The Weimar Republic 1918-24

avatar
Created by
alissa

Cards (39)

  • Describe Germany before 1870
    -Germany was united in 1871 under Otto Von Bismarck after Franco-Prussian War
    • Dominated by largest state Prussia
    -Belief in Prussian militarism and Weltpolitik
    -Industrialization, rivaled Britain's coal and steal production by 1913.
    -Autocratic rule under Kaiser
  • Describe the legacy of WW1 in Germany
    -Severe food shortages
    • Allied blockade 763,000 Germans died of starvation
    -industrial production in 1918 was 1/3 less than
    before the war
    -national debt was at 1.44 billion marks
  • Describe the October Reforms
    -Prince Max of Baden was appointed chancellor
    -the chancellor was responsible to the Reichstag
    -new government was based on majority
    -the armed forces were put under control of the civil government
  • Events of The Peace Note and Wilson's Demands
    3 October Prince wrote to Wilson asking for armistice
    • Wilson's reply took 3 weeks, he was suspicious that the request was a tactic to buy time to re-group and buy time for a new offense.
    -Wilson's demands:
    full democratization of political system
    evacuate all occupied territory
    end submarine warfare
    -terms were too much for Ludendorff to accept so he fled to Sweden.
  • Describe the November Revolution
    3 November mutiny in Kiel naval base
    spread to city
    6 November worker's and soldier's councils all over country
    8 November republic was proclaimed and monarchy deposed in Bavaria
    9 November SPD general strike in Berlin, Prince lost support and published statement and gave his position to Ebert
    -Philip Scheidemann announced abdication form Reichstag balcony
    -Groener & Army no longer supported Kaiser
    • Abdicated by 5pm
  • What was Ebert's priority after declaring new republic
    -sign the armistice 11 November 1918
    • organize elections for constituent assembly
  • Explain the pressures from the left after the October revolution
    unemployed ex-soldiers + worker's/soldier's councils participated in strikes and demonstrations, they wanted:
    -confiscation of land from aristocracy
    -army, civil service& judiciary fully democratized
  • What was the Ebert-Groener Pact 1918
    -10th November- General Groener decided to support Ebert and the new government in return for the protection of the army (no radical change)
    -The joint fear of communism had driven traditionally right-wing organizations to somewhat support socialist officials
  • Strengths of Weimar Constitution (part 1)
    -wider right to vote than Britain and France
    -women allowed to vote and be deputies in Reichstag
    -universal suffrage men and women over 25
    -proportional representation allowed for small parties to win seats in Reichstag reflect religious and geographical viewpoints more fair than past the post system
    -democracy in local and central government, Prussia could no longer dominate as country was divided into 35 electoral states of 1 million voters
  • Strengths of Weimar Constitution (part 2)
    -All Germans equal before the law
    -full religious and economic freedom
    -censorship is forbidden
    -welfare provisions made
    -legitimate and illegitimate children share same rights
    -the president and Reichsrat or by people's request can call referendum if 1/10 of electorate applied for one
  • Weaknesses of Weimar Constitution (part 1)
    -proportional representation allowed for the proliferation of smaller parties, much of which where anti-republican, they were able to exploit the parliamentary system to gain publicity
    • no party was able to gain majority in Reichstag which resulted in coalition governments and fragmented politics
  • Weaknesses of Weimar Constitution (part 2)
    -overuse of presidential powers- article 48 used on 136 occasions.
    -survival of undemocratic institutions
    -Judiciary- Starch Monarchists showed bias in legal judgements
    -civil servants-recruited from aristocracy could wield power in coalition governments
    -army-right-wing
  • Creation & Signing of TOV
    -Germany was not invited to Paris peace conference even though 75% of world's leaders attended.
