edexcel-gcse-9-1-history-foundation-weimar-and-nazi-germany-1918-39-student-book-chapter-1

The Legacy of the First World War\n\n- Chronology and Participation: The First World War lasted four years, from 1914 to 1918. Eleven million Germans fought in the conflict.\n- Casualties: Almost $2$ million German troops died. Additionally, over $750,000$ Germans died due to food shortages at home.\n- Economic Impact: The war was extremely expensive. The German government's debts increased from $50$ billion marks to $150$ billion marks.\n- Social Conditions (Source A): Jan Smuts, a South African politician visiting Germany in 1918, described the country as a "mother-land of our civilization" lying in ruins, with peoples that were broke, starving, despairing, and mechanically struggling along paths of anarchy ($disorder with no strong authority$).\n- Domestic Unrest: By late 1918, the German state was crumbling due to strikes and revolts. In October 1918, German navy crews mutinied ($when people in the military rebel$). On November 7, in Munich, workers went on strike ($when workers stop work in protest$) and demonstrated ($when people protest against something$) in the streets. In Hanover, soldiers refused to control rioting citizens.\n\n# The Origins of the Weimar Republic, 1918–19\n\n- The German Revolution: A series of events between November 1918 and July 1919 where the Kaiser was replaced by a new state: the Weimar Republic.\n- The Abdication of the Kaiser: On November 9, 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm's ministers informed him that the only way to restore peace was for him to give up his position. Having lost the support of the army, ministers, and the people, he abdicated ($a leader giving up their position$) and fled to Holland in the early hours of November 10.\n- Declaration of the Republic: On November 9, 1918, the Social Democratic Party (SPD)—the largest party in the Reichstag ($German parliament$)—sought to establish a republic ($a country without a king, queen, or emperor$) to prevent armed rioters from setting up a communist government.\n- The Council of People’s Representatives: Friedrich Ebert, leader of the SPD, became the first Chancellor ($equivalent to the British prime minister$). He established a temporary government consisting of six trusted politicians—the Council of People’s Representatives—to lead until a new constitution ($rules setting out how a country is run$) was written.\n- The Armistice: signed on November 11, 1918, by Ebert's representative. This was the formal agreement to end the fighting in the First World War.\n\n# Establishing Control and Winning Trust\n\n- Ebert's Strategy for Stability: To gain support from different sectors of society, Ebert made several promises:\n - Civil Servants: Guaranteed they would keep their jobs to ensure taxes were collected and services like schools continued.\n - Trade Unions: Promised to work toward introducing an eight-hour working day.\n - Business Leaders: Reassured them the government would not seize control of private industries or businesses.\n - Army Officers: Promised they would maintain their current positions and ranks.\n- Opposition: Despite these efforts, extreme political parties continued to hold demonstrations and riots in major cities.\n\n# The Weimar Constitution and National Assembly\n\n- The National Assembly: Replaced the Council of People’s Representatives in January 1919. Moderate parties ($those opposing extreme ideas$) won most seats, with the SPD winning $40\%$. They met in Weimar due to unrest in Berlin.\n- Constitution Birth: The new constitution was agreed upon on July 31, 1919.\n- Head of State (President):\n - Elected by the people every seven years.\n - Played no part in day-to-day politics but held significant powers, such as choosing the Chancellor.\n- The Government (Chancellor & Cabinet):\n - The Chancellor was the head of government and chose all ministers.\n - The Cabinet consisted of chief ministers making key decisions.\n- The Parliament (Reichstag & Reichsrat):\n - All laws typically had to pass through both houses.\n - The Reichstag was the more powerful house, controlled taxation, and was elected at least every four years.\n- The Electorate: Consisted of all men and women aged $21$ years or over.\n\n# Strengths and Weaknesses of the Constitution\n\n- Strengths:\n - Democratic: All Germans over $21$ could vote, and women were enfranchised for the first time.\n - Representative: The Chancellor decided on laws, which then had to be approved by the Reichstag.\n - Checks and Balances: The President, though able to shut down the Reichstag, had to be elected, and the Reichstag was the primary law-making body.\n- Weaknesses:\n - Coalition Governments: Proportional representation led to $29$ different parties in the Reichstag. Since no single party had a majority, coalitions ($governments made of different parties$) were common, leading to disagreement and a lack of clear leadership.\n - Article 48: The Chancellor could ask the President to pass laws without Reichstag approval. This was used increasingly as the Reichstag became polarized.\n - Internal Divisions: The Republic was hated by communists (who wanted revolution) and nationalists ($those who strongly love their country and wanted a strong leader$). Many judges and officials also harbored right-wing sympathies.\n\n# The Treaty of Versailles (1919)\n\n- Signing: Signed June 28, 1919, at the Palace of Versailles.\n- Nature of the Treaty: Known as a "diktat" ($forced peace$) because Germany was not allowed to join discussions or negotiate terms.\n- War Guilt Clause: Germany had to accept full blame for causing the war.\n- Reparations: Set at $136,000$ million marks ($£6.6$ billion) to be paid to the Allies ($Britain, France, and the USA$).\n- Territorial Losses: Germany lost $10\%$ of its population, $15\%$ of its coal, and nearly $50\%$ of its iron resources.\n - West: Alsace-Lorraine lost to France; Eupen and Malmédy to Belgium.