Weimar Republic 1918-1929

• Germany before 1914

  Industrial power

  Monarchy

  National parliament

  Authoritarian - rules

  Powerful
• kaiser Wilhelm

  very intelligent but wanted to make decisions for himself without looking at the information

  sometimes bad decisions for Germany
• Dolhstoss


  stabbed in the back
• Immediate impact of ww1 - social

  Feeling of the people - kaiser didnt tell them the truth, people were starving

  Rich became richer poor became poorer

  Berlin were dangerous - riots
• immediate impact of ww1 - economic

  150 billion marks in debt

  couldn't pay 600,000 family pensions
• impacts of ww1 immediate political

  Germany was now a democratic republic after kaiser Wilhelm fled.

  in January1919 Ebert was elected president

  didn't know how a democracy worked as before king would make all decisions
• article 48 


  used for emergencies, president could make laws without vote from Reichstag
• president

  elected every 7 years

  takes no part in day to day Government

  controls army

  choses chancellor
• chancellor

  chooses ministers

  could pass laws but needed support of reichstag

  appointed by president
• proportional vote 


  seats are based on percentage meaning more party's in parliament

  this means that it took longer to pas laws as hard for majority parties to agree on one thing
• treaty of Versailles

  28th july 1919
• who signed treaty of Versailles

  usa - wilson

  wanted to set up nation of leagues to discuss international disputes -fed up with European affairs

  uk - david lloyd george

  publicly - disliked Germany

  privately wanted germany to recover for trade purposes

  france - Clemeneau

  wanted revenge - compensation for damages

  ensure germany wouldnt invade
• Diktat 


  Germans felt like they didnt have a say in the terms

  november criminals felt the war didnt end

  germans felt like they were being blamed when not all their fault, felt government was weak to sign treaty of versalles
• ToV terms

  land - Anschluss - couldn't reunite with Austria

  Army - limited to 100,000 men, no heavy weapons aloud, no aircrafts

  Money - had to pay 6.6bn (already bankrupt )

  Blame - article 231 Forced to take all the blame
• Putsch


  an uprising - trying to take power by force
• The Spartacists revolt 1919 


  led by rosa luxembourg in jan 1919 left wing (communists)

  100,000 workers went on strike in Berlin

  Newspaper and communication buildings taken over to spread communism beliefs

  Germany should be ran by working class, wealth should be divided

  Ebert sent the Freikorps to stop protestors

  Luxembourg was then arrested
• Kapp Putsch 1920 - right wing

  Ex ww1 soldiers - called freikorps

  Ebert needed them to try and control communist however got out of hand and arrested and beat up Communists in the street

  Attempted to putsch ebert out of power, wanted kaiser back

  Government told workers to go on strike, to bring Germany to a halt

  ebert sent army to try stop but army didnt want to fight against ww1 soldiers
• what went wrong in 1923

  French occupation of Ruhr

  contained 80% of Germanys iron

  more Germans unemployed

  more debts

  told humiliation and loss of pride
• Ebert used passive resistance and told workers to go on strike, however because Ebert still needed to pay workers on strike he decided to print more money causing hyperinflation
• Who lost due to hyperinflation

  Savings became worthless

  Middle class - saw saving and businesses be destroyed

  Many lost faith in the Wienmar republic and saw the m asa weak for not being able to handle the situation

  Major starvation as farmers didnt want to sell crops for worthless money
• who benefitted of hyperinflation

  the rich who owned land, possessions and foreign currency weren't impacted

  some farmers mad a profit as wealthy people offered to trade high value items for food

  those who had debts or taken out a loan as could pay back money at fraction of original cost
• Hyperinflation

  Ebert printed more money to striking workers, however there was so much money it soon became worthless.

  For example, children used money as toy

  people burnt money for heat
• Stressemans strategies - Dawes plan

  Realised Germany couldn't pay the debt back so they lowered it. Usa also gave loans to Germany

  French also left Ruhr

  impact - more jobs

  less pressure

  economy improved
• stressemans strategies - Rentenmark 


  new temporary currency

  money was no longer worthless

  international trade improved

  normality returned

  solved hyperinflation
• Stressemans strategies - young plan

  the reparation was reduced again and was now 1.85 bn

  was going to take 59 years to pay off

  more manageable and less pressure on Government
• Stressemans strategies - locarno treaty

  in 1925. a treaty with Italy, Britain,Belgium, France and germany, poland and Czechoslovakia

  agreeing to keep all existing boarders

  improving international relations for Germany
• Stressemans strategies - League of nations

  set up by usa to discuss foreign affairs

  at first werent aloud to join until they were aloud 1 seat i september 1926

  more pride and respected

  seen as peaceful
• stressemans strategies - kellogg briand pact

  in 1928 64 countries signed a peace treaty

  only use army in self defence

  more trust in germany
• life in weinmar germany - wages

  positives

  real wages were improving

  gone up by 10%

  best pay in Europe

  negatives

  money in bank was lost after hyperinflation

  couldn't claim benefits if not affected by hyperinflation
• life in weimar germany - housing

  shortage of 1 million houses

  stresseman built 2 million new houses between 1924-1931

  200,000 were renovated

  however dependent on loans , investment and tax breaks
• Life in weimar Germany unemployment insurance

  Unemployment benefits

  Unemployment fell

  Improving economy
• life in weimar germany - other

  90% of women could vote

  more liberal

  women's rights

  women in politics

  education improved

  However, business profit decreases
• women political changes

  germany was led by social democrats who believed all germans were equal

  by 1932 - 112 women were in the reichstag
• women - work and wages

  more profession roles - doctors, lawyers

  could go to university
• women - leisure, opportunities and image

  young, unmarried working women

  more independent, earns own money

  make up , revealing clothes, smoke, drank

  unaccompanied by husbands/fathers
• women - advertising and film 


  encouraged women to live a certain lifestyle

  independent

  new concept of “new women”
• marriage and children

  birth rate fell

  divorce rates increased
• why not all women changed

  some still married with children - traditional life

  mostly in berlin

  media made it seem more common
• Weimar new and exciting culture and creativity

  during 1920s strict censorship was removed meaning freedom of expression

  the art and culture in Germany became most exciting and innovative inn Europe

  Berlin challenged Paris as cultural capital of Europe

  However , some believed the new culture undermined tradition and the nazis hated it, believed ti was rotten
• Art

  Positive

  believed art should comment on society of the time, this approach was called “new objectivity”

  Negatives

  Showed Other side of city life - prostitutes

  Artists tried to show everyday life in paintings

  Critiqued society