Germany

• Prior to 1871, Germany was divided into 39 states, each with their own leader, rules and customs
• Prussia


  The strongest of the German states, ruled by the Kaiser and the Chancellor
• Otto Von Bismarck

  The Chancellor at the time, who believed heavily in militarism and unifying all of the German states together to create one country
• Many of the German states agreed that unification was a good thing, as it would get rid of the threat of invasion by the surrounding large countries; Russia and France
• Austria disagreed with unification as they worried that it would impact on their empire and result in them losing power in the area
• Prussia's wars for territory

  1. Franco-Prussian War fought against France in 1870-1871

  2. Prussia defeated France and took Alsace-Lorraine
• After the Franco-Prussian War, Prussia was successful in their mission to unify Germany and the country of Germany was born
• Kaiser Wilhelm II


  Became Kaiser in 1888 at the age of 29, grandson of Britain's Queen Victoria and cousin of Britain's future king, George V
• When Wilhelm became Kaiser, Britain was the world's most powerful country with the largest empire and dominant world trade
• Wilhelm's desires

  To make Germany as great as Britain, by building up Germany's industry through industrialisation
• By 1913, Germany was producing more iron and steel and as much coal as Britain, and German companies dominated Europe in industries such as electrical goods and chemicals
• Wilhelm

  • Very energetic with a strong, outgoing personality, could be charming and kind but also impatient and rude
  • Sacked ministers if they did not do what he wanted, including the much loved Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck in 1890
  • Spent most of his youth in the army and championed militarism as being the key to a successful country
• Weltpolitik (World policy)

  The Kaiser's foreign policy, believing that Germany should have their 'Place in the sun' competing and being recognised with the other world powers
• Kaiser's efforts to build up Germany's army and navy

  1. Introduced Naval Laws in 1898, 1900, 1906, 1908, and 1912 to build up the size of his Navy

  2. Introduced compulsory conscription in 1913 to increase the size of Germany's army
• The Kaiser hoped to use his strong army and navy to build up Germany's empire and establish them as a world power
• Powerful forces in Germany at the time

  • Landowners
  • Business and factory owners
  • Noble army officers
• Workers in the new factories, mines and workshops

  Unhappy because their wages were low, working conditions were poor, and food was expensive
• Many ordinary workers voted for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which believed in socialism - the idea that power and wealth should be shared equally among the people
• Around one in three Germans voted for the Social Democratic Party at this time
• There were some socialists who took a more extreme view, wanting to rebel against the Kaiser's rule, start a revolution, take over the country, and allow cities and towns to be governed by councils of workers
• The rise in popularity of socialism was a major event in Germany at this time and a potential major problem for the government
• People in Germany soon started to suffer during World War I, with shortages of food, medicines and clothing due to the British naval blockade
• In 1915, 500 women gathered in front of the German parliament buildings and said that they wanted their men back from the trenches
• In 1916, 10,000 workers assembled in Berlin to shout 'Down with war, down with the government!'
• By 1918, Germany was close to collapse, with the German people surviving on turnips and bread, and a deadly flu epidemic sweeping the country
• General Ludendorff advised the Kaiser that the British, French and Americans might treat Germany more fairly if the country became more democratic
• The Kaiser reluctantly allowed the main political parties to form a new government and transferred some of his powers to the Reichstag, but the changes came too late to satisfy the German people
• Mutiny and Revolution in Germany


  1. On 28 October 1918, sailors on German navy ships refused to follow orders to attack British ships

  2. News of the mutiny spread, and workers and soldiers joined the sailors, taking over towns and setting up special councils to run them

  3. The Kaiser abdicated on 9 November 1918 and left Germany
• Friedrich Ebert, the leader of Germany's largest political party (the SPD), took the Kaiser's place as leader of Germany on a temporary basis, and promised to hold elections soon
• On 11 November 1918, Germany surrendered, and the First World War was over
• The end of WWI left Germany in a very poor state, with a lack of food and supplies, and riots breaking out
• The Social Democrats, led by Friedrich Ebert, took on the job of running Germany, trying to improve people's lives by giving them better working conditions and freedom of speech
• The Social Democrats won the January 1919 elections and held the first meeting of their new government in the town of Weimar, earning them the nickname "The Weimar Government"
• The Weimar Constitution

  1. Everyone over the age of 20 could vote, people voted for MPs who would sit in the Reichstag, the Reichstag would suggest and vote on new laws

  2. The Chancellor would be head of the Reichstag and would be voted for every 4 years

  3. There would be a President who would choose the Chancellor and keep control of the army, and he would be voted for every 7 years

  4. Germany would use a system called Proportional Representation, where each political party would get a fair share of the seats in the Reichstag
• Strengths of the Weimar Constitution

  • Very fair, particularly the voting
  • Allowed lots of people to have their say
  • State governments would ensure local issues were addressed
  • Wouldn't allow one person to take over - the Chancellor and President balanced each other
  • A poor Chancellor or President would only be around for a limited time
• Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

  • Proportional Representation meant there were loads of different parties in the Reichstag, making it difficult to get them to agree on anything
  • Article 48 could be abused so that the President stopped listening to the Reichstag
  • State governments could pass laws that went against what the Reichstag wanted
• Not everybody was happy with Germany being a democratic country and they didn't like the way Weimar Germany was being run by Ebert
• The Spartacist Revolution January 1919

  1. The German communist party (the Spartacists) decided they wanted to take over Germany from Ebert

  2. They started a revolution attempt on 6th January, but it was not successful

  3. In a week, Ebert with the help of his Freikorps (ex-WWI soldiers paid to help the government keep order) had stopped the rebellion and killed many communists, including the Spartacist leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht
• The German communists continued to create riots around Germany, even after the Spartacist Revolution failed, and Freikorps had to be sent round to fight them and stop them
• The right wing also hated the Social Democrats, and the Freikorps themselves went against Ebert in 1920 when they supported Wolfgang Kapp in his attempt to take over the country (Kapp Putsch)