History Edexcel - Weimar republic

• Weimar Republic


  The name given to Germany after the Kaiser had abdicated in November 1918
• Weimar Republic


  • Time of despair and hope for Germany
  • Under Gustav Stresemann, there was some stability
• Key events


  1. 1918 World War One ended. The Kaiser abdicated and Germany became a country without a monarch (a Republic)

  2. 1919 January Spartacist Uprising

  3. 1919 June Signing of the Treaty of Versailles

  4. 1919 August Weimar Constitution finalised

  5. 1920 Kapp Putsch

  6. 1923 French occupation of the Ruhr and hyperinflation

  7. 1924 Dawes Plan

  8. 1925 Locarno Pact

  9. 1926 Germany joins League of Nations

  10. 1928 Kellogg Briand Pact

  11. 1929 Young Plan
• Weimar Republic


  • Faced much opposition
  • Disliked by the left wing who wanted Germany to be like Communist Russia
  • Disliked by the right wing who wanted the monarchy back
• Treaty of Versailles


  • Caused many problems for Germany
  • The German people disliked the politicians for signing it
  • Caused political problems and economic problems
• Gustav Stresemann


  • Helped to bring about recovery in Germany after 1924
  • Solved economic problems by making friends with other countries
  • Historians have very different views about the extent of this recovery
• Golden Age


  • Period from 1924-29
  • Saw significant changes in culture, the standard of living and the position of women
• Abdication


  When a monarch leaves the throne
• Republic


  A country without a King or a Queen
• Ebert


  The first President of the Republic
• Stresemann


  The Chancellor of Germany from the Summer of 1923
• Article 48


  The President could use this to ignore the Reichstag and rule as he saw fit
• Armistice


  An agreement to end war
• Weimar


  The new government could not meet in Berlin as it was so dangerous, so they met here instead
• Constitution


  This is an agreement about how the country would be ruled
• Reichstag


  German parliament
• Gewaltfrieden


  An enforced peace
• Freikorps


  Ex military soldiers who wanted to overthrow the Republic
• Rentenmark


  The currency of Germany after November 1923
• Hyperinflation


  When money looses its value
• Dawes Plan


  An agreement where the USA would lend Germany money
• Young Plan


  This lowered the reparations payment and gave Germany longer to pay
• Treaty of Versailles


  This decided how Germany was going to be treated after WW1
• Locarno Pact


  An agreement on borders signed by Britain, France, Italy and Belgium
• Kellogg Briand Pact


  65 counties including Germany agreed to resolve conflict peacefully
• Coalition


  A government of two or more political parties
• Hitler sets up the Nazi Party in 1920 and becomes Chancellor in January 1933. This happens for a variety of reasons – Hitler's strengths, inbuilt problems of the Weimar Republic, and the weaknesses of others.
• Key events


  1. 1919 Hitler joins the German Worker's Party

  2. 1920 Hitler sets up the Nazi Party

  3. 1921 Hitler introduces the SA

  4. 1923 The Munich Putsch

  5. 1925 Mein Kampf published

  6. 1926 Bamberg Conference

  7. 1928 Nazis win 12 seats in Reichstag

  8. 1929 Death of Stresemann and Wall Street Crash

  9. 1930 Nazis win 107 seats in Reichstag

  10. 1932 July Nazis win 230 seats in Reichstag

  11. 1932 November Nazis win 196 seats in Reichstag

  12. 1933 January Hitler becomes Chancellor
• Munich Putsch


  • Significant event
  • Although a failure, Hitler gained publicity, he wrote Mein Kampf and he realised that if he was to win power, he needed to do this by votes and not by force
• Stable Stresemann


  • Caused problems for the popularity of the Nazi Party
  • When times were good, voters were not attracted to the Nazi policies
• Wall Street Crash


  • Major turning point in the fortunes of the Nazi Party
  • The Nazi message did not change but people were now prepared to hear it
• Backstairs Intrigue


  • At a time when Nazi popularity at the polls was decreasing, Hitler was handed power by political elites who feared a Communist take over and Civil War
• NSDAP


  The Nazis
• Iron Cross Award


  Given for bravery in war
• Volk


  The notion of pure German people
• 25 Point Programme


  The political manifesto of the Nazi Party
• Volkischer Beobachter


  People's Observer, a Nazi newspaper
• Fuhrerprinzip


  Belief that one person should run a Party
• Swastika


  Emblem of the Nazi Party
• SA or Sturmabteilung


  Private army of the Nazi Party headed by Himmler