Impact of WW1 on Germany

• What was national income like?

  1/3 of previous numbers
• What happened to the German navy in October 1918?

  It mutinied and caused unrest to spread throughout Germany
• What does mutinied mean?


  Any overt act of defiance or attack upon military (including naval) authority by two or more persons subject to such authority.
• What happened in many towns?

  Workers and soldies set up their own official councils to replace the Kaiser's officials
• What does Kaiser mean?

  The German Emperor
• What happened to the Kaiser of Germany after WW1 and why?

  He was forced to abdicate because the USA would not make peace terms with him.
• What happened to women in Germany during WW1?


  They were called up to work in factories
• What were people's opinions on women being called to work?

  Many saw it as damaging to traditional family values and society as a whole
• What percentage of German soldiers became casualties?

  55%
• How many children were left without fathers?

  2 million
• What did stresses of war lead to?

  It led to a revolution and the formation of a democratic republic (the Weimar Republic)
• What nickname were the German politicians given for signing the Armistice?

  The 'November Criminals
• What was deepened during the war?

  Divisions between the rich and the poor especially the living standards
• What fraction of what it had been did industrial production become?

  2/3
• What happened to Germany's debts and what did this cause?


  Debts tripled 1914-1918 meaning Germany was virtually bankrupt
• What effects did the war have on poor people?

  Many were worse off than they were before
• Why did workers start rioting?

  Many German workers were bitter at the restrictions on their earnings whilst factory earners made vast fortunes
• How did the German people feel about the signing of the Armistice?


  They felt 'stabbed in the back
• How did people feel about the new democratic leaders?

  Ex-soldiers and civilians despised them and came to believe that the heroic leader Field Marshall Hindenburg had been betrayed by weak politicians
• How many widows were left after the war and what did they need?

  600,000 were left who all needed financial support from the government
• How much were the state spending in war pensions by 1925?

  1/3 of their budget