Weimar Germany

• Treaty of Versailles


  Signed June 28 1919 by SPD (Ebert)
• Territorial Terms of TOV

  All colonies to be given to Allied powers

  Alsace-Lorraine returned to France

  Danzig a free city

  No union (Anschluss) with Austria

  Germany forfeited 13% of European territory (almost 7 million people)
• Military terms TOV


  Army not exceed 100,000

  No tanks, armoured cars or heavy artillery permitted

  No military aircraft permitted

  No naval vessels to be greater than 10,000 tons

  No submarines permitted

  Rhineland demilitarised
• Financial terms TOV


  Coal to be mined in Saar by France

  Reparations £6.6 billion

  Cattle and sheep given to Belgium and France

  Ships over 1,600 tons given up

  Germany to build merchant ships to replace Allied ships sunk by U-Boats.
• Stab in the Back Theory

  Germans didn't want to believe their military had been defeated. Conspiracy theory created using minorities to blame for failure - they were scapegoats. (Jews, communists and socialists blamed.)
• November Criminals


  term coined by the likes of Hitler to identify those associated with signing the Versailles Treaty
• Features of Weimar Constitution

  Finalised August 1919

  Key Features:

  Everyone over 20 can vote

  Proportional representation - if a party has seat in Reichstag, no matter how small they are, they have a say in voting

  Article 48 - President could suspend constitution in an emergency. He could make laws and keep Chancellor in office without support of Reichstag.

  Chancellor selected by president

  Freedom of Speech

  President elected every 7 years

  President could dismiss and call new elections

  Reichstag elected every 4 years
• Strengths of Weimar Consitution

  Democratic, In UK voting age was 21 for men and 30 for women.

  The chancellor had to have the support of most of the people in the Reichstag.

  Strong president needed to keep control over government and protect the country in crisis.

  Proportional representation meant that the number of seats in each party had in the Reichstag was based on the number of votes they got.
• Weaknesses of Weimar constitution

  Proportional representation produce a large number of parties and made it difficult to create political stability. Party was able to win a majority and then were many coalition governments.

  Article 48 allow the president to rule by decree without parliament.

  Leaders of the army wanted the Kaiser to return, because their status would be maintained under him.

  Judges and senior civil servants did not want Weimar because they did not agree with its liberal political views. PD soon as we mention before the SPD and USD were both left
• Spartacist Uprising (liberal extremist KPD)

  6 Jan 1919, failed as they were no match for the army or Freikorps. March, another communist inspired rising in Berlin, was put down, more than 1000 people were killed.

  Extreme left (USPD and KPD) is angry at SPD (moderate left) causing SPD to have weak support from left.
• Kapp Putsch


  March 1920, Wolfgang Kapp with the help of army seized Berlin and proclaimed that he will take over.

  -Ebert left again and ordered general strike (mainly KPD supporters), Freikorps quickly fell perhaps due to ebert helping them against KPD earlier on.

  -Army stayed loyal to Ebert and even showed support.
• Bad year for Weimar Germany

  Germany found it difficult to keep up with expensive reparation payments. To try keep up with the payments, the government printed more money which decreased the value of the currency.

  Germany missed a payment so France occupied the Ruhr - A region of Germany containing resources and factories. (9th Jan 1923).

  Business and workers striked, encouraged by gov, causing many Germans to become poor.

  Hitler used this anger by normal Germans to stage a revolt:
• Munich Putsch Cause


  1923, Nazi party had over 55,000 members stronger than ever before.

  Weimar was in crisis due to hyperinflation.

  September 1923, government called off general strike, German nationalist were furious with the government.

  Hitler thought he would be helped by important nationalist politicians in Bavaria.

  Hitler had huge army of SA members (Military style organisation of the Nazi party formed in 1921 under Hitler) but he would lose control of them if he did not give them something to do.

  Hitler, hope to copy Mussolini the Italian fascist leader who had come to power in Italy 1922 by marching on Rome.

  Plotted with nationalists Kahr and Lossow
• Beer Hall Putsch (1923)


  October 4, 1923, Kahr and Lossow called off the rebellion. This was not possible for Hitler who had 3000 troops ready to fight.

  Night of 8th November, Hitler and 600 SA members bus into a meeting Kahr and Lossow were holding at the Bear Hall. Hitler force them to agree and let them go home. SA took over the army headquarters and the office of local newspaper.

