History - Germany Depth Study - Weimar Consistution

4 marker - ‘Describe…’

• 4 facts

• 5 mins

6 marker - ‘Why….’

• 2 PEEL

• 10 mins

10 marker - ‘How far do you agree with this statement?’

• 20 mins

• 3 PEEL’s

  • 1 agree

  • 1 disagree

  • 1 for side you support

• Balanced argument (discuss AGREE and DISAGREE)

• Conclusion for overall judgement

  • Which point (agree or disagree) is most important

  • Why?

  • Reason for own opinion (why agree or disagree

7 marker - Source Q - how far do these sources agree?

• Use COP

• structure

  • 2 simillarities

  • 2 differences

  • summary - overall sources agree/ disagree bc…

• identify message, origin, purpose

• origin

  • who said it

  • when was it written

• purpose

  • why was it written

  • propaganda?

Nationalism

Having a strong sense of national identity, belief that own country is superior to others

Conscription

Mandatory military enlistment

factors that led up to the start of WW1

• militrasation of Germany

  • theatrening towards France and GB

  • France and GB form alliance, cause tension

    • seeing germany as potential threat

• Africa colonization

  • shared desires to have their own empires (imperialism).

  • Fought over land to build and increase own empires

• Assaintaion of Arch Duke Franz Feridland

  • Heir to Austrian-Hungarian throne

  • The Austro-Hungarians blamed the Serbian government for the assassination. ​

  • Aus-Hun unsure if to declare war on serb (had alliance with russia) and Germany offers blank cheque (unwavering support) inwhich provided sufficient reassurance and support

start and end of ww1

July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918

1914-1918

politcial impacts of ww1 on germany

• kaiser abidicated

• establishment of a new goverment (Weimar republic)

• TOV

  • accept full blame - war guilt cause

    • seen as a widespread threat to nations, garnered a horrible reputation

  • was not allowed to join peace discussions, LON, especially meetings that discussed TOV terms

  • raised idea of ‘stabbed in the back’ by german polictians and us spread

    • lead to extremist groups and ideas to form

      • promises of reform and abolishemnt of the treaty

    • polictians who signed TOV labeled as November criminal

economic impacts of ww1 on germany

• Hyperinflation

  • War debt of 156 billion marks

  • Had to pay reparations to France and GB

  • Reparation payments strained economy

  • Money became virtually worthless

  • By November 1923, one US dollar = 4.2 trillion marks

  • Savings wiped out, middle class devastated

  • Had to pay pensions towards widows, elderly, injured soldiers, families of dead soldiers, orphans, disabled

  • Wages couldn't keep pace with inflation

• Loss of industrial regions

  • Rhineland

  • Sarr

  • Alsace Lorraine

Industrial and Agricultural Disruption

• Loss of 15% of arable land

• 75% of iron ore deposits lost

• Coal production reduced by 26%

• Trade networks disrupted

• Food shortages and rationing continued after war

Ebert

Appointed leader of new Weimar Republic / gov

Republic

term to descirbe country w/o monarchy

Consitution

Set of rules ab how country should be ran

Strengths of weimar consitution

• Germany became democarcy

  • Impression towards other countries that they wanted to change - peaceful

  • showed willingliness to establish better relations

• proportional representation allowed smaller parties to be voted into the Reichstag

  • Meant that more opinions could be heard to create a more equitable and right system

  • members within parliament voted in by proportional representation every 4 years

  • number of votes = % of seats you’d get within parliment

• All men and WOMEN over 20 could vote

  • Huge progression at that time, women originally couldn’t vote - seen as housewives

• Reichstag (german parliament) had power to approve or reject laws

moderately

to a certain extent, fair

Weaknesses of teh weimar consitution

• Communist strongly opposed democacry and nationalist

• Army generals and judges within german gov were same men who served kaiser

  • conflcited opnions ab new republic

• chancellor unable to gain much power

  • needed 50% maj. of support from Reichstag

• clash of diff politcal opnions due to widespread politcal parties

  • many arguements

  • weakened consitution

  • lesser laws and decsions made

• Article 48: Emergency Powers

  • Gave the President power to pass laws w/o need for reichstag voting

  • Lack of clear def of emergency

  • often abused

• porptional representation also often allowed extremist groups to join the reichstag

  • Allowed extreme ideas to enter discussions which were seen as validand official polictal opinions

define the implications of teh TOV

• limited german army to 100,000 men

  • led to mass unemployment

  • humilating fro german people

    • oirginally had powerful army, now turned to crap

  • theatrened by france as they are now defenseless against any pitential attacks

• Territorial issues

  • loss of resources

    • 16% of coal

    • 16% of iron

  • loss of population unity due to different reigons being split up and under control of other coutries

