weimar germany Flashcards
(238 cards)
1
Q
what was Germany’s war debt after ww1?
A
150 BILLION MARKS
2
Q
what percentage of German troops were casualties in ww1?
A
55%
3
Q
how many German civilians died in ww1?
A
750,000
4
Q
what did Kaiser Wilhelm II do after WW1?
A
abdicated as he was forced to by the people
5
Q
what happened in Stuttgart after WW1 in 1918 that helped the Kaiser abdicate?
A
workers went on strike, soldiers refused to control rioting people in the street
6
Q
what happened to Hamburg after WW1 in 1918 which helped the Kaiser abdicate?
A
October 1918, some German navy crews mutinied (rebelled)
7
Q
what happened to Munich after WW1 in 1918 that helped the Kaiser abdicate?
A
November 1918, workers declared a general strike, and declared Munich should be separate from Germany
8
Q
when did the Kaiser abdicate?
A
November 1918 after the end of WW1
9
Q
what else made the Kaiser realise he should abdicate on November 9th?
A
he lost the support of his army and army leadership
10
Q
on the same day what was Germany declared?
A
a republic run by a government
11
Q
who was the man that declared Germany a republic from the window of the Reichstag?
A
Philipp Scheidmann
12
Q
what party was he part of?
A
Social Democratic Party (SDP)
13
Q
why did he do it the same day as the Kaisers abdication?
A
to ward off communist rebellion
14
Q
the leader of the SDP, Fredrick Ebert, set up what temporary measure to control the country?
A
the Council of People’s Representatives
15
Q
why did he set it up?
A
to protect the country from a communist revolution until a constitution could be set up
16
Q
how long was it in control of the country/
A
9 months
17
Q
why did it end in July 1919?
A
a new constitution was established for the country
18
Q
what was this new country called?
A
The Weimar Republic
19
Q
Ebert did several things to increase the peoples confidence in the Weimar Republic, what did he do to the Kaiser’s civil servants?
A
he kept them in place
19
Q
who became the Weimar Republics first president?
A
Fredrich Ebert
20
Q
why did he do this?
A
to ensure the country keeps running, such as taxation collection
21
Q
what did Ebert do with the army? why did he do this?
A
he kept them in their place and promised army officers would keep their positions to maintain support from the army
22
Q
what happened to the trade unions (workers’ support groups)?
A
Ebert won their support
23
Q
what was the name of the main trade union leader Ebert got support from?
A
Carl Legien
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what did Ebert tell the trade unions he would aim for them?
an 8 hour working week for workers
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why was it so important for Ebert to gain support from the trade unions?
to ensure workers work well and don't go on strike
26
who was the head of the state of the Weimar Republic
President (Fredrick) Ebert
27
who was the head of the government?
the Chancellor
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what was the role of the Reichsrat?
the Reichsrat 'house' represented the regions of Germany
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what was the role of the Reichstag?
the Reichstag 'house' controlled taxation and was elected by the people every 4 years
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which was more powerful?
Reichstag
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what was Article 48?
powers given to the president in times of emergency
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what type of voting system did the Weimar Republic have?
Proportional representation
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what were the advantages of Proportional representation?
it was very democratic and fair
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what did this mean?
each party gets the same percentage of seats in the Reichstag as the votes in the election. if a party gets 40% of votes, they get 40% of seats
33
what were the disadvantages of Proportional representation?
a party was very unlikely to get 50% of the seats, this meant no laws could be passed without parties joining together to form 'coalitions'
34
what were the other strengths of the Weimar Republic government?
there are lots of checks and balances of power stopping one man or group taking too much power.
35
what was the problems with coalitions?
coalitions would disagree and also would have to compromise and didn't deliver on their promises in elections
36
what economic terms were in the treaty of Versailles?
Germany had to accept 6.6bn in war reparations, the output of the Saar coalfields was to go to France
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what were the other weaknesses of the Weimar style government?
proportional representation allows extreme parties such as the communists and Nazis to have representation in the Reichstag resulting in unrest and extremism
38
what was the treaty of Versailles?
the treaty that was forced on Germany by Britain France and the USA after WW1 in 1919
39
what territorial terms were in the treaty of Versailles?
Alcase-Lorraine to go to France, land given to Poland to give sea access called 'Polish corridor', land in africa given to Britain, Rhineland to be demilitarised
40
what military terms were in the treaty of versailles?
army reduced to 100,000 men, navy reduced to 6 battleships and no aircraft or submarines
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what is meant by diktat?
something that is imposed, not agreed, like the treaty of Versailles
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what were the men who signed the treaty called by opposition to the treaty?
the November criminals
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what did the opposition to the treaty say those men did to the soldiers who fought in WW1?
stabbed them in the back
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what was Germanys economic situation even before the treaty was signed?
Germany was already 150bn marks in debt after WW1
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What was the threat from the far left to the republic?
