The Weimar Republic

When was The Spartacist Uprising?

January 1919

The Spartacist Uprising: Leaders (2)

Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

They were both communists

The Spartacist Uprising: Events

50,000 spartacists took over the government’s newspaper and telegraph buildings in Berlin

The Spartacist Uprising: How it was dealt with (3)

Weimar Government used the Freikorp

These were former soliders who refused to put down their weapons

They crushed the revolt and killed Liebknecht and Luxemburg

When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

June 1919

The Treaty of Versailles: War Guilt

Article 231 → Germany had to accept full blame for starting the war

The Treaty of Versailles: Reparations

£6.6 billion to be paid to the allies over the following years

The Treaty of Versailles: Territorial losses (4)

Lost 13% of their land

Alsace-Lorraine lost to France

11 colonies lost in Africa

Polish corridor lost to Poland

The Treaty of Versailles: Army restrictions (4)

Army limited to 100,000 troops

Navy limited to 6 battleships

No airforce allowed

No soldiers allowed in the Rhineland

When was the Kapp Putsch?

March 1920

The Kapp Putsch: Leader

Wolfgang Kapp, a right wing nationalist

The Kapp Putsch: Events (2)

Freikorp didn’t want to put down their weapons, so they decided to march on Berlin

The army refused to help the Weimar government

The Kapp Putsch: How it was dealt with (2)

The Government ordered a general strike, so most workers stopped working

Kapp was forced to flee

When was the Hyperinflation Crisis?

1923

Hyperinflation Crisis: Causes (4)

Germany missed a reparations payment in November 1922, so the French invaded the Ruhr

This was an area with lots of German factories, coal mines and railways

German workers refused to work and went on strike

The government printed money to pay these workers

Hyperinflation Crisis: Hyperinflation

Prices went up rapidly and the value of money quickly became worthless

Hyperinflation Crisis: Impact (3)

Many businesses went bankrupt

People lost faith in the Weimar government

The Nazis tried to take over (Munich Putsch)

How Streseman helped the economy: Rentenmark (2)

New currency tied to the value of gold

Controlled by the Reichsbank in 1924

How Streseman helped the economy: Dawes Plan (3)

1924

Reparations reduced to £50 million per year

US banks loaned 800 million marks to Germany

How Streseman helped the economy: Young Plan (4)

1929

Reparations reduced from £6.6 billion to £2 billion

Spread the cost of payments to 1988

Impact → Government could afford to tax people far less

Locarno Pact (3)

1925

Germany agreed its new borders with France and Belgium

Improved relations

League of Nations (3)

1926

Germany was invited to join in 1926

Germany’s views were now counted and people felt confident

Kellogg-Briand Pact (3)

1928

Agreement between 62 countries to solve problems peacefully

Showed Germany was once again a major power that was respected

The Golden Years: Standard of Living (4)

Wages went up by 25%

Working hours went down from 50h to 46h

100,000 new homes built

Women became more independent and free

The Golden Years: Art (2)

New Objectivity

Raw emotions showing the terrible effects of war, popularised by Otto Dix

The Golden Years: Cinema (2)

Became very popular with new genres such as Sci-Fi and Horror

Metropolis (1927) became a hit

The Golden Years: Architecture (2)

Bauhaus

A modern, practical style of buildings that was a change from traditional designs