  9 November 1923, Hitler and the SA went into into Munich on what they thought would be a triumphal March. But Kahr had called police and army reinforcements. Police killed 16 members of the SA. Hitler fled, but was arrested two days later.
• Short term failure and long term success of Munich Putsch


  Short term failure:

  Nazi party was banned, and Hitler was prevented from speaking in public until 1927.

  Hitler was tried for high treason and sentenced to 5 years in prison.

  Long term success:

  He was sentenced in April and out by December. He wrote 'Mein Kampf' - a propaganda book, setting out Nazi beliefs. Millions of Germans read it and his ideas became very well-known.

  The judge being lenient suggest that some people in authority had sympathy with Hitler.

  Hitler realise that he would never come to power by revolution, and that he would have to take power under Democratic means. he re-organise his party to enable it to take part in elections.
• Gustav Streseman


  Became chancellor for 103 days in 1923, got french out of Ruhr, reversed hyperinflation by introducing rentenmark
• Dawes Plan


  August 1924

  Main points:

  Reparation payments would begin at 1 billion marks for the first year and would increase over a period of four years to 2.5 billion marks per year. These payments were more sensible and manageable as they were based upon Germany's capacity to pay.

  The Ruhr area was to be evacuated by Allied occupation troops. This was carried out in 1925.

  The German Reichsbank would be reorganise under Allied supervision.

  The USA would give loans to Germany to help its economic recovery. (Began with a loan of 800 million marks. Over the next six years, USA companies and banks gave loans of nearly 3000 million USD, this allows Germany recovery and enable them to pay reparations.)
• Rentenmark


  Nov 1923, currency issued in limited amount, and was based on property values rather than gold reserves. Glad it restored the confidence of German people in its currency. Following year, the Rentenmark was converted into the Reischmark, a new currency, now backed by gold reserves.
• Young Plan 1929


  Reparation payments reduced from £6,600 million to £1,850 million in 1929 and time to pay extended to 59 years. Criticised by right-wing.
• Locarno Pact


  Britain, France, Belgium and Britain and Italy agreed to keep existing boarders between Germany, Belgium and France. Cooperation between European Powers.
• League of Nations


  Established 1920, an organisation to try and maintain peace. Germany joined September 1926, confirming their return to Great Power.
• Kellogg-Briand Pact


  1928, Germany signed alongside 64 other nations to agree to only use military for self defece and solve disputes 'By peaceful means'.
• Golden Years, standard of living

  Wages increased by around 10%

  Housing, 1924-1931, more than 2 million new homes were built. 1929, state was spending 33x more on housing than in 1913. By 1928, homelessness reduced by 60%.

  Unemployment Insurance: Workers and employees contributed to the welfare of the unemployed/unable.
• Golden years, position of women

  1919, women 20+ could vote

  1926, 32 women deputies in Reichstag

  1933, 100,000 female teachers and 3,000 doctors

  Enjoyed more freedom socially, drinking, smoking, fashion-conscious, short hair and makeup.
• Golden years, cultural change


  Art was uncensored, artists tries to portray reality

  Golden age for German Cinema

  Literature discussed War
• Wall street crash


  1929

  Loans from US were recalled, stock markets crashed causing serious economic crisis globally (especially Germany), unemployment rose.

  Article 48 began to be used by Bruning and Hinemburg, Weimar Gov fell.

  Extremist parties became more active, Nazis won 107 seats, second largest to SPD (143).
• Cultural changes Weimar Germany

  Education:

  - Einstein worked in Germany in 1920s, winning his Nobel prize for Physics in 1921

  Art:

  - Architecture: Bauhaus school founded in 1919, by Walter Gropius.

  Bauhaus theory was that all architecture and design was an opportunity to introduce beauty and quality to all, through well-designed and industrially produced items.

  - German art flourished during that time, New objectivity movement. Challenged expressionist art which was much more romantic, Artists focused on reality, many on the harsh reality of war. Artists included Otto Dix and George Grosz.

  Cinema:

  - Expressionist style became more popular, with unrealistic sets and over-exaggerated acting

  - Economic instability meant less money for the arts. The shortage of funding gave rise to the Kammerspielfilm movement, with

  atmospheric films made on small sets with low budgets.

  - Expressionist film-makers favoured darker storylines and themes, including horror and crime.