Weimar Republic Flashcards
What problems were facing Germany after the war?
Defeated in war - soldiers exhausted
Shortages - starvation, no clothes, fuel
Spanish flu - over 400,000 died due to flu + starvation
What did the Social Democratic Party believe?
Moderate change
Suppress communism
By 1919 had 1 million members
Led by Friedrich Ebert
What did the Spartacists believe?
Opposed to war
Created German communism party in December 1918
Wanted to seize power through revolution
By 1919 had 5000 member
Led by Rosa Luxemburg
What were Eberts immediate challenges?
Threat from the Left (Sparticists Revolt 1919)
Threat from the Right (Kapp Putsch 1920)
Stab in the back myth (scapegoating minorities)
What is the threat of the Kapp Putsch?
Threatened the stability of the Weimar Republic due to resentment of the Treaty
Threat of the Freikorps (ex soldiers who blamed the government for leaving the army)
What happened at the Kapp Putsch?
March 1920
Freikorps marched into Berlin, declared a new national government
Army did not stop them
How did Ebert stop the Kapp Putsch?
Ebert told the workers of Berlin to go on a general strike
Berlin ground to a halt
Kapp Putsch collapses
What happened at the Sparticists Revolt 1919?
January 1919,
50,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in the centre of Berlin.
This demonstration was taken over by the Spartacist leadership.
Newspaper and communication buildings were seized and the demonstrators armed themselves.
Many protesters returned home frustrated at the lack of planning by the Spartacists.
How did Ebert stop the Sparticists Revolt?
The Government, employed the Freikorps to put down the rising.
The Freikorps were ex-army soldiers who hated the communists.
Over 100 workers were killed during what became known as ‘Bloody Week’.
What were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution?
All Germans had equal rights, including the right to vote
Proportional representation (proportion of seats as voted for )
Strong president kept control over government
Each state ruled by someone. Had some control over their own affairs
What were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution?
Extremists could vote Proportional representation (lots of small parties got MPs. No one party had majority, not a strong government was lots of disagreements) President had lots of power, could turn into dictatorship States could be hostile to government, try to overthrow it
Why did the Weimar Republic fail?
Threat from the Left (Sparticists Revolt 1919)
Threat from the Right (Kapp Putsch 1920)
Constitution
1923 crises
What were the Crises of 1923?
Occupation of the Ruhr
Inflation
Munich (beer hall) Putsch
Reparations
What was the Occupation of the Ruhr?
Germany did not keep up with reparation payments so French and Belgium troops occupied the Ruhr
Legal under Treaty of Versailles
Germans responded with passive resistance
This made Germany poorer
What was inflation?
German economy could not pay back costs of the Ruhr
So they printed more money
Value of money decreased, prices increased
Hyperinflation
German people blamed the Weimar government because they agreed to pay reparations under the Treaty
