History- Weimar Germany

• By autumn 1918 it was clear that Germany would lose World War One
• A British naval blockade had led to severe food shortages in Germany
• In 1918 293,000 Germans died from starvation and hypothermia
• The blockade, combined with a war on two fronts, restricted Germany's ability to trade, which was the basis of its pre-war economic growth
• Germany's chemical industry virtually collapsed
• German workers' wages were falling despite the extra work they were doing to support the war
• By 1918 German miners were earning only 60 per cent of their pre-war salaries
• Germany's currency, the Mark, was losing its value and inflation was rising rapidly
• The government was running a huge budget deficit but was unable to raise taxes on the rich
• In September 1918 the heads of the German army, Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff, told the Kaiser that Germany should ask the Allies for an armistice
• From November onwards a series of events occurred that became known as the German Revolution
• On 3 November at the main German naval base in Kiel, frustrated German sailors mutinied instead of following orders to attack the British Royal Navy
• The sailors' mutiny sparked rebellions all over Germany and in a matter of days led to the collapse of the German government which forced the ruling monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm II, to abdicate on 9 November
• Defeat in 1918 led to the Kaiser's abdication, a republic and a new constitution. The new Germany faced huge problems up to 1924, not least those caused by its punishment in the Treaty of Versailles.
• Allies


  Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Japan and the USA
• In 1919 the victorious Allies met to discuss how to punish Germany and on 28 June 1919 the new German government was forced to sign a peace settlement called the Treaty of Versailles.
• Treaty of Versailles

  The treaty blamed Germany for the war and punished her militarily, territorially and financially. This impacted enormously on the German economy and led to an economic crisis in 1923.
• Main terms of the Treaty of Versailles

  • Blame - Germany forced to accept blame for starting the war
  • Reparations - Germany to pay £6.6 billion in damages
  • Armed Forces - Germany's army and navy significantly reduced
  • Territory - Germany lost land on all sides of its borders and overseas colonies
• Germany began to pay reparations in 1922, but after a payment was missed late in the year a chain of events was set off that led to French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr Valley in Western Germany and hyperinflation.
• Reparations

  Monetary compensation from an individual, group or state to compensate victims
• Ruhr


  The main industrial area of Germany
• Hyperinflation


  Very rapid and high increase in the level of prices, combined with a fall in the value of money
• Hyperinflation in Germany


  1. Germany defaulted on reparations payment

  2. France and Belgium sent troops into Ruhr Valley to confiscate goods

  3. German government ordered workers to passively resist

  4. Government printed more money to pay workers

  5. Prices spiralled out of control
• Hyperinflation winners


  • Borrowers (businessmen, landowners, those with mortgages)
  • Workers (renegotiated wages daily)
  • Farmers
• Hyperinflation losers

  • People on fixed incomes (students, pensioners, sick)
  • People with savings and those who had lent money
• Weimar Republic


  The German republic between 1919 and 1933
• Representative democracy


  A political system in which members of parliament are elected to represent the interests and opinions of the electorate
• Reichstag


  Germany's parliament
• Kaiser


  Germany's king; Kaiser Wilhelm II
• Chancellor


  In the Weimar Republic, the Chancellor was the head of the government, appointed by the President
• Weimar constitution


  • Promised to give Germany a government that truly represented the views of the whole country
  • Had major flaws that contributed to its downfall in 1933-34
• Strengths of the Weimar constitution

  • Genuine democracy - Elections for parliament and the president took place every four years and all Germans over 20 could vote
  • The power of the Reichstag - The Reichstag appointed the government and made all laws
  • A Bill of Rights - This guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law
• Weaknesses of the Weimar constitution

  • Proportional representation - Each party got the same percentage of seats in parliament as the percentage of votes it received in an election
  • Article 48 - This gave the president the power to act without parliament's approval in an emergency
• Defeat in 1918 led to the Kaiser's abdication, a republic and a new constitution. The new Germany faced huge problems up to 1924, not least those caused by its punishment in the Treaty of Versailles.
• Weimar Republic


  The name given to the German republic between 1919 and 1933
• Kaiser


  Germany's king; Kaiser Wilhelm II
• Armistice


  An end to the fighting in a war
• Many Germans hated the government for signing the armistice in November 1918 - they called them the 'November criminals'
• The defeat in the war came as a huge surprise to the German people, which led to a theory that the brave German army had been 'stabbed in the back' by the politicians
• Treaty of Versailles


  The peace treaty signed by the Allies and Germany at the end of the First World War, on 28 June 1919