• reparations

  • 6.6 bill marks

  • very expensive

  • germany alrdy in severe war debt, couldn’t afford to pay

  • led to inflation (hyper inflation)

  • germany had to donate own resources to suffice and act as payments

• 14 points and LON

  • couldn’t join until it was peace loving country

  • excluded from TOV term discussions - signed on the impression that the 14 points would be enforced, however, weren't, felt betrayed

• war guilt

  • had to take full blmae

  • did not feel they were responsible as they were only helping aus hungry (allies)

• german people distastified, felt that their country had been ‘stabbed in the back’

what happend to alsace lorraine after ww1

handed back to france

what happened to rhineland after ww1

demilitarised

what happened to sarr after ww1

under LON control for 15 yrs

amount that germany had to pay in reparations

6.6 billion marks

germany terriorial losses (stats)

• 13% of territory

• 12.5 % of population

• 16% coal and iron

• 48% of industry

define ‘putsch’

rebellion

who were the friedkorps?

an armed, right-wing group of ex German soldiers who disagreed with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

key figures in the spartacist suprising

rosa luxemburg

karl Liebknecht

key events of the spartistis uprising

• left wing - communism

• against democracy - wanted soviet style rule

• Ebert enabled a miliatry repsonse inwhich he sent the Freikorps (paramilitary units of ex-soldiers) to fight against the rebels

• deepened left right divisions

• occurred in jan 1919

what was the kapp putsch

• occured in 1920 in berlin

• a coup committed by right-wing soldiers in Berlin

• government FLED berlin

• right wing polictal group led by wolfgnag kapp

• Kapp declared himself Chancellor - dishonoring gov

• however friedkorp refused to fire as they wouldn’t fire on their own people (soldiers)

  • Gov threatened to disband friedkorp

  • fear, uncertainty regarding future

• act of passive resistance from workers

  • gov called for a general strike (a substantial amount of workers stopped working) as an act of rebellion against the coup

  • key industrial areas were shut down, berlin paralyzed

  • Civil servants refused to follow Kapp's orders

  • Kapp unable to access government funds (banks closed)

  • Attempted to print money but printers refused to works

describe the politcal assainstaions that occured duirng the weimar republic

• 354 murders committed by right-wing groups

• Victims included

  • Matthias Erzberger (signed armistice/ TOV)

• Lenient sentences of right-wing killers

  • judges were also right winged - showed sympathy and bias

describe the evnets of the rhur invasion

• germany began to fall behind reparation payments

• french and belgian troops invade the ruhr to take the industrail resources directly by force

• german gov. called for passive resistance

  • workers to go on strike instead of complying with french and belg. troop terms

  • = no products made

  • = income

• backfired

  • german gov still had to pay workers

  • so they printed more money

  • inturn, contributing to hyperinflation

describe the events taht contributed to hyperinflation in 1923

• heavy reparations

• war debt

• pensions to be paid to orphans, eldery, disbaled, wives

• kaiser big spending

• loss of key industrial areas

  • sarr and rhineland

  • 15% coal and iron loss

• continuous money printing

define inflation

the devaluation of currency/ money

who were the least affected by hyperinflation in 1923?

• upper class, wealthy people

• farmers

  • exchange for otehr beneficeries

  • could grow own crops - did not need to depend on the fluctuating market

• those with fixed costs

  • people with fixed rents - easier to pay as rent would not increase as inflation occurred

  • people who had originally loaned from banks could easily pay off debts

    • value of money increased, however amount remains same

descibe the events of the munich putsch / beerhall - 1923

• hitler and nazis attempted to take power through an interruption of a beer hall meeting at Munich/ bavaria

• pointed the 3 baavrian leaders at gunpoint and forced them to support his ideas of a national revolution

• however, Ludendorff allowed the polictains to leave the hall on the agreement that they wouldn't expose them

• inwhich the polictians did nit follow and ratted hitler out to the police

• inturn, the next day, a fire fight occurred between the authorities and the SA group and hitler

• hitler and his allies were ultimately imprisoned

• this brought time for hitler to write mein kampf and spread propaganda

• allowed hitler to review his strategies and he concluded that he coudln’t gain power by force and instead had to work strategically

• inwhcih they would take power through the legal path, through inside the government

• imprisonment of hitler and the nazis were very lenient

• again shows the bias of the right wing judges

• hitler was very persuasive and emotive speaker during court and convinced judges to offer shorter sentences

• Hitler received a remarkably light sentence: 5 years imprisonment (he served only 9 months)

when did the beer hall putsch / munich putch occur

nov 1923

what were the economic policeies of stressesman?

