age for Germany?
- there was new creativity and innovation. freedom of expression meant new ideas were created
- Germany became the new centre for new plays, theatre, opera and shows.
- musicians performed vulgar songs about politicians
- the Bauhaus School of Design was highly influential, and Frankfurt University encouraged new ways of critical thinking
- american influence such as jazz music
74
why did the culture change?
- less restriction
- ebert's actions: gave freedom
- economic recovery: allowed more government money to finance arts
- usa influence
- technology
75
Why were some people opposed to Weimar Art?
- believed art, music and theatre should celebrate older, more traditional values of Germany
- believed new nightclubs and paintings were leading Germany into mora decline
- Berlin was viewed as corrupt and sex-obssessed
- Nazis openly critisised nightclubs and art of the period
- when Hitler came into power, many artists and performers were forced to flee
76
describe opposition to change in culture and arts
- older generations, church and extremists
- nazis believed arts should remain traditional and take pride in germany's past
- communists believed government funding of arts was extravagance when money should be spent improving life for poor
77
describe two reasons in which stressemann helped improve stability of weimar
- rentenmark: new currency stopped hyperinflation, economic stability
- dawes plan: loans from america, less economic strain, improved international relations as less pressure to pay reparations
