Weimar Republic 1918-29

• What issue did many German people face by 1918?

  Starvation - the allies set up naval blockades which prevented imports of food and essential goods.
• Many Germans wanted a democracy and an end to the war, they did not like the rule of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who acted as if he was a king.
• In what ways did German army officials rebel in November 1918?

  • refused to board their ships
  • refused to control rioters in Hanover
• What did Karl Eisner do?

  Encouraged a general uprising, which sparked mass strikes in Munich
• What happened on the 9th and 10th November 1918?

  • Kaiser Wilhelm resigned
  • Social Democratic Party and Independent Social Democratic Party both declared a republic
  • All the state leaders appointed by the monarchy left their posts
• When was a ceasefire to WW1 agreed?

  11th November 1918
• Who controlled Germany until January 1919?

  A temporary national government called the Council of People's Representatives
• Who was the first president of the Weimar Republic in February 1919?

  Friedrich Ebert
• As well as making the government more democratic, what other laws were changed in Germany?

  • women allowed to vote
  • lowered the voting age to 20
• What were the weaknesses with the new constitution?

  • proportional representation meant that even parties with less that one percent of votes were guaranteed to get into the reichstag. with so many parties and points of view, was very hard to make decisions.
  • article 48
• What was article 48?

  The president could suspend the reichstag and make his own decisions without their consent. This was supposed to be used only in emergencies, but became a useful way of getting around disagreements. This went against democracy.
• When did Ebert sign the Treaty of Versailles?

  He originally refused to sign the treaty, but in the end he had little choice - Germany was too weak to risk restarting the conflict. He eventually signed it in June 1919.
• What were the main 5 terms of the versailles treaty that upset Germans?

  • Germany had to take blame for the war
  • Their armed forces were reduced to 100,000 men, they weren't allowed any armoured vehicles, aircraft or submarines, and could only have 6 warships
  • Had to pay £6600 million in reparations
  • Germany lost its empire - areas around the world that used to belong to Germany were now called mandates. They were put under the control of the League of Nations
  • German military was banned from the Rhineland - an area of Germany on the border of France, leaving Germany open to attack from the West
• What did the Weimar politicians become known as?

  The November criminals
• By 1919, thousands of Germans were poor and starving, and an influenza epidemic killed thousands.
• What was the Spartacist Revolt?

  • January 1919
  • Communist
  • Led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
  • Tried to take over Berlin
  • Took over newspaper headquarters
  • 50,000 workers went on strike
• How did Ebert meet the problem of the Spartacist Revolt?

  • Asked for help from the right-wing Freikorps
  • Over 100 workers killed
  • Freikorps' use of violence caused a split on the left between the Social Democratic Party and the communists
• What was the Kapp Putsch?

  • March 1920
  • Led by Wolfgang Kapp
  • Aimed to create a new right-wing government
  • Freikorps marched into Berlin to overthrow the Weimar regime
• Why did the Kapp Putsch fail?

  German workers opposed to the putsch and staged a general strike. Berlin was paralysed and Kapp was forced to give up.
• What threat occurred after the putsch failed?

  In 1922, some former Freikorps members assassinated Walter Rathenau. He had been a Foreign Minister and was Jewish.
• What year could Germany no longer meet the reparations payments?

  1923
• What did France and Belgium decide to do instead of making Germany pay the reparations?

  They decided to take Germany's resources instead. They occupied the Ruhr - the richest industrial part of Germany, which gave them access to Germany's iron and coal reserves.
• How did Germany try to solve their debt problem?

  Printing more money. This caused hyperinflation.
• In 1918, an egg cost 1/4 of a mark, by November 1923, what did an egg cost?

  80 million marks
• What were the consequences of hyperinflation?

  • Germany's currency became worthless, nobody wanted to trade with them. Shortages of food and goods got worse
  • Bank savings became worthless
  • The hardest hit were the middle class
• Who was Gustav Stresemann?

  Chancellor of the Weimar Republic between August and November 1923
• What did Gustav Stresemann do?

  • Ended the strike in the Ruhr, this reduced tension between Germany, France and Belgium, and meant the government could stop compensation payments to strikers in September 1923
  • In November 1923, he replaced the German mark with the Rentenmark
  • Created the 'great coalition' - a group of pro-democracy socialist parties in the Reichstag who agreed to work together. This allowed parliament to make decisions more quickly.
• When did Stresemann become Foreign Minister?

  November 1923
• What was the Dawes Plan?

  • Signed in 1924
  • Secured France and Belgium's withdrawal from the Ruhr
  • Agreed more realistic payment dates for the reparations
  • USA lent Germany £40 million to help it pay off its debts
• What was the Locarno Pact?

  • Signed October 1925
  • Germany, France and Belgium agreed to respect their joint borders
• What was the structure of the Dawes Plan?

  > USA could afford to lend money > USA lent money to Germany so it could pay off its debts > Germany could pay Britain and France > Britain and France used the money they'd received to pay their own debts to the USA >
• When did the League of Nations allow Germany to join? What did this make Germany again?

  • 1926
  • an international power
• What was the Kellogg-Briand Pact?

  • Signed in 1938
  • Alongside 65 other countries
  • Promised to not use violence to settle disputes
• What was the Young Plan?

  • Agreed in 1929
  • Allies agreed to reduce the reparations to a quarter of the original amount
  • Germany was given 59 years to pay them
• What did Stresemann die just before?

  The Wall Street crash
• `What improved for the unemployed in the Golden Years?

  • More protected
  • In 1927, the government introduced employment insurance
  • Workers could pay into the scheme and would receive cash benefits if they became unemployed
• What improved in terms of wages in the Golden Years?

  • Working classes became more prosperous
  • Wages for industrial workers rose quickly in the late 1920s
• What improved in terms of housing in the Golden Years?

  • Government launched mass housing projects
  • More than 2 million new homes were built between 1924 and 1931
  • This also provided extra employment
• What problems still remained despite the Golden Years?

  • Higher living standards could only be maintained with a strong economy, Germany's was fragile
  • Changes mostly helped the working classes, the middle classes couldn't access the welfare benefits
• In what ways did women receive more freedom?

  • Awarded the vote
  • Between 1919 and 1932, 112 women were elected to the Reichstag
  • Women showed that they were capable workers
  • New female sports clubs and societies sprang up
  • Divorce became easier