AQA History: Democracy and nazism 1918 - 45

When did the Kaiser abdicate?

9th November 1918

What were the three October Reforms?

Kaiser appointed Prince Max of Baden as Chancellor, Chancellor was to be responsible for the Reichstag and he established a new government based on majority parties in the Reichstag including the SPD, armed forces put under the control of the civil government

When did Prince Max write to President Wilson, requesting an armistice?

October 3rd 1918

Why did it take Wilson 3 weeks to reply? (1918)

Suspicious that the German High Command was using the request to buy time to regroup and prepare a new offensive

What were Wilson's three demands?

Demanded Germany must evacuate all occupied territory, call an end to submarine warfare and fully democratise its political system

How did the German people respond to the armistice? (1918)

Strikes in Friedrichshafen on 22nd October, naval mutiny in Wilhelmshaven on 28th October, mutinies in Kiel on 3rd November, spread to city and workers' and soldiers' councils had begun to spring up across Germany by 6th November

What happened on 8th November 1918?

A republic was proclaimed in Bavaria and the Bavarian monarchy was deposed

What did the SPD do on 9th November 1918?

• A general strike in Berlin

• Threatened to withdraw support from Prince Max's government if the Kaiser did not abdicate within 24 hours

How did Prince Max respond to the SPD's warnings?

Released a press statement on 9th November announcing that the Kaiser had abdicated

Who did Prince Max hand the title of Chancellor to?

Friedrich Ebert

Who else announced the Kaiser's abdication?

Philip Scheidemann (stood on the Reichstag balcony, declaring that Germany was now a Republic )

What forced the Kaiser to abdicate?

General Groener told him the army would no longer fight for him = ‘Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr’

When was the armistice agreed?

11th November 1918

What was Ebert's priority after the armistice?

To organise elections for a Constituent Assembly

How did Ebert try to maintain left-wing control?

Made an agreement with Berlin workers' and soldiers' councils on 22nd November 1918 stating that the government only exercised power in the name of these councils

When was the Ebert-Groener Pact?

10th November 1918

What did the Ebert-Groener Pact state?

Army leadership would support the government so long as Ebert resisted the demands of the soldiers' councils to democratise the army and defend Germany against communist revolution

How did the struggle for power continue while Ebert's government prepared for Constituent Assembly elections?

• 6th Dec; Spartacist demonstration in Berlin fired on by soldiers, killing 16.

• 23-24th Dec; sailors' revolt against the government in Berlin put down by the army, three USPD ministers in the government resigned in protest.

• 6th Jan 1919; Spartacist Rising

When were the elections for the Constituent Assembly held?

19th January 1919

Why did the assembly meet in Weimar instead of Berlin?

The political situation in the capital was still unstable in the aftermath of the January Revolution

What was the outcome of the elections?

• Ebert as president

• Scheidemann, leading the govt

What parties were in the first coalition?

SPD, ZP, DDP

What did the new Constitution represent?

A break from the autocratic constitution drawn up by Otto von Bismarck in 1871

What were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution?

Wider right to vote, system of proportional representation allowed small parties to win seats, full democracy in local and central government, set out the rights of the individual eg all Germans equal before the law and censorship forbidden, referendums could be called by the president

What were the weaknesses of the Weimar constituion?

• Proliferation of smaller parties

• Coalition governments

What was the role of the President?

• Elected every 7 years

• Appointed and dismissed ministers

• Could dissolve the Reichstag

• Call elections

• Supreme commander of the armed forces,

• Article 48

What was the role of the Chancellor?

Had to have majority support of the Reichstag to propose new laws

What was the Reichsrat?

Second chamber of parliament, made up of 67 representatives from 17 states, could provide advice on laws but could be overridden by Reichstag

What was the Reichstag?

Elected every four years, Chancellor and ministers responsible to the Reichstag, voted on the budget - new laws had to originate in the Reichstag and required the approval of a majority of deputies

What was Article 48?

Gave the President power to rule by decree in exceptional circumstances

How did the army remain undemocratic? (1919)

• Officer corps allowed to continue intact into the new republic → army far from politically neutral

• Full force of military power often used against left-wing but conspirators from the right supported by elements within the army

  • Hans von Seeckt believed the army owed loyalty to a timeless Reich as it was true expression of German nationhood

How did the civil service remain undemocratic? (1919)

• Civil servants guaranteed their 'well-earned rights' and freedom of political opinion and expression if it did not conflict with their duty of loyalty to the state

• Govt admin remained anti-democratic as senior civil servants still recruited mainly from the aristocracy

How did the judiciary remain undemocratic? (1919)

• Article 102 guaranteed the independence of the judges, who were staunchly monarchist and anti-democratic

• Republic Penal code, stipulated anyone attempting to overthrow the constitution by force should be sentenced to life imprisonment, but left treated much harsher than right

When did the Allies initially meet at Versailles?

January 1919

When were Germany allowed to see the terms of the treaty?

