weimar

• 1918 kaiser abdicated


  Wilehelm had abdicated on November 9th
• 1919 weimar republic formed

  • Germany now became a democracy and ebert was now president of Germany and scheidemann is chancellor
  • the weimar republic allowed germany to be more democratic
• 1919 weimar republic pros and cons

  • allowed women to vote
  • designed to be fair
  • lowered the age voting to 20

  cons

  • president could suspend constitution if necessary and pass a law without reichstag consent ( Article 48 )
  • loads of parties meant a lot of different views and constant different judgements (coalitions)
• 1919 Treaty of Versailles


  In june Ebert signed the tov as he had little choice in signing it as germany was too weak to risk conflict again

  the treaty was decided by allied leaders
• Treaty of Versailles conditions

  TRAWL

  • territory - germany lost its empire , this being areas around the world that germany was under control
  • reparations - germany was forced to pay 6.6 billion dollars for the damage caused
  • armed forces - germany had to reduce military size to 100,000 men and weren't allowed air forces ,tanks or submarines
  • war guilt - this was in article 231 and said Germany had to take blame
  • league of nations - germany weren't allowed to sign LoN
• 1919 Germany reaction to TOV

  • the germans resented the TOV and said it was a 'stab in the back'
  • called the politicians who signed it 'diktat'
  • said it made them look weak
• spartiacist uprising 1919 Jan

  • Communists wanted a revolution and tried taking over berlin
  • 50,000 workers went on strike
  • Ebert asked freikorps ( ex German soldiers with high training ) to stop rebellion
  • led by Rosa Luxembourg nd Karl liebknecht but got executed
  • was a fail due to poor planning and no support from other communists group
• kapp putsch 1920 march

  • right-wing freikorps tried to overthrow the weimar regime to create right-wing government after seeing the treaty get signed
  • marched into berlin but government told german workers to oppose putsch
  • so kapp had to give up as it was a standstill
• 1923 reparations insight 


  by 1923 Germany does not have the capacity to meet reparation payments so french use German resources in the Ruhr
• ruhr 1923


  french occupied the Ruhr( coal and iron reserves) which was the richest industrial area of germany

  • germans went on strike ' passive resistance' and were known as heroes for standing up
  • this however meant germany was making less money in that area
  • so they printed more to cover loss of production
• 1923 ruhr strike causes hyperinflation


  by printing more money this caused hyperinflation and many people were negatively affected by this
• effects of hyperinflation


  pros

  • debts could be paid off
  • farmers had advantages

  cons

  • fixed income earned practically nothing
  • unemployment increased
  • food was expensive ( health declined)
  • 80 million marks for one egg ( only 1/4 in 1918 )
• solution to hyperinflation


  Gustav stresemann become chancellor in 1923 and solved hyperinflation by creating the retenmark

  • he ended strike in ruhr and sent workers back
  • stopping any compensation payments
  • created the retenmark (new currency)
• 1923 nov gustav stressemann 


  becomes foreign minister and tries to build international relationships , this makes germanys economy grow
• dawes plan 1924


  agreed on realistic payment dates so they change the payment plan

  • usa give loans to germany ( leaves germany reliant on US loans though)
• locarno pact 1925


  a treaty that was between Germany ,France ( and Belgium) and they promised to respect joint borders .
• league of nations 1926


  allowed germany to join LoN

  • this was a peaceful organisation that aimed to settle disputes without violence
  • however some people oppose it as they link it with ToV
• kellog-briand pact 1928


  germany and 61 other countries sign it to promise not to resort to war to acheive their aims

  shows germanys progression
• young plan 1929


  allies reduce reparations to 1.85 billion

  gives germany 59 years to pay back
• golden age of the weimar republic 


  • women - women were given equal rights, votes and pay, much more developed than other parts of europe
  • politics - people weren't turning to extreme parties
  • culture - german plays and operas became popular entertainment
  • economy - economy got a lot better thanks to stresemann
  • unemployment - the unemployed received cash benefits 'unemployment insurance' 1927
• women in weimar 


  women were given more freedom and more political representation, with 112 women being elected to the reichstag between 1919-1932. many sports clubs and societies were made
• culture in weimar germany


  the weimar republic was a period of creation and opportunity , many advances in art were made like the movie ' Metropolis '. this allowed the german people to openly share and express their identities

  painters ( Otto Dix ) were painting pictures to showcase german society and allowed democracy throughout germany
• stats


  housing - built 2 million between 1924 and 1931

  economic - unemployment scheme 1927 for those without jobs

  women - 112 women elected in the reichstag

  culture - movie metropolis and otto dix painter