The communists
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how did the people of Germany show their anger at the treaty of Versailles?
there was a mass protest at the Reichstag on the 15th of May 1919
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who were the Spartacists?
communists
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What people filled the numbers of the Frierkorps?
mainly WW1 soldiers
48
what was the threat from the far right to the Weimar Republic?
the Frierkorps
49
who lead the rebellion?
a communist called Rosa Luxembuirg
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what started it?
a popular left wing police chief was sacked
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what was the Spartacisits rebellion?
remove the Weimar republic and replace it with a communist government
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how many rebels were there and what did they do?
100,000 people took to the streets and took over important telegraph and newspaper offices
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why was this rebellion so threatening to Ebert and the republic?
there was no army to deal with the strikers as they took over the city
53
did the plan work?
yes the spartacists were destroyed and Rosa Luxemburg was killed in a canal
53
what did Ebert do to stop the rebellion?
he organised a 250,000 far right frierkorps to come in and wipe out the spartacists
54
the Friercorps were now in control of Berlin, did they go home after the rebellion?
NO, they stayed in Berlin with their weapons
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what did the Frierkorps then do?
they staged their own rebellion against the Weimar Republic called the 'Kapp Putsch'
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how many rebels marched against Berlin?
5000
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why was it called the kapp pusch?
it was led by the Wolfgang Kapp
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what did the rebels want?
the return of the Kaiser
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how did President Ebert respond to the Kapp Pusch?
he called on the workers of Berlin who didn't want the Kaiser to return to go on strike and stop the country running properly
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did the plan work?
yes, Wolfgang Kapp gave up trying to run the country, he was eventually arrested and gave up trying to run the country
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another major challenge was assassinations, who was murdered in 1918?
**MATTIAS ERZBURGER **the politician who signed the surrender to the allys in WW1
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who was murdered in 1919?
Hugo Haasse- one of Erbert's council of peoples representatives was murdered
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how did these rebellions and assassinations make the younger Weimar Republic appear?
the Weimar republic was seen as weak
63
why did the french invade the Ruhr in 1923?
because the Germans fell back on their reparations payments to the french, the Rhur was an industrial area and the French planned to take what was owed in raw materials
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How did the Germans respond to the invasion?
they ordered the workers to go on strike and not work, this was called passive resistance
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the Germans suffered from not producing raw materials in the Ruhr, how did they suffer?
this destruction increased Germany's debts, increased unemployment and worsened the shortage of goods
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how did the French respond?
the French simply brought their own workers in and took the raw materials, this caused further economic problems for Germany
67
how did the government decide to solve this economic problem?
print more money
68
what did this cause?
hyperinflation
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what happened to day to day living?
it became impossible as no one had cash to buy things and prices were rising daily
70
how much was a loaf of bread in 1923?
200,000 million marks
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what happened to peoples savings?
they disappeared overnight
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what happened to peoples jobs due to this?
lost them
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what happened to foreign trade as a consequence of hyperinflation?
it stopped, countries didn't want to trade with Germany's destroyed currency / economy
74
what social class suffered the most due to hyperinflation?
the middle class
75
who became the new chancellor in 1923, promising to solve the problems of hyperinflation?
Gustav Stressemann
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why was this the case?
all their money was in banks where it disappeared
76
what was the name of the new currency introduced by stressemann, why was it so valuable?
Rentenmark, it was tied to gold reserves, and was now trusted home and abroad
77
Stressemann signed the Dawes plan, what was introduced by it in 1924?
reperations were temporarily reduced to 50,000,000 per year, American banks were willing to loan to German industry.
78
what effect did the Dawes plan have on the economy?
industrial output doubled between 1923-1928, unemployment decreased, trade and income increased
79
why did the Nazis dislike the Dawes and young plans?
the Nazis thought they were punishing the German youth as they would have to pay it back in future
80
Stressemann signed the young plan, what was included in it in 1929?
reduced reparations from 6.6bn to 2bn, given a further 59 years to pay it
81
what did the young plan allow the Government to do?
reduce taxes to stimulate the economy
82
stressmann signed the locarno treaties, what was decided at these treaties (1925)?
Germany was allowed entry into the league of nations
83
why was the kelogg-briand pact significant for Germany?
Germany was not included in international decisions, this was the case in 1919 when the versailles treaty was signed
83
Stressemann signed the kellogg-briand pact, what was the terms of this treaty?
Germany and 61 other countries signed it, this pact promised states wouldnt use war to achieve foreign policy aims
84
as a consequence of Stressemanns changes, what happened to unemployment between 1924-1928
unemployment wend down from 2 million to 1.3 million
85
during the Weimar republic what happened to the political rights of women?
women gained the vote
86
how many new homes were built under stressemann?
64,000 new homes
87
what happened to the standard working hours after stressemann?
reduced from 50 hours to 46 per week
88
what percentage of women turned up to vote in the first Weimar elections?
