History Paper 3

• Early Challenges of the Weimar Republic

  1919-1923
• 2 million dead soldiers and 4 million injured in WWI
• The Kaiser abdicated because he had lost the support of the military


  9th November 1918
• Friedrich Ebert, the Chancellor, signed the surrender if the Kaiser had abdicated
• How was the Weimar Republic set up

  Elections in January 1919 for politicians to write a constitution by August 1919
• Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution included governments being a compromise between different parties due to proportional representation and Article 48 giving the President power to ignore the Reichstag
• The Weimar Republic was unpopular as it was blamed for the end of the war and was not strong enough for the right wing or fair enough for the left wing
• Strengths of the Weimar Constitution included universal suffrage and proportional representation in the Reichstag
• Many new houses were built to tackle housing shortages, with higher-quality houses having indoor plumbing
• The "stab in the back" theory claimed that politicians betrayed Germany by surrendering at the end of WWI
• The Weimar government introduced unemployment benefits to prevent poverty for the unemployed
• Women had increased access to work, more independence, full political rights, and legal equality with men
• Art developed with artists like Otto Dix expressing horror of war and social inequality through experimental and challenging works
• People had higher wages and more disposable income, leading to increased spending on culture
• Weimar architecture, like Bauhaus, was modern with straight lines, concrete, and steel
• Consequences of the Occupation of the Ruhr included hyperinflation due to the Weimar government printing more money to pay workers on strike
• Origins of the Weimar Republic


  1918-1919
• The Kapp Putsch was an attempt by Freikorps led by Wolfgang Kapp to overthrow the Weimar government, which was defeated by workers going on strike
• Freikorps were unemployed soldiers who wanted a right-wing government and were used by the Weimar government to put down the Spartacists
• Spartacists were communists who tried to overthrow the new Weimar government
• Germany had little money left and people were starving by the winter of 1918-19
• Key terms of the Treaty of Versailles

  • Land: lost colonies and land in Europe
  • Army: restricted to 100,000 men
  • Money: $33 billion reparations
  • Blame: accept sole responsibility for WWI
• Hyperinflation devalued people's savings and caused economic instability
• Gustav Stresemann, Chancellor in 1924, solved hyperinflation by starting a new currency and international agreements
• The Occupation of the Ruhr was caused by Germany not repaying its reparations payments, leading to invasion by France & Belgium
• Recovery of the Weimar Republic

  1924-1929
• The Rentenmark was a new currency to replace the worthless Reichsmark after hyperinflation
• The Locarno Pact saw Germany agreeing to its new borders and accepting the Treaty of Versailles
• Joining the League of Nations restored Germany's international prestige and trustworthiness
• The Dawes and Young plans aimed to reduce reparations payments through agreements with America in 1924 and 1929
• The Kellogg-Briand Pact aimed to achieve
• American loans and investment helped German businesses recover between 1924-1929
• Weimar architecture

  • Bauhaus style - very modern, straight lines, concrete, steel
• Occupation of the Ruhr, Hyperinflation

  1923
• Dix


  • Expressed horror of war and social inequality, experimental and challenging
• Armistice - end of WWI

  11/11/1918
• Weimar cinema

  • Fritz Lang - expressionism, science fiction, special effects (Metropolis, 1927)
• Weimar Constitution


  08/1919
• Locarno Pact


  1924
• Assess whether political, economic or international factors were the biggest challenge to the Weimar Republic