Germany and West Germany: Weimar Republic

What was A48 and its significance?

allowing the President to rule by decree and suspend civil rights during a national emergency without parliament's approval

• undermined democracy by allowing the President to bypass parliament, which paralyzed the Reichstag and accustomed Germans to dictatorial rule

• In 1933, Hitler used Article 48 to pass the Reichstag Fire Decree, legally destroying democracy and cementing Nazi control

How many times did Ebert use A48 through the Weimar consitution?

136

What is proportional representation and its significance?

1 seat = 60,000 votes

• Because it was nearly impossible for one party to win a majority, unstable coalitions were forced to form, leading to frequent government collapses

• allowed tiny, radical parties (like the Nazis in their early years) to gain a foothold in parliament and a national platform they wouldn't have had otherwise

What was A231 in the TOV? Its Significance?

Forced G to take full responsibility of the WW1 losses and damage

What was A232 in the TOV? Its Significance?

Legally condemned to pay back war reparations

• caused widespread outrage and humiliation across Germany, severely damaging the Weimar Republic's legitimacy from day one

• served as the legal basis that allowed the Allies to demand massive, crippling financial reparations

What was A119 in the TOV? Its Significance?

Renounce all rights/titles to overseas colonies and possesions

• stripped Germany of valuable raw materials, markets, and investment opportunities, severely damaging its post-war economic recovery and ending its status as a global empire.

• Germans felt humiliated and betrayed because 14 Points had promised a fair settlement regarding colonies, further destroying public trust in the Weimar government that signed it

What was A118 in the Weimar constitution? Its Significance?

Right to express opinion freely by word, print, picture or any other way

• enabled the vibrant, radical, and experimental culture of the 1920s (Weimar Golden Age) and allowed both left- and right-wing political parties to campaign and criticize the government openly

• Because it was a fundamental right, it was one of the primary targets suspended by the President using Article 48 during crises

What % of land was taken away from Germany following the TOV?

13%

What was the Ebert-Groener Agreement and its significance?

A secret pact where the army promised to defend the new Weimar republic against communist revolution in exchange for keeping its traditional power and independence.

• Allowed the government to use the military to brutally stop early left-wing revolts (like the Spartacists), securing Weimar's short-term survival.

• Left an anti-democratic, right-wing military elite in power, creating an independent "state within a state" that was never truly loyal to the Republic.

When was the Ebert-Groener Agreement ?

10/11/18

When was the Stinnes-Legien Agreement?

15/11/18

What was the Stinnes-Legien Agreement and its significance?

A pact between Stinnes (representing industrialists) andLegien (representing trade unions) where businesses recognized unions and agreed to an 8-hour workday in exchange for unions ending wildcat strikes and dropping demands to nationalize industry.

• It prevented a full-scale communist economic revolution by pacifying the working class, securing vital union cooperation for the new Weimar Republic.

• It established the principle of collective bargaining and worker rights, forming the foundation of Weimar's progressive, welfare-state democracy.

How long was Von Schleicher chancellor?

3 December 1932 – 30 January 1933

What did Von Schleicher do?

He was an army general and the last Weimar Chancellor tried to stop Hitler by attempting to split the Nazi Party and form a coalition with its moderate wing (led by Strasser) and trade unions.

• His plan failed completely, which infuriated his rival Franz von Papen; Papen then schemed with President Hindenburg to make Hitler Chancellor, thinking they could control him.

• His brief, unstable chancellorship marked the final collapse of Weimar’s parliamentary system, directly opening the door for Hitler to take power legally.

How long was Von Papen chancellor?

01/06/32 - 01/12/32

What did Von Papen do?

convinced President Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor in January 1933, serving as Hitler's Vice-Chancellor.

• Believing he could manipulate Hitler, Papen struck a deal to make Hitler Chancellor with himself as Vice-Chancellor, famously boasting, "Within two months, we will have pushed Hitler so far into a corner that he'll squeak."

• His political scheming and miscalculation completely bypassed the Reichstag, directly handing the keys of power to the Nazi party and destroying the Republic.

