was the weimar gov a failure from day 1

Question 1

the president is elected every

Answer 1

7 years

Question 2

votes go by

Answer 2

proportional representation

Question 3

who can vote

Answer 3

all germans over 21

Question 4

the chancellor is the

Answer 4

head of the reichstag

Question 5

do state governments exist and where

Answer 5

yes in every region

Question 6

what is article 48

Answer 6

in an emergency, the president could call article 48 and it would allow the chancellor to pass any laws he wanted without the support of the reichstag

Question 7

what did the president do

Answer 7

control army but couldn’t chose his own laws

Question 8

the weimar government was elected into two houses

Answer 8

Reichstag and the Reichsrat.

Question 9

elections in the houses every

Answer 9

4 years

Question 10

what was proportional representation and why was it good

Answer 10

meant a party was given a certain number of seats according to how many votes it gained in the election. This was considered fairer for smaller parties.

Question 11

2 strengths about the weimar government

Answer 11

The constitution was written in such a way that the power of one person or institution would be limited and therefore, they would not have too much power.

The chancellor introduced new laws, but they only became laws if the majority of the Reichstag and Reichsrat voted for them.

Question 12

weaknesses (4)

Answer 12

Proportional representation often meant no single party won enough seats to form a government on its own, so several parties had to form a coalition governments which often fell apart.

Article 48 of the constitution gave the president the power to take emergency measures, by-passing the Reichstag. This could effectively create another dictatorship, in all but name.

Many judges and civil servants did not want the Weimar Republic and so did not fully support it.

The leaders of the army wanted the kaiser back and did not support the Weimar Republic.

Question 13

What happened when the Weimar Republic stopped paying reparations?

Answer 13

France and Belgium took action in January 1923 by occupying the Ruhr to collect the money owed. This led to hyperinflation

Question 14

were coalitions common

Answer 14

yes

Question 15

what happened regularly with coalitions

Answer 15

they would break up because they didn’t agree

Question 16

What early political challenges did the Weimar Republic face?

Answer 16

here were political challenges to the Weimar Republic from the left and the right in the early years

Question 17

When did the Weimar Republic face political challenges initially?

Answer 17

between 1919 and 1923

Question 18

Why did the Weimar Republic face political challenges in the early years?
(4)

Answer 18

Signing the Treaty of Versailles made the Weimar Republic unpopular.

The belief that the Weimar politicians had ‘stabbed Germany in the back’ and were ‘November criminals’ for signing the armistice and the Treaty of Versailles became popular opinion.

Extreme left-wing parties wanted a communist government in Germany. They wanted to end capitalism - this meant that they wanted to end private ownership of land, business and property. They wanted workers to have power.

Extreme right-wing parties wanted a very strong government with a strong army. Some wanted the kaiser back. They hated the Weimar Republic because they saw it as weak.

Question 19

left wing was

Answer 19

communist

Question 20

right wing was

Answer 20

fascist

Question 21

what happened in 1919

Answer 21

spartacist uprising

Question 22

What was the Spartacist Revolt?

Answer 22

The Spartacist Revolt, or Spartacist uprising, was an attempted revolution to overthrow the Weimar Republic by an extreme left-wing group called the Spartacists.

Question 23

who led the spartacist uprising

Answer 23

They were led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, who were communist

Question 24

Where was the Spartacist Revolt?

Answer 24

berlin

Question 25

process and events of spartacist uprising

Answer 25

they launched a bid for power led by rosa and karl, and were soon joined by resentful soldiers and sailors and there was a mass demonstration The Spartacists took over key buildings, including the newspaper and telegraph offices, and the government lost control. However, some anti-communist soldiers formed another group called the Freikorps who were not supportive of the Spartacists. Ebert made an agreement with the Freikorps, so long as they crushed the Spartacists along with the help of the army. The two sides fought on the streets, and there were resulting high losses. The Freikorps were victorious, and Luxemburg and Liebknecht were murdered. The Spartacist uprising had failed, however other revolutions soon followed.

Question 26

How did the Weimar Republic react to the Spartacist Revolt?

Answer 26

the government (Ebert) hired the freidkorps to violently stop the revolt

Question 27

what happened to rosa and karl

Answer 27

killed by the freidkorps

Question 28

Why was the Spartacist Revolt important? (2)

Answer 28

It showed that the Weimar Republic was weak and unpopular. It gave the Freikorps a lot of power as they were allowed by the government to attack and kill the Spartacists without being arrested themselves.

