history - germany under the kaiser

strengths of kaiser's political system

- Speed: kaiser can make quick + efficient decisions bc there is one person in charage

- Middle class: mc happy with right-wing dominated gvt (they don't want the workers to gain power)

- Representation: the bundesrat mean that each region of germany is represented

- Opposition: the reichstag can [theoretically] challenge the kaiser

weaknesses of kaiser's political system

- Opposition: reichstag had little influence + could be ignored by kaiser

- Bundesrat: the elite in society + agreed w the kaiser's views. either way the kaiser could ignore them

- Character: kaiser = unsuitable for the role bc he had unstable moods

- Majority: parties in the reichstag never won a majority but the right-wing parties would group together (coalition) to pass the kaiser's laws

what was germany's economic goal under the kaiser and how did they plan on achieving it

goal - become as economically strong as GB

how - industrialisation

what were the 3 main things happening during industrialisation

1. urbanisation - ppl moving to cities

2. production - industrial production goes up

3. modernisation - germany's industries advanced + modernised

evidence for more ppl moving to cities

- population of berlin doubled from 1875-1910

- by 1910, 60% of germans lived in a town or city

- in 1871 there were 8 towns with more than 100k ppl; in 1910 there were 48 towns w more than 100k ppl

evidence for industrial production increase

- germany overtook gb in percentage of share of world production in 1913

stats:

1880 - 1890 - 1913:

gb: 23% - 18% - 15%

g: 12% - 15% - 17%

evidence for modernisation of germany's industries

main produce in 1870s = coal, iron, steel, cotton cloth (mainly primary goods)

main produce by 1914 = electrics, chemical industry, motor construction (mainly secondary goods)

how did the increase in industrial workers threaten germany

1. ELITES: industrialisation = elites (factory owners, business owners etc) become more rich

2. WORKER TREATMENT: workers suffer in industry - low pay, bad conditions + expensive cost of living (ie. food)

3. WORKER RIGHTS: workers fight for better - trade unions, strikes

4. INFLUENCE: political influence of workers rises (1/3 vote for SPD)

5. REVOLUTION: extreme socialists want to rebel - no central gvt + run country in smaller councils (never acc happens but adds to instability)

6. THREAT: rise in socialism threaten's germany (plans for improving economy + political stability)

why was weltpolitik important

germany only became a country in 1871

it had been left behind in a sense by the other european countries

when did the anglo-german naval race begn

1902

what were the naval laws and how long were they in effect for

- the kaiser ordered the building of more battleships

- from 1898-1912

give evidence that the german empire increased in size

gained 6 african countries

gained 7 south pacific countries/island groups

ww1 sides

germany, austria-hungary, italy

vs

gb, france, russia, serbia

(all inc. colonies)

3 ways ww1 had an impact on germany

economic

political

societal

ww1 economic impact

- DEBT: g in debt (borrowed from usa to pay for war)

- LENDING: g lent money to allies: unlikely to be payed back

- FACTORIES: factories not making money: exhausted from making weaponry

- WAR PENSIONS: 600,000 widows + 2,000,000 kids w/o fathers = war pensions to cost a lot in the future

7 step account of how ww1 ended

1. LUDENDORFF: general ludendorff advised g that the usa, gb + france will treat g better if it is more democratic

2. POWER SHARE: in response, the kaiser shared power - allowed the main political parties to form a new gvt

3. PEOPLE RESONSE: german ppl still unhappy - they want no more kaiser

4. SAILORS + SOLDIERS: german sailors refused to follow orders. german soldiers did the same + took over towns + set up councils to run them

5. ABDICATION: kaiser abdicates (nov 1918) + disappears from g

6. EBERT: friedrich ebert replaces kaiser temporarily + promises the end of the war

7. SURRENDER: germany surrenders + ww1 ends

what was the kaiser's name

kaiser wilhelm ii

what was the role of the kaiser

- head of germany

- appointed the chancellor

- controlled foreign policy

- controlled armed forces

what kind of character did kaiser wilhelm have

either energetic + charming or impatient + rude

german political system from top to bottom

kaiser - chancellor - bundesrat - reichstag - men - women

role of the chancellor

- head of gvt (like PM)

- chooses gvt ministers

- proposes new laws to reichstag

role of the bundesrat

- elites of each area

- similar to house of lords

- influence over kaiser: same social circle

role of the reichstag

- elected every few yrs

- can say no to proposed laws

- kaiser can summon or dismiss reichstag

role of men in kaiser political system

- over 25s can vote

role of women in kaiser political system

- no vote

what did industrialisation mean for germany

- industrial workers became single biggest group in society --> 10.86 million

- they were unhappy and wanted change (kaiser = rw)

- germany's ECONOMIC strength UP bc of industrialisation

- germany's POLITICAL stability DOWN bc of discontent + threat of rebellion from lw groups

what was the SPD

social democratic party

lw - believed in socialism

what was germany's main foreign policy under the kaiser

weltpolitik

what is weltpolitik

translates to 'world policy'

the kaiser's plan to turn germany into a global power by doing two things:

- growing the navy

- building germany's empire

what 2 things did the kaiser do for weltpolitik

1. introduced naval laws

2. increased size of army

show proof, in terms of battleships, that the naval laws worked

1898: 12 battleships

1900: 38 battleships

give evidence for the anglo-german naval race

number of dreadnoughts

1906 - 1914

g: 0-17

gb: 1-29

number of dreadnought battle cruises

1906-1914

g: 0-7

gb: 0-9

bad consequences of weltpolitik

- more borrowing + more tax bc of extra spending

--> workers = angry

--> germany = in debt

- became a cause of WWI (increased tension)

- germany's empire never became as big as the others

good consequence of weltpolitik

the plan worked + the empire increased in size, as well as the navy

ww1 political impact

- SYSTEM: new gvt system as kaiser abdicated + disappeared

- SOLDIERS: felt betrayed by country + refused to support politicians who ended the war

ww1 societal impact

- DIVIDE: society further divided - factory owners = rich, factory workers = capped wages

- POVERTY: ppl were surviving on turnips + bread; flu epidemic kills ppl weak w malnutrition