How long was Bruning chancellor? His nickname?

30/03/30 - 30/04/32

The Hungry Chancellor

What did Bruning do?

By relying entirely on Article 48 instead of the Reichstag, he effectively ended parliamentary democracy in Germany three years before Hitler took power.

His brutal austerity measures worsened the depression, earned him massive public hatred, and drove millions of desperate, unemployed voters toward extreme parties like the Nazis.

How many parties were in the Reichstag?

30

How long was Stresemann in government?

Chancellor - August 1923 to November 1923

Foreign Minister - 1923 - 29

How many tanks were allowed in the military following the TOV?

0

How many soliders were allowed in the military following the TOV?

100k

No conscription

How much of the airforce were allowed in the military following the TOV?

0

What % was in favour of democracy in the 1919 elections?

82%

What was the nickname given to Papens cabinet?

Cabinet of Barons due to lack of support and aristocratic makeup

How many women deputies in the Reichstag in 1926

32

When was the German Revolution from below? From above?

Nov 1918

Oct 1918

What was the German Revolution form above and below? Its significance?

ABOVE: Germany's military leaders (Ludendorff and Hindenburg) who handed power to a civilian government under Prince Max of Baden to secure a better peace deal from the Allies.

BELOW: popular revolt started by striking workers and mutinying sailors (like the Kiel Mutiny) who demanded an end to the war and forced the Kaiser to abdicate.

• The dual pressure forced the Kaiser into exile and led directly to the declaration of the Weimar Republic, completely ending the German Empire.

• By shifting power to civilians right before the surrender, the military elite successfully blamed "November Criminals" for losing the war, permanently damaging Weimar's legitimacy.

Who were the Freikorps? Why did the Weimar rely on them?

Right-wing, anti-communist paramilitary groups made up of demobilized World War I soldiers who kept their weapons and deeply hated the Weimar Republic.

• The official German army was too weak and disorganized under the Treaty of Versailles, so Chancellor Ebert used the Freikorps to brutally suppress left-wing uprisings like the 1919 Spartacist Revolt.

• They were the only highly trained, armed, and motivated military force available to the government capable of maintaining order and preventing a Bolshevik-style revolution in Germany's chaotic early years.

How many Freikorps marched on Berlin to defeat the Kapp Putsch?

12k

When was the Kapp Putsch?

March 1920

What was the Kapp Putsch? Why was it significant?

A right-wing coup attempt led by Wolfgang Kapp and Freikorps units who marched into Berlin, forced the Weimar government to flee, and declared a new nationalist government because the Weimar Republic tried to disband their military units due to the TOV.

• defeated because the Weimar government called for a massive general strike, which paralyzed Berlin’s water, gas, and transport, forcing Kapp to flee after just four days.

• German army refused to fire on the rebels ("Troops do not fire on troops"), proving that the Republic could not rely on its own military to protect it from right-wing threats hence Freikorps used

What was the Munich Putsch? Why was it significant?

A failed coup attempt by Adolf Hitler and NSDAP, alongside WWI hero General Ludendorff, who tried to overthrow the Bavarian government in Munich as a launching pad to march on Berlin and seize national power.

• total failure convinced Hitler that he could not take power by force; he decided to change tactics and legally destroy democracy from within by winning elections.

• Hitler’s subsequent trial was broadcast across Germany, giving him a massive national platform to spread his ideas

• transform from a local extremist into a national hero.

What was the Ruhr Uprising? Why was it significant?

A massive left-wing revolt by "Red Ruhr Army" of workers who took control of Germany’s main industrial region (the Ruhr) immediately following the failure of the right-wing Kapp Putsch.

• used the army and Freikorps to mercilessly crushed —the very same right-wing forces that had just tried to overthrow the government days earlier in the Kapp Putsch.

• brutal suppression permanently alienated the German working class from the moderate SPD politicians running the Weimar Republic, driving many workers toward KPD

What was the Spartacist Uprising? Why was it significant?

