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History - Germany > The Weimar Republic > Flashcards

The Weimar Republic Flashcards

1
Q

Who temporarily became the leader of Germany after the Kaiser abdicated?

A

Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD.

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2
Q

What was one of the first actions Friedrich Ebert took as leader?

A

He signed an armistice to end the First World War.

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3
Q

What is an armistice?

A

An agreement, or truce, to stop fighting.

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4
Q

Give 5 orders Ebert gave after signing the armistice:

A

-Improvements to working conditions
-Help for the unemployed
-Improved housing
-More food supplies
-Freedom of speech and religion

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5
Q

What type of Republic did Ebert declare Germany would be?

A

A democratic republic.

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6
Q

What was the Spartacus League?

A

One of the political groups in Germany.

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7
Q

What political idea did the Spartacists believe in?

A

Communism.

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8
Q

Other than communism, what else did the Spartacists want?

A

They wanted Germany to be run by small councils of soldiers and workers, not by a large parliament.

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9
Q

When did the Spartacists try and take over Berlin?

A

6th January 1919.

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10
Q

How did Ebert respond to the Spartacist’s revolt in Berlin?

A

He sent in a group of 2000 ex-soldiers, known as the Free Corps, to attack the Spartacists.

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11
Q

How many days of brutal street fighting was there during the fight between the Spartacists and Free Corps?

A

3 days.

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12
Q

Who did the Free Corps arrest?

A

They arrested Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, the Spartacist leaders.

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13
Q

What did the Free Corps do to the arrested leaders?

A

They beat them then murdered them.

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14
Q

What ended the Spartacist revolt?

A

When the 2 leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, were murdered.

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15
Q

When did Ebert become the new German President?

A

In late January 1919

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16
Q

Give 3 beliefs in Communism:

A

-Everyone is equal
-No private property and the government (or council) runs farms and businesses
-Little need for money and laws because everyone lives a simple life, sharing all they have with others

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17
Q

Who were the Free Corps?

A

A group of ex-soldiers who had recently come home from the First World War.

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18
Q

Who did the Free Corps hate?

A

They hated the Spartacists (and all communists) as they blamed them for stirring up trouble near the end of the war.

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19
Q

When did Germany’s politicians draw up the Weimar Constitution?

A

1919.

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20
Q

What was the Weimar Constitution?

A

A formal set of rules for how Germany should be governed

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21
Q

What was proportional representation?

A

Lots of different political parties were able to win seats in the Reichstag.

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22
Q

Why did proportional representation not work?

A

It made it difficult to make decisions and introduce laws as sometimes there were over 20 different political parties all arguing over a single issue. With no majority, the leading party had to do deals with smaller groups in order to get anything done, again, this made law-making a very slow process.

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23
Q

Give an example, with dates, of proportional representation being a negative thing:

A

Between 1919 and 1933, no political party ever won more than half the votes in any election

24
Q

What was another weakness of the new system of government?

A

Many groups didn’t like this.

25
Q

What kind of groups didn’t like this new democratic system of governing?

A

Some of the older army generals, judges, upper-class families, rich factory owners and university professors

26
Q

What was the nickname given to the politicians who surrendered during the First World War?

A

The November Criminals.

27
Q

Giver 5 terms of the Treaty of Versailles:

A

-Reparations of £6.6 billion
-Germany’s army was limited to 100,000 men, 6 battleships in their navy, no submarines, tanks or an airforce
-Germany must hand over its colonies to the winning countries
-Anshluss banned
-The Rhineland was to be demilitarised

28
Q

What were the main 3 reasons why Germany hated the Treaty of Versailles?

A

-They felt it was too harsh
-They hated that it had been forced on them
-Many felt they had not really lost the war at all.

29
Q

Why did Germans feel the Treaty was too harsh?

A

It took away large areas of land which meant losing people, factories, farms and mines. Also because they had to pay a large amount of money to the winners.

30
Q

What did the Germans call the Treaty as they were ordered to sign it with no discussion?

A

A ‘diktat’.

31
Q

Which year did Germany say they could not afford to pay reparations?

A

1922.

32
Q

What was the Ruhr?

A

A rich, industrial area of Germany.

33
Q

What did French and Belgian soldiers do as a result of Germany not paying reparations?

A

They marched into the Ruhr, taking control of every factory, mine and railway in the region.

34
Q

How many French and Belgian soldiers marched into the Ruhr?

A

60,000.

35
Q

When did French and Belgian soldiers marched into the Ruhr?

A

January 1923.

36
Q

What was the main consequence of the French and Belgian soldiers marching into the Ruhr?

A

The hyperinflation crisis of 1923.

37
Q

When was the hyperinflation crisis?

A

1923.

38
Q

What did the German government order its workers to do against the French and Belgian soldiers?

A

To not fight back, but instead go on strike, and not help the soldiers remove goods from the country. This was known as passive resistance.

39
Q

How many strikers were killed by the French and Belgian soldiers?

A

Over 100.

40
Q

How many people were thrown out of their homes as punishment by the French and Belgian soldiers?

A

15,000.

41
Q

What did the German government promise the strikers?

A

They promised to continue paying the workers on strike, because they were only doing what the government had told them to do.

42
Q

What was a reason, regarding the Ruhr, why Germany was running short of money?

A

The Ruhr wasn’t producing coal, iron and steel to sell to other nations.

43
Q

What did the government do to pay striking workers?

A

They printed large amounts of money.

44
Q

What did shopkeepers do in response to the striking workers spending their money quickly?

A

They began to put up their prices.

45
Q

How did the government respond to shops rising their prices all over Germany?

A

They printed even more money to help people buy things.

46
Q

What was the relationship between the government printing money and prices in shops?

A

The more money the government printed, the faster prices went up.

47
Q

What was the relationship between prices in shops and people’s wages?

A

The faster prices went up, the faster people spent their wages.

48
Q

Give an example of how quickly prices could rise:

A

The price of goods even rose between joining the back of a queue and reaching the front.

49
Q

Why did the German government and Weimar politicians lose a lot of support in 1923?

A

People looked for someone to blame for the hyperinflation crisis.

50
Q

What happened to people’s saving by the end of 1923?

A

They became worthless.

51
Q

Define passive resistance:

A

Protesting against government or laws by using non-violent acts.

52
Q

What was the impact of hyperinflation on money?

A

Money became worthless

53
Q

How did the price of a loaf of bread change from 1918 to November 1923?

A

In 1918 it cost 0.6 marks, by November 1923 it cost 201,000,000,000 marks.

54
Q

How did the price of one egg change from 1914 to November 1923?

A

In 1914 it cost 0.9 marks, by November 1923 it cost 320,000,000,000 marks.

55
Q

What are 3 negative impacts of hyperinflation on German people?

A

-People’s savings became worthless
-Elderly people on fixed pensions found their income couldn’t buy them what they need
-Small businesses collapsed

56
Q

What caused small businesses to collapse as a result of hyperinflation?

A

Normal trade became impossible because of the daily price changes.

57
Q

What is 1 positive impact of hyperinflation on German people?

A

People who borrowed money found it very easy to pay off their debts.

History - Germany (21 decks)

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