Weimar and Nazi Germany

Who took control and signed the treaty?

Friedrich Ebert

What percentage of land did Germany lose?

13%, this was given to Poland. Thus splitting Germany into two parts with Poland inbetween.

What happened to the Rhineland?

The Rhineland was demilitarised to create a safe zone between France and Germany with no army

What happened to the German army?

100,000 limit

What happened to the Navy?

The navy was reduced to 15,000 men and 6 ships. The navy was not allowed dreadnoughts.

What other military items were banned for Germany by the ToV?

Submarines, tanks and aeroplanes

What clause blamed Germany for war and what did this allow to happen?

War Guilt Clause 231 stated war was Germany's fault. This meant countries could demand reparations

How much did Germany have to pay in reparations?

£6.6 billion. This was later reduced to 112 billion gold marks through the Young Plan

How often was the Weimar President elected?

Every seven years

What did Article 48 give the President power to do?

He could use it to make laws without going through the Reichstag (Government)

Who appointed the Chancellor?

The President appointed the chancellor

How much support did the chancellor require?

51% of the Reichstag had to support the chancellor

How was the Reichstag elected?

Proportional Representation which means you put preferable choices in number order instead of votes

How often was the election?

Every 4 years

What was the voting age in Weimar Germany?

20 years of age, both men and women could vote

What was the financial problem in 1923 that Weimar Germany faced?

Hyperinflation was the first serious problem.

What started Hyperinflation?

Reparation payment rates were too high, Germany asked for a three year delay time. France and Belgium refused, they believed Germany were lying.

What did France and Belgium then do as a retaliatory act?

They invaded the Ruhr (The money earning area of Germany) with 60,000 soldiers demanding payment of reparations.

What was the action of the German workers?

They took up passive resistance. They went to work then refused to leave stopping any work from happening. Germany promised to keep paying them.

How do Germany afford to pay the soldiers?

They print more money, this reduces the value of money as there is more available. Germany descends into hyperinflation as more money is printed and the value decreases.

What was the next problem Weimar Germany faced?

The Kapp Putsch, the Freikorps had helped defeat the Spartacist uprising in 1919 but still caused it a lot of problems.

What caused the Kapp Putsch?

The ToV stated Germany was only allowed 100,000 men in an army. This included paramilitary forces.

What happened when Ebert tried to disband the Freikorps?

They rebelled and marched on Berlin

What did the army refuse to do to the Freikorps?

They refused to fire at their old colleagues. The Freikorps declared they were in charge and placed Dr. Wolfgang Kapp as leader of Germany

Why did the Kapp Putsch fail?

Dr. Kapp was unpopular with the German people. The population agreed to have a government ordered strike. The putsch failed.

What was the small cut off group from the Freikorps called?

Organisation Consul

They killed Matthias Erzberger in 1921, he was a politician who signed the ToV as well as killing Walther Rathenau. Germany's foreign minister

What was the next problem that faced the Weimar Republic?

The Munich Putsch was the next issue the Republic faced. By 1923 Germany's economy was in tatters from hyperinflation

Who was the leader of the Munich Putsch?

Adolf Hitler

Why did the Putsch fail?

There were two reasons:
1. The army did not side with Hitler instead they shot at them killing 20 nazis
2. The Putsch was in Munich, not the capital, Berlin. It was not close enough to cause any problem to the government

What did the Munich Putsch show Hitler what he had to do to take power?

It showed Hitler he would need to take power legally as he was not able to succeed in a Putsch

What did the "Golden Years of Weimar" allow in society?

1. Freedom of information: there were 120 newspapers and no censorship
2.Women were empowered and given the vote
3.There was political pluralism
4.Freedom of sexuality and interest in sex as well as cabaret and other sexually explicit material

Who was the most famous German explicit German actress?

Marlene Dietrich

When did Gustav Streseman die?

3rd October 1929

When did the Wall Street Crash (WSC) occur?

29th October 1929

Why did the WSC affect Germany?

