CIE IGCSE History : The Weimar Republic 1918-1929

when was the Kiel Mutiny?

November 3rd 1918

what happened during the Kiel Mutiny?

German sailors mutinied instead of following orders to attack British Royal Navy

What did the mutiny spark?

rebellions all over the country

when did Kaiser Wilhelm abdicate?

9 November 1918

Why did Kaiser Wilhelm abdicate?

When The Allies offered Germany peace, they had one strict condition. Germany should become democratic and the Kaiser should abdicate

why was the government called ‘‘November criminals’’?

because they signed an armistice behind the army’s back. Known as the stab-in-the-back theory (Dolchstasslegende)

Who is Friedrich Ebert?

leader of Social Democratic Party (SDP)

Who power over Germany after the Kaiser’s abdication?

Friedrich Ebert, who became the Chancellor

Why did Ebert and his party meet in Weimar?

Berlin was too unsafe after Spartacist uprising

When was the the new constitution signed?

August 1919

what were the strengths of the Weimar Republic?

• a genuine democracy

• Power of the Reichstag

• A Bill of Rights

what was the bill of rights?

Guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech, religion, and equality under the law

what were the weaknesses of the republic?

• proportional representation

• Article 48

why was proportional representation a weakness?

because each party got the same percentage of seats in the parliament as votes it received in an election. A lot of small parties in parliament making it difficult to pass laws and led to weak and short-lived governments

article 48

gave the president the power to act without parliament’s approval in an emergency

why was article 48 a weakness?

Did not define what ‘emergency’ was so the power was overused, which weakened Germans’ confidence in democracy

when did the Spartacists rebel in Berlin?

5-12 January 1919

who led the Spartacist uprising?

Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht

who are the Spartacists?

left-wing communists

who defeated the Spartacist rebels?

The Freikorps

Who are the Freikorps?

Right-wing nationalists

what happened in the aftermath of the Spartacist uprising?

communist workers’ councils took power all over Germany, and a Communist People’s Government took power in Bavaria

When was Luxemburg and Liebknecht arrested?

15 January 1919

Who killed Luxemburg and Liebknecht

the Freikorps

when did the Freikorps defeat all Spartacist uprisings?

By May 1919

Why did the Freikorps disband?

Due to terms of treaty of versailles

when did Dr Wolfgang Kapp lead a Freikorps takeover in Berlin?

13 - 17 March 1920

How was Kapp defeated?

when the workers in Berlin went on strike and refused to cooperate with him

The Kapp Putsch

A failed coup led by Wolfgang Kapp and supported by nationalist and paramilitary groups, it sought to establish a right-wing government.

When did Gustav Stresemann become Chancellor?

August 1923 during the hyperinflation crisis

Why did France and Belgium send troops into the Ruhr?

Because Germany defaulted on reparation payments

How did Germany react to the occupation of the Ruhr?

The German government ordered a passive resistance

what is passive resistance?

workers refusing to work or cooperate with foreign troops and in return the government would pay their wages

How did the French respond to the passive resistance?

They shot or expelled the workers

Who were the Black Reichswehr?

a nationalist group

How did Stresemann end hyperinflation? (4 points)

• calling off passive resistance in the Ruhr

• promising to pay reparations again

• introducing a new currency - the rentenmark

• reducing the amount of money the government sent

When was the Dawes Plan proposed and agreed?

Proposed April 1924, agreed September 1924

When was the Young Plan proposed and agreed?

Proposed August 1929, agreed January 1930

Locarno Treaties 1925

October 1925 Germany, France, and Belgium agreed to respect their post-versailles borders, whilst Germany agreed with Poland and czechoslovakia to settle any border disputes peacefully

How did Germany become a permanent member of the League of Nation Council?

by signing locarno treaties germany showed that it was accepting the Versailles settlement and later accepted as permanent member of the Council

Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928

62 countries signed up, committed its signatories to settling disputes between them peacefully

The Dawes Plan

a plan to restructure Germany’s reparation payments