Theme 1- How far did German Society Change 1870-1991

F1 Changes in class structure and prosperity, 1871–1990: the growth of the urban working class, the artisan tradition and its impact, the slow decline of the land-owning elite and the peasantry, the rise of the white collar workers (key developments: Bismarck's introduction of pensions and health insurance in the 1880s, social mobility after the Second World War).

What did the growth of German population post unification effect?

Profoundly social cultural and political aspects of the new nation

Prior to 1871 what had Germanys population mainly been?

Rural

What fraction of German population lived in rural villages pre 1871? compared to the amount of people in Britain living in Urbanized centres

2/3 in rural villages

well over ½ in Britain

What did Germanys population undergo rapidly post unification?

Rapid Urbanisation

By 1914 what percentage of Germanys population lived in Urbanised towns?

66%

What problems did the swift Urbanization create for Germany?

1. Housing

2. Sanitation in the cities

3. Political

Which political movements were able to grow as a result of urbanisation?

Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD)

What other movement flourished due to Urbanisation?

Trade Unions

How much did Trade Union movements grow from 1877 to 1891?

50,000

278,000

How much support did the SPD have in 1875 compared to 1890?

doubled to 1.5 million

How many members of the SPD were in the Reichstag from 1875 to 1890?

12

35

What did Bismarck propose to do to the SPD in 1890 and who stopped him?

Limiting the franchise which would have destroyed them

Kaiser Wilhelm II stopped and dismissed him fearing it would lead to a revolution

Did Chancellors following Bismarck continue his social policies or stop them?

Continue them

Why did Chancellors following Bismarck continue his social policies?

As a way to placate the working class and encoruage them not to support the SPD

What are examples of social policies followed by Chancellors post Bismarck?

1. Accident insurance was extended

2. Child labour further restricted

3. Sickness insurance lengthened

When was the SPD the largest party in the Reichstag?

1912

Who was unable to counter the poltical changes caused by the growth of working class?

Political Elite

Who supported the War Effort in the first 2 years of WW1?

1. German Working Class

2. SPD

3. Trade Unions

By the Summer of 1916 who WW1 support deteriorate amongst ?

Industrial workers

Why did Industrial workers support for WW1 deteriorate? X3

1. Questioned the restriction on their freedom from the Auxillary Service Act

2. Cold Winter of 1916/1917

3. Food Shortages

What led to large scale political oppostion amongst the working class over WW1?

1. Mass casualties

2. Russian Revolution

3. Food shortages

How many Berlin workers went on strike in 1918?

400,000

Where did the Berlin strike spread to?

The whole of Germany

How many workers were on Strike within a month in Germany in 1918?

Over a million

What are 2 things that the Weimar Constitution Guaranteed?

1. Employees equal rights with employers in determining working conditions

2. 8 hour day

Did Urbanisation speed up or slow down during Weirmar?

Slowed down

What happened to Germanys population in larges cities from 1870-1890?

Doubled

What happened to Germanys population from 1890-1910?

Doubled again

What was the growth of Large Urban Areas from 1910-1940?

36%

When were conditions particulary good for the Working class in Weimar period?

1924-1929

What was the Wage increase from 1927 to 1928

9%

12%

When did the SPD continue to be the largest party in the Reichstag until?

1932

When was the German working class profoundly effected by economic downturn?

1929

How mamy Germans were unemployed in January 1933?

9 million

What had unemployment reached in 1929 compared to 1932?

10%

31%

Who gained power as a result of the Economic Crisis?

NSDAP (Nazis)

What emerged due to the difficult conditions faced by the new Urban working class?

Many German Socialist movements

When was the Social Democratic Workers Party formed?

1869

Where was the Social Democratic Workers Party formed?

Prussia

When did the Social Democratic Workers Party formed with Other socialist movements?

1875

What did the combining of Social Democratic Workers Party and Other socialist movements result in?

SPD

Was the SPD revolutionary?

NO

Declared only legal, democratic processes would lead to greater rights

What was a key aim of the SPD?

Constitutional Reform

What was the SPD at the start of the 20th century?

Largest most influential and best organized socialist party in the world

How many Germans voted for the SPD in 1912?

4 million

What did the Junkers fear regarding workers and the SPD?

1. Impressive growth

2. Development of Urbanised working class

What chancellors attempted to deal with the fear of the SPD?

Bulow

Bethmann-Hollweg

How did Chancellor Bulow and Bethmann-Holweg attempt to deal with the SPD? X2

1. Policy weakened them by introducing social reform for workers

2. Encouraged conservative parties to work together to prevent SPD from power

Where the chancellor anti SPD policies successful?