7th May 1919

When was the German government given 7 days to accept Versailles?

16th June 1919

How did many Germans regard Versailles?

As a Diktat

How much territory did Germany lose?

70,000km^2 (13%)

What territory was returned to France & Belgium?

• Alsace-Lorraine (France)

• Eupen and Malmedy (Belgium)

How much of its iron ore did Germany lose? (ToV)

75%

How much of its zinc ore did Germany lose? (ToV)

68%

How much of its coal did Germany lose? (ToV)

26%

How much of its arable land did Germany lose? (ToV)

15%

How many men were allowed in the German army & Navy? (ToV)

• 100,000

• 15,000

What was Germany forbidden from having/using?

Tanks, gas, submarines and an air force

What did Article 231 state? (ToV)

Germany had to accept responsibility for starting the war

What was the final reparations total for Germany? (ToV)

£6.6 billion

What else did Germany hand over to the Allies? (ToV)

• merchant shipping fleet

• railway locomotives

• rolling stock

• patents

• overseas investments

What happened to the Rhineland? (ToV)

Demilitarised

What happened to the Saarland?

Placed under the League of Nation's control for 15 years, Germany would supply France, Belgium and Italy w/ free coal as part of the reparations agreement; France was free to exploit coal mines

What other terms of the Treaty of Versailles were there?

• Anschluss was forbidden

• Germany not allowed to join League of Nations

• Kaiser and other Germans put on trial for war crimes

What were German objections to Versailles?

• denied national self-determination

• 'war guilt' clause was unjust and humiliating

• reparations would cripple the economy

• nationalists outraged by outlawing of nationalist groups and banning of German patriotic songs and festivals in French-occupied areas

• disarmament and exclusion from LoN seen as discriminatory

Why could it be argued that Germany should’ve expected ToV to be harsh?

Wilson's Fourteen Points made territorial losses clear, would’ve been harsher b/c Clemenceau (wanted extension of French border to the Rhine/ annex Saar coalfields and create independent Rhineland, and a higher reparations total)

Didn't punish Germans as severely as Russia in Brest-Litovsk, peace settlement on the Allies would have been just as harsh

How did pro-republican parties react to the Treaty of Versailles?

• SPD and allies in govt asked opponents in the DNVP, DVP and DDP to state that those who voted for the treaty were not unpatriotic.

• They did the most sensible course of action; outwardly complying whilst negotiating modifications (policy of fulfilment).

How did the right wing react to the Treaty of Versailles?

• German nationalists couldn’t accept Germany's military defeat, or the est. of a new republic.

• Labelled politicians who betrayed the Fatherland 'November Criminals' and their acts of betrayal formed the 'stab-in-the-back' myth, which was promoted by Ludendorff and Hindenburg; appealing to ex-soldiers who suffered fighting for a ‘noble cause’ and had experienced insults and humiliation upon returning

What did soldiers do, in response to ToV?

• Working class soldiers/ former members of trade unions, supported the SPD & the new democratic system.

• Others gravitate towards the communists.

• Those who could not adjust to civilian life and struggled to find employment, gravitated to the Freikorps and right-wing nationalist groups

How did Britain react to the Treaty of Versailles?

• Lloyd George given rapturous reception from a large crowd on return to London

• British public opinion was satisfied that Germany had lost its empire, and its large fleet; unable to threaten European peace for a generation.

• However, Lloyd George believed Germany shouldn’t be so weak it couldn’t resist USSR expansion.

• Many saw the French as vindictive and greedy, thinking Germany had been treated unfairly (e.g. John Maynard Keynes, stated the level of reparations 'was one of the most serious acts of political unwisdom for which our statesmen have ever been responsible')

How did France react to the Treaty of Versailles?

Key French demands had been met, however many regarded the treaty as too lenient and Clemenceau, blamed for making too many concessions, was defeated in the 1920 election.

How did the USA react to the Treaty of Versailles?

Thought the treaty was unfair and Britain and France used it to benefit. Republicans in Congress opposed the treaty; leaving USA to make separate peace deal w/ Germany in 1921. The USA refused to join the LoN and in the 1920s, retreated from involvement in European affairs

What was Germany's final war debt, WW1?

1.44 billion marks

What options did the German government have to reduce national debt?

1. Raise taxes, risking alienation of support for the new republic as the right would claim it being used to pay reparations

2. Reduce spending, difficult as civil servants needed to be paid

How much higher were prices in 1920 compared to 1913?

14x

Why did the government allow inflation to go unchecked?

The 1920 coalition, led by Fehrenbach, dominated by the Centre Party (supported by powerful industrialists), benefitted from inflation by through short term loans from the central bank to expand their businesses & paying them back when the real value had significantly reduced.

Inflation also lessened the government's burden of debt

What was unemployment at by 1921 & how?

1.8%, compared with nearly 17% in Britain

Subsidising unprofitable companies, so people can keep jobs and avoid revolution

Why did Fehrenbach's cabinet dissolve?

