Weimar

• The Weimar government was a democracy, what does this mean?


  A country where people vote for the government
• The Reichstag could discuss and introduce laws. They were also voted in every year
• Who could vote?

  Men and women over 20
• What were some problems with the Weimar constitution?


  Proportional representation- parties received a percentage of seats in parliament based on the proportion of the vote they got meaning there was no majority, meaning making laws was slow.

  Article 48- the president could rule and pass laws without consent from the government if there was an emergency.
• What was the ‘Stab in the back‘ myth?


  Blaming defeat in WWI on the new government. They signed the armistice and were nicknamed the ‘November criminals’, showing the public didn’t trust the .
• What was the Spartacist uprising?


  A socialist uprising in 1919, led by Rosa Luxemburg, who supported the Russian revolution. They did not trust the new government and wanted a full scale communist revolution. The uprising was badly planned and they didn’t get support from other left-wing groups, Luxemburg was also captured and shot by the Freikorps. Without the main leaders, the spartacists struggled.
• What was the Kapp Putsch?


  A right-wing putsch in 1920 led by Wolfgang Kapp, who, after being voted into the Reichstag, campaigned to bring back the monarchy. Around 12,000 Freikorps marched into Berlin, the army was asked to stop the putsch but they refused to act against the former soldiers. The Freikorps were unhappy because the governmeant made it clear they reduce the size of the army and disband from the Freikorps. The government and the trade unions urged people to strike and not support the putsch so they struggled to rule. After four days the Kapp fled and Ebert returned.
• What was hyperinflation?


  A sudden, dramatic rise in prices
• How did the reparations financially damage Germany?


  Germany had to pay £6.6 million in the next 66 years, they managed their first instalment of 2 billion gold marks in 1921. However in 1922 they could not afford to pay, this resulted in France and Belgium invading Ruhr in early 1923, taking control of every factory, mine and railway.
• Steps to hyperinflation:

  1. France and Belgium started to take what Germany owed them So German government ordered workers in Ruhr to strike so that there was nothing to take
  2. The government had to continue paying workers on strike however they couldn’t afford this because the goods they normally sold weren’t being made
  3. To pay workers, the government started printing money and the workers spent their money quickly so prices went up
  4. As shops raised prices, government printed more money
  5. Soon workers were paid twice a day and their wages couldn’t even afford a meal
• What was the short-term impact of hyperinflation?


  -Workers wages couldn’t keep up with rising prices and the price of goods could increase from joining the que to the front

  -Pensioners couldn’t afford a cup of coffee

  -People lost all their savings

  -People in dept could pay it off

  -Businesses gained big profits
• What was the Munich Putsch?


  A revolution attempted by Nazis in 1923 to overthrow the government. Hitler seized the opportunity due to hyperinflation and the appointment of a new chancellor- Stresemann. 2000 armed Nazis march towards a military base in Munich however they are stopped by armed police, Nazis are killed, Lunderoff is arrested and Hitler flees. Hitler is later arrested and the Nazi party is banned. Hitler is released early from prison after 9 months but the Nazi party is almost broken up.
• How did Stressemann help hyperinflation?


  He replaced the old money with a new currency- the rentenmark. The new currency was quickly accepted and inflation was under control however people didn't forget hyperinflation, people who lost savings were not compensated and they blamed the Weimar government.
• How did Stressemann remove France from the Ruhr?


  He called of passive resistance and promised to keep up with reparation payments which worked. However it was unpopular as people thought it showed the governments weakness.
• How did Stressemann gain trust of other countries?


  He was tied to co-operate with other European countries so the 1925 Locarno Pact- Britain, France, Belgium and Italy agreed they would not invade each other-, the 1926 League of Nations- Germany had a major say in world decisions- and the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact- countries only use their armies for self-defence- were implemented.
• How did Stressemann pay the reparation?


  1924 Dawes plan, gave Germany longer to pay and 1929 Young plan lowered the amount to be paid to under £2 million. However many Germans thought they should not pay reparations at all.
• How did Stressemann rebuild Germany‘s economy?

  They took loans from the US, improving housing, hospitals, schools and roads. However food prices stayed low so farmers struggled. Unemployment remained around 1 million and began to rise from 1928.
• How did the Wall Street Crash affect Germany?


  In October 1929, many people who owned shares of businesses weren’t earning as much as they like, so many rushed to sell them. Banks had also invested in companies so they also lost a lot of money. People rushed to take their money out of banks but they couldn’t pay them, because of this America asked for the money they loaned to Germany back. Germans were soon homeless, unemployed and angry.
• What was the political impact of the Great Depression? 


  The Weimar government was very unpopular as they were blamed for causing it. This resulted in an increase of support for extremism parties like the Communists and the Nazis.
• What was the Economic impact of the Great Depression?


  Wages decreased, farmers struggled to sell food because of the high prices and by 1932 18000 farmers had gone bankrupt. Unemployment reached 6 million and goods weren’t being produced.
• What was the social impact of the Great Depression?


  Homelessness increased and so did crime because people couldn’t afford food. Unemployment benefits decreased by 60%.
• What was the long-term impact of hyperinflation?


  Poverty and crime increased while Germans lost their wages and savings. People found it hard to have confidence in a government when things were in such chaos.