the weimar republic

Question 1

what did extreme left wing parties want

Answer 1

They wanted Germany to be controlled by the people.

They opposed capitalism

wanted to abolish private ownership of land and business and put it in the hands of workers.

Question 2

what happened when coalitions disagreed and decisions had to be made

Answer 2

article 48 was activated and the chancellor could ask the president to pass the law without going through parliament

Question 3

why was article 48 becoming a problem
[hint -what year]

Answer 3

• by 1930 the chancellor relied heavily on the president due to coalitions disagreeing in parliament

Question 4

what effect did article 48 have on the german people

Answer 4

• it encouraged them to think a single all-powerful leader was better as parliament became essentially redundant

Question 5

who were the spartacists

Answer 5

a communist group supported by the soviet union lead by karl liebknecht and rosa luxemburg

Question 6

who lead the spartacists

Answer 6

rosa luxemburg and karl liebknecht

Question 7

were the spartacists far left or far right

Answer 7

far left/ left wing

Question 8

what happened on janurary 7th 1919

Answer 8

• the spartacists staged a revolt in berlin which they hoped would lead to a general strike
• the soldiers were armed and took over government buildings

Question 9

what was the ultimate aim of the spartacist uprising janurary 7th 1919

Answer 9

to overthrow the weimar republic

Question 10

how did ebert stop the spartacist uprising

Answer 10

• he employed a right wing group of former soldiers (the freikorps) to stop the uprising

Question 11

why did ebert use the freikorps against the spartacists

Answer 11

he realised he needed to put extremist politaclal groups against one another

Question 12

what happened between march 13th-17th 1920

Answer 12

the kapp putsch rebellion

Question 13

what was the kapp putsch

Answer 13

in march 1920 the freikorps staged a rebellion lead by wolfgang kapp with the aim to seize control and end the weimar democratic system by bringing back the kaiser

Question 14

why did the kapp putsch fail

Answer 14

german workers went on strike forcing kapp to flee

Question 15

what happened when ebert employed the freikorps during the spartacist uprising

Answer 15

2,000 freikorps took down the spartacists and 150 were killed

Question 16

outcome of the spartacist uprising

Answer 16

• failed as both leaders were killed and the government was not overthrown
• did lead to chaos in the street causing instability
• did challenge the newly formed weimar republic

Question 17

when was the kapp putsch

Answer 17

march 13th-17th 1920

Question 18

aims of the kapp putsch

Answer 18

• to restore the german kaiser and grow the german army
• to seize control and end the weimar democratic system

Question 19

what was the short term cause for the kapp putsch

Answer 19

ebert threatened to disband the freikorps

Question 20

what happened during the march 13-17 kapp putsch

Answer 20

• ebert threatened to disband the freikorps
• 5000 freikorps marched into berlin to overthrow the weimar government
• the government asked army to help but they refused as they were “ex comrades”
• government had to flee berlin
• ebert asked te workers in berlin to go on strike which brought the city to a standstill

Question 21

what were the outcomes of the march 13-17 kapp putsch

Answer 21

• failed as freikorps could not run berlin while at a standstill
• wolfgang kapp (leader) was captured and imprisoned
• did force the government to flee the city

Question 22

why did the german army refuse to help during the kapp putsch

Answer 22

the freikorps were their ex comrades

Question 23

was the kapp putsch far right or far left

Answer 23

far right / right wing

Question 24

what happened in november 1922

Answer 24

germany defaulted on their reparations payments

Question 25

why did the french occupy the ruhr

Answer 25

• germany did not pay reparations november 1922
• The French believed Germany could make the payment but were choosing not to, however the German government argued they could not afford to pay.

Question 26

what did france do when germany could not pay reparations in november 1922

Answer 26

• France and Belgium sent troops into Germany’s main industrial area, the Ruhr Valley.
• Their aim was to confiscate industrial goods as reparations payments as they didn’t believe Germany was unable to pay
• They occupied coal mines, railways, steel works and factories – all things that were important to Germany’s economy.