90%
89
what was different about how women conducted themselves at leisure, and socially?
they wore short hair, more makeup, more jewellery, more revealing clothes, they smoked and drank more and went out unaccompanied
90
were there improvements in the rights of women in the workplace during the Weimar republic?
no, very little
91
during the Weimar republic, how much less were women paid than men
33%
92
in high status jobs such as judges very few women may progress, how many women made it into becoming judges in the whole of Germany in 1933
36
93
when were women expected to give up work for good?
when they get married
94
which artist was particularly well known for expressionist art?
Otto Dix
95
what type of new art became popular during the Weimar republic?
modern expressionist art
96
what were the cultural changes to architecture?
there was a change to build futuristic city skyscraper towers
97
what was the best example of this type of building in Berlin?
Einstein tower
98
what was the name of the architect who built all types of these futuristic buildings all over Berlin
Erich Mendelsohn
99
what were the cultural changes to cinema?
there was a boom in German cinema
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where did the opposition to cultural change come from?
the Nazis, they believed it was an attack on traditional Germany
103
what was the original name of the Nazi party?
the German Workers Party (DAP)
104
who changed it to its famous Nazi or NZDAP?
Adolph Hitler
105
how long did it take Hitler to take over the party after joining?
2 years
106
when Hitler took over, he changed the parties main policies, what were these?
anti-Jewish, anti-treaty of Versailles, anti-democracy, pro-territory expansionist
107
in the early days of the Nazi party, why did Hitler have appeal?
Hitler was a very good speaker and his speeches were very emotive
108
due to Hitler's personal appeal, the membership of the Nazi party massively grew. How much did the nazi party membership increase between June 1920- December 1920?
1000 to 3000
108
how many early Nazi events was Hitler a the star speaker between Nov 1919 and Nov 1920?
31-46
109
Hitler also set up the SA in August 1921, what were they?
they were stormtrooper, mainly consisting of ex-soldiers, who acted as bodyguards and thugs for the Nazis
110
who lead the SA?
Ernest Rohm, a former army officer and friend of Hitler
110
what did the SA often have to do?
disrupt the opposition (like communist) meetings
111
what mas the Munich Putsch, in 1923?
an armed rebellion by Hitler and the Nazis to take over the Munich government by force and then go into Berlin to take over the country
112
what was the long term cause for the Munich Putsch?
the Treaty of Versailles, its effects on soldiers who felt 'stabbed in the back'
113
where did the Munich Putsch begin?
a beer hall
113
what was the short term cause for the Munich Putsch?
the Weimar governments inability to deal with the hyperinflation crisis in 1923
113
Hitler and Ludendorff found 3 important men in the beer hall. who was the head of the police in the area who was one of the three men?
von Sisser
114
what was the medium term cause for the Munich Putsch?
from 1921 to 1922, Hitler was heavily influenced by a right-wing party in Italy, called the Fascists, lead by Mussolini. Hitler wanted to emulate him.
115
who was the famous military general who fully supported Hitler in his rebellion?
General Ludendorff
116
who was the head of the German army in the area?
Von Lossow
117
who else did not support the rebellion by Hitler?
the townspeople and regular army
117
did Seisser, Lossow and Khar keep their promise?
no, they decided to fight against Hitler once they were free
117
who was the head of the state government?
Von Kahr
118
what did Hitler and ludendorff make Seisser, Lossow and Khar promise?
their support
119
how many SA soldiers did Hitler have under his control during the rebellion?
2000
120
was that enough?
no, they were totally overwhelmed by the regular police and army
121
the Munich Putsch failed. How could the planning be described?
it was poorly planned
122
how much time did he serve?
9 months
123
how many died? who were they?
20 (16 marchers and 4 police)
124
what punishment did Hitler receive?
5 year prison sentence
125
why was the judge so lenient?
the judge agreed with him
126
what did Hitler do during his jail time?
Hitler wrote Mein kampf
127
in his book, what did Hitler say about Jews?
there was a ' jewish conspiracy' to turn the world communist and destroy germany
128
also in his book, Hitler said he wanted 4 things for Germany, what were they?
nationalism, traditionalism, socialism, and totalitarianism (dictatorship)
129
after prison, Hitler rebuilt the Nazi party, how did he restructure it?
the party was organised like a mini state run by him to give him power over the aspects of the party
129
in 1926, what party conference did the Nazis hold?
the Bamberg Conference
130
what did the Nazis discuss at this conference?
whether the Nazis should focus more on socialism or nationalism
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which of the two ideas became the focus of the Nazi party after the Bamberg conference?
Nationalism
132
what did Hitler do with the SA when rebuilding the party?
Hitler had expanded the SA to over 400,000 members
133
who did he get money from specifically?
big businessmen Krupp and Bosch
133
how did Hitler raise money for the Nazi party during this era?
from rich industrialists
134
why did these people give Hitler money?
Hitler's tough stance on communists
134
how did Hitler spread his message during these years?
tough propaganda e.g. posters, speeches
134
what method did Hitler think the Nazis should now get power with?
through democratic votes rather than rebellion
134
what does it mean by the 'lean years' of the Nazi party?
the period between1924 and 1929 when the Nazis had little support from the people
135
who was in charge during this period?
Gustav Stresemann
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