Treaty of Versailles and Weimar Republic

Treaty of Versailles

Name for the treaty that brought World War I to an end; punished Germany for being the ‘aggressor’ that caused war

War Guilt Clause

Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles, this clause stated that Germany would have to assume complete responsibility for initiating World War 1

“November Criminals”

The German politicians who negotiated and signed the Treaty of Versailles

Demilitarization

The initiative the Allied powers took in the Treaty of Versailles to force Germany to demilitarize and rid themselves of all capacity for war

Reparations

Payment that Germany is forced to pay to Allied Powers for the damages caused during World War 1

Kiel Mutiny

German sailors rebelled instead of following orders to attack the British Royal Navy, sparking rebellions all over Germany, leading to a collapse of the German government, causing the ruling Monarch to resign

Weimar Republic

Jan 1919, SPD had most power via elections, Friedrich Ebert became the first chosen President, new constitution for Germany was approved in Aug 1919

Reichstag

name of Germany’s parliament, appointed Government and made all laws, different from its powers under the Kaiser

Article 48

gave the president power to act without parliament’s approval in an emergency, ‘emergency’ did not have a clear definition, power was overused which weakened Germans’ confidence in democracy

Spartacist Uprising

50k members of post WWI Communist Party rebelled in Berlin, seized power all over Germany and took power in Bavaria, Freikorps crushed all of these uprisings by May 1919

Kapp Putsch

Mar 1920, Freikorps group made about Treaty of Versailles, takeover happened, regular army refused to attack Freikorps, defeated when workers went on strike and refused to cooperate

Ruhr Valley

argument about whether Germany could repay reparations or not, France and Belgium sent troops here to confiscate industrial goods as reparations payments, occupied coal mines + railways + steel works + factories, German workers who refused were shot or expelled from region, decided to print more money

Hyperinflation

Germany suffering from high levels of inflation due to war and government debt, workers on strike, paid them by printing more money, more money = higher prices

Gustav Stresemann

German Chancellor in Aug 1923 for 3 months only, also served as Foreign Minister, rebuilt and restored Germany’s international status, ended hyperinflation by calling off ‘passive resistance’ + promising to begin reparations + introducing more currency + reducing amount of money the government spent

The Dawes Plan

Apr-Sept 1924, Germany only had to pay 1 billion marks per year for the first 5 years and 2.5 billion per year after that, indefinite amount of time, loaned 800 million marks from USA

The Young Plan

Aug 1929 - Jan 1930, reduced total amount by 20%, Germany has to pa 2 billion Marks per year, 59 years which ends in 1988, US banks continue to loan money which was coordinated by JP Morgan

League of Nations

part of Versailles, Germany initially excluded, Germany signed Locarno Treaties which showed acceptance of Versailles settlement, accepted as a permanent member of Council of League, one of the most powerful countries in League

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Germany was 1 of 62 countries that signed up to this agreement, committed signatories to settle disputes peacefully