A violent left-wing revolt in Berlin led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg of the communist Spartacus League, attempted to overthrow Ebert's moderate government to establish a Soviet-style workers' republic.

• forced to rely on Freikorps, who executed Liebknecht and Luxemburg and murdered workers.

• The brutal suppression created a deep, permanent hatred between the SPD + KPD, preventing them from ever working together

When was the Munich Putsch?

Nov 1923

When was the Ruhr Uprising?

March 1920

When was the Spartacist Uprising?

05/01/1919

How many workers formed an army in the Ruhr Uprising what was its nickname?

50k

Red Army

How many Nazi and Police officers were killed in the Kapp Putsch?

16

10

How many workers died in the Ruhr Uprising? How many French troops invaded?

Over 1000

60k

What and when was the Keil Mutiny?

Nov 1918

When was the Great Inflation/Hyperinflation? Its significance?

1921

• catastrophic economic crisis where the value of the German Mark collapsed completely

• wiped out life savings, pensions, and safety nets of the German middle class, causing widespread poverty and creating a deep, permanent resentment toward the Weimar Republic.

• chaos triggered coups like Munich Putsch, also forced the Republic to appoint Gustav Stresemann, who successfully stabilized the economy by introducing the Rentenmark.

In 1914 how many marks made up £ then in 1919?

20

250

When was the Wall Street Crash?

29/10/29

What was the wall street crash how did it effect Germany?

The sudden, catastrophic collapse of the US stock market on Wall Street, which triggered a global economic crisis known as the Great Depression.

• The US banks immediately recalled the massive short-term loans (under the Dawes Plan) that had been keeping the Weimar economy afloat, causing German businesses to collapse and factories to close.

• unemployment skyrocketing

• resulting poverty and despair destroyed public faith in democracy, directly leading to the rise of extremist parties as voters abandoned moderate choices for the Communists and the Nazis.

What did AJP Taylor say about the Wall Street Crash? What is his argument?

“Wind in Hitlers sail“

• did not possess a rigid, long-term master plan to conquer Europe or seize total power from the start

• Hitler was a supreme opportunist who simply reacted to events and capitalized on the failures of others

• without the Wall Street Crash, Hitler would have remained on the radical sidelines of German politics

How many major banks collapsed in 1931 due to the Wall Street Crash? How much welfare did the government have after?

5

800k lasts a few months

What % did industrial production decrease by following the Wall Street Crash?

40%

When was the Dawes Plan?

1924

What was the Dawes Plan and its significance?

• plan stabilized the German currency, ended hyperinflation, and triggered a period of immense economic recovery and cultural boom known as the "Golden Twenties"

• plan made the Weimar Republic completely dependent on American loans. When the US economy crashed in 1929, those loans were abruptly recalled, causing the immediate and total collapse of the German economy

How much did the US pay Germany in the Dawes Plan?

800 million gold marks

What was the Young Plan? What did it reduce reparations to?

Revised plan to lower reparations

1.8 billion

What were the war reparations Germany needed to pay?

£6.6 billion

In Nov 1923 how much did a loaf of bread cost?

201 billion

How much did an egg cost in Nov 1923?

80 million

When was the Kellog-Briand Pact?

August 27, 1928

What was the Kellog-Briand Pact? Its significance?

An international agreement signed by 62 nations (including Germany, the US, France, and Great Britain) in which they promised never to use war as a means of settling international disputes.

• Germany's signing of the pact showed it was once again a respected, peaceful member of the international community, boosting Weimar's diplomatic prestige.

• It marked the peak of the 1920s era of peace, hope, and international cooperation before the Great Depression ruined world relations

How many paper mills produce money in 1923?

300

In Nov 1923 how much did a kilo of butter cost?

6 trillion

What was A227 of the TOV?

Emperor Wilhelm trial for “supreme offence“ and held accountable for WW1

Between 1913 and 1918 how much did the German mark lose value?

75%

How many were unemployed due to the Great Depression in 1932?

6 million