Question 27

how did germany deal with the french occupation of the ruhr

Answer 27

they told german workers to follow a policy of ‘passive resistance’ and to not cooperate with the soldiers and they would still get paid their wages

Question 28

how did france respond to the german workers policy of ‘passive resistance’

Answer 28

• workers refusing to take orders were shot at.
• Other people were expelled from the Ruhr region altogether.
• Overall, 132 were killed and approximately 150,000 expelled from the area.

Question 29

how many people were killed during the french occupation of the ruhr

Answer 29

132

Question 30

what did germany do to pay back the workers who striked at the rhur

Answer 30

they decided to print more money to pay the workers in the region, contributing to hyperinflation.

Question 31

how did the occupation of the ruhr (january 11 1923) weaken germany

Answer 31

• took over a major industrial area weakening germany economically
• 132 german workers killed
• government printed more money contributing to hyperinflation

Question 32

factors that lead to hyperinflation

Answer 32

• Germany was already suffering from high levels of inflation due to the effects of the war and the increasing government debt.
• ‘Passive resistance’ meant that whilst the workers were on strike fewer industrial goods were being produced, which weakened the economy still further.
• In order to pay the striking workers the government simply printed more money. This flood of money led to hyperinflation as the more money was printed, the more prices rose.

Question 33

3 examples of hyperinflation in germany

Answer 33

• Prices ran out of control, for example a loaf of bread, which cost 250 marks in January 1923, had risen to 200,000 million marks in November 1923
• By autumn 1923 it cost more to print a note than the note was worth
• During the crisis, workers were often paid twice per day because prices rose so fast their wages were virtually worthless by lunchtime.

Question 34

how often were workers payed during hyperinflation

Answer 34

During the crisis, workers were often paid twice per day because prices rose so fast their wages were virtually worthless by lunchtime.

Question 35

what was the price of bread in january compared to november 1923

Answer 35

a loaf of bread, which cost 250 marks in January 1923, had risen to 200,000 million marks in November 1923.

Question 36

when did it cost more to print a note than the note was worth

Answer 36

by autumn 1923

Question 37

who benefited from hyper inflation

Answer 37

• Borrowers, such as businessmen, landowners and those with mortgages, found they were able to pay back their loans easily with worthless money.
• Farmers coped well, since their products remained in demand and they received more money for them as prices spiralled.

Question 38

how were people on wages able to manage hyperinflation

Answer 38

• People on wages were relatively safe, because they renegotiated their wages every day. However, even their wages eventually failed to keep up with prices.

Question 39

who lost from hyperinflation

Answer 39

• people on fixed incomes, like students, pensioners or the sick, found their incomes did not keep up with prices.
• People with savings and those who had lent money, for example to the government, were the most badly hit as their money became worthless.

Question 40

what was the effect of hyperinflation on the weimar government

Answer 40

the german people blamed them and it became very unpopular

Question 41

what happened november 8 1923

Answer 41

the munich putsh

Question 42

why did hitler choose to revolt in munich

Answer 42

In Bavaria, (capital – Munich) the majority of the population were Catholic and things were quite traditional. This meant that many within that state intensely disliked the new Weimar government and saw them as weak. Hitler thought he would take advantage of this

Question 43

events of the munich putsh

Answer 43

On the night of 8 November 1923, Hitler and 600 SA members burst into a meeting that Kahr and Lossow were holding at the local Beer Hall. Waving a gun at them, Hitler with the support of general ludendorff forced them to agree to rebel - and then let them go home. The SA took over the army headquarters and the offices of the local newspaper.

The next day, 9 November 1923, Hitler and the SA went into Munich However, Kahr had called in police and army reinforcements. There was a short scuffle in which the police killed 16 members of the SA.

Hitler fled, but was arrested two days later.

Question 44

who led the munich putsch

Answer 44

hitler and general ludendorff (a german war hero)

Question 45

consequences of munich putsch

Answer 45

The Nazi party was banned, and Hitler was prevented from speaking in public until 1927.
Hitler was tried for high treason (betraying his country) and sentenced to five years in prison.(but only served 9 months)