\n - East: West Prussia and Posen lost to Poland. Danzig became an "international city."\n - Colonies: All colonies in Africa and Asia were handed over to the winning nations.\n- Military Restrictions:\n - Army limited to $100,000$ men.\n - Navy limited; no airforce allowed.\n - Rhineland: Demilitarised ($soldiers and weapons banned$).\n- Dolchstoss (The "Stab in the Back"): Many Germans believed the army had not been defeated but was betrayed by the "November Criminals" (the politicians who surrendered and signed the treaty).\n\n# Challenges From the Left and Right (1919–1923)\n\n- The Spartacist Revolt (Left-wing):\n - Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht of the Spartacist League.\n - In January 1919, they called for a strike and uprising in Berlin; over $100,000$ workers participated.\n - Ebert used the Freikorps ($units of former soldiers who kept their weapons$) to crush the revolt. Luxemburg and Liebknecht were executed.\n- The Kapp Putsch (Right-wing):\n - In March 1920, $5,000$ Freikorps rebels, fearing they would be disbanded, took control of Berlin and put Wolfgang Kapp in power.\n - The government fled but called for a general strike. The city came to a standstill, and Kapp fled, ending the revolt.\n- Assassinations: Between 1919 and 1922, there were $376$ political murders, mostly of moderate or left-wing politicians (e.g., Matthias Erzberger in 1921). No right-wing murderers were convicted because of sympathetic judges.\n\n# The 1923 Crisis: Occupation and Hyperinflation\n\n- Occupation of the Ruhr: In December 1922, Germany failed to pay reparations. In January 1923, France and Belgium sent soldiers into the Ruhr, an area containing $80\%$ of Germany's coal, iron, and steel. \n- Passive Resistance: German workers went on strike ($passive resistance$). This damaged the economy as production stopped, and the government had to print more money to pay the strikers.\n- Hyperinflation: \n - The government printed massive amounts of money to pay debts, making the currency worthless.\n - Example: A loaf of bread cost $1$ mark in 1919, but $200,000$ million marks by 1923.\n- Consequences of Hyperinflation:\n - Negative: Savings became worthless; shops refused to take money and moved to trading goods; starvation and theft increased; the Weimar government appeared weak.\n - Positive: People with large debts found them easily paid off; foreign visitors found products very cheap.\n\n# The Recovery under Gustav Stresemann (1924–1929)\n\n- Currency Reform: In Nov 1923, Stresemann introduced the Rentenmark. In Aug 1924, it became the Reichsmark, controlled by the new Reichsbank, ending hyperinflation.\n- The Dawes Plan (1924): Reparations were reduced to $£50$ million per year, and $US$ banks loaned huge sums ($over 25 billion marks$) to German industry. Trade and employment increased.\n- The Young Plan (1929): Total reparations reduced from $£6.6$ billion to $£2$ billion. Payment time extended to $59$ years ($until 1988$).\n- Foreign Policy Recovery:\n - Locarno Pact (1925): Germany accepted its 1919 borders with France. The Rhineland remained demilitarised.\n - League of Nations (1926): Germany was admitted as a member, signaling its return as a world power.\n - Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928): Germany and $61$ countries promised not to use war to achieve their aims.\n- Impact: Support for moderate parties (SPD, ZP, DVP) rose to approximately $58\%$ by 1928, while extremist support fell. Paul von Hindenburg was elected President in 1925, providing a sense of strong leadership.\n\n# Changes in German Society (1924–1929)\n\n- Standard of Living:\n - Unemployment: Fell from $2$ million in 1926 to $1.3$ million in 1928. The Unemployment Insurance Act (1927) provided specific benefits.\n - Housing: Over $100,000$ new homes were built between 1924 and 1928.\n - Wages: Real wages rose by $25\%$ from 1925 to 1928; working hours were reduced.\n - War Pensions: $750,000$ veterans and $400,000$ widows received government support.\n- Changes for Women:\n - Politics: Given the right to vote; by 1932, women held $10\%$ of Reichstag seats.\n - Work: Improvements in retail/office jobs; female doctors doubled. However, women were still paid one-third less than men.\n - Social: "New Women" in cities enjoyed fashion, makeup, independence, and leisure (smoking/drinking), though this was often criticized by traditionalists ($people who oppose change$).\n- Cultural Changes (The Arts):\n - Factors: Freedom of speech in the constitution and economic recovery funded new ideas.\n - New Objectivism: Art showing life as it really is (e.g., Otto Dix painting the harsh life of veterans).\n - Modernism/Expressionism: Focus on the future, technology, and showing the artist's feelings.\n - Bauhaus: A design college in Berlin focusing on functional beauty and craftsmanship.\n - Cinema: Germany produced creative films like Fritz Lang's science-fiction epic Metropolis (1926). By 1932, there were over $3,800$ German cinemas with sound.\n\n# Questions & Discussion\n\n- Question on Fairness (Thinking Historically): How fair were the terms of the Treaty of Versailles? Answer: Students generally debate the war guilt clause and reparations ($£6.6$ billion) against the context of the damage the war caused to the Allies.\n- Discussion on the "Stab in the Back": Why did Germans believe their army was betrayed? Answer: Because the army was in retreat but not militarily defeated in the field in November 1918; politicians (the "November Criminals") signed the armistice while units were still active.\n- Discussion on Economic Fragility: Stresemann once stated, "Germany dances on a volcano." This warned that the recovery was based on American loans; if those loans were called in, the German economy would collapse.\n- Historical Interpretations: Sources F and G (written by communists) present the revolution as a massive win for the workers through