Year 10 History (Germany and League of Nations)

• Kaiser Wilhelm II

  Ruler of Germany after it was unified in 1871
• Parliamentary Government in Germany

  • Kaiser ruled over all states
  • Chancellor and ministers advised Kaiser
  • Bundesrat made up of representatives from each state
  • Reichstag parliament elected by men over 25
• Reichstag


  Parliament that debated and voted on laws drawn up by Kaiser and ministers
• Kaiser Wilhelm II

  • Could ignore government advice and made his own decisions
  • Made all military and foreign policy decisions
• Kaiser Wilhelm II was keen to maintain a powerful army and build up a large navy
• Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted Germany to be a global power and have an empire to rival Britain's
• Prussian militarism


  • Belief that a country should have strong armed forces
  • Prussian generals, army officers and tactics formed the basis of the new united Germany
• In the late 1800's, Germany began to industrialise
• By 1913, Germany was producing as much coal as Britain and more iron and steel
• By 1914, Germany produced two-thirds of Europe's steel
• In industries such as electrical goods and chemicals, German companies dominated Europe
• Some leading factory and business owners had become very rich and influential
• Growth of Socialism


  • Workers joined trade unions and organised strikes to force the government to improve pay and working conditions
  • Social Democratic Party (SPD) became popular among workers and believed in socialism - power and wealth should be shared equally
• Around one in three Germans voted for the Social Democratic Party at this time
• Some socialists wanted to rebel against the Kaiser's rule, start a revolution and allow cities and towns to be governed by a council of workers
• Navy Laws


  • Between 1898 and 1912 a series of laws were introduced to rapidly increase the size of the Navy and Army
  • Taxes were increased and money was borrowed to pay for this, leaving Germany in debt for a long time
• The Kaiser wanted a large navy to help him take over more countries and protect those already in the German Empire
• The First World War began in August 1914. Germany and Austria went to war against France, Britain, Russia, Belgium and Serbia
• In 1914, the war was popular and patriotic Germans thought it would end quickly
• Soon the British navy stopped ships getting food into Germany, leading to food and other shortages
• In 1915-16, protesters in Germany demanded an end to the war and demonstrations increased from 500 to 10,000 people. War weariness increased
• On the front line, soldiers were worn down by bombs, gas and machine gun fire
• In 1918, Germany was close to defeat. A flu epidemic killed many already weak from a poor diet
• In October 1918, Army General Ludendorff stated Germany could not win the war and advised the Kaiser to make the country more democratic
• The Kaiser allowed the main political parties to form a new government and transferred some of his powers to the Reichstag, but the German people were not satisfied and more demonstrations followed
• On 28th October 1918, the German navy Kiel mutinied and the mutiny spread. Workers' and soldiers' councils were governing towns and cities all over Germany
• On 9th November 1918, the Kaiser abdicated and secretly left Germany, never to return
• Ebert, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, took over Germany temporarily and promised to hold elections and end the war
• On 11th November 1918, Germany surrendered and the First World War was over
• By 1918, Germany was virtually bankrupt, owed vast sums of money, and its factories were exhausted
• Germany was politically unstable, with mutiny and revolution all over the country
• German society was further divided, with some factory owners making a fortune during the war while workers had restrictions placed on their wages
• The Spartacist Revolution in January 1919 was an attempt by the German communist party to take over Germany, but it was stopped by Ebert with the help of the Freikorps
• The Social Democrats won the January 1919 elections and formed the Weimar Government, which wrote a new constitution for Germany
• Weimar Constitution


  • Everyone over 20 could vote
  • Reichstag parliament elected
  • Chancellor voted for every 4 years
  • President voted for every 7 years
• The Treaty of Versailles punished Germany by giving them the war guilt, making them pay reparations, reducing their military, taking away land and colonies, and forbidding them from uniting with Austria
• The Germans were outraged by the Treaty of Versailles and accused the Weimar Government of "stabbing them in the back"
• The German communists continued to create riots around Germany, and the right wing also hated the Social Democrats
• Over 200 people connected to the Weimar Government were assassinated between 1919 and 1923
• In 1920, the Freikorps supported Wolfgang Kapp in his attempt to take over the country (Kapp Putsch), but it was stopped by a workers' strike in Berlin