Weimar Republic (1919-1933)

Question 1

What were the key terms of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 1

Blame; Army (100,000 men / 6 ships / no airforce); Reparations (£6.6billion); Territory (13% land taken away). (LAMB)

Question 2

Why were the German people so angered by the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 2

They felt it was too harsh

Question 3

What is the ‘stab in the back’ theory?

Answer 3

The belief that the army could have won the war and the politicians who signed the treaty had ‘stabbed the army in the back’.

Question 4

What caused the Weimar Constitution to be created?

Answer 4

• Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated in 1918

Question 5

Who was the head of the constitution?

Answer 5

• President: had no power in day to day running of the country, was elected every 7 years by the people, chose the Chancellor, could use Article 48.

Question 6

Describe the Chancellor

Answer 6

Head of the Government, chose the Gov. ministers in the Cabinet.

Question 7

Describe the Reichstag

Answer 7

• Elected every 4 years, controlled taxation, voted on key laws

Question 8

Reichstrat

Answer 8

• Elected every 4 years
• Represented regions
• Bigger regions = more deputies (like MPs)

Question 9

Describe the electorate

Answer 9

• All men and women over 21 had the vote.
• elected the Reichstag, Reichsrat and President.

Question 10

Describe the strengths of Weimar Constitution (4)

Answer 10

• Germany is a democracy
• Voting age has been reduced (25 -> 21)
• Reichstag has proportional representation, even small parties are represented.
• There are checks and balances on who holds the power eg. President choses Chancellor.

Question 11

Describe the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution (3)

Answer 11

• Proportional representation leads Coalition Government. Parties had to team up to pass laws. This lead to compromises, disagreements and slow decisions.
• Lack of decisive action, leads to weaknesses in responding to the crisis. This means chancellors rely increasingly heavily on Article 48. This made the constitution look weak.
• The spread of parties from one extreme to the other led to many conflicting views.

Question 12

What is proportional representation?

Answer 12

The total number of votes shows how many seats that party will get in government. 60,000 votes = one seat.

Question 13

How did the Spartacist Uprising threaten the Republic?

Answer 13

It was a left-wing or Communist challenge to the new government.

Question 14

Why was the Kapp Putsch not a success?

Answer 14

The right-wing challenge did not have the support of the public and were defeated by a general strike.

Question 15

How did Hitler become involved in and then become leader of the Nazi Party?

Answer 15

He was sent to spy on the party by the army but liked their ideas so joined and took over.

Question 16

What was the 25 Point Programme?

Answer 16

It outlined the beliefs and promises of the Nazi Party.

Question 17

Why did the French occupy the Ruhr in 1923?

Answer 17

To try and reclaim the money Germany owed in unpaid reparations.

Question 18

How did the Invasion of the Ruhr lead to hyperinflation?

Answer 18

The government told the people to go on strike but kept paying them. They printed more money. Money then became worthless, people lost all their savings.

Question 19

Why did Hitler carry out the Munich Putsch?

Answer 19

It was an attempt to seize power in the belief that there was lots of public support for the Nazis.

Question 20

How did Hitler benefit from the Putsch?

Answer 20

The trial gave him a platform to speak and he wrote Mein Kampf in prison. He also realised he must gain power by legal means.

Question 21

Explain the role of Gustav Stresemann in bringing about German economic recovery.

Answer 21

He stabilised the economy by introducing the Rentenmark and then the Reichmark. He helped gain loans from America through the Dawes and Young Plan.

Question 22

How did Gustav Stresemann help improve foreign relations?

Answer 22

Germany was involved in signing the Locarno Pact which led to them being allowed to join the League of Nations. They also signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact showing Germany was respected and stable.

Question 23

Why was there limited support for the Nazi Party between 1924-28?

Answer 23

Germany was relatively stable so people were less desperate. Hitler was in jail/re-planning so the party were not so active.

Question 24

How did the Wall Street Crash increase support for Hitler?

Answer 24

People became desperate so looked for extreme solutions to the problems. They lost trust in the Weimar Government. Hitler was promising jobs and to destroy the Treaty of Versailles.

Question 25

How did Hitler become Chancellor of Germany?

Answer 25

Von Papen made a deal with Hindenburg in the belief that they could control Hitler.

Question 26

Why was the Reichstag Fire an important event in the rise of the Nazi Party?

Answer 26

The event gave Hitler the excuse to initiate Article 48 and ban the Communist Party.

Question 27

How did the Enabling Law help Hitler secure power?

Answer 27

The Enabling Law meant he could make laws without support of the Reichstag.

Question 28

Why did Hitler initiate the Night of the Long Knives in 1934?

Answer 28

Hitler needed the support of the army and to remove the threat of the SA.

Question 29

What key event helped Hitler turn his rule into a dictatorship?

Answer 29

The death of President Hindenburg.

Question 30

How did the Nazis control the people of Germany?

Answer 30

Through Propaganda and Fear.

Question 31

Explain the use of Indoctrination (propaganda) and the role of Goebbels.

Answer 31

Nazis took control of all media – cinema, art, music, theatre, newspapers so they only printed the Nazi message. Radios were produced cheaply which meant the message could go into every home/workplace. Mass rallies were held which encouraged participation.

Question 32

Explain the use of Fear (terror) and the role of Himmler.

Answer 32

People were frightened they would be reported to the gestapo, people were sent o concentration camps, the legal system was under Nazi control.

Question 33

Why did the Nazis not destroy the churches?

Answer 33

The Nazis did a deal with the Pope to leave the Catholic Church alone. This was called the Concordat.

Question 34

How did Neimoller oppose the Nazis?

Answer 34

He spoke out against Nazi policies and set up the Confessing Church.

Question 35

How successful were the groups who opposed the Nazi regime? (Edelweiss Pirates, Swing Youth)

Answer 35

They resisted joining the Hitler Youth but were not a real challenge to the regime, although some were dealt with very harshly.

Question 36

How were minorities treated under Nazi rule?

Answer 36

Minorities were isolated and removed from society. They were persecuted and put in concentration camps.

Question 37

What impact did the Nuremberg Laws have on Jewish people?

Answer 37

They removed citizenship which meant they were not Germans and were not given the rights German people had.

Question 38

What was ‘Kristallnacht’?

Answer 38

The escalation of violence against the Jewish people where shops, homes and synagogues were destroyed.

Question 39

How did treatment of the Jews change between 1933 and 1938?

Answer 39

Many restrictions were put on their lives and treatment worsened becoming more violent.

Question 40

How did Nazi policies impact on the lives of Women in Germany?

Answer 40

Women were not allowed to hold professional jobs. They were encouraged to marry with loans and praised for being mothers. Slogan Children, Kitchen, Church. The freedoms of Weimar were removed.

Question 41

What was the purpose of school and education?

Answer 41

To train the next generation to be Nazis and prepare them for their future roles – boys in the army, girls as mothers.

Question 42

How did the Hitler Youth groups (HJ and DBM) help with the plan for a 1000 Year Reich?

Answer 42

Organised youth groups which supported the education of children in Nazi ideas and behaviours.

Question 43

What were the aims of the Nazi economic policies?

Answer 43

To reduce unemployment, stabilse the German economy, make them self sufficient

Question 44

How was unemployment reduced?

Answer 44

Public work schemes were set up which built roads, hospitals and other large buildings. All men 18-25 had to serve in the Labour Service (RAD). Rearmament schemes increased jobs and men in the army.

Question 45

Who were the invisible unemployed?

Answer 45

People who were not counted in the unemployment statistics – women, Jews, minorities. Men in the RAD did not count as unemployed.