Edexcel International GCSE History: Germany 1918-45 Flashcards

700 vocabulary flashcards covering the establishment of the Weimar Republic, Stresemann era, rise of Hitler, Nazi dictatorship, domestic policies, and WWII home front.

German Revolution (1918–19)

The period of political and social unrest in Germany following the First World War that led to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II and the creation of a republic.

Republic

A state or country governed by elected representatives and an elected leader or president, rather than a monarch.

Weimar Republic

The democratic government system established in Germany in 1919 following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, named after the town where its constitutional assembly met.

Kiel Mutiny

The late October 1918 revolt by German naval sailors in Kiel who refused to obey orders from commanders to engage British naval forces in a final battle.

Workers' and Soldiers' Councils

Local administrative bodies set up by striking workers and mutinying soldiers across German cities in late 1918 to replace the authority of the Kaiser's officials.

Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II

The official act on 9 November 1918 where Kaiser Wilhelm II gave up the imperial German throne before fleeing into exile in Holland.

Friedrich Ebert

The leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who became head of the temporary Council of People's Representatives in November 1918 and the first President of the Weimar Republic.

Council of People's Representatives

The temporary government body formed on 10 November 1918 under Friedrich Ebert to govern Germany until a permanent constitution was created.

Armistice

An agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting; specifically signed by Germany and the Allies on 11 November 1918 to end the First World War.

Matthias Erzberger

The German politician and representative who signed the armistice ending the First World War on 11 November 1918 and was later assassinated on 26 August 1921 by Organisation Consul.

Stab in the Back (Dolchstoßlegende)

The myth believed by many Germans that the German army was not defeated on the battlefields of WWI, but was betrayed from within by socialist and democratic politicians.

November Criminals

The derogatory label given by German nationalists to the Weimar politicians who signed the armistice in November 1918 and accepted the Treaty of Versailles.

Organisation Consul

An ultra-nationalist right-wing group responsible for political assassinations in the early Weimar Republic, including the murder of Matthias Erzberger in 1921.

National Assembly Election (19 January 1919)

The first election held for the new Weimar parliament in which 82% of the electorate voted and moderate democratic parties secured a majority.

Social Democratic Party (SPD)

The moderate left-wing political party in Germany led by Friedrich Ebert that won 40% of the seats in the January 1919 National Assembly elections.

Weimar Constitution

The set of fundamental laws approved by the National Assembly on 31 July 1919 establishing a federal, democratic parliamentary republic in Germany.

Parliamentary Democracy

A system of government in which citizens elect representatives to a parliament to pass laws and govern the nation.

Reichstag

The main national elected parliament of Germany under the Weimar Constitution and the Nazi regime.

Chancellor

The head of government in the Weimar Republic, appointed by the President, who needed the support of a majority in the Reichstag to pass laws.

President of the Weimar Republic

The head of state in Germany, elected directly by the public every 7 years, holding supreme executive powers and emergency authority under Article 48.

Article 48

The emergency clause in the Weimar Constitution that allowed the President to issue decrees and pass laws without the prior approval of the Reichstag in a crisis.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system used in Weimar Germany where political parties were allocated seats in parliament in direct proportion to the percentage of total votes received.

Coalition Government

A government formed when multiple political parties join together to achieve a combined majority in parliament.

German Federation (Länder)

The political organization of the Weimar Republic consisting of 18 individual states, each with its own parliament, police force, and local laws.

Checks and Balances

Constitutional provisions designed to ensure that no single person or institution in government could hold absolute power.

Communist Party (KPD)

The extreme left-wing German political party that sought a worker-led communist revolution inspired by the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Independent Socialists (USPD)

A left-wing political party in Weimar Germany that broke away from the main SPD due to disagreements over war policies and radical reforms.

Democratic Party (DDP)

A moderate, middle-class liberal political party that supported the establishment of the Weimar Constitution.

Centre Party (ZP)

A moderate catholic political party that supported democracy and frequently participated in coalition governments during the Weimar era.

People's Party (DVP)

A moderate right-wing liberal political party supported by industrialists, led by Gustav Stresemann during the 1920s.

National Party (DNVP)

An extreme right-wing, nationalist party in Weimar Germany that rejected democracy, favoured capitalism, and sought the return of the Kaiser.

Philipp Scheidemann

The SPD politician who proclaimed the German Republic from the Reichstag building on 9 November 1918 and served as Weimar Chancellor for 127 days in 1919.

Gustav Bauer

The Weimar Chancellor who served for 279 days from June 1919 to March 1920 following Scheidemann's resignation over the Treaty of Versailles.

Hermann Müller

The SPD Chancellor who served for 86 days in 1920 and later led the Great Coalition government until his resignation in March 1930.

Konstantin Fehrenbach

The Centre Party politician who served as Weimar Chancellor for 313 days between June 1920 and May 1921.

Joseph Wirth

The Centre Party Chancellor who served for 1 year and 188 days across two cabinets between May 1921 and November 1922.

Wilhelm Cuno

The independent politician who served as Weimar Chancellor for 1 year and 202 days from November 1922 until August 1923 during the Ruhr crisis.

Paris Peace Conference

The 1919 gathering of victorious Allied powers in France to negotiate peace settlements following the First World War.

Woodrow Wilson

The US President who proposed the Fourteen Points in January 1918 as a basis for a fair, lasting international peace settlement.

Fourteen Points

A principles outline published by US President Woodrow Wilson in January 1918 aiming for fair peace, open diplomacy, and self-determination.

Georges Clemenceau

The Prime Minister of France during WWI who insisted on a harsh peace treaty to crush German military capability and exact financial compensation.

David Lloyd George

The British Prime Minister who campaigned on promises to punish Germany after WWI while seeking to preserve future trade and stability in Europe.

Treaty of Versailles

The peace settlement forced upon Germany by Allied powers, signed in the Hall of Mirrors on 28 June 1919.

Diktat

The German term for an imposed peace settlement, highlighting that Germany was not allowed to attend or participate in treaty negotiations.

Alsace and Lorraine

The border territories seized by Germany in 1871 that were returned to France under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

Eupen and Malmedy

German border districts ceded to Belgium under the territorial adjustments of the Treaty of Versailles.

Posen and West Prussia

German eastern territories ceded to Poland under the Treaty of Versailles, creating the 'Polish Corridor' and dividing East Prussia from Germany.

Polish Corridor

A strip of former German land given to Poland to grant it access to the Baltic Sea, physically separating East Prussia from the rest of Germany.

Upper Silesia

An industrial and mineral-rich region on the German-Polish border where a plebiscite was held, leading to its partition and loss of territory to Poland.

Northern Schleswig

A territory in northern Germany that voted in a referendum (plebiscite) to become part of Denmark following WWI.

Danzig

A major Baltic port city separated from Germany under the Treaty of Versailles and governed internationally under League of Nations authority.

German Mandates

All 11 overseas German colonies in Africa and the Far East that were confiscated and placed under the administration of victorious Allied nations.

Article 231 (War Guilt Clause)

The provision in the Treaty of Versailles forcing Germany to accept sole moral blame and responsibility for causing all loss and damage in WWI.

Reparations

Financial compensation payments fixed at 136,000 million marks (£6,600 million) imposed on Germany by the Allies in 1921 to pay for WWI damage.

Demilitarisation of the Rhineland

The clause in the Treaty of Versailles forbidding Germany from stationing troops or constructing military installations within 50 km of the River Rhine.

100,000 Men Limit

The restriction placed on the size of the German standing army by the Treaty of Versailles, intended solely for internal security.

Naval Restrictions (Versailles)

Limits imposed on Germany's navy restricting it to 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers, and 12 torpedo boats, while banning submarines.

Military Bans (Versailles)

Prohibitions forbidding Germany from maintaining an air force, manufacturing or possessing tanks, and operating submarines.

Russian Revolution (1917)

The communist overthrow of the Russian monarchy and government that inspired extreme left-wing revolutionary movements in post-war Germany.

Spartacus League (Spartakusbund)

The radical group of German communists who broke away from the socialists to organize violent revolutionary activity in post-war Berlin.

Rosa Luxemburg ('Red Rosa')

The prominent revolutionary socialist, writer, public speaker, and co-leader of the Spartacus League who was murdered during the January 1919 revolt.

Karl Liebknecht

The radical German communist politician who co-led the Spartacist Uprising in January 1919 alongside Rosa Luxemburg and was executed by Freikorps units.

Spartacist Uprising (January 1919)

The failed left-wing armed revolt in Berlin where communists seized newspaper offices and declared a general strike in an effort to overthrow Ebert.

Freikorps (Free Corps)

Paramilitary units composed of an estimated 250,000 demobilized WWI ex-soldiers who retained weapons to fight communist uprisings for the government.

Kapp Putsch (March 1920)

An attempted right-wing military coup in Berlin led by Wolfgang Kapp and Freikorps units attempting to overthrow the democratic Weimar government.

Dr Wolfgang Kapp

An extreme right-wing nationalist politician who led the Freikorps revolt in March 1920 and briefly proclaimed himself leader of Germany.

General Strike (1920)

The tactic called by Ebert's government where Berlin workers stopped essential services like gas, water, and electricity, collapsing the Kapp Putsch.

