Eduqas History: Germany in Transition - Y11 CCT

What was the month and year of the Armistice that ended WW1?

November 1918

When did Kaiser William II abdicate?

9 November 1918

When was the Weimar Republic formed?

10 November 1918

Who was the first President of the Weimar Republic?

Friedrich Ebert

When was the Armistice Signed?

11 November 1918

What was the full name and title of the German leader who abdicated in November 1918

Kaiser William II/Wilhelm II

Role of the President

Supreme commander of the army, had power to dismiss or call elections, could use Article 48 in emergencies

What did Article 48 allow the President to do?

Suspend the constitution in an emergency, make unchallenged laws, keep Chancellor in office without Reichstag approval

When was Article 48 considered 'over'?

When public safety and order is restored

What was the name of Weimar's first chancellor, who accepted the arimistice?

Ebert

Role of the Chancellor

Chosen by President but has to be approved by the Reichstag, equivalent to Prime Minister

Role of the Reichstag

Elected every 4 years, can make laws, they approve Chancellor, more important than Reichrat (German representatives), equivalent to House of Commons

Strengths of the Weimar Constitution

Men and women could vote equally from the age of 20, Article 48 allows necessary + quick decisions in times of trouble and disorder, there are checks and balances (e.g. chancellor had to be approved by Reichstag), president was voted not hereditary, proportional respresentation

What is proportional representation?

an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them. (e.g. 50% of votes = 50% of seats)

Weaknesses of Weimar Constitution

Proportional representation made it very difficult for a chancellor to get a majority which makes decision-making slow and indecisive as chancellors need coalitions to gain a majority, Article 48 could be taken advantage of that gives too much undebated power

What month and year was the Treaty of Versailles signed?

(28) June 1919

Describe one thing the Treaty of Versailles said about money

Germany had to pay back £6.6bn in reparations, cattle to be given to France and Belgium, Germany to build merchant ships to replace Allied ships sunk by U-boats

Describe one thing the Treaty of Versailles said about land

Germany lost 13% of its land (6 million people), no union (Anschluss) with Austria, Alsace-Lorraine to be given to France, Saar administered by the League of Nations

Describe one thing the Treaty of Versailles said about Germany's armed forces

Army reduced to 100000, Rhineland demilitarised, no tanks/armoured cars/heavy military permitted, naval vessel couldn't exceed 10000 tonnes

What was Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles called?

War Guilt Clause

Why was the Treaty of Versailles a problem for the new Weimar government?

Germany become poor and debt-ridden, Germany couldn't defend themselves from an aggressor, German people blamed the Weimar government for this

Explain what we can learn from the phrase 'Weimar Republic'

Weimar shows a change from Berlin, suggesting that Berlin is too dangerous for this disliked, weak government. Republic shows that the monarchy has been disbanded, showing this as a period of change and uncertainty for Germany.

Explain the term 'diktat'

It means dictated peace; the German people felt the peace was forced upon them as they weren't involved in the ToV negotiations

Explain the term 'dolchdoss'

It means stab in the back; German people felt betrayed when the Weimar politicians signed the ToV

Explain the term 'November Criminals'

The German people called the German politicians who signed the Armistice criminals

Anschluss

union of Germany and Austria; this didn't happen after WWI because of the ToV

Which article blamed Germany for WW1?

Article 231

What was the German name for the parliament?

Reichstag

Some people think that the Weimar government had a weak constitution. Give one example of this

Article 48, proportional representation

What event in 1917 caused many Europeans to fear the growth of left-wing politics?

Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (Russian Revolution)

Why did Weimar become dependent on the army?

The government agreed to give them support and resources in return of supporting the government and not revolting

What did the German public feel about the deal with the army?

It weakened the Weimar government's authority

Between 1919-1923, what can a map that shows where uprisings/putsches/strikes/protests tell us about the state of politics in Germany?

Threats from left and right wing, separatists movements near France and Belgium show that they don't like Germany, uprising are short, constant uprisings show people are very unhappy

Aside from the Spartacists' Uprising, name one example of political instability in Germany between 1918-1921

Kapp Putsch

Name 2 events between 1919-1923 that show the political instability in Germany

Spartacists Uprising, Kapp Putsch

When was the Spartacists Uprisng?

January 1919

Who were the leaders of the Spartacists Uprising?

Rosa Luxemburg and Carl Liebknecht

What were the political beliefs of the Spartacists?

Communists

What happened prior to the uprising (took place a month before)?

Demonstrations against the government in December 1918 led to clashes with the government, 16 Spartacists killed

What was the aim of the Spartacists?

To overthrow the government and establish a communist state

What did the government do to defend themselves?

They sent an army called the Berlin Freikorps and used the Reichwehr - the regular army

What were the Freikorps?

Ex-WWI soldiers whose job was to stop any revolutionary activity; they didn't like the Weimar government but they wanted to stop communism at all costs

What happened to the Spartacists?

They failed - 100 soldiers died and their leaders captured and killed

What did the Spartacists uprising cause?

The government to move to Weimar

What caused the Kapp Putsch?

Weimar government disbanded the Freikorps, which caused anger and outrage

When was the Kapp Putsch?

March 1920

Who was the leader of the Freikorps?

Ehrhadrt

What did the leader of the Freikorps do?

He teamed up with leading right-wing politician Wolfgang Kapp

What was the stance of the Reichwehr on the Kapp Putsch?

They supported it

What happened on 13 March 1920, and what did it cause?