    -Versailles chosen as a symbol of humiliation
    -not as harsh as treaty of Brest-Litovsk March 1918
    -constituent assembly accepted TOV 257 to 138 votes
    -treaty signed 28th June 1919
  • Terms of TOV ( 231 + 232)
    -Article 231-Germany had to accept full responsibility for war therefore liable to pay reparations
    -NO national self-determination as promised in 14points
    -Article 232-fixed reparations of £6.6 billion
    -hand over merchant shipping fleet
    -railway locomotives
  • Terms of the TOV (territory)
    -70,000km = 13% of Germany's Land
    -Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
    -Polish corridor given to Poland
    Germany's industrial losses:
    -75% iron ore
    -68% zinc ore
    -15% arable land
    -all African colonies
  • Terms of TOV (armed forces)
    100,000 men in army
    -no tanks, gas , submarines or air force
    -15,000 men in navy
    -6 battleships
    -demilitarization of Rhineland
    -no conscription
  • Terms of TOV (league of nations)
    -Germany not invited to join LON
    -took control of Saarland (France & Belgium free coal for 15 years)
  • Policies of The Second Reich
    Finance for war expenditure:
    -war bonds proved insufficient by 1916
    -borrowing 84 %
    -taxation 16 %
    -money printing grew
    -shortage of consumer goods
    -government debt 1.44 billion marks
    Idea based on flawed calculation that Germany would win the war, annex allied territory, demand reparations and pay back borrowed sums.
  • Policies of The Weimar Republic
    Did not increase taxes
    -risk of alienation of support
    -anti-republican parties could claim taxes were being raised to pay reparations to allied powers
    Did not cut spending
    -instead increased spending
    -could not make civil servants redundant
    -extended welfare benefits
  • Policy of Deficit Financing
    Konstantin Fehrenbach-chancellor June 1920
    -German catholic politician-leader of Centre Party
    -supported by powerful industrialists benefitting from inflation
    policy used to:
    -overcome demobilisation
    -pay welfare benefits
    -maintain demand for goods
    Consequences
    -between 1918-19 prices doubled
    -between 1919-20 prices quadrupled
    -14x higher than 1913
  • Unemployment 1921 Germany and Britain
    1921 unemployment percentage :
    Germany - 1.8 %
    Britain - 17 %
  • What was money used for in Weimar
    -compensate war victims
    -pay wages to civil servants
    -pay welfare benefits and subsidies
    -provide cheap credit to let industry readjust and maintain employment
    -compensate people who lost land to TOV
  • Early employment laws
    1919
    -working day limited to 8hrs
    -health insurance extended to wives, daughters +disabled
    -aid for war veterans(injured)+war widows + or
    phans increased
    1922
    National Youth Welfare Act
    -required all local authorities to set up youth offices with responsibility to protect children
    -declared that all children had a right to an education
  • Political impacts of reparations
    -Reparations Commission concluded reparations 1921
    -132 billion gold marks £6.6 billion
    -German Government given 6 days to accept terms
    -cabinet of Fehrenbach resigned in protest
    -New chancellor Joseph Wirth
    -start of policy of fulfillment (cooperation for sympathy)
  • Reparations initial issues
    • January 1922 first postponement of Jan and Feb installments
    -July 1922 German government asked for further postponement
    -November 1922 asked for a loan of 500 million marks and release from obligations for 3-4 years to stabilize currency
  • Hyperinflation Crisis 1923
    Franco-Belgium occupation of Ruhr
    -January 1923 military force of 60,000 ->100,000
    -aimed to seize steel,coal and manufactured goods as reparations. (Ruhr 80% of German industry)
    -Chancellor Wilhelm Cuno response-passive resistance
    -paramilitary groups worked to disrupt French efforts.
