Weimar

• end of world war one 1918

  Germans felt betrayed by government

  2 million germans were dead

  army had mutinied

  Kaiser had to abdicate
• weiamar government formed 1919 in Weimar as Berlin was too dangerous
• Weimar constitution strengths 


  democracy - elections take place every 4 years, all Germans over 20 could vote

  Reichstag - appointed government that passes laws

  Bill of Rights - granted Germans freedom of speech and religion
• Weimar constitution weaknesses 


  Article 48 - allowed a dictatorship in times of an emergency

  proportional representation - number of votes directly corresponds to number of seats allowing for extremist parties

  President - chancellor chosen by president without vote
• Treaty of Versailles 


  Blame - Germany had to accept that the war was their fault

  Reparations - Germany had to pay £6.6 billion in reparations

  Army - navy reduced to 15,000 and air force banned

  Territory - Germany lost all colonies and Poland given some German land
• coalition governments 


  20 different cabinets between February 1919 and January 1933 with non forming a majority
• Challenges to Weimar 


  people hated the government for signing the treaty

  country was going into debt and was not able to recover after the war due to the harsh reparations

  disarmament was an embarrassment to the country making it look weak
• Spartacist uprising


  communist 1919

  100,000 protests attempted a communist revolution

  Government had to call on freikorps to stop the uprising

  over 100 workers killed
• who were the feikorps

  right wing ex-soldiers who had no other job
• Ruhr uprising 


  march 1920

  protest in response to the Kapp Putsch

  formed the red army took over towns

  Kapp putsch ends but red army continues taking over towns

  government sends friekorps to stop the red army
• Kapp Putsch

  march 1920

  right wing friekorps

  Treaty ordered friekorps to be disbanded they protested this

  Kapp leader marched to Berlin and overthrew Weimar government as army agreed with friekorps

  Government calls general strike and this forced Kapp to flee allowing Weimar to take back control but did not punish rebels to keep their support
• Munich putsch 


  nov 1923

  Hitler, German workers party

  attempted to seize control

  had 3000 troops ready

  marched to Munich but his co conspirators snitched, Hitler was arrested and uprising was stopped
• consequences of Munich Putsch 


  German workers party banned

  Hitler given a platform and wrote mein kampf

  Hitler decided to seize power through the system
• Invasion of the Ruhr

  1923 after Germany failed to pay reparations, France went into the Ruhr and confiscated industrial goods

  Government ordered general strike but promised to still pay workers

  printed more money to do this
• hyperinflation 


  workers had to be paid twice as money became worthless

  savings became worthless

  people in debt could pay it back

  goods became very cheap for foreigners
• stresemann becomes chancellor 1923
• Dawes plan 1924 - successes

  reparations temporarily reduced

  US loaned $25 billion

  employment increased

  passive resistance stopped and French left the Ruhr
• Dawes plan 1924 - failures


  right wing anger toward reliance on USA and Germany paying France

  USA could call back loans at any time
• Young plan 1926 - successes

  reduced reparations to $2 billion

  lowered taxes

  negotiated France leaving the Rhineland, happened in 1930

  increased confidence in Weimar
• League of nations 1926


  the first worldwide international peace organisation, German acceptance showed them to be strong and treated as an equal
• Locarno pact 1925


  secured the boarders of Europe and France agreed peace with Germany
• Kellog-briand pact 1928


  agreement that war would not be used to achieve aims
• Political stability 1928


  76% voted for weimar

  extremist parties lost votes

  Grand coalition brought all the moderate parties together

  no assassinations