Weimar Germany Revision Flashcards

These vocabulary flashcards cover the key terms, people, and events of the Weimar Republic from 1918 to 1929, including the Constitution, the Treaty of Versailles, and the Golden Age.

Abdicates

To leave the throne; specifically when Kaiser Wilhelm II fled to the Netherlands on 9th Nov 1918.

Armistice

An agreement to stop fighting; Germany signed this on 11th Nov 1918 to end the First World War.

November Criminals

The name given to Weimar politicians blamed for the 'Stab in the Back' of Germany for surrendering in World War One.

Constitution

A set of rules and laws used to govern a country.

Reichstag

The German Parliament, which was the most powerful part of the government with members voted for every 4 years.

Article 48

A clause in the constitution that gave the President 'emergency powers' to rule alone in times of crisis without the Chancellor or Reichstag.

Proportional Representation

A voting system where political parties gain a percentage of seats in the government in proportion to the number of votes they receive.

Chancellor

The Head of Government in the Weimar Republic, chosen by the President.

President

The Head of State and military, elected by the people, who had the power to dismiss government and use Article 48.

Coalition

A government formed when 2 or more political parties agree to work together.

Communism

An extreme left-wing political ideology where everyone is equal and the country is run for the workers.

Fascists

Extreme right-wing groups who believe in a strong ruling leader and military leadership.

Freikorps

Private armies formed by First World War veterans who refused to give up their weapons.

Spartacists

Revolutionary Communists led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht who attempted an uprising in Berlin in January 1919.

Putsch

A violent attempt to overthrow the government.

Reparations

The fine of £6.6 billion placed on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles as compensation for the war.

Demilitarized

An area where no military forces are allowed, such as the Rhineland under the Treaty of Versailles.

Article 231

Also known as the 'War Guilt Clause', it was the part of the Treaty of Versailles that blamed Germany for starting WW1.

Rentenmark

The temporary German currency introduced by Gustav Stresemann in 1923 to reset prices and end hyperinflation.

Friedrich Ebert

The first Chancellor of the Weimar Republic and later its first President.

Gustav Stresemann

Chancellor from 1923 who solved the Ruhr Crisis and hyperinflation, bringing stability to Weimar Germany.

Diktat

A 'dictated peace'; the term Germans used for the Treaty of Versailles because they were given no say in its terms.

Dolchstoss Theory

The theory that Germany had been 'stabbed in the back' by politicians who surrendered to take power from the Kaiser.

Kapp Putsch

An attempted takeover in March 1920 led by Wolfgang Kapp and the Freikorps, which failed due to a general strike by workers.

Ruhr Crisis

The 1923 event where 60,000 French and Belgian troops occupied German industrial land after Germany defaulted on reparations.

Passive Resistance

The tactic used by German workers in the Ruhr who went on strike and refused to work for the French occupiers.

Hyperinflation

Out-of-control inflation that occurs very quickly, such as in 1923 when the price of bread rose to 200 billion marks.

Dawes Plan

A 1924 agreement involving US loans of $3 billion over 6 years to boost the German economy and reorganize reparations.

Locarno Treaties

A 1925 pact where Germany, France, Belgium, Britain, and Italy agreed to maintain existing borders.

Young Plan

A 1929 agreement that reduced German reparations from £6.6 billion to $1.85 billion, payable over 60 years.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

A 1928 agreement where 64 countries promised to solve future disagreements by 'peaceful means' rather than war.

Bauhaus

A new movement in architecture and design during the Golden Age that used the slogan 'Art and Technology'.

Neue Sachlichkeit

A new type of objective art that emerged in the 1920s, represented by artists such as Otto Dix.

Metropolis

Directed by Fritz Lang, it was the most advanced film of the 1920s and part of Germany's golden age of cinema.