Weimar Republic 1918-29 Flashcards
(17 cards)
Impact of the First World War
- 2 million German troops died and over 4 million wounded
- Government debt increased to 150 billion marks
- More than 750,000 Germans died because of food shortages
The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II
9th November 1918
- Kaiser visited army headquarters in Spa
- Ministers try to persuade the Kaiser to abdicate - refused
- Army officers refuse to support the Kaiser
- The Kaiser has no option but to abdicate
10th November - Kaiser fled to Holland
The declaration of the German republic
9th November 1918 - Philip Scheidemann of the Social Democratic Party declared the new Republic
10th November - Friedrich Ebert suspended the old Reichstag and formed the Council of People’s Representatives
The armistice - the peace agreement between Germany and the Allies
11th November 1918
- First major decision of Eberts new republic
Strengths and Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution
Established on the 31st July 1919
Strengths -
Proportional representation - small parties had a fair share of seats
Women and men could vote from 21 years
No one person or group could have too much power
Central government more powerful than before
The Reichsrat could regulate the power of the Reichstag
Weaknesses -
Proportional representation - unstable coalition governments
Lack of strong government led to weakness in crises
Article 48
Not a choice of the people so unpopular
The Treaty of Versailles
28th June 1919
- War guilt clause (Article 231)
- £6.6 billion in reparations
- Army limited to 100,000
- Navy limited to six battleships, six cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats and no submarines
- No military allowed in the Rhineland
- Germany lost 13% of its European territory
- Germany lost all 11 of its colonies
The Spartacist Uprising
January 1919
The Spartacists
- Left-wing
- Came from the Independent Socialist Party
- Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
In January 1919, the Spartacists took over the governments newspaper and telegraph bureau and tried to organise a general strike on Berlin
- Weimar Government sent on Freikorps units to stop the revolt
The Kapp Putsch
March 1920
The Freikorps
- Right-wing
- Made up of ex-soldiers who kept their weapons
- Had 250,000 men in March 1919
- Organised by regular army
March 1920 - Freikorps troops, fearing unemployment, marched on Berlin
Ebert asked the head of the army to resist but he refused
Wolfgang Kapp (a nationalist politician) was put in charge of the rebels and the Weimar government fled Berlin
The government organised the trade unions to go on strike
Kapp could not rule and was forced to flee
Hyperinflation
1923
Why:
1914-18 - Government printed money to pay for the First World War but didnt have more gold
1918-22 - Weimar Government printed more money for post war shortages
January 1923 - French troops invaded the Ruhr - German workers went on strike and the Weimar government printed more money to pay those workers
November 1923 - The German mark was worthless
Rentenmark
November 1923
- Stresemann set up the Rentenbank and issued the new currency called the Rentenmark
- Supply of these notes was tightly controlled, their value was tied to the price of Gold
- August 1924 - Reichsbank took control of the currency and renamed it the Reichsmark
The Dawes Plan
1924
In 1924, Charles Dawes, an American banker, designed a plan so Germany could repay its reparations
- Instalments were temporarily reduced to £50 million a year
- US banks agreed to make loans to German industry
Young Plan
August 1929
- The Young plan reduced the total reparations debt from £6.6 billion to £2 billion
- The payments could be made over a longer time, until 1988
- Lower reparations meant lower taxes for the German people
- Didn’t go ahead because of the wall street crash
Locarno Pact
1925
Agreement between Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium
- Germany agreed to its new border with France
- The allies and Germany agreed to permanently demilitarise the Rhineland
- Germanys membership for the League of Nations was up for discussion
League of Nations
1926
- Germany had previously been excluded but in 1926 they were invited to join and became a member of the council
Kellogg-Briand Pact
1928
This was an agreement between 62 nations and committed countries to avoid the use of war to acheive foreign policy objectives
- Showed that once again Germany was a major power
- Increased confidence in the Weimar republic
Changes for workers and women
Standard of living
- Working hours reduced
- Wages rose
- Working conditions improved
- Hyperinflation meant employment was unstable
- 15% rent tax was introduced to fund building associations
- Between 1925 and 1929, 101,000 homes were built (still a housing shortage)
- Workers wages reduced and insurance introduced
Women
- Some of gains in equality lost
- 75% worked in 1918 to 36% worked in 1925
- More independence and power gained meaning more focus on leisure
- Women could vote and stand for election
- Article 109 of the constitution stated equal rights
Cultural changes
Expressionism - in art and film
Bauhaus school - 1919
