Exam practice In what ways did the lives of people in Germany change after the First World War? (8 marks) Think back to the lesson before half term! How was Germany in a different state in 1918 to what it had been in 1914? Change/Impact: E.g. Germany was virtually bankrupt Supporting details: National income was 1/3 of what it had been in 1913 Complexities (e.g. different impacts on different groups): Working-class suffered. No money to buy any food = starvation

Flipped learning Define ‘Constitution’ Come to lesson with a diagram of the Weimar Constitution Write down 3 bullet points, explaining what you can learn about how the Weimar Government worked based on the Constitution diagram you have found. Look at the flipped learning from others on your table and add to yours in green pen

Weimar Democracy Identify: Reasons why the Weimar Democracy may be destined to fail Understand: The structure and main aspects of the Weimar Democracy Explain and Evaluate the threat from the Right and the Left to the Weimar Democracy

Government sent laws to Reichstag for approval President Appointed judges Controlled Appointed Chancellor Courts Armed Forces Appointed Government Ministers 17 Local govs for Bavaria, Prussia and all Germany’s other regions. The Constitution limited their power as much as possible (elected by German people) Government sent laws to Reichstag for approval Reichstag (Parliament) Elected Elect the president = German people

Match up the key terms with their definitions! Word Definition Democracy In charge of the day-to day running of the government. Proportional Representation Belief that politicians such has Ebert had caused Germany’s defeat and signed the armistice when the German army could have fought on and won. Stab in the back A Small town in Germany where the new Government was initially set up as Berlin was too unstable Article 48 of the Constitution A system in which the leaders of a country are elected Weimar The head of state in Germany who appointed judges, the chancellor and controlled the armed forces Chancellor Allowed the President to rule the country directly in a time of crisis. President An electoral system where the parties get the proportion of seats in the Reichstag that they receive in votes e.g. 20% of the vote- 20% of the seats

Weimar Democracy – Was it destined to fail? Weimar democracy was born out of defeat of WW1 Politicians were forced to accept treaty of Versailles The stab in the back myth – damaged politicians reputations Germany had no history of democracy There both extreme left & right wing parties that wanted to destroy Weimar democracy Task – Rate factors out of 5 for how likely they were to make the Weimar democracy fail. Can you give a reason for why you think this? Is there any aspects from your diagram that make you think the government was likely to fail?

Which of these of left-wing policies Which of these of left-wing policies? Which of these are right wing policies? 1. Equal distribution of wealth 2. Workers rights 3. People keep their earnings/wealth 4. Benefits/Social reform 5.Low taxes 6. Aggressive foreign policy 7. Rule by the elite 8. Protect the rights of property owners/landowners 9. High taxes Why would these two groups dislike Weimar policy?

The threat from the Left: Spartacists A left-wing communist party led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg Similar party to Lenin’s Bolsheviks – who had just taken power in Russia Wanted a Germany ruled by workers’ councils or soviets (An elected local, district, or national council in the former Soviet Union)

Spartacists- Who? When? Events? Result? Read P. 64 Spartacists- Who? When? Events? Result? Kurt Eisner- Who? When? Events? Result? Communists in the Ruhr- Who? When? Events? Results? Ebert’s siding with the right-wing Freikorp and crushing of extreme left wing uprisings meant the moderate left and extreme left became enemies- this proves important later on

The Threat from the Right – The Kapp Putsch Whilst Ebert had been able to use the Freikorps to fight the extreme-left (as the Freikorps were right-wing and hated Communists) he couldn’t use them against Right Wing groups Largely people who had grown up in, and benefited from, the successful days of the Kaiser’s rule Preferred Germany under a dictatorial-style government, rather than a democracy Wanted a strong German army in order for Germany to expand its territory Wanted to regain the empire Germany had lost through the Treaty of Verailles Wanted a powerful industry back

Read p.65 Kapp- Who? When? Events? Result? Political Assassinations- Ebert’s Foreign Minister Walther Rathenau a wealthy Jewish industrialist was assassinated by right-wing extremists but they received light sentences from the judge as did Hitler and other Nazis when they carried out an attempted coup in Munich. What does this suggest about the views of the German elites towards politics (left or right) and towards the Weimar Government?

Left wing Right Wing Name of group Leaders What did they want? What did they do? How did Ebert react? Spartacist Freikorps Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg Wolfgang Kapp Communist state Russian Rev 1917 Working class control Right wing military dictatorship Liked the Kaiser Try to take Berlin in January 1919 500,000 Tried to take over Berlin in March 1920 (5000 men) Got the Freikorps (ex soldiers) to put them down Persuaded the trade unions to stage a general strike, which brings Berlin to a halt; the revolt collapses.

Copy this graph into your books. Title: How far did attacks from the Left and the Right threaten the Weimar Republic? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Copy this graph into your books. Draw each bar to what number you think best represents the threat of the group to the Weimar democracy (10 being the highest) Inside the bar, explain your judgement Left Right

Source D A newspaper photograph showing Spartacists in Berlin, January 1919 These communist soldiers are shown carrying machine guns in the streets of Berlin during the Spartacist uprising. German newspapers at that time were not prevented from publishing photographs such as these, despite the impact on their readers. How useful is Source D for studying the political situation in Germany at the start of the Weimar Republic in 1919? Use Source D and your knowledge to explain your answer.