Germany's economy was dependent on US loans to stabilise it. America desperately needed money so they withdrew them. Throwing Germany's economy into turmoil

How many were left unemployed as a result of the WSC?

Around 6.5 million Germans were left unemployed

What percent of the vote did the Nazis receive in 1928 before the WSC?

2.6% or 0.8 million votes

How many votes did the Nazis receive in 1932?

6.5 million votes or 37% of the votes

Why did Hindenburg not elect Hitler to become Chancellor?

Hindenburg hated the Nazis and hated Hitler too

What did Hindenburg do to avoid the situation?

He used Article 48 to elect a different chancellor

Who did Hindenburg elect?

Franz von Papen

Why did this plan fail?

Papen did not have enough support from the Reichstag to pass any laws

Who became chancellor next, and how did he convince Hindenburg to elect him?

Schleicher convinced Hindenburg that Papen was a poor leader so he was elected chancellor

Why did this election fail?

Schleicher was unpopular with a large number of people so Hindenburg was forced to ask him to leave office

What did Papen try to do to regain power?

He formed a coalition with Hitler. Hitler would become chancellor and Papen would be vice chancellor. Papen thought he could control Hitler from the position of vice chancellor.

What did Papen and Hindenburg do to try and control Hitler from becoming actually powerful?

They gave him control of less than half the government

When was Hitler sworn in as chancellor?

30th January 1933

When did Hindenburg die?

2nd August 1934 of lung cancer. The day before his death, Hitler came to see him. Hindenburg thought it was Wilhelm II and called him "Your majesty"

What date did Hitler become Fuhrer and assume power of government and total control of Germany?

2nd August 1934. The previous day the law was changed to allow him to become complete leader when Hindenburg died: "Law Concerning the Highest State Office of the Reich," which stipulated that upon Hindenburg's death, the offices of president and chancellor would be merged under the title of Leader and Chancellor (Führer und Reichskanzler)

What percent of Germans were unemployed in 1933?

25.9% of Germans were unemployed

What percent of Germans were unemployed by 1939?

Only 0.5% of the German workforce was unemployed

Why were the unemployment figures from 1939 unreliable?

Hitler did not use data from those he had put in concentration camps or ghettos. Such as the Jews, homosexuals or German Gypsy's.

What happened to German Unions?

They were abolished. Instead the National Labour Front was established. However it gave the workforce no voice to complain.

What did the National Labour Front force young men into?

Young, unemployed men aged 18 had to do 3 years of service.

What percent of the German population were Catholic?

Around 33% or one third were Catholic

Why did Hitler allow Catholicism?

He had made a coalition with the Catholic party and it promoted traditional values, like the nazis

Why did the Pope legitimise the Nazis?

Hitler went to see the Pope specially and agreed promises with him about Europe

What caused the Pope to write "With Burning Anxiety"?

Hitler failed to keep his promises to the Pope.

What did Bishop Muller tell all protestant churches to do to show allegiance to Hitler?

He instructed them to fly a Swastika flag at every church

How many male athletes agreed to attend the 1936 Berlin Olympics?

3632 men

How many female athletes attended the Berlin Olympics?

331 women competed

When were the games opened?

1st August 1936

Which country boycotted the games completely?

The Soviet Union

How many athletes signed up to compete at the Peoples Olympiad in Barcelona in the same year?

Around 6,000 athletes signed up

Why was the Peoples Olympiad cancelled?

The outbreak of the Spanish Civil War

What other country had large numbers of boycotting athletes?

Turkey, the majority of those who did attend refused to meet Hitler due to his anti-Semitic views

What did President Roosevelt demand of US athletes?

He demanded that they participated in the games

Why was Jesse Owens such an important figure from the games?

He won 4 gold medals. Including the 100 metres gold. This helped to prove that racial inferiority was untrue, despite German beliefs otherwise.

Which country won the most medals at the games?

Germany, they won 89. Including 33 gold medals.