Question 29

when was the kapp putsch

Answer 29

1920

Question 30

What was the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 30

The Kapp Putsch was a right-wing uprising against the Weimar Republic.

Question 31

Who was involved in the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 31

It was organised by the Freikorps (ex-soldiers) and led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp.

Question 32

Why did the Kapp Putsch occur? (4)

Answer 32

A group of anti-communist ex-soldiers called the Freikorps had grown by 1920 and President Ebert could not control them. In March 1920, the Weimar government announced the Freikorps would be disbanded. The leaders of the putsch wanted to take over the country, make the army strong again and then recover the lands Germany had lost in the Treaty of Versailles. They wanted their empire once again. They deeply resented the Treaty of Versailles for their crippled economy. Some wanted the kaiser to return from exile.

Question 33

What were the key events of the Kapp Putsch? (4)

Answer 33

The Freikorps reacted to the government's disbanding of the group by marching into Berlin with around 5,000 men. Members of the army refused to fire on them as they were ex-soldiers. The rebels took control of Berlin and they looked to be successful. However, the government was saved by the industrial workers of Berlin who went on strike - as a result the capital came to a halt. With no power, water or resources, it became clear to Dr Kapp that they could not succeed. He fled the country and later died before coming to trial.

Question 34

How did the Weimar Republic react to the Kapp Putsch? (4)

Answer 34

he government fled to Dresden as Berlin was under the control of the rebels. They asked the public to go on strike which stopped gas, electricity, water and transport services. The rebels fled after realising they could not govern the country. Kapp was captured in April 1922 when he returned to Germany from Sweden, but died while waiting to be put on trial.

Question 35

Why was the Kapp Putsch important to the Weimar Republic?

Answer 35

The Kapp Putsch was important because it showed how unpopular the Weimar Republic was with right-wing parties, and that the army would not support it if the extreme right launched an attack.

Question 36

what caused hyperinflation

Answer 36

To pay reparations and the workers striking in the Ruhr, Germany printed more money. This led to hyperinflation and had a disastrous effect on the economy. The value of the German mark fell and the prices of goods increased.

Question 37

Who benefitted from the hyperinflation crisis in the Weimar Republic? (3)

Answer 37

Those with debts found it easier to pay off what they owed. Farmers benefitted from the increase in food prices because people were paying more for food. Foreign visitors benefitted. They could buy more with their money because they could exchange their currency for more German marks. This made the people very angry.

Question 38

What was the solution to the hyperinflation crisis in the Weimar Republic? (2)

Answer 38

Stresemann, as chancellor, replaced the worthless currency with a temporary one called the Rentenmark in October 1924. Eventually the Rentenmark became the new Reichsmark in 1924. This was a stable currency that remained for the next 25 years. Stresemann, as foreign secretary, signed the Dawes Plan in 1924 which organised American loans to German banks and businesses and temporarily lowered annual reparation payments to help the German economy recover.

Question 39

effects of hyperinflatio (4)

Answer 39

- people carried money in wheelbarrows - theft increased - workers were paid twice a day - there were food and good shortages

Question 40

what was the ruhr

Answer 40

industrial area with high coal and oil production

Question 41

who was affected the worst

Answer 41

people with savings, and no assets because they were rendered worthless

Question 42

were the upper class better off?

Answer 42

yed because they had assets

Question 43

3 policies done to help with hyperinflation

Answer 43

currency reform dawes plan young plan

Question 44

currency reform was: and happened in :

Answer 44

happened in 1923, and was when germany introduced the rentern mark

Question 45

did the dawes plan help with hyperinflation

Answer 45

yes because it helped germany build their economy

Question 46

did the currency reform help hyperinflation

Answer 46

yes as money wasn't as worthless

Question 47

when was the dawes plan

Answer 47

1924

Question 48

what was the dawes plan

Answer 48

when germany's annual reparation payments would be reduced, increasing over time so that this could happen. (US loaned money fot his to happen)

Question 49

when was the young plan

Answer 49

1929

Question 50

what was the young plan

Answer 50

if the economy was doing bad one year, they could not pay and then pay double the next year

Question 51

did the young plan ever take place

Answer 51

no