Kapp seized Berlin, and the Weimar government fled to Dresden and then Stuttgart

What did the Weimar government ask the Reichwehr?

To stop supporting Kapp, and the commander-in-chief, von Seecht, said no

Who was Scheidemann?

a Weimar politician

Why did the Kapp Putsch fail?

The Weimar Government ordered a general strike to show opposition to what Kapp was doing, which brought the city to a total standstill and all public services halted; without the support of the German workers, the Putsch could not succeed.

Causes of Hyperinflation in Germany

Weimar government printing extra money to pay reparations, passive resistance and acts of individual sabotage in the Ruhr, strikes and mistreatment of strikers

Why did Weimar government print extra money to pay reparations?

They couldn't afford the £6.6bn reparations, so wanted to print extra money to pay it off

In July 1914, what was £1 equivalent to?

20 marks

In January 1922, what was £1 equivalent to?

764 marks

In November 1923, what was £1 equivalent to?

1,680,800,000,000,000 marks

What was the trigger to passive resistance and acts of individual sabotage in the Ruhr?

The French and Belgian army went into the Ruhr and went to take goods (e.g. coal, iron) that they needed

When was the French Occupation of the Ruhr?

January 1923

Why did the French + Belgian army go into the Ruhr?

As in 1921, Weimar hadn't paid the reparations required (for the month)

What is passive resistance?

Anger and resentment without violence

What did passive resistance in the Ruhr cause?

Less goods of value were produced, so reparations were harder to pay and turned inflation into hyperinflation

As part of resistance against the French and Belgians in the Ruhr, what did some do?

Go on strikes, and some sabotaged

How did some of the French/Belgian army troops react to strikers?

They shot some of them

What did strikes in the Ruhr cause?

Less goods of value were produced, so reparations were harder to pay and turned inflation into hyperinflation

When was hyperinflation in Germany?

Late spring - early summer 1923

Name 4 things that the Weimar Government did to end hyperinflation

Dawes Plan, US loans, Rentenmark and Young Plan

When was the Dawes Plan?

August 1924

Name some features of the Dawes Plan

Reparations was 1bn marks for the first year then 2.5bn marks per year, Ruhr area evacuated by Allies in 1925, German Reichbank reorganised, USA gave Germany some loans

What was the value of the first loan given to Germany in the Dawes Plan?

800 million marks

How did the Dawes Plan help Weimar recover?

Strikes stopped, reparations pressures eased, banks reorganised, more money didn't need to be printed

When did US loans begin?

1924

Name features of US loans

Begun with a loan of 8m marks, over 6 years US companies and banks gave nearly $3000m worth of loans, helped economic recovery and allowed reparation payments

How did the US loans help Weimar recover?

Helped economic recovery, more money didn't need to be printed

When was the Rentenmark introduced?

November 1923

How was the Rentenmark distributed?

It was issued in limited amounts and was based on property value than gold

Was the Rentenmark permanent?

No; in 1924 it was converted into the Reichmark, which was based on gold reserves

How did the Rentenmark help Weimar recover?

Old currency that brought hyperinflation gone, limited amounts of new currency allowed stability, confidence in new currency

When was the Young Plan?

1929

In the Young Plan, from how much money was the reparations reduced?

From £6.6bn to £1.85bn

How was the length of time for Weimar to pay reparations changed in the Young Plan?

Extended to 59 years, with an average of 2.05m marks per year

Name people who criticised the Young Plan

Alfred Hugenberg, Adolf Hitler

How did the Young Plan help Weimar recover?

Less reparations to pay, don't need to print more money

Name 6 ways the Weimar Republic regained credability internationally and domestically

Locarno Pact, League of Nations, Kellogg-Briand Pact, wages, housing, unemployment insurance

When was the Locarno Pact?

1925

What was the Locarno Pact?

A treaty between Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Belgium to keep post-ToV borders

How did the Locarno Pact impact the Weimar Government's credibility?

Improved overseas relations, seen to be entering international agreements

What is the "Locarno Honeymoon"?

period of cooperation between Germany, France and UK

When was the League of Nations?

September 1926

What was the League of Nations?

Germany joined the League of Nations and got a permanent seat to activate the Locarno Pact

How did the League of Nations impact the Weimar Government's credibility?

Brought prestige onto Stresemann and Germany, allowed the Young Plan to happen, seen to be entering international agreements

When was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?

1928

What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?

Germany signed a pact with 64 other nations to only use the army for self-defence, agreed to try and solve all disputes "by peaceful means"

How did the Kellogg-Briand Pact impact the Weimar Government's credibility?

Improved relations internationally, seen to be entering international agreements, confirmed Germany back as a Great Power (and not a Pariah)

Pariah

an outcast

How did Weimar Germany not really prosper as a result of wages?

Middle class forgotten and didn't recover from 1923 hyperinflation - over 184,000 middle class were seeking employment, and half didn't qualify for benefits (they didn't benefit from social changes)

How did Weimar Germany prosper as a result of wages?

By 1928 there was an increase in real wages of over 10%; Germany had some of the best paid workers in Europe

How did the wages impact the Weimar Government's credibility?

Helped domestic credibility; seen to be tackling issues

How did Weimar Germany prosper as a result of housing?

Between 1924 and 1931 more than 2 million new houses built and almost 200,000 renovated, homelessness reduced by 60%, government spending on housing increased by x33 (1929 compared to 1913)