Weimar and Nazi Germany Revision Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Weimar Republic and the rise and rule of the Nazi Party based on the provided history revision guide.

Friedrich Ebert

The leader of the Social Democratic Party who became the first German president and declared Germany a republic.

Armistice

The peace agreement signed on $11\text{ November }1918$ between Germany and the Allies.

Council of People’s Representatives

A temporary government formed by Friedrich Ebert on $10\text{ November }1918$ after the old Reichstag was suspended.

Philipp Scheidemann

A member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who declared the new Republic to crowds in Berlin to prevent a communist government.

Weimar Constitution

The new set of rules for governing Germany drawn up on $31\text{ July }1919$ in the town of Weimar.

Proportional Representation

A voting system in the Weimar Republic that ensured small parties had a fair share of seats but often led to unstable coalition governments.

Article 48

A part of the Weimar constitution that enabled the president to pass laws without the prior consent of the Reichstag during a crisis.

November Criminals

The label given to the leaders of the new German republic by those who saw them as traitors for surrendering in November $1918$.

Article 231

The 'War Guilt Clause' of the Treaty of Versailles which stated that Germany was guilty of starting the war.

Reparations

Compensation payments of $£6.6\text{ billion}$ that Germany was forced to pay the Allies in yearly instalments.

'Stab in the back' theory

The belief among some German people that their army had not been defeated but was betrayed and forced to surrender by politicians.

Spartacists

A left-wing group from the independent Socialist Party, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, who attempted a revolt in Berlin in January $1919$.

Freikorps

Right-wing units made up of ex-soldiers who kept their weapons and were used to put down the Spartacist revolt.

Kapp Putsch

A March $1920$ rebellion led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp where Freikorps troops marched on Berlin to overthrow the government.

Hyperinflation

An economic crisis in $1923$ where the government printed so much money that the German currency became worthless.

Rentenmark

A new currency issued by Gustav Stresemann in November $1923$ with a value tied to the price of gold to encourage public confidence.

Dawes Plan

A $1924$ agreement where reparations instalments were reduced to $£50\text{ million}$ a year and US banks made loans to German industry.

Young Plan

A $1929$ plan that reduced the total reparations debt from $£6.6\text{ billion}$ to $£2\text{ billion}$ and extended the payment time to $1988$.

Locarno Pact

A $1925$ agreement between Germany, Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium where Germany agreed to its new border with France.

Kellogg–Briand Pact

A $1928$ agreement between $62$ nations committing them to avoiding the use of war to achieve foreign policy objectives.

Expressionism

A movement in art and cinema during the Weimar period concerned with raw emotion and confronting the disaster of the First World War.

Bauhaus School

An architecture and design school set up in Weimar in $1919$ by Walter Gropius that challenged traditional building styles.

25-Point Programme

The Nazi Party manifesto written by Hitler and Drexler in $1920$ which opposed democracy and Jews.

SA (Sturmabteilung)

A paramilitary force of 'brownshirts' formed in August $1921$ to disrupt opposition and control crowds through violence.

Munich Putsch

Hitler's failed attempt to overthrow the Weimar government in November $1923$, leading to his arrest.

Mein Kampf

The book written by Hitler while in prison that outlined his political ideas and views on Jews.

Wall Street Crash

The October $1929$ economic collapse in the USA that led to a worldwide depression and the withdrawal of American loans from Germany.

Enabling Act

The $1933$ law that gave Hitler total power to make laws and overrule the constitution, marking the end of democracy.

German Labour Front (DAF)

The organization that replaced trade unions in May $1933$ after Union officials were arrested.

Night of the Long Knives

The purge on $30\text{ June }1934$ where Hitler used the SS to arrest and shoot Ernst Rohm and other SA leaders to remove threats to his power.

Fuhrer

The title for personal leader created in August $1934$ by merging the offices of Chancellor and President.

SS (Schutzstaffel)

A 'Protection Squad' led by Heinrich Himmler that controlled all police and security forces and ran concentration camps.

Gestapo

The Secret State Police set up by Hermann Goering in $1933$ that spied on citizens and used torture.

Concordat

The July $1933$ agreement between Hitler and the Pope where Catholics were free to worship in return for staying out of politics.

Confessional Church

A Protestant church founded in $1934$ by Martin Niemoller that opposed the Nazi-backed Reich Church.

Edelweiss Pirates

A youth opposition group formed in the late $1930\text{s}$ that taunted the Hitler Youth and listened to banned music.

Marriage Law of 1933

A policy providing Marriage Loans to couples if the woman agreed to stop working, aimed at increasing the birth rate.

Strength Through Joy (KdF)

A Nazi organization that provided low-cost or free activities, such as concerts and holidays, to increase worker productivity.

Aryans

The Nazi 'master race' characterized as being blond-haired, blue-eyed, tall, and athletic.

Nuremberg Laws

Laws passed in $1935$ that stripped Jews of citizenship and banned marriage or sexual relations between Jews and Germans.

Kristallnacht

The 'Night of the Broken Glass' in November $1938$ where Nazi-led gangs destroyed Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues.