Germany

• Effects of the First World War on Germany

  • Germany was bankrupt as it had spent all its gold on weapons
  • The war resulted in the abdication of the Kaiser who was blamed for the terrible impact of the war
  • The new government had no choice but to sign the armistice in November 1918 to end WW1
  • Many Germans saw the new government as betraying Germany
• German Revolution


  The removal of Kaiser Wilhelm
• 'November Criminals'


  What many Germans called the new government, who they saw as betraying Germany
• 'Weimar Republic'


  The name for the 'new' Germany created after the Kaiser abdicated, as it didn't have a monarch and the new government met in the town of Weimar
• Effects of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany

  • Germany was forced to pay reparations for the war damage
  • Germany lost 13% of its land including valuable land such as the Saar (coal) and Danzig (a port)
  • Germany's army was cut to only 100,000, the navy was cut to 15,000 and Germany was stopped from having an air force
  • Germany lost its colonies such as Cameroon
  • The new democratic government was seen by many Germans as betraying Germany
• The Treaty of Versailles was called a 'Diktat' by Germans, meaning they felt they had been 'dictated to'
• Effects on Germany's armed forces

  • Army reduced to 100,000 men
  • No air force allowed
  • No submarines allowed
  • Only 15 battleships allowed and the navy made smaller
  • No soldiers could be put in the Rhineland
• Effects on Germany's economy

  • Made to pay billions in reparations (compensation)
  • Lost the areas of Upper Silesia and the Polish Corridor to Poland
  • Lost the area of Alsace-Lorraine to France
  • Lost the very important port of Danzig which was vital for trade
  • Had less to trade with other countries as it lost much of its coal
• Impact on the new Weimar government

  • The government was accused of betraying Germany yet again
  • Many Germans were angry as Germany could be vulnerable to attack
  • Germans said the government were 'November Criminals' and had 'stabbed Germany in the back'
  • The government was blamed for weakening Germany by losing 13% of its land and all its colonies
• Armistice


  The agreement to end the First World War
• Reparations


  The name for the compensation Germany was forced to pay
• Treaty of Versailles


  The 'peace' deal that Germany was forced to sign in 1919
• Weimar Republic


  The name for the 'new' Germany created after the Kaiser abdicated
• Rhineland


  The part of Germany that was demilitarised
• Saar


  The part of Germany put under League of Nations control
• 'Polish Corridor'


  Part of Germany given to Poland so it has access to the sea
• Demilitarised


  Reduced in size to prevent Germany from starting another war
• 'November Criminals'


  What the Weimar government was accused of being or doing
• Germany was bankrupt by the end of 1918 as it had spent all its gold on weapons
• Kaiser Wilhelm was forced to abdicate in November 1918
• Political extremist groups that challenged the Weimar Republic 1918-23


  • Spartacists (Spartacist League)
  • Freikorps and the Kapp Putsch 1920
  • Nazis and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch 1923
• Spartacists


  • Extreme left-wing Communists who wanted a Communist revolution
  • Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
  • The new government had to meet in Weimar rather than Berlin due to the threat
  • The government was unable to crush them without help from the Freikorps
• Freikorps


  • Groups of ex-soldiers who shot and killed many Spartacists, including their leaders
  • They felt strong enough to try their own putsch to seize power
• Kapp Putsch 1920


  • Right-wing extremists who were nationalists, hated the Weimar Republic and Communists, and wanted to bring back the Kaiser
  • They tried to seize power in Berlin but the putsch failed as striking workers refused to operate trams, trains or power stations
• Munich Beer Hall Putsch 1923


  • Hitler and the Nazis wanted a strong Germany, to get rid of democracy, and a dictatorship
  • It took place in Munich, Bavaria, with Hitler wanting the Nazis to take power in Munich and then march to Berlin
  • The threat was stopped when the army refused to support Hitler and the police shot dead 16 Nazis
• Parts of the Weimar Constitution

  • All people (men AND WOMEN) could vote if they were 21 or over
  • Proportional Representation voting system meant parties got seats in proportion to their vote share
  • The President could choose the Chancellor (Prime Minister)
• Proportional Representation


  Voting system where parties got seats in proportion to their vote share
• Decrees


  The laws the President could pass himself in an emergency
• No political party ever won over 50% of the vote so coalition governments were needed, but they often disagreed and collapsed
• There were 9 governments between 1919-23
• Coalition government


  A government made up of more than one political party
• Effects of the Ruhr occupation and hyperinflation 1923

  • France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr, a rich industrial area, to take factory goods as payment for missing reparations
  • The government organised a strike and told workers not to help the invaders (passive resistance)
  • But this meant Germany wasn't producing goods to sell abroad so no money was coming in
  • The government printed more and more money to pay the striking workers, causing hyperinflation (worthless money)
• Passive resistance


  The policy of the German government to organise a strike and tell workers not to help the French and Belgian occupiers of the Ruhr
• Effects of hyperinflation


  • People with debts were able to pay them off as the value became worthless
  • Middle class people who had cash savings found they were worthless
  • Wages could not keep up with the rising prices, despite wage increases, so by November 1923 people were worse off
• The Ruhr was the most important part of Germany's economy
• France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr because Germany missed reparations payments and they didn't believe Germany's excuses
• In November 1923, 1 egg cost 80,000,000,000 marks due to hyperinflation
• Some people benefited from hyperinflation, such as those with debts, but most Germans suffered as their savings became worthless and wages couldn't keep up with prices
• Stresemann's economic policies 1924-29

  • Replaced the old currency with the new Rentenmark to end hyperinflation
  • The Dawes Plan in 1924 made reparations easier to pay and the USA gave loans to Germany
  • The Young Plan in 1929 reduced reparations to £2 billion and gave Germany more time to pay
• Rentenmark


  The new currency that ended the problem of hyperinflation