weimar

Question 1

when did the kaiser flee to Holland?

Answer 1

9th November 1918

Question 2

when did Germany surrender at the end of WW1?

Answer 2

11th November 1918

Question 3

what was the biggest party in the Reichstag at the time?

Answer 3

SDP

Question 4

who lead the SDP?

Answer 4

Freidrich Ebert

Question 5

give two economic problems in the Weimar republic

Answer 5

one third of the state’s budget was spent on war problems by 1925.
the country was practically bankrupt and national income was one third of what it had been in 1913.

Question 6

give three social problems in the Weimar republic

Answer 6

industrial production was about two thirds of what it had been which meant that there were less jobs available.
the living standard between the rich and the poor had become greater.
there was a lack of food so people did things like putting sawdust in the bread

Question 7

give two political problems in the Weimar republic

Answer 7

threat from the left - the communist party known as the Spartacists wanted Germany to be ruled by workers’ councils and soviets.
threat from the right - people who liked the Kaiser’s dictatorial style of ruling wanted Germany to expand it’s territory and have an empire.

Question 8

what was article 48?

Answer 8

it meant that in an emergency the President could make laws without going to the Reichstag

Question 9

how often was a new president elected?

Answer 9

every 7 years

Question 10

what was the president head of?

Answer 10

head of state

Question 11

who was the chancellor appointed by?

Answer 11

the President, but he had to be approved by a majority of the Reichstag.

Question 12

what was the chancellor head of?

Answer 12

head of government

Question 13

when was proportional representation used?

Answer 13

it was used in the Reichstag so that parties received the same percentage of seats as the percentage of votes

Question 14

what was a change that was brought in by the constitution of the Weimar Republic

Answer 14

It enabled all Germans over the age of 20 to vote - before only males over 25 could vote

Question 15

why was the president more powerful than the chancellor?

Answer 15

the president was voted in by the public and was able to choose, appoint and dismiss the chancellor

Question 16

Who was the president in charge of?

Answer 16

the armed forces

Question 17

What did the president have the ability to do if the political situation warranted it?

Answer 17

dissolve the Reichstag and call a general election

Question 18

if the President disagreed with the Reichstag’s laws, what did he have the power to do?

Answer 18

he could kill off the laws he didn’t approve of - veto the laws

Question 19

who were the two presidents of the Weimar Republic and when were they in power?

Answer 19

President Ebert - 1919 - 1925 (died 1925)

President Hindenberg - 1925 - 1934 (died after being re-elected in 1934)

Question 20

name the three left wing rebellions and the dates

Answer 20

the communist revolt in Bavaria - late 1918 - early 1919
the spartacist revolt - January 1919
communist uprising - 1920

Question 21

name the two right wing rebellions and the dates

Answer 21

the Kapp putsch - March 1920
the Munich (beerhall) putsch - November 1923

Question 22

describe the communists in Bavaria rebellion

Answer 22

Kurt Eisner - leader of Bavaria - was murdered by political opponents and as such the communists seized the opportunity and declared a soviet republic. It was resolved by the Freikorps moving in to crush the revolt in May

Question 23

describe the Spartacists Uprising

Answer 23

spartacists, joined by rebel soldiers and sailors, set up soviets in many towns. They had seen how communism had worked in Russia and believed that it was Germany’s turn to use communism. It was stopped by some ex-soldiers who were anti-communist known as the Freikorps and the commander of the German army, as Ebert made an agreement with them. It took place in Berliin

Question 24

describe the Communists in the Ruhr rebellion

Answer 24

here was agitation in the Ruhr industrial area and the communists wanted another soviet because of the revolution in Russia. It was stopped by the police, army and Freikorps

Question 25

how many casualties were there in the Communists in the Ruhr rebellion?

Answer 25

2,000

Question 26

who were Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg?

Answer 26

they were the leaders of the Spartacists during the Spartacists Uprising, but they were killed by the Freikorps

Question 27

describe the Kapp Putsch - four points

Answer 27

the putsch was led by Wolfgang Kapp, a journalist who opposed everything Ebert stood for. Kapp was assisted by General Luttwitz, who led a group of Freikorps men, and he received support from a German military officer - General Erich Ludernorff - but the main officer corps of the German army failed to follow Ludernorff's lead the government fled to Dresden and from there Ebert called for a general strike which ensured that the people who supported Kapp could not move around the kapp Putsch lasted or 5 days before Kapp and Luttwitz fled to Sweden on March 17th

Question 28

describe the Munich Putsch

Answer 28

the putsch took place on the 8th November 1923 and was led by Adolf Hitler, who hoped to take power by starting a revolution by plotting with two national politicians to take over Munich in a revolution he tried to start a revolution in Munich by assembling a large group of unemployed soldiers known as the SA but poor planning led to his arrest On the night of November 8th Hitler and 600 members of the SA busted into a meeting at the Beer Hall Hitler only served 9 months of his 5 year sentence in prison, and during this time he wrote 'mein kampf', a major factor in his rise to power

Question 29

give two examples of opposition weaknesses that led to the rebellions between 1919 and 1923 failing

Answer 29

the left wing groups were not united as there were three separate left wing rebellions between 1919 and 1920. If the Spartacists had joined with the Bavarian Communists they might have had more success the Nazis overestimated the amount of public support they had

Question 30

give two examples of government strengths that led to the rebellions between 1919 and 1923 failing

Answer 30

the Weimar government was supported by most people, for example during the Kapp Putsch the public carried out a general strike to stop the Putsch from succeeding the Freikorps were asked by Ebert's government to help stop the rebellions. They did this successfully by shooting at the communists, leading to the leaders of the Spartacists being murdered

Question 31

what were the key terms of the treaty of Versailles

Answer 31

Germany lost 10 per cent of its land, all of its overseas colonies, 12.5 per cent of its population, 10 per cent of its coal industry and 48 per cent of its iron industry. the German army was reduced by 100,00. Germany was not allowed an air force and it's navy was reduced. Germany had to accept blame for starting the war and as such was forced to pay reparations - the war guilt clause article no. 231 Germany was only allowed six battle ships Germany wasn't allowed to join the League of Nations

Question 32

what was the German reaction to the war guilt and reparations in the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 32

Germany felt that the blame should be shared as the war wasn't entirely caused by Germany. The cost of the reparations left the economy in a state of crisis, leaving Germany angry at the treaty

Question 33

what was the German reaction to the disarmament in the treaty of Vesailles?

Answer 33

the German army was a symbol of pride and to have an army of 100,000 was a very small army for a country of Germany's size. Germans thought that it was unfair that none of the Allies were disarmed to the extent that Germany was during the 1920s

Question 34

what was the German reaction to the loss of territories in the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 34

the loss of land caused a massive blow to both the German pride and economy as both Saar and upper Silesea were important industrial areas. as Germany lost and the British and French were increasing their empires by taking control of German and Turkish territories in Africa and the Middle East

Question 35

what was the German reaction to the Fourteen Points and the League of Nations?

Answer 35

to Germans, the treatment of Germany wasn't in keeping with Wilson's fourteen points - for example, self determination was given to countries such as Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and German speaking people were being divided by the terms forbidding Anschluss with Austria, or being hived off into new countries such as Czechoslovakia to be ruled by non-Germans. Germans were also not allowed to join the League of Nations

Question 36

when did the invasion of the Ruhr take place?

Answer 36

1923

Question 37

describe the invasion of the Ruhr

Answer 37

it took place when Germany claimed that it could not pay the second installment in the reparations, so French and Belgian troops began to take what was owed to them in raw goods.