KT1: Weimar 1918-1929

• LAND: Germany lost 13% of its European territory and its entire empire (overseas colonies).
• ARMY:

  • Limited to 100,000 soldiers
  • 6 Battleships + Cruisers
  • 12 Destroyers + torpedo boats
  • No Airforce or Submarines
  • Demilitarised Rhineland
• MONEY: Germany had to pay a reparations bill of £6.6 Billion to the Allies.
• BLAME: Clause 231 of the TOV made Germany accept blame for the war.
• Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate in 1918.
• Dolschtuss (stab in the back theory) - The army had been betrayed by politicians, forced to surrender when they could have won.
• Many Germans nicknamed the new government the November Criminals.
• At the end of the war, people were starving. Riots were breaking out. The navy had mutinied.
• 9th November 1918:

  Kaiser visits army headquarters

  Ministers try to persuade the Kaiser to abdicate

  Kaiser refuses to abdicate

  Army refuse to support Kaiser

  Kaiser abdicates and flees to Holland
• Fredrich Ebert, leader of the Social Democratic Party became the first president and declared Germany a republic.
• Proportional Representation: % of votes = % of seats.
• Artikle 48 - President could 'rule by decree' during national emergencies (determined by him)
• When was the Spartacist Uprising?

  January 1919
• Who led the Spartacist Uprising?

  Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
• What side of the political spectrum were the Spartacists?

  Left wing
• What side of the political spectrum were the Freikorps?

  Right wing
• SPARTACIST UPRISING:

  • Thousands protested on streets in Berlin after Ebert sacked a popular police chief
  • Spartacists called for an uprising + general strike in Berlin
  • 6th Jan - 100,000+ workers took to the streets
  • Took over the government newspaper and telegraph bureau in Berlin
• SPARTACIST UPRISING:

  • Ebert turned to Freikorps for help and lost all control
  • Ebert did not want death + violence
  • Freikorps drove rebels off streets
  • Luxemburg + Liebknecht arrested and brutally killed
  • Rebellion supressed
• The Freikorps were a group of right-wing former soldiers who disliked Ebert but HATED communists.
• When was the Kapp Putsch?

  March 1920
• Who was put in charge during the Kapp Putsch?

  Dr Wolfgang Kapp (nationalist politician)
• THE KAPP PUTSCH:

  • Ebert's gov struggled to control the Freikorps
  • In March, units in Berlin were disbanded
  • 5000 armed men marched on Berlin, as they feared unemployment
  • When Ebert ordered the army to resist the rebels, they refused (Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr)
  • Rebels controlled the city - Kapp as figurehead leader
  • Declared new gov and invited Kaiser back
• THE KAPP PUTSCH:

  • Weimar gov fled Berlin for safety
  • Gov asked Trade Unions to encourage workers to strike
  • Essential services (gas, water, electricity, transport) stopped and capital came to a halt
  • After 4 days, Kapp realised he couldn't govern, fled, got caught and died in prison
  • Rebellion collapsed and Weimar ministers returned
• The Kapp Putsch was a bigger treat than the Spartacist Uprising as the Freikorps were organised and Ebert had no support from the army to resist them.
• When was the 'Year of Crisis'?

  1923
• What were the 3 events that made up the 'Year of Crisis'?

  • Occupation of the Ruhr
  • Hyperinflation
  • The Munich Putsch
• Why did French troops occupy the Ruhr?

  Germany fell behind with reparations payments so the French took goods and raw materials.
• 80% of German coal, iron and steel reserves were in the Ruhr and many of its factories. The French occupation was a disaster for Germany's Economy.
• French troops in the Ruhr were met with Passive Resistance, so the Weimar gov printed more money to pay the strikers and make up for loss of coal, iron and steel production.
• By November 1923, the German Mark was worthless.
• In August 1923, Ebert appointed Gustav Stresemann as chancellor + foreign secretary. Although he resigned as chancellor in November, he remained foreign secretary until 1929.
• Stresemann aimed to stabilise the economy, make Germans more content with Weimar and unite most Germans behind moderate parties.
• THE DAWES PLAN, 1924

  • Charles Dawes, American banker, designed a plan to pay reparations
  • Installments temporarily reduced to £50 million a year
  • US banks agreed to make loans to German industry
• THE YOUNG PLAN, 1929

  • Committee set up by Allies and led by American Banker Owen Young
  • Reduced total reparations from £6.6 billion to £1.85 billion
  • Payments extended until 1988
  • Lower reparations = lower taxes for Germans
  • Opposition from extremist parties (Nazis)
• RENTENMARK

  • November 1923 - Stresemann set up Rentenbank and issued new currency
  • Issued on limited amounts based on property values rather than gold
  • Gradually restored people's confidence in currency
  • Following year - Converted into Reichsmark, new currency backed by gold reserves.
  • END OF HYPERINFLATION
• LOCARNO PACT, 1925

  • Agreement between Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Belgium
  • Germany agreed to its new border with France (improving relations)
  • All agreed to the permanent demilitarisation of the Rhineland
  • Marked Germany's return to European international scene
• LEAGUE OF NATIONS

  • Est. 1920 - new international body that hoped to discuss world problems instead of war
  • September 1926 - Germany given a permanent seat on the council
  • Germany's return to great power status
  • Many thought the League was guardian of TOV
• KELLOG-BRIAND PACT, 1928

  • Agreement between 62 nations
  • Armies kept for self defence
  • Solve disputes 'by peaceful means'
  • Germany once again a major power
• WAGES AND WORK

  • Working hours reduced
  • Wages rose
  • Working conditions improved
  • Hyperinflation made employment insecure
  • Well-off Germans resented seeing workers benefitting
• UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

  • 3% of earnings deducted to be put towards insurance (unemployment/sick benefits)