Booklet 1 - establishing democracy in Germany 1918-23

What were the economic impacts of WW1 on Germany? (2)

• economic ruin: only 16% of the cost was met by inflation so debts increased dramatically

• real earnings fell by as much as 30%

What were the social impacts of WW1 on Germany? (3)

• civilian deaths from starvation and hypothermia were high (293,000 deaths in 1918)

• 750,000 civilians died during the 'Turnip Winter' 1917

• 2M Germans were killed, 6.3M were injured during WW1

What were the political impacts of WW1 on Germany? (2)

• a group of extremists broke away from the SPD called the USPD who had even more extremist ideas

• confidence in the Kaiser collapsed so Hindenburg and Ludendorff were running the country as a silent dictatorship from 1916 onwards (they made all political, social, economic decisions without the public knowing)

Why was WW1 a recipe for revolution in Germany? (3)

• the government gave false hope to the public that there would be a quick victory, however they failed

• this increased tensions as the public became angry that they were lied to

• the silent dictatorship furthered angered the public as they were being lied to by the gov

What was the 'stab in the back' myth? (5)

• Paul von Hindenburg (army general) needed a scapegoat for the loss of WW1

• he shifted the blame away from the army (still portrayed them as admirable) to the 'November criminals'

• blamed the left-wing and politicians like Ebert for the loss of the war as they signed the armistice

• as Hindenburg and the army believed that if the armistice wasn't signed and they continued fighting, they could've won the war

• people believed this as they weren't aware that Germany were losing, and Hindenburg was known as a 'war-hero'

When was the armistice signed?

11th November 1918

When was the revolution from above

October 1918

What was the revolution from above? (5)

• September 1918, German government forced to admit military defeat

• Ludendorff and Hindenburg (elites) wanted to secure favourable peace terms with the allied elite and prevent a revolution in Germany

• a new government was created headed by Max of Baden (new chancellor) which was more democratic

• it was an attempt to persuade allies that Germany was becoming democratic, encouraging sympathy

• created a constitutional monarchy, where power was passed to the Reichstag, not the Kaiser

When was the revolution from below?

November 1918

What was the revolution from below? (5)

• 29 Oct a naval mutiny(a group of soldiers refusing to follow orders of their leaders) started and spread to Kiel, Bremen and Hamburg, as the sailors knew that the war was over, and did not want to die by attacking again

• 6 Nov, demand abdication of Kaiser as he was blamed for starting the war

• 9 Nov Prince Max announced the Kaiser's abdication, as the country was so unstable, so needed to do it quickly to calm germany from a full-scale revolution without telling Wilhelm (the kaiser)

• a provisional gov is set up, lead by Ebert and SPD, replacing the Kaiser

• Prince Max no longer chancellor

When was the Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated?

9th November 1918

What was the purpose of the Provisonal government?

aimed to bring peace and govern Germany until a national election was held to vote for parliament → was only as temporary/emergency gov

What were the socio/economic problems faced by Ebert's gov? (3)

• wages falling behind prices, creating social discontent

• fuel and food shortages causing major hardship in cities

• public concern about the effects of the peace treaty(armistice)

What was the left-wing opposition faced by Ebert's gov?

hundreds of councils were created which consisted of men who wanted a socialist/communist government

What was the right-wing opposition faced by Ebert's gov? (2)

• conservatives did not support the new democratic republic as they were against the abdication of the kaiser

• a growing number of right-wing nationalist soldiers were forming paramilitary units. They were trained professional soldiers who disliked communism and were prepared to fight to stop it

How many soldiers had to be returned home to Germany after the war?

1.5 million

When was the Ebert-Groener agreement signed?

10th November 1918

What was the Ebert-Groener agreement? (2)

• an agreement where Groener (head of supreme army) promised that the army would support the new government through the use of troops to maintain stability and security in the new republic

• in return, Ebert promised that the army would be used to put down any left-wing opposition and bring stability to the gov in the short-term

What were the advantages of the Ebert-Groener agreement? (3)

• make the right wing happy to see the communist revolution being stopped

• brings stability as communist threat would be eliminated in the short-term

• enables Ebert to establish control and stability in Germany

What were the disadvantages of the Ebert-Groener agreement? (3)

• support from the army to crush left wing opposition would not have been popular

• the army would not help if there was a right-wing revolution

• it allowed traditional officer corps to maintain control of the military, preserving anti-democratic elites

When was the Stinnes-Legien agreement signed?

15th November 1918

What was the Stinnes-Legien agreement? (4)

• a max work day of 8 hours without wage reductions, which paved the way for social welfar reforms in the new constitution

• trade unions were officially recognised to protect workers

• radical left-demands would be rejected

• support the new gov

Why was the Stinnes-Legien agreement significant?

it stabilised the post-WW1 economy by establishing key labour rights

What were the features of the Weimar Republic's new democratic constitution? (3)

1. proportional representation

2. presidential powers

3. traditions of the empire (institutions)

what was proportional representation?

a new system of voting in Germany where the percentage of votes gained by a political party directly correlated with the percentage of seats they held in parliament

Why was proportional representation introduced into the constitution? (3)

• designed to create a fair democratic system

• encouraged widespread political participation

• ensured minor parties and diverse viewpoints were represented

Why was proportional representation a problem? (3)

• created lots of small parties, many of which had extremist views

• meant parties formed coalitions in order to become governments as you had to win over 50% of the votes

• made it difficult to pass laws as no one agreed which led to instability, as no change could happen

What were the presidential powers? (the 3 key articles)

• Article 48

• Article 53

• Article 25

what was article 48

allowed him to bypass the Reichstag to pass laws (in the event of a national emergency)

what was article 53

gave him the power to appoint chancellor and ministers

what was article 25

gave him the ability to dissolve the reichstag and call for new elections

Why were these presidential powers introduced into the constitution? (2)

• there was a fear of the creation of an over powerful parliament among conservative and liberal circles

• therefore these articles claimed to provide leadership above the parties and limit the authority of the Reichstag

Why were these Presidential powers a problem? (2)

• it allowed the President to completely bypass parliament rule

• creating a legal pathway for dictatorship and weakening the democratic process

What were the 3 main traditional institutions that kept their powers?

• highly conservative civil service was unchanged

• judges retained a great deal of independence from the government

• the army continued to be held in high esteem with strong links to prussian landowners

Why were these traditional institutions that kept their powers kept in the constitution? (2)

• it was difficult for the gov to undo traditional centres of power

• a fear of the extreme left led Ebert and the SPD to work closely with conservative forces

Why was the traditional institutions keeping their power a problem?

• the values of the civil service were very conservative

• those of the judiciary and the army were unsypathetic to Weimar

• these conservative forces exerted great influence

what are 3 examples that show the weimar constitution was more democratic

• the new constitution provided a wider right to vote than countries like France and GB. Women were able to vote on the same terms as men and were allowed to become deputies in the Reichstag and state parliaments

• fundamental rights were guaranteed (religion and personal freedoms)

• proportional representation meant that all 35 electoral districts could influence the outcome of elections

give 3 examples that the weimar constitution was more anti-democratic

• Article 48 was exploited as President Ebert used it 136 times, not all times being in emergency (he just wanted to override the Reichstag and undermine democracy)

• as long as the President could find support from just over 1/3 of the Reichstag, he had unrestricted power (as 66% had to agree to remove him from power)

• Article 54 guaranteed the independence of judges - it meant that anti-democratic judges maintained their influence#. They treated right-wing supporters very leniently, whilst left-wing were treated very severly