Flashcards for the topic

The Legacy of WWI on Germany

Date: 1914–1918 | Cause: Four years of war against the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, USA). | Event: 2 million German soldiers died, 4 million wounded. War debts trebled from 50 to 150 billion marks. British naval blockade caused 750,000 German civilian deaths from food shortages. | Consequence: Germany was economically broken, socially unstable, and crumbling from within — setting the stage for revolution.

The Kaiser's Abdication

Date: 9 November 1918 | Cause: Germany was losing the war, the army refused to support the Kaiser, and revolution was spreading across the country. | Event: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated (gave up the throne) and fled to exile in Holland. Philipp Scheidemann (SPD) declared a new German Republic from the Reichstag balcony. | Consequence: The German monarchy ended and the Weimar Republic was born — though it started in chaos and was associated with surrender.

The Armistice

Date: 11 November 1918 | Cause: Germany could no longer fight — money and troops were running out, and the US had joined the Allies. | Event: Matthias Erzberger signed the armistice (ceasefire agreement) on behalf of the new Weimar Republic, ending WWI. | Consequence: Germans later blamed the Republic's leaders for "stabbing the army in the back" (Dolchstoss myth). These leaders became known as the "November Criminals."

Formation of the Weimar Republic

Date: November 1918 – July 1919 | Cause: The Kaiser had gone, Germany needed a new government. Friedrich Ebert (SPD) took control. | Event: Ebert made deals with the army (Groener Pact), industry, and trade unions to keep order. A National Assembly met in Weimar and agreed a new constitution on 31 July 1919. | Consequence: Germany became a democracy, but the Republic was fragile from the start — it relied on the old army and civil servants, and was hated by both left and right.

The Weimar Constitution

Date: Agreed 31 July 1919 | Cause: Germany needed a formal set of rules for its new democratic government. | Event: Created a president (elected every 7 years), a chancellor, and a parliament (Reichstag) elected by proportional representation. Women could vote for the first time. Article 48 allowed the president to rule by decree in a crisis. | Consequence: Strengths — democratic and had checks and balances. Weaknesses — proportional representation led to unstable coalition governments; Article 48 could be abused to bypass democracy.

The Treaty of Versailles

Date: Signed 28 June 1919 | Cause: WWI ended and the Allies dictated peace terms to Germany — it was a "diktat" (imposed, not negotiated). | Event: Germany lost 10% of its population, 13% of its European territory (e.g. Alsace-Lorraine, West Prussia), all overseas colonies, and almost 50% of its iron. Army limited to 100,000 men. Reparations set at £6.6 billion in 1921. War guilt clause (Article 231) blamed Germany for the war. | Consequence: Germans were humiliated and furious. The Weimar Republic was associated with defeat and shame. Extremist parties used resentment of Versailles to gain support.

The Spartacist Revolt

Date: January 1919 | Cause: The communist KPD (backed by the Spartacist League) saw the revolution as a chance to seize power and create a communist state. | Event: Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, over 100,000 workers took to Berlin's streets, seizing newspaper and telegraph offices. Ebert used the Freikorps (ex-soldiers) to crush the revolt. | Consequence: Revolt was crushed by 13 January. Luxemburg and Liebknecht were arrested and killed by Freikorps. Showed the Republic relied on right-wing forces to survive — storing up future danger.

The Kapp Putsch

Date: March 1920 | Cause: The government tried to disband the Freikorps. Fearing unemployment, Freikorps units marched on Berlin and seized control. | Event: 5,000 armed men marched on Berlin; General Seeckt refused to use the army against them. Nationalist politician Wolfgang Kapp declared himself the new leader. The government fled to Stuttgart. Workers went on strike, paralysing the city. | Consequence: Kapp could not govern; the putsch collapsed after four days. Showed the army could not be trusted to defend the Republic — and that right-wing threats were real.

Political Violence 1919–22

Date: 1919–1922 | Cause: Ongoing instability and extremist opposition to the Weimar Republic from both left and right. | Event: 376 political murders, mostly of moderate politicians. Key victims: Hugo Haasse (1919), Matthias Erzberger (shot, 1921), Walther Rathenau (machine-gunned, 1922). Right-wing judges gave lenient sentences to right-wing killers. | Consequence: The Republic was deeply unstable. Courts were biased against the Republic, making the rule of law unreliable.

French Occupation of the Ruhr

Date: January 1923 | Cause: Germany failed to pay reparations instalments (specifically missed a coal delivery in December 1922). France needed the money to pay its own war debts to the USA. | Event: France and Belgium sent 60,000 troops into the Ruhr — Germany's industrial heartland. Germany called a general strike (passive resistance). The French arrested strikers and confiscated raw materials. | Consequence: Germany's economy collapsed further. The government printed money to pay strikers, triggering hyperinflation. Worsened the crisis of 1923.

Hyperinflation

Date: 1923 (worst by November) | Cause: Germany printed huge amounts of money to pay reparations and fund the Ruhr strike. More money + fewer goods = prices spiralled out of control. | Event: A loaf of bread cost 1 mark in 1919, 100 marks in 1922, and 200,000 billion marks in 1923. Workers were paid twice a day. People used wheelbarrows of cash. | Consequence: Middle classes with savings were wiped out. Normal life became impossible. Many blamed the Weimar Republic, increasing support for extremist parties. (Note: some people benefited — those with loans or foreign currency.)