Reichswehr Neutrality (1920)

The refusal of army leaders, famously stated as 'troops do not fire on troops', to defend the Weimar government against Freikorps rebels during the Kapp Putsch.

The Ruhr Industrial Region

The heavy industrial heartland of west Germany producing the vast majority of the nation's coal, iron, and steel output.

Invasion of the Ruhr (January 1923)

The military occupation of Germany's industrial Ruhr district by French and Belgian troops in response to defaulted German reparations payments.

Passive Resistance

The policy instructed by the German government directing Ruhr workers to go on strike, refuse cooperation, and stop producing goods for occupying forces.

Hyperinflation (1923)

An extreme monetary crisis in Germany caused by excessive printing of paper money, causing the value of currency to collapse and prices to shoot up wildly.

Mark-to-Dollar Exchange Rate (Nov 1923)

The extreme point of hyperinflation where the price of one US dollar rose to 4.2 billion German marks.

Bread Price Peak (Nov 1923)

The severe hyperinflation price level in Berlin where a single loaf of bread cost 201,000,000,000 (201 billion) marks.

Fixed Income Groups

Social groups like pensioners and retirees who suffered worst during hyperinflation because their fixed payments lost all real purchasing power.

Hyperinflation Winners

Groups including farmers, owners of physical property, and debtors who paid off debts and mortgages with worthless depreciated currency.

Gustav Stresemann

The prominent German politician who served as Chancellor for 4 months in 1923 and Foreign Secretary from 1923 until his death in October 1929.

Great Coalition (1923)

The temporary government alliance formed by Chancellor Gustav Stresemann combining moderate left and right parties to resolve the hyperinflation crisis.

Rentenmark

The temporary emergency currency introduced by Stresemann in November 1923, tied to the value of agricultural land and industrial assets.

Reichsbank

The newly established, independent central national bank set up in 1924 to control German currency issuance and restore international credibility.

Reichsmark

The permanent new national currency issued by the Reichsbank in 1924 to replace the temporary Rentenmark.

Dawes Plan (1924)

An international agreement engineered by US banker Charles Dawes providing an 800 million gold mark loan to Germany and lowering yearly reparations payments.

Charles Dawes

The American banker and diplomat sent to Germany in 1923 who designed the economic restructuring and loan package known as the Dawes Plan.

US Loans (1924–29)

Financial aid totaling over 25 billion marks granted by American private banks to boost German industry, infrastructure, and recovery.

Unemployment Benefit Law (1927)

Social welfare legislation passed during the Stresemann era that required workers and employers to contribute to unemployment insurance funds.

Young Plan (1929)

A treaty negotiated by US banker Owen Young reducing Germany's total reparations debt to $8 billion, payable over 59 years at $473 million annually.

Alfred Hugenberg

A right-wing media tycoon and politician who gathered 4 million signatures on a petition opposing the Young Plan and its long-term debt payments.

Young Plan Referendum (Dec 1929)

The national vote held on whether to accept the Young Plan, resulting in only 14% voting against the agreement.

Menin Gate

A major WWI memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to 54,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers whose bodies were never found.

Locarno Pact (1925)

Seven international treaties signed in London where Germany, France, and Belgium permanently agreed to respect their mutual post-WWI western borders.

Locarno Honeymoon (1925–29)

The period of diplomatic goodwill and peaceful international cooperation in Europe following the signing of the Locarno treaties.

Nobel Peace Prize (1926)

The prestigious award presented jointly to Gustav Stresemann and French minister Aristide Briand for securing the Locarno Pact agreements.

League of Nations (1926)

The international peace organization that admitted Germany as a permanent member of its executive Council in September 1926 following foreign policy improvements.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

An international peace agreement signed by 62 nations promising not to use war or military force to resolve disputes between states.

Frank B. Kellogg

The US Secretary of State who co-authored the 1928 international anti-war treaty alongside French foreign minister Aristide Briand.

Aristide Briand

The French Foreign Minister who collaborated with Gustav Stresemann on Locarno and Frank Kellogg on the Kellogg-Briand anti-war pact.

German Workers' Party (DAP)

The small nationalist, anti-Semitic political group in Munich founded in January 1919 by Anton Drexler, which later became the Nazi Party.

Anton Drexler

The Munich locksmith who co-founded the German Workers' Party (DAP) in January 1919 before being ousted as leader by Adolf Hitler in 1921.

Adolf Hitler (Early Career)

An Austrian-born corporal in the German Army during WWI who joined the DAP in September 1919 as party member number 55.

Iron Cross

The prestigious German military medal awarded to Adolf Hitler for bravery during his frontline service on the Western Front in WWI.