Weimar Germany 1918-1933

Question 1

Governmental structure

Answer 1

• Weimar Constitution (August 1919)
• President: elected every 7 years, head of state, supreme commander of the armed forces, could dissolve Reichstag and appoint/dismiss chancellors, used Article 48 to bypass democracy
• Chancellor: head of government, required majority Reichstag support to pass laws
• Reichstag: elected every 4 years, elected via Proportional Representation- led to fragmented parliaments and frequent coalitions
• Reichsrat: represented Länder, had veto power over Reichstag legislation, this could be overridden
• universal suffrage

Question 2

Key politicians

Answer 2

• Ebert (SPD): first president, oversaw formation of Republic amidst left and right threats, used Freikorps against Spartacists
• Stresemann (DVP): chancellor in 1923, foreign minister 1923-29, key role in economic and diplomatic recovery
• Hindenburg: president from 1925, conservative, appointed Hitler chancellor in 1933

Question 3

Political parties

Answer 3

• SPD (social democrats): centre-left, pro-republic, working-class support
• KPD (communists): far-left, revolutionary, anti-democracy
• Centre Party (zentrum): Catholic party, centrist, supported democracy
• DDP: liberal, middle-class, pro-republic
• DNVP: nationalist, monarchist, anti-republic
• NSDAP (nazis): minor fringe party until late 1920s

Question 4

examples of opposition

Answer 4

• Spartacist Uprising (January 1919): led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, crused by the Freikorps
• Kapp Putsch (March 1920): right-wing coup, failed due to general strike
• Beer Hall Putsch (November 1923): Hitler’s failed coup, Hitler imprisoned

Question 5

control mechanisms

Answer 5

• use of Article 48, often increased during political instability- Burning frequently used Article 48 when he couldn’t gain necessary support from Reichstag, Ebert used Article 48 136 times
• judiciary more lenient towards right-wing offenders (army less prepared to crush right, Ebert-Groener Pact)
• Freikorps used to crush leftist revolts

Question 6

evidence of consent

Answer 6

• 1924-29: period of relative stability (Stresemann)
• 1928 election: large voter turnout, SPD remained largest party
• foreign policy: Locarno Pact (1925), League of Nations entry (1926)

Question 7

challenges to the economy

Answer 7

• Treaty of Versailles (1919): £6.6 billion reparations, loss of 13% of land, 10% of population, 48% of iron production
• hyperinflation (1923): triggered by the Ruhr occupation and passive resistance
• Great Depression (1929): triggered by Wall Street Crash

Question 8

economic recovery policies

Answer 8

• Rentenmark (1923): currency stabilisation under Stresemann
• Dawes Plan (1924): US loans, reduced annual reparation payments
• Young Plan (1929): reduced total reparations by 75%, extended timeline to 1988

Question 9

Great Depression (1929-1933)

Answer 9

• US loans recalled after Wall Street Crash
• unemployment soared: over 6 million by early 1933
• welfare system was overwhelmed, support for extremist parties surged

Question 10

aspects of life- women

Answer 10

• 1919: women were given the vote, 112 women elected to Reichstag between 1919-1932
• employment in urban sectors increased (clerical, service), women made up 33% of workforce by 1925
• “New Woman” image: independent, working, fashion-conscious
• traditionalists (especially right-wing parties opposed social changes

Question 11

cultural developments

Answer 11

• known as the “Golden Age” (1924-29)
• cinema: films like “Metropolis” showcased technological advancements and social commentary
• art and architecture: Bauhaus movement revolutionised design: artists such as Otto Dix depicted societal issues
• literature: works such as “All Quiet on the Western Front” highlighted the horrors of war
• music: jazz, previously associated with Black American culture became a symbol of rebellion and modernity

Question 12

education

Answer 12

• secular, standardised curriculum introduced by Reich School Law in 1920
• compulsory primary education for 4 years, followed by optional higher paths
• types of schools: Volksschule (elementary schools, aged 6-10), Gymnasium (traditional route for middle/upper-class students), Realschule (focused on practical and technical skills)
• Universities: strong in science, philosophy and literature, dominated by men, fewer than 10% of students were female

Question 13

attitudes towards ethnic and social minorities

Answer 13

• Jewish community: approx. 500,000 Jews in Germany (0.9% of population), heavily urbanised and middle class; played significant roles in banking, publishing, film, academia, faced anti-semitism and blamed for “stab-in-the-back” myth
• Roma and Sinti: marginalised, often unemployed or in itinerant roles, subject to police monitoring, not formally protected under the consitution
• Black Germans: small community, especially from African colonies/ French-occupied Rhineland, victims of racism and pseudo-scientific eugenics theories, some forcibly sterilised under local state eugenics programmes in the late 1920s
• Homosexuals: legally persecuted under Paragraph 175 but: tolerance increased in major cities, Berlin had over 50 known gay clubs by 1930
• disabled people: Weimar saw early progressive policies (vocational training, benefits), but also a rise of eugenics movements