Germany part 1

• what were the Kaiser's weaknesses? (5)

  - meddled with German foreign policy - damaged Germany's relations with other countries

  - made a number of public blunders - offended the British, accused people of being homosexuals

  - arrogant, bad temper

  - known for acting impulsively and immaturely

  - power hungry, obsessed with war
• what were the Kaiser's aims? (2)


  - control the political system

  - make Germany a world power (Weltpolitik)
• what factors could help the Kaiser to control the political system? (2)

  - Prussia - militaristic, proud, supported the Kaiser. the Junkers would support him.

  - members of the army had leading roles in the government - supported him, could enforce his wishes
• what factors could make it difficult for the Kaiser to control the political system? (2)

  - the Reichstag (Kaiser did not have a good relationship with it)

  - trade unions - workers were becoming more powerful, could be a threat to the Kaiser's power
• what factors could help the Kaiser make Germany a world power? (4)

  - Prussian militarism - covered 2/3 of the German population, made Germany a strong military power

  - German army - was admired, under direct control of the Kaiser

  - industrialisation - Germany's economy was thriving which made Germany wealthy, leading in terms of manufactured goods

  - Junkers - supported Kaiser's goal to build an empire
• what factors could make it difficult for the Kaiser to make Germany a world power?

  - trade unions - workers going on strike would damage the German economy - by 1914, over 3 million workers were in a trade union
• who were the Junkers?

  powerful Prussian land owners
• which system of government was becoming popular in the time of the Kaiser?

  socialism
• what is socialism?


  government system which supports democracy, ensures that everyone has equal power/wealth
• what was the new political party formed?

  Social Democratic Party (SPD)
• how many Germans voted for the SPD?

  around one in three
• when did the SPD become the largest party in the Reichstag?

  1914
• what did the Social Democrats want?

  - for the Kaiser to share some of his power

  - to allow the Reichstag to make more social reforms/laws to improve workers' rights and conditions
• what was the idea of Weltpolitik?

  making Germany a global power, with control over other countries worldwide
• when were the Navy Laws introduced?

  1898-1912
• why was the Kaiser so keen to banish socialism from Germany? (5)

  - socialists wanted to spread power/wealth equally, he wanted power all to himself

  - wanted control over the empire and to make decisions himself, not be dictated by socialists

  - people in Germany were going on strike - weakened German industry

  - some extreme socialists wanted to rebel against the Kaiser and take over, letting workers govern cities and towns

  - socialists disagreed with Navy Laws - wanted money to go towards improving working conditions rather than expanding the Navy
• what did the Kaiser have control over? (4)

  - appointment of Chancellor and government ministers

  - could dissolve the Reichstag

  - controlled the German army, who swore an oath of loyalty to him

  - had control over major decisions
• what was the Chancellor's role? (4)

  - chief advisor to the Kaiser - answerable only to him

  - power over policies and appointments

  - runs the government and proposes new legislation (laws)

  - doesn't need support of Reichstag/Bundesrat to stay in power
• what was the role of the Bundesrat? (3)

  - members were representatives from each state in the German empire

  - its consent is needed for all legislation (but can be overruled by the Kaiser)

  - more powerful than the Reichstag, answerable only to the Kaiser
• what was the role of the Reichstag? (5)

  - members elected by men over 25 years old every 3 years

  - could discuss, amend and vote on new legislation, but could not decide on the topics

  - legislation handed down by Bundesrat

  - had no say in appointment/dismissal of Chancellor/government ministers

  - decisions could be overruled by Kaiser
• what problems did the Kaiser face? (4)

  - industrialisation - more trade unions

  - rise of socialism

  - increased support for SPD - very different political views

  - growth of democracy - difficult to gain support from Reichstag
• in what year was Germany unified?

  1871
• what can Weltpolitik be summarised as?

  GANE

  Glory (to be a great power)

  Army (wanted to expand German army)

  Navy (wanted to expand German navy)

  Empire (wanted to expand German territories e.g. in Africa)
• we demand our place in the ___'

  sun
• who was the leading force in developing the Navy?

  Admiral von Tirpitz
• what did Admiral von Tirpitz do?

  argued that Germany needed to build large battleships to compete with British navy and scare their government
• when did Admiral von Tirpitz become Secretary of State of the Navy?

  1897
• what was the first Naval Law and when was it passed?

  1898 - 7 battleships to be built over the next 3 years to add to the 12 it had
• what was the second Naval Law and when was it passed?

  1900 - navy doubled from 19 battleships to 38
• what did the Navy Laws lead to?

  naval race between Britain and Germany
• why did the SPD oppose the Navy Laws?

  money would need to be borrowed and taxes raised for funding - could be better spent supporting workers and economy
• what were the domestic successes of the Navy Laws? (3)

  - pleased the Kaiser - was determined that Germany would become a world power

  - increased support for Kaiser and his government - appealed to Germans' sense of patriotism

  - won government support from a majority of deputies in the Reichstag
• what were the domestic problems caused by the Navy Laws? (3)

  - Tariff Law in 1902 (increased price of staple foods)

  - government's budget went into deficit - needed funding for army, navy and new colonies - national debt grew to 490 billion marks by 1913

  - government found it very difficult to raise extra taxes to reduce deficit and debt
• how did the Navy Laws affect Germany's relationship with Britain?

  weakened their relationship - trying to compete for a bigger and better navy
• how did Navy Laws affect the rise of socialism in Germany?

  socialism would rise - more people under financial stress, feel neglected by government
• what were the economical consequences of WWI? (3)

  - industrial production and national income was around 1/3 of what it had been in 1913, Germany was virtually bankrupt

  - factory owners made huge fortunes from war work while German workers had restrictions placed on their earnings

  - by 1925 the state was spending about 1/3 of its budget on pensions
• what were the political consequences of WWI? (6)

  - in October 1918 sailors refused to follow orders to attack British ships - news of their mutiny spread to ports nearby

  - on 29th October 1918, workers and soldiers began to support the sailors - took over towns and in six days workers' and soldiers' councils were governing German cities

  - on 9th November 1918 the Kaiser abdicated and left Germany to Holland

  - revolution led to the formation of the Weimar Republic

  - many ex-soldiers and civilians despised the new democratic leaders, came to believe that the heroic leader Hindenburg had been betrayed by weak politicians
• when did the Kaiser abdicate?

  9th November 1918
• what were the social consequences of WWI? (5)


  - women were called to work in factories during the war - many people saw this as damaging to society and traditional family values

  - Germans felt betrayed as their hard work and suffering towards the war ended suddenly and unexpectedly

  - naval blockade - Britain used their huge navy to stop supply ships getting to Germany - caused shortages in food, clothes, medicines and fuel - food rationing introduced, prices rose

  - Spanish flu broke out, killed nearly half a million German citizens and 200,000 German soldiers

  - huge gaps between living standards of rich and poor

  - war left 600,000 widows and 2 million children without fathers
• who replaced the Kaiser after he abdicated?

  Friedrich Ebert - one of the leaders of the SPD