Protest of excessively harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles

When was Germany granted its first postponement of reparations?

January 1922

What did Germany ask for in July 1922?

further suspension of reparation payments due that year

What did Germany ask for in November 1922?

A loan of 500 million marks and to be released from its reparations obligations for 3 - 4 yrs to stabilise currency

How did Germany asking for a loan lead to the occupation of the Ruhr?

The French were deeply suspicious that this was simply an excuse

What were the economic impacts of reparations?

• Made repayment of government debt more difficult: Germany's gold reserves were inadequate for the scale of the payments needed to be made in gold,

• Germany lost a large part of its coal reserves & workers + manufacturers didn’t agree to payments in manufactured goods, as it was a threat to their jobs

• Allies slowed export trade by confiscating merchant fleet & imposed high tariffs on import of German goods

When was the Franco-Belgian invasion of the Ruhr?

January 1923

How many men were sent to the Ruhr?

60,000, later increased to 100,000

What did the French and Belgians do in the Ruhr?

Took mines, factories, steelworks, railways, food from shops, set up machine-gun posts

What did Cuno promote to oppose the invasion of the Ruhr?

Policy of passive resistance

How else did Germany attempt to disrupt the occupation of the Ruhr?

Paramilitary groups crossed the customs border and blew up railways, sank barges and destroyed bridges

How many Germans were expelled from the Ruhr?

150,000

How many Germans were shot during the occupation of the Ruhr?

132

What was productivity in the Ruhr like in May 1923?

Deliveries were only 1/3 the monthly average in 1922; output had fallen to around a fifth of pre-occupation

What economic impacts did the occupation of the Ruhr have?

• Paying striking workers drained government finances

• Tax revenue lost from closed business and unemployed workers

• Had to import coal & pay using limited foreign currency reserves

• Shortages pushed up prices

What impact did the hyperinflation crisis have?

• Workers collected wages in baskets and wheelbarrows and tried to spend money immediately before prices rose

• Food shortages led to hoarding

• Breakdown of law and order; food riots and looting, gangs attempted to steal from farms, increase in theft convictions,

• People bartered possessions

How much did a kilo of bread cost in January, October and November 1923?

• 163 marks - Jan

• 9 million marks - Oct

• 233 billion - Nov

What social welfare reforms were introduced in 1919?

• Working day limited to 8 hours

• State health insurance system extended to include wives, daughters and the disabled

• Aid for immobilised war veterans became responsibility of national government and aid for war widows and orphans was increased

What social welfare reform was introduced in 1922?

National Youth Welfare Act required all local authorities to est. youth offices w/ responsibility for child protection and decreed ‘all children had the right to an education’

Who were the winners of 1923 hyperinflation?

• Farmers

• Black-markeeters

• Those with debts, mortgages or loans

• Entrepreneurial businesses

• Those leasing property on long-term fixed rents

• Owners of foreign exchange/foreigners living in Germany

Who were the losers of hyperinflation?

• Pensioners,

• those who lent money & purchased fixed interest rate 'war bonds’

• landlords with fixed rents

• Unskilled workers/ workers w/o trade unions

• Artisans & small business owners

• The Mittelstand, the sick & the young

Why was it difficult to form stable coalitions? (1919 - 1924)

Fragmented political parties became more pronounced as German society became divided and social, political and economic crisis, polarised society & made support for moderate parties ebb away, w/ extremist parties gaining support

How many coalitions were there between February 1919 and November 1923?

10

When was the Spartacist Uprising?

5th January 1919

Who led the Spartacist Uprising?

Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

What happened in the Spartacist Uprising?

Newspaper offices and public buildings were occupied

Why did the Spartacist Uprising fail?

Poorly prepared and supported, as the Spartacists hadn’t secured the support of the majority of the working class in Berlin who they claimed to be acting on behalf of

When had the Spartacist Uprising been crushed by, and by who?

13th January 1919, by the Freikorps

What happened to many of the members of the Spartacist Uprising?

Many prisoners, including Liebknecht and Luxemburg, were executed

What left-wing uprising occurred in March 1919?

Another uprising in Berlin & Bavaria, a communist government based on workers' councils was est.

What left-wing uprising occurred in March 1921?

KPD tried to revolt, beginning with strike disruption in Saxony and spreading to Hamburg and the Ruhr. The risings were crushed by the police & 145 people were killed

When was the Kapp Putsch?

March 1920

Who led the Kapp Putsch?

Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Luttwitz

Why did the Kapp Putsch happen?

Feb 1920, the defence minister, Noske, ordered 2 Freikorps units = 12,000 men, to disband. The units were stationed 12 miles from Berlin & Luttwitz refused to disband them; the government ordered his arrest, & he decided to march in protest

What happened to Ebert's government during this uprising?

Forced to withdraw to Dresden

Why did the army refuse to crush the uprising?

von Seeckt stated, 'troops do not fire on troop; when Reichswehr fires on Reichswehr, all comradeship within the officer corps has vanished'