Part 1: Germany and the growth of democracy

• Chancellor (the government)

  Chief minister, ministers advised the government
• Bundesrat (the government)

  made up of representatives from each state
• Reichstag (the government)

  parliament elected by men over 25- both debated/voted on laws by kaiser and ministers
• Kaiser (the government)

  could ignore the government advice and make his own decisions (made all military and foreign policy decisions)
• Growth of socialism

  -Workers unhappy, poor conditions, low wadges

  -joined trade unions (1914: 3 million had joined)

  -SPD (social democratic party) got 1/3 votes (popular)

  -some had a more extreme view
• Navy laws

  Introduction (1898-1912), huge amount of money spent to increase size of navy, to try and rival with Britain/France, to do so taxes increased and money borrowed (causing debt)
• 1914 (Germany and the first world war)

  War popular- believed to end quickly (British stopped ships getting food into Germany)
• 1915-1916 (Germany and the first world war)

  Germany protesters demanded to end the war
• Politically unstable (Germany and the first world war)

  close to defeat, October- general Ludendorff stated they could not win the war. wanted kaiser to end war and advised to make Germany a democratic
• Defeat

  9 November 1918: Kaiser abdicated, security left Germany, SPD took over, 11 November 1918: Germany surrendered
• Bankrupt (Impact of the war)

  owed money, lent money to others, war pensions cost a lot
• Society divided (impact of war)

  workers had restrictions on wadges
• Politically unstable (impact of war)

  revolution all over, many felt politicians had betrayed them
• The Weimar republic

  Temporary leader Ebert declared Germany as democratic republic
• The Weimar republic

  (communists) spartacists wanted Germany to be run by small councils of soldiers and workers

  -6th Jan 1919 spartiacits seized berlin
• The Weimar republic

  Ebert sent 2000 ex-soldiers (freikorps) free corps
• The Weimar republic

  after 3 days of fighting, free corps recaptured
• The Weimar republic

  Ebert held elections, SPD won most of the elections, Ebert became the new German president
• The Weimar republic

  politicians meeting in town (Weimar), created Weimar constitution, formal set of rules for how Germany would be governed
• The Weimar republic

  New constitution meant new rules, all Germans had equal rights
• Proportional representation (weakness of Weimar constitution)

  lots of parties able to win seats in Reichstag

  -groups didn't like the new democratic government

  -nicknamed the November criminals for ending the war
• Stated (the treaty of Versailles)

  -WW1 blamed all on Germany

  -had to pay 6.6 billion in reparations

  -military restrictions

  -hand over their over sea colonies

  -no soldiers to enter Rhineland (next to France) never unite with Austria

  -areas used to create new countries
• Germans hated the treaty (the treaty of Versailles)

  -felt it was to harsh (lost land, factories, people, mines etc.)

  -felt humiliated

  -had to pay money

  -forced to sign it (diktat- dictated peace): November criminals

  -felt they didn't lose the war
• Field marshal Hindenburg (treaty of Versailles)

  "The German army was stabbed in the back, no blame to be put attached to the army, it is perfectly clear on whom the blame rests"
• Reparations (hyperinflation 1923)

  pay money to the winners, 1921 figure set to 6.6 billion, in 2 years the gov gave 2 billion in gold and materials
• Occupation of the Ruhr 1922 (hyperinflation 1923)

  Germans said they could not afford to pay, French/Belgium didn't agree, Jan 1923 60,000 French/Belgium soldiers marched into the Ruhr
• (hyperinflation 1923)

  Gov ordered workers in Ruhr to go on strike which the gov funded

  -gave to print more money to pay for this

  -this increased prices of things (incl. bread: 1918- 0.6 marks, 1923 sep- 1.5 million marks, 1923 nov- 201 billion marks
• Impact (hyperinflation 1923)

  Money became worthless and the population became angry

  -winners: people who had borrowed money

  -losers: bank savings, pensioners on fixed pensions, small businesses
• The Kapp putsch (political change and unrest 1919-1923)

  March 1920, right wing politician Wolfgang Kapp, gathered 5,000 men (free corps), took over berlin, government fled as they didn't have the workers support, after 100 hours the Kapp fled and the government returned to berlin
• Assassination (political change and unrest 1919-1923)

  1919-1922: 350 politicians murdered, wanted to eliminate those responsible for the treaty

  -August 1921 Matthias Herzberger who signed the armistice was shot
• red rising in Ruhr (political change and unrest 1919-1923)

  march 1920 after the Kapp putsch left wing workers in industrial Ruhr stayed on strike, took over several towns, Government sent soldiers to deal with this
• the Munich putsch (political change and unrest 1919-1923)

  Nov 1923, Hitler and Nazis tried to seize control of Bavarian government, promised to overturn the treat, planned to capture Munich, met with the police, Hitler and Ludendorff then arrested
• Stresemann era (1924-1929)


  Germany began to recover
• Hyperinflation (Stresemann era 1924-1929)

  stopped printing banknotes, replaced with rentemark currency, 1922 replaced with reichsmark which remained for 25 years after
• French and Belgium troops in the Ruhr (Stresemann era 1924-1929)

  arranged USA to give them 800 million gold marks (called pawes plan), French and Belgium troops left the Ruhr
• Economic recovery (Stresemann era 1924-1929)

  used borrowed money to build factories, houses, schools etc. created more jobs and more money, some felt that Germany relied on the USA
• Foreign policy (Stresemann era 1924-1929)

  improve relations, 1925 Germany signed Locarno pact (Britain, France, Belgium, Italy) never to invade each other, 1926 they joined the league of nations, 1928 Kellogg Briand- never to go to war
• Ongoing problems

  stresman dies in 1929, new era of peace and prosperity, still had problems
• many political parties (Ongoing problems)

  government made up by several parties, most disagreed
• Extreme parties (Ongoing problems)

  including the Nazis, didn't support the Weimar system