No as did not stop growing popularity of the socialit party

What is an example of SPD power from early Weirmar period?

First 3 Weimar chancellors were from SPD

Why did the SPD fail?

Nazis banned them

What happened to SPD members under Nazis?

Arrested of Fled

When was SPD re-established in West Germany?

1945

What party was the Chancellor of West Germany from in 1969-1982

SPD

When did Urban workers experience increase employment?

1933 -1945

What did the Nazis ban?

Trade Unions

Ability to strike

What continued to be high despite opposition?

Worker discipline despite some working class opposition to the Nazis

What increased even further from 1945-1990?

Urbanisation

How many people remained in rural communities from 1950 to 1970?

23.1%

8.3%

What Germany considerable economic growth under FDR further fuel?

Greater movement to large industrialized centres

What did West Germany population grow by in 1950-1980?

50% to 61.7 million

What percentages of West Germans lived in communities of over 10,000 by 1980? compared to East Germans

74%

57%

What changed the demographics of Germanys working class in FRG?

Introduction of ‘Guest Workers’

What 2 countires were guest workers mostly from?

• Greece

• Turkey

What 2 things were guest workers brought to Germany on?

• Fixed contracts

• Without Permanent residency

What industry did Guest Workers typically work in? X2

• Electrical engineering

• Ship Building

From 1959 to 1966 how many guest workers were in Germany?

150,000

1.2 million

What did Guest workers create socially in Germany?

An underclass of ethnic workers in German cities

What were features of the underclass? X2

• Lowest- paid jobs

• Lacked same employment rights as Germans

What are features of Anti Socialist Legislation Bismark introduced in 1878? X3

• Outlaw trade union movements

• Suppressed SPD newspapers

• 100 members of SPD in jail

What are examples of social security that Bismarck introduced in hope to win working class support in ?

1. Free medical treatment

2. Accident insurance

3. Sickness insurance

4. Pension

How many workers received free medical treatment in 1833?

3 million

How was free medical treatment funded in 1933?

Workers and employers

When was benefits provided to incapacitated workers? and how was this funded

1884

Employers

What was extended to 7 million people in 1886?

Accident and Sickness insurance

When were workers given in 1889?

Pension at 70 or before if disabled

How were pensions funded?

Workers

Employers

State

Did Bismarcks social legislation achieve his goals?

NO

The working class continued to support the Banned SPD

What did much of the working class believe without the SPD bismarck would do?

Without the SPD the welfare system would never be established in the first place

Did Bismarcks welfare system improve working conditions? what was not introduced?

No

Refused to set working hours

Refused to restrict child labour

Refued to allow Sunday as a rest day

What was a powerful symbol of historical continuity in Germany?

Artisans

What were the artisans?

Living link to traditional of highly skilled workers crafting goods by hand and passing down the skills through generation

What threatened the artisan tradition?

Industrialisation after 1871:

• mechanised factories- cheaper goods and faster

From 1882 to 1895 how much did one man Artisan business decline by

13.5%

When did Artisan business further suffer?

1897-1907

When was it clear that artisans were able to survive in Industrialised Germany?

1900

What allowed Artisans to adapt to increasing competition due to industrialisation in Germany? X2

1. New Methods

2. Better tools

What sector of society did German Artisans, Shopkeepers and Small Traders form?

Angry

Who did Artisans feel challenged by?

• Politcal elite

• Growing power of Socialists

• Trade Unions

• Fear of modernisaiton

Who did the Artisans move to accept due to increased modernisation?

Extremist parties

What 3 groups of people formed the first solid base of support for the Nazis?

Skilled craftsmen

Small Business owners

Shopkeepers

What did the Nazis have which meant they gained Artisan support?

In their 25 points they had several policies to assist small traders

What was a features of Nazi policy to assist small traders?

Whole sale business were to be shut down and premises have to small traders at a cheaper lease rate

What percentage of skilled workers made up the Nazi membership in the 1920s? compared to how much of society they made up as a whole?

33%

27%

When the Nazis came to power what are 4 features that helped Germanys Artisans?

1. Trade unions were crushed

2. Department stores were restricted

3. Chain stores banned from growing any larger

4. Large chains were unable to offer: shoe shining, baking, food catering

What did New Artisans have to pass from 1935 onwards?what did this lead to

Master Examination in their craft

High level of skill was maintained

What did the Nazi party order uniform from to help the artisans?

Artisans

How much did the Artisans business numbers rise from 1931-1936?

1/5

What happened to the artisans from 1936-1939 due to war?

Began to decline by 11%

What stores began to grow from 1936?

Department stores