    -150,000 Germans expelled from area
    -132 Germans shot (inc 7yr old boy)
  • Economic effects of occupation
    -breakdown in law & order e.g. theft
    -paying wages sometimes twice a day -printing more money
    -shortage of goods=increase in prices
    -combined cost amounted to double yearly reparations payment
    • only 29.3 % employed
  • Important price figures 1923
    bread 250 marks -> 200 billion marks
    Jan Nov
    egg 800 marks -> 320 billion marks
    June Dec
  • Winners of Hyperinflation
    • those with debts, mortgages and loans
    -people leasing property on long-term fixed rates
    -farmers
    -black-marketers
    -powerful industrialists- paying back loans when currency became worthless
    -exporters- gained from marks falling exchange rate
  • Example of Winner of Hyperinflation
    Hugo Stinnes
    -able to purchase whole forests to supply lumber for his mines
    -set up 150 newspapers and magazines etc.
    -result of raising large bank loans in 1923
    -By 1924 he owned 1,535 companies = 20% German Industry
  • Losers of Hyperinflation
    Anyone reliant on savings ,investment ,fixed income, welfare support were really bad hit
    -pensioners+ the sick
    -> increase cost in medication & food prices
    = widespread malnutrition + increased suicide rates
    -landlords reliant on fixed rent
    -patriotic individuals -war bonds
    • the mittelstand -small business owners
  • Problems of coalition governments
    -From Feb 1919 - Nov 1923 there were 1- coalition governments
    -Support for moderate parties ebbed away
    -SPD 163 -> 103 seats in Reichstag between 1919-1920
    -After 1920 SPD ceased to take leading role in coalition governments
  • Spartacist Uprising 1919
    January 5-13th 1919- led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
    -Spartacists aspired to create communist uprising like Russian Bolshevik Revolution 1917
    • inspired by Comintern
    -took over important public buildings and newspaper offices
    -crushed by Freikorps in Berlin-lacked support of workers
    -over 100 killed "bloody week"
  • Other left-wing uprisings
    March 1919- another Spartacist rising in Berlin
    April 1919- workers in Halle + Ruhr demanded more control
    1920 - after Kapp Putsch 'Red Army' Communist strike in Berlin 50,000 workers seized control of Ruhr. Struggle to put down.
    Other areas e.g. Halle + Dresden
    1000 workers + 250 soldiers/police killed
    March 1921- KPD tried to force revolution Saxony - Hamburg - Ruhr
    145 people killed
    1923- Another strike in Saxony + Hamburg
  • The Kapp Putsch 1920
    As a result of TOV Noske ordered 2 Freikorps units of 12,000 men, 12 miles from Berlin, to Disband.
    -General Luttwitz refused to disband one of the troops
    -government ordered his arrest
    -He decided to march his troops on Berlin joined by sympathetic officers
    -Hans Von Seeckt "Troops do not fire on Troops"
    -Gov fled to Dresden
    -Uprising put down after 4 days due to workers strike
  • Impact of the Kapp Putsch
    • showed leniency of Judiciary and disloyalty of civil servants
    -showed power of the army
    -showed power of workers
    -showed that the government was not not in control
  • Political Assassinations Examples
    Hugo Hasse 1919- USPD member -shot
    Matthias Erzberger 1921- Black Forest - killed by Organization Consul
    ->signed Armistice + TOV + part of reparations committee
    Walther Rathenau 1922 - killed by Organization Consul
    -> Signed Armistice + participated in TOV
    -> 700,000 protested death next day in Berlin
    -> Assassination abroad impact - value of mark fell
  • Political Assassinations Stats
    1919 - 1923 = 376 political assassinations
    354 Right Wing : 22 Left Wing
    1 : 10 sentenced to death
    • biased judiciary
  • The Munich Putsch 1923
    Beer Hall Putsch - November 1923 - result of hyperinflation crisis
    -Hitler had the support of Ludendorff but needed support of Kahr + Lossow
    -8 Nov -burst into beer hall of 2000 people with stormtroopers
    -held officials at gunpoint and persuaded to support him
    -support evaporated overnight
    -Hitler still marched in Munich
    -captured and imprisoned, sentenced to 5 years but only served 9 months
    -allowed him to write "mein kampf" and gain popularity