History - Weimar and nazi Germany

what is the Reichstag?

the German parliment

what is the kaiser ?

The German leader (Wilhelm II)

what is the Chancellor?

The Kaiser’s chief minister

what were the physical effects of WW1 on Germany and the germans?

There was a lack of food due to lack of labour and imports, 50% of milk production decreased. 75 000 people died from famine and disease

what were the anarchy effects of WW1 on Germany and the people?

Returning soldiers were armed and were joining violent demonstrations against the Kaiser and the war.

what were the political effects of WW1 on Germany and the people?

The kaiser had to start controlling more and Germany was being run like a dictatorship. People did not like this.

what were the psychological effects of WW1 on Germany and the people?

Germans used to be proud and ambitious now they were conflicted and bitter. The people felt stabbed in the back.

Who was Ludendorf?

A general.

What is a constitution?

The basic principles according to which a country is govourned.

what was the Wiemar Republic?

the German government before the Nazis

what happened to the Kaiser?

It was a condition for peace, from the allies, that the kaiser stood down (abdicate).

What were the Wiemar constitutions strengths?

• A strong president was necessary to keep control over the new government and protect the country of crisis.

• article 48 meant that the president could suspend the constitution in an emergency. This helped avoid crisesisis.

what were the weaknesses of the Wiemar constitution?

• The president had too much power that they could possibly turn into a dictator.

• Article 48 had the potential to be abused for the power to turn into a dictatorship.

• No political party had enough seats to rule on their own in the Reichstag without another party

who were the BIG THREE?

• Georges Clemenceau (french)

• Woodrow Wilson (USA)

• David Lloyd George (Britain)

what did Georges Clemenceau want from the treaty1919?

he wanted the harshest revenge as France had been destroyed from the fighting. He also wanted to keep them weak so they wouldn’t invade France.

What did Woodrow Wilson want from the Treaty of Versailles1919?

He wanted lasting peace and for America to stand back from europe.

What did David Lloyd George want from the Treaty of Versailles1919?

He wanted Germany to be weak but stable so that they could still trade. this was smart because then G would not want revenge.

what were the military terms of the treaty 1919?

• troop members = 100 000

• only 6 battle ships in the navy

NO

• air forces

• tanks

• submarines

what were the financial terms of the treaty 1919?

£6.6 billion to reparations

Germany had to give France all their sheep and cows

what were the territorial terms of the treaty 1919?

A lot of German land was lost (e.g. Alsas Lorraine was given to France.

the Rhineland was demilitarised.

what was the part the Germans hated the most about the treaty 1919?

Article 231 also known as the War Guilt Clause, this stated that Germany had to accept the full blame for the starting the war and all the deaths and destruction .

what was The Spartacist Uprising?

January 1919 led by Karl Lebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg was a communist party that attempted to overthrow Ebert and the Weimar Government to create a communist state.

How did the Spartacist Uprising fail?

they only managed to capture the government newspaper HQ until Ebert called the army and hundred of the spartarcists were killed compared to 13 freikorp. This lead Ebert to become very reliant to the Freikorp.

what was the Kapp Putsch?

March 1920 the Freikorp was made up of the former soldiers. This unofficial army broke the treaty of versailles too only have 100 000 troops. so when Ebert tried to reinforce this the freikorps led by Wolfgang Kapp fought back and march to berlin and declaired a neww national government. Eberts official army coudnt help them as they couldnt fire at another German army.

what did Ebert do to stop the revolt of the Kapp Putch?

Ebert called on the people of berlin to not support the Kappand to go on strike. the Putch then collapsed within days however Wolfgang was never punished because the army refused it. this shows how fragile eberts control was.