• replaced old currency ‘marks’ with retenmarks

  • worth more, value increased

  • supply of the new currency was limited to 3,200 million Rentenmarks

  • 1 renten = 1 tril. old marks

  • gov had to cut spending

    • led to 70,000 employees to be laid off

  • provided belief and support that there was still hope for GErmany post war

    • restored confidence in the country for citizens

    • everything had been going very bad until then

    • this gave reassurance to citizens that the country is soon to turn over a new leaf

  • appointed a finance expert to manage new currency

  • 1924, he replaced the temp. rentenmarks with permanent Reichsmark

  • ended hyperinflation

• involvement of young plan 1929

  • The Dawes plan was only temporary, and so at the end of the 1920s, discussions continued again about reparations payments in the long-term for Germany.  

  • Another committee was organised, this time under the leadership of Owen Young, an American industrialist. They met and agreed on a new proposal in 1929.   

  • The overall sum of reparations was reduced considerably (by nearly 20%).  

  • The payment period was extended – going forwards they would have 59 years to pay, and were due to end in 1988.  

  • The instalments paid by Germany would depend on how well she was doing economically each year. 

  • US banks would continue to loan Germany money.  

  • The foreign powers would no longer have control over the railways and the Reichsbank. 

• involvement of the dawes plan 1924

  • committee that discussed germany’s reparations

  • concluded that overall sum should remain same with an indefinite payment period

  • Payments were reorganised so that the instalments, (annual payments), were lower. They would start out as 1 billion marks per year and increase to 2.5 billion by 1928.   

  • America would loan Germany a sum of 800 million marks initially, and provided more loans later on. 

  • The Ruhr was to be returned to the full control of the Germans and that French and Belgian troops would pull out of the region as soon as was possible. 

  • the Allies would take control of the Weimar’s national bank, the Reichsbank, and restructure it. 

• ended passive resistance against french and belgians

  • showed a willingliness to cooperate with the fp french and belg

  • caused heavy discontent within the workers as it felt like they were surrendering and giving in to the terms of the TOV

  • no longer fighting back like how they originally would.

  • however, this did lead to the french and belgium forces to leave the area by 1925 with the promise of the continuation of reparation payments

  • furthermore, the return of workers meant that goods were being reproduced once more and providing the country with a stable income

what did germany need to focus on rebuilding after the war?

• international repuattion

  • tarnished repuatation

• economy stability

  • pensions towards eldery, orphans, disabled, widows

  • create jobs for returning soliders

• politcal stability

  • kiaser abdicated

• social stability

  • food shortages

  • discontent within german public regarding TOV

describe the dawes plan 1924

• committee that discussed germany’s reparations

• concluded that overall sum should remain same with an indefinite payment period

• Payments were reorganised so that the instalments, (annual payments), were lower. They would start out as 1 billion marks per year and increase to 2.5 billion by 1928.   

• America would loan Germany a sum of 800 million marks initially, and provided more loans later on. 

• The Ruhr was to be returned to the full control of the Germans and that French and Belgian troops would pull out of the region as soon as was possible. 

• the Allies would take control of the Weimar’s national bank, the Reichsbank, and restructure it. 

describe youngs plan 1929

 

• The overall sum of reparations was reduced by 20%

• Germany to have 59 years to pay, and were due to end in 1988.  

• Installments/ yearly payemnts determine dby economic stability and status of germany

• US banks would continue to loan Germany money.  

• foreign powers to lose control over railways and reichsbank

when did germnay join leage

1926

terms of the TOV

what wer ethe locrano treaties/ pacts

• germany, uk, itakly, france, belgium agreed for peace

what was the kellog briand pact

• countries promsied to disarm in order to iniate peace

when did germany sign TOV

1919 june 28

a politcial figures killed by right wing assasins during era of weimar republic

• Matthias Erzberger (signed armistice/ TOV)

why were judges lenient with right wing sentences?

• had simillar veiws - also right winged

  • nationalist, conservative views

  • disliked new democaratic republic

  • felt that it was reasonabel that right winged groups be discontent

• judges were upper class

  • viewed the assaisnations as an act of defense from the irght wing in order to protect germany

how many were killed by right wing groups?

354 politicans

when was kellogg briand pact signed?

1928

when were locarno treaties signed

1925

descibr the relation of usa, germany and france via loans and reperations

usa → loan germ. money → germ pay off reparations to france → france pay off war debts towards US

what was stressesman’s foregin policy?

