Germany: Dictatorship and Democracy

• Kaiser Wilhelm


  King of Prussia (largest state), could appoint/dismiss Chancellor, could dissolve the Reichstag, make treaties/declare war, head of German military
• Chancellor


  King's chief minister, appointed by the Kaiser and would stay in position as long as in his good books, answerable only to the Kaiser, appointed government ministers, proposed new laws to Reichstag
• Bundesrat (upper house of parliament)


  Made up of 58 representatives from each state, dominated by Prussia, consulted over government policy, proposed laws to Reichstag & approved laws from them
• Reichstag (lower house of parliament)


  Elected members, electorate - men over 25 voted, gave consent to all laws, could question/debate/agree/reject laws proposed by chancellors
• The Army


  Controlled by the Kaiser, swore an oath of allegiance to him, little respect for democracy, dominated by Prussia
• Strengths of Constitution under the Kaiser


  • Full universal male suffrage -over 25
  • Autocratic nature was efficient – Kaiser had the power to get the job done!
• Weaknesses of Constitution under the Kaiser


  • Individual states controlled income tax = central government, struggled to raise enough tax to cover its spending
  • Industrialisation = led to a large rise in Germany's urban population, poor working and living conditions were largely ignored
• Kaiser's main aims


  • Control the political system
  • Make Germany a world power
• Factors that helped Kaiser achieve aims


  • Constitution gave him power, Junkers supported him
  • Prussian militarism, growing German economy, Constitution gave him foreign policy powers
• Factors that made it harder for Kaiser to achieve aims


  • Industrialisation led to rise of urban population and growth of SPD party
  • Trade unions organised workers and disrupted economy
• Before 1850 Germany lagged far behind the leaders in industrial development, Britain, France and Belgium
• Positive consequences of industrialisation


  • Economic growth, new industries, improved transport
• Negative consequences of industrialisation


  • Urbanisation, suffering of peasants, pressure on Junker class
• Social Democrats (SPD)


  Political group who wanted major reforms to improve living and working conditions for ordinary people
• Growth of working class in towns

  Led to emergence of trade unions and the SPD
• Kaiser's reactions to rise of SPD


  • Tried to please the workers
  • Repressed them
• Naval Laws

  Aimed to build up German navy to match Britain, part of Kaiser's Weltpolitik (world policy) to make Germany a world power
• Positive consequences of Naval Laws


  • Helped economy, increased patriotism/nationalism
• Negative consequences of Naval Laws


  • Expensive, led to government debt and increased taxes, worried Britain and led to arms race
• In 1915, 500 women gathered in front of the German parliament building demanding their men home from the trenches
• In 1916, 10,000 workers assembled in Berlin to shout 'Down with war, down with government!'
• In October 1918 the German navy was ordered out to sea from Kiel in northern Germany to attack British ships. Sailors refused because they no longer wanted to fight
• News of the mutiny spread and in nearby ports, other sailors refused to follow orders. Workers in the towns supported the sailors, as did many of the soldiers who were sent in to deal with the protests
• They took over towns and set up special councils & in 6 days, workers' & soldiers' councils were governing cities all over Germany such as Hamburg & Munich
• The Kaiser abdicated and secretly left Germany on 9th November 1918
• After the Kaiser abdicated, the leader of Germany's largest political party, the SPD, took his place as leader of Germany, on a temporary basis
• On 11th November 1918, Germany surrendered
• Impact of WW1 on Germany


  • War weariness
  • Political instability
  • Economic problems
  • Social problems
• Treaty of Versailles


  Negotiated by the Allied victors of WW1 to decide the fate of Germany, shaped mainly by the French desire to punish Germany
• Key terms of Treaty of Versailles


  • War Guilt clause
  • Reparations
  • Loss of colonies
  • Military restrictions
  • Land losses
• The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28th June 1919
• The Treaty of Versailles: 28th June 1919
• Who?


  • UK led by David Lloyd George
  • France led by Georges Clemenceau
  • USA led by Woodrow Wilson
  • Italy led by Vittorio Orlando
• Causes


  The Allied victors of WW1 met at The Paris Peace Conference of 18th January 1919 – 21st January 1920 to decide the fate of Germany. The Treaty of Versailles was the result of these negotiations and was shaped mainly by the French desire to punish Germany.
• Terms


  • War Guilt – Article 231 became known as the 'War Guilt Clause' as Germany had to accept blame for starting the war.
  • Reparations – Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies - 136,000 million marks or £6.6 billion.
  • Colonies – German lost all 11 colonies in Africa and the Far East
  • Military –limited to 100,000, Navy limited to 6 battleships, No submarines / air force allowed. Rhineland was demilitarised.
  • Land –lost 13% of land it total and 50% of iron reserves and 15% of its coal reserves.
• Consequences


  • Stirred up political protest - Germany was given 15 days to sign the Treaty and was allowed no say in its final provisions. The Treaty became known as the 'diktat' as Germany had no choice but to sign. This angered many political groups in Germany.
  • Weakened the popularity of the Weimar Republic – many people believed the army had not been defeated and could have fought on so they blamed the Weimar Politicians for signing the Treaty. The army had been 'stabbed in the back'(Dolchstoss) by the 'November Criminals'.
  • Harmed Germany's economy – the extraordinarily high reparations figure put a huge burden on the German economy. Germany's ability to pay this back was further hampered by its loss of resource rich lands which led to high inflation. = failure to pay = Occ of Ruhr = hyperinflation
• Occupation of Ruhr & Hyperinflation 1918-1923
• Causesof Ruhr


  German government was bankrupt after war

  Treaty of Versailles made things worse - Reparations repayments and loss of coal and iron reserves

  By 1923, Germany couldn't afford the repayments.
• What happened?

  French and Belgians sent 60,000 troops into the German industrial area of the Ruhr.

  Took over factories, mines, railways.

  Threw 15,000 Germans out of their homes and killed 130.

  German government urged passive resistance and workers went on strike. To pay the workers, the government printed more money.

  80% of German coal and iron was based in the Ruhr so Germany lost the income from this and also had to pay to import it.
• Printing money just made inflation worse. More money was then printed and a vicious circle had been created. 1 US dollar = 9 marks Jan 1919, Nov 1923 = 200 billion marks. Egg 80 million marks.