1. GERMANY 1: Impact of the First World War 1919-1923
KPI 4 WEIMAR CONSTITUTION
TIMELINE
The President
Elected every 7 years
Controls army and navy
Can rule alone in a crisis through Article 48, allowing him to pass decrees
The Chancellor
Chosen by President, usually from the biggest party
Runs country day-to-day
Reichstag
Debated new laws
Members elected every 4 years by Proportional Representation
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
Oct
German Navy rebels and refuses to fight
Democracy: all Germans have equal rights, women over 20 could vote, most democratic constitution in the world
Article 48: strong leader can make quick decisions in a crisis
Proportional Representation: a fair system - if a party won 10% of the votes, it would have 10% of the seats
Proportional Representation: lots of different parties able to win seats and therefore hard to make decisions. No party wins more than 50% of votes between 1919 and 1933
Article 48: the President could rule on his own if there was a crisis
Shadow state: the people who actually ran the government, civil servants and judges, opposed the Weimar Republic
Nov
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates. Friedrich Ebert becomes President
Nov
Germany surrenders. World War I ends with 2 million Germans dead
Jan 1919
The Spartacist Uprising (left-wing) crushed by 2000 Freikorps
Jun
The Treaty of Versailles signed by the new Weimar Republic
Mar
The Kapp Putsch (right wing) fails due to Ebert calling General Strike
Dec
French troops occupy Ruhr after Germany falls behind on reparations
Nov 1923
Hyperinflation: price of bread reaches 201 billion marks
KPI 6 REBELLIONS AND UPRISINGS
Nov
Adolf Hitler launches the Munich Putsch, arrested the next day
Spartacist Uprising (Jan 1919)
Kapp Putsch (Mar 1920)
Munich Putsch (Nov 1923)
KPI 6 POLITICAL POSITIONS
Leaders: the left-wing Spartacus League, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
Aims: To make Germany communist
Reasons for failure: Ebert makes a deal with the Freikorps, 2000 Freikorps crush rising, Ebert moves government to Weimar, Luxemburg and Liebknecht are killed
Leaders: Wolfgang Kapp/Herman Ehrhardt
Aims: To make the army strong again, to put in place a right-wing government, led by Kapp
Reasons for failure: Ebert moved government to Dresden and called General Strike. 12 million stop work, resulting in no electricity or trains. Berlin was paralysed and Kapp fled.
Leader: Adolf Hitler, the Nazi Party
Aims: To seize power, reject the Treaty of Versailles, and bring down the Weimar Government
Reasons for failure: von Kahr, the head of the Bavarian government, said he supported Hitler but went back on his word and told the police. Hitler arrested,16 Nazis dead, Nazis banned.
LEFT-WING
Communism
Equality of all people
Government runs business
Spartacus League
Rosa Luxemburg
CENTRE
Democracy
Government should be elected
Social Democrats
Friedrich Ebert
RIGHT-WING
Power to the army
Anti-democracy
Bring back the Kaiser
Adolf Hitler, Freikorps, Ehrhardt, Woflkang Kapp
KPI 5 THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
KPI 7 THE RUHR CRISIS
KEY VOCABULARY
KEY INDIVIDUALS
LAND
All colonies to be handed over to the allies
Germany must give 70,000 square km of territory to allies, including Alsace-Lorraine to France and West Prussia to Poland
Causes
1. Germany fails to pay reparations and French soldiers entered the Ruhr to seize goods in Jan 1923
2. Weimar government ordered workers to stop producing goods and go on strike (Passive Resistance)
3. To pay striking workers, government printed money
4. Prices start to rise so even more money was printed
Allies
Colonies
Constitution
Demilitarised
Freikorps
General Strike
Hyperinflation
Kaiser
November Criminals
Passive Resistance
Putsch
Reparations
Rhineland
Ruhr
“Stab in the Back myth”
Weimar Republic
France, Britain, and America
Countries in an Empire
A political belief in equality
The laws that say how a government works
No soldiers/tanks/etc allowed
System based on elections and rule of law
Right-wing ex-soldiers, led by Ehrhardt
When all workers stop work
A rapid increase in prices
Emperor of Germany before World War I
Nickname of Weimar politicians
Stopping work to stop French taking goods
Uprising / Rebellion
Money paid by losers in a war
The part of Germany nearest France
Industrial area of Germany, near France
The idea that Weimar leaders had betrayed Germany by surrendering in 1918
First German democratic government
Kaiser Wilhelm II – former emperor of Germany, forced to resign in Nov 1918
Friedrich Ebert – Centre politician, first Weimar President
Rosa Luxemburg – Left-wing leader of the Spartacist Uprising
REPARATIONS
Pay £6.6 billion in reparations to the allies
Effects
1. Hyperinflation: by Nov 1923 a loaf of bread cost 201 billion marks
2. Wages did not rise as fast as prices and many Germans could no longer afford food, turning to crime
3. People who had saved for years lost their savings
4. Some people benefited: businessmen who had borrowed money could now pay off their debts
5. The Weimar Government was blamed and became even more unpopular
Wolfgang Kapp – Right-wing leader of the Kapp Putsch
MILITARY
Army limited to 100,000 soldiers. 6 battleships, no submarines, tanks, or air force
The Rhineland must be demilitarised
Herman Ehrhardt – Leader of the Freikorps, crushed Spartacist Uprising
Adolf Hitler – Right-wing ex-soldier, led the failed Munich Putsch
BLAME
Article 231 blamed Germany for starting war.