• strategy of satisfaction/ fufillment

  • comply iwth TOV terms (eg, paying rep. ontime) in order to showcase willingness to change

  • also work diplomatically to change them

• led germany to joining LON in 1926 as perm council member

  • showcased their new importance

  • platform to advocate for germany’s interests and goals

  • highlighting germany’s new found status as a reformed country and return to international diplomacy

  • demonstrate german commitment to peaceful diplomacy

how did stressesman ‘save’ germany?

• mended international reputation

  • succesfully enabled revisions towards the TOV through effective political diplomacy rather than forceful confrontation

  • lessened german territory occupation by other countries

  • restore germany’s political standing and tarnished reputation

  • successfully became perm council member of LON in

• stablised economy

  • ended hyperinflation

  • secured US loans to help pay reparations, put less stress on germany itself - lessened the economic burden

  • industrial production levels exceeded pre war levels by 1928

  • enabled germany to experience a ‘golden age’

how didnt stressesman save germany?

• heavy reliance on foregin loans, creating vulnerability

  • if germany to stop receiving us loans, they wouldn’t be able to pay up reparations

  • wall street crash

    • USA had to take back all foreign aid and loans given to Germany through young and dawes plans

    • leaving Germany vulnerable and going into an inevitable economic crisis

    • inwhich stressesman failed to prevent because his policies depended on the US’s aid

• failed to address underlying political issues

  • extremist groups were still widespread and continued gaining support

  • democractic consistitution lacked public support

• heavy reliance on stressesman in the polictal structure

• did not address public dissatisfaction

  • policy of fulfilment perceived by public as appealing/ giving into the allies

  • did not garner support

    • e.g

      • stressesman calling off passive resistance in the ruhr/ paying reparations

      • perceived as Germany giving up defending themselves

      • add fire to fuel for increasing resentment against the government by the nazis and other extremist groups

      • seen by many nationalist and conservative groups in Germany as a betrayal

what was article 48?

gave president power to approve sny law in the state of emergency, w/o needing approval of reichstag, bypassing elected policticans.

‘emergency’ was never clearly defined - leading to widespread misuse of power

stressesman 5 R’s when solving germany issues

• rentenmark/ reichsmark

  • recovered wages

  • germans happy

  • ended hyperinflation

  • confidence restored in trade and buissness

  • however, germans did not get returned their savings

• reperations

  • however, Germany became heavily depdenat on usa’s loans and many germans did not believe reparations should be paid at all - considered giving in towards the enemy - sign fo weakness

  • Became less of a threat and reparations became more manageable

    • dawes plan

      • committee that discussed germany’s reparations

      • concluded that overall sum should remain same with an indefinite payment period

      • Payments were reorganised so that the instalments, (annual payments), were lower. They would start out as 1 billion marks per year and increase to 2.5 billion by 1928.   

      • America would loan Germany a sum of 800 million marks initially, and provided more loans later on. 

      • The Ruhr was to be returned to the full control of the Germans and that French and Belgian troops would pull out of the region as soon as was possible. 

      • the Allies would take control of the Weimar’s national bank, the Reichsbank, and restructure it. 

      • overall - gave germany longer to pay reparations with support of USA

    • Young plan

      • significantly reduced reparation amount by 20%

      • The payment period was extended – going forwards they would have 59 years to pay, and were due to end in 1988.  

      • The instalments paid by Germany would depend on how well she was doing economically each year. 

      • US banks would continue to loan Germany money.  

      • The foreign powers would no longer have control over the railways and the Reichsbank. 

• ruhr

  • ended passive resistance

  • led the french and beligiums to leave ruhr as reparation payments were recontinued

  • unpopular decision - many germans did not believe reparations should be paid at all - considered giving in towards the enemy - sign fo weakness

• relations

  • singing of bellogg kriand pact and lorcano treaties

  • showcased willingness to establish peace between nations

  • rebuild relation and building better terms with former enemies

  • germnay allowed to join leaguein 1926

  • eased international cooperation, making war less likely to occur

  • however, there was no attempt at regaining lost territory

    • dissatisfied german public

    • seen as ‘weak’

• rebuild economy

  • germany received loans from us to pay off reparations

  • enabled a better quality of life

  • however, tax had to increase to pay off loans. germany became heavily dependent on us

    • became detrimental in the long term when wall street crash

      • USA had to take back all foreign aid and loans given to Germany through young and dawes plans

      • leaving Germany vulnerable and going into an inevitable economic crisis

      • inwhich stressesman failed to prevent because his policies depended on the US’s aid