Kaiser

• Who ruled Germany

  Kaiser
• what was the Bundesrat 


  State representatives who consulted with the kaiser over new laws
• what was the role of the chief minister called 


  chancellor
• I’m what year was Germany producing more iron and steel and as much coal as Britain


  1913
• Why were workers in factories mines and work shops unhappy 


  wages were low, working conditions were poor and food was expensive
• what did the working classes join 


  Trade unions
• what did trade unions do 


  organise strikes- hopes it would force the Kaiser/ Reichstag to improve conditions
• what political party did the working classes join 


  SPD(Socialist Democratic Party )
• what was Socialism 


  belief that power and wealth should be shared equally
• what did the socialists want 


  the kaiser to share some of his power and allow the Reichstag to make more Social reforms/ laws to improve workers rights and conditions
• what was the kaisers foreign policy called

  Weltpolitik
• what did the Kaiser want for Germany 


  An empire (place in the sun)

  a large navy to rival Britains
• What did the Kaiser introduce between 1898 and 1912 to help him get his Navy 


  Naval Laws
• what was the problem with these laws

  Kaiser needed to borrow money and raise taxes which upset a lot of people
• What to problems were people facing in 1918 


  food shortages - surviving on bread and turnips

  Deadly flu epidemic
• Who did the Kaiser give some of his power to towards the end of the war? What did he allow them to do 


  the Reichstag , allowed the main political parties to form a new government
• What happened on 28 October 1918? What was the consequence of this? 


  Sailor mutiny at Keil

  Protests spread across towns and workers and soldiers set up protests
• who became the temples leader of Germany and what political party was he from

  Friedrich Ebert

  SPD
• What did Ebert promise to do 


  hold elections for new parliament

  freedom of speech

  freedom of religion

  improvements to working conditions

  improved housing

  help for the employed
• give 3 economic impacts of WW1

  Germany borrowed money from the USA and it would need paying back

  over 600000war widows and 2 mil children without fathers left- war pensions cost a lot

  factories exhausted by the War
• give 2 social impacts of war 


  divided society- some factory owners made a fortune and workers had restrictions placed on their wages

  women worked in factories and some didn’t like this- damaged traditional values
• give two political impacts of WW1 


  unstable- there was now mutiny and revolution. Some felt betrayed by the politicians who signed the armistice -“the November criminals “
• what strengths did the new constitution have

  all men and women over the age of 30 could vote ( equal voting rights )

  Freedom of speech
• Why was proportional representation a weakness of the new constitution 


  Lots of different political parties could win seats but it made it difficult to make decisions and introduce laws. no party ever got a majority
• why was article 48 a weakness of the new constitution 


  this emergency power decree allowed the president to rule on his own without the support of the Reichstag- it risked the leader becoming a dictator
• What two problems did the new government face before they had already begun

  betrayal of the November Criminals ( signing the armistice )

  Stab in the back myth - politicians stabbed the army in the back at the end of WW1
• What was the treaty called that Germany had to accept in 1919


  The treaty of Versailles
• how much did Germany have to pay back in reparations

  £6.6 billion
• What military restrictions did Germany have placed upon it 


  100000 soldiers , 6 battle ships , no submarines tanks or airforce
• What did Germany have to accept in the ‘ War guilt cause ‘ of the TOV


  complete blame for WW1
• give examples of other terms Germany had to accept in the TOV 


  lost land, lost colonies , no troops in Rhineland, lost control of Saar Coalfields not to join with Austria again
• give three reasons Germany hated the TOV 


  Too harsh- took away land which meant loosing people, factories , farms and mines

  Seen as a diktat ( a dictated peace ) as they had no say in peace discussions

  Ideas of the November criminals and Stab in the Back- some believed they hadn’t even lost the war