Gustav von Kahr – Bavarian president, betrayed Hitler during Munich Putsch

2. GERMANY 2: The Recovery of Weimar 1923-1929
KEY INDIVIDUALS
KPI 10 POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
TIMELINE
Gustav Stresemann
Chancellor of Germany (1923) and Foreign Minister (1923-9), although he was never a strong supporter of the Weimar Republic. Introduced a series of financial and foreign policies that helped Germany recover. His period in government have been known as the ‘Golden Years’ although this was largely based on American loans.
Paul Hindenburg
President of Germany ( ). A famous war leader from World War I. A strong critic of the Weimar Republic and a supporter of the Kaiser. For many Germans, Hindenburg represented the old Germany of the Kaiser and a strong army.
Political Stability
The moderate Social Democrats won most votes in all elections up to 1930, although never a majority
From , parties supporting the Weimar Republic won more votes than those opposed
Nazi Decline
The Nazis had 32 seats in the Reichstag in This declined to just 12 in By contrast the Social Democrats increased from 100 to 153. Economic recovery made the Nazi message less popular
Leadership
Stresemann’s success abroad made him a popular leader of the Weimar Republic.
Hindenburg’s election in 1925 showed that the old Germany and the new Weimar Republic could work together
Nov 1923
Stresemann issues the Rentenmark, ending hyperinflation
Feb 1924
Hitler on trial for Munich Putsch, sentenced to five years in prison
Aug 1924
Dawes Plan agreed by Reichstag, secures US financial support
Dec 1924
Hitler released for good behaviour. Has served just eight months
Apr 1925
Right-wing ex-army general Hindenberg replaces Ebert as President
July 1925
French and Belgian troops leave the Ruhr
Oct 1925
Locarno Pact signed, stabilising German-French border
KPI 10 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS
Aug 1928
Kellogg-Briand Pact makes war illegal
Wages
By 1928, German workers were amongst the best paid in Europe.
Wages rose by 10% between 1923 and 1928.
However, the middle classes did not feel these benefits as they had lost so much during hyperinflation.
Housing
The Weimar Government employed architects and planners to built new houses.
Between 1924 and 1931 more than 2 million new homes were built.
By 1928 homelessness had fallen by 60%.
Insurance
In 1927, the government passed the Unemployment Insurance Law
This set up a national welfare system.
Other reforms helped war veterans, single mothers, the disabled, and wives who had lost their husbands in World War I.
Women
In Weimar Germany, women had the most advanced rights in Europe: equal rights to vote, to work, and for schooling.
More women were working outside the home: there were 100,000 female teachers by 1933.
By 1933, 10% of Reichstag members were female.
Jun 1929
Young Plan reduces reparations amount
KPI 9 STRESEMANN’S FOREIGN POLICY
KPI 8 REPARATIONS
What was it?
Impact
The Locarno Treaties
1925
What? Germany agreed its western borders as agreed in the Treaty of Versailles, reassuring France that they were safe from future German attack.
Impact? Brings hope for peace to Europe – “the spirit of Locarno” - and the first step to Germany being accepted by France and Britain
The Rentenmark
1923
The old worthless Germany currency is scrapped and replaced with the temporary Rentenmark. The amount of currency is limited.
Value of German money stabilised, although savings are not returned
New currency, the Reichsmark, introduced 1924
The Dawes Plan
1924
Germany loaned $800 million from USA to help pay reparations
Payments: $1 billion in year 1, $2.5 billion per year after 5
Reichsbank to be organised by Allies
Reparations payments restart and French troops leave Ruhr in 1925
German economy begins to recover but dependent on American loans
Entry into the League of Nations
1926
What? The Treaty of Versailles had set up a ‘League of Nations’ to stop future wars. Germany was not initially allowed to join because she was blamed for World War I. Finally allowed to join in 1926, because of Locarno.
Impact? Joining the League showed that Germany was once again accepted by other nations as a ‘Great Power’
The Young Plan
1929
Further reduces reparations payments from £6.6bn to £1.85bn over 59 years
Yearly repayments limited to what Germany can afford
Allows recovery of German economy: world export leader of by 1929
Allied troops leave the Rhineland
Criticised by right-wing groups who want to stop reparation payments
KPI 10 CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS
American loans
Between 1924 and 1930, American banks lent nearly $3000 million to Germany
The US government was keen for Germany to pay reparations so Britain and France could use the money to repay their war debts
Allowed Germany to pay reparations
Germany economy experiences period of industrial growth, although loans don’t benefit farmers or middle classes as much
Stresemann: Germany is ‘dancing on a volcano’ of debt
Kellogg-Briand Pact
1928
What? 62 nations, including Germany, France, and Britain, signed the Kellogg-Briand pact which pledged them never to use war to solve disputes.
Impact? Signing the pact showed that Germany was committed to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles .
Censorship laws were removed by the Weimar government and soon Berlin had overtaken Paris as the cultural capital of Europe. There were exciting new developments in:
Art and Architecture
Weimar artists such as Otto Dix popularised ‘New Objectivity’: painting the world as it was. A new, simple style of architecture called Bauhaus flourished.
Literature
Right-wing writers like Oswald Spengler criticised democracy. Left-wing writers such as Erich Remarque wrote anti-war novels like All Quiet on the Western Front.
Film
Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927) was the most technically advanced film of the 1920s. It presented a futuristic city with a dark underworld.
KEY VOCAB
Censorship
“Golden Years”
Great Power
League of Nations
Middle classes
Laws controlling writers and artists
Nickname for recovery in 1920s
Nation with strong economy + army
Countries working together for peace
Lawyers, teachers, civil servants
Reichsmark
Rentenmark
Social Democrats
War debts
Welfare System
New German currency in 1924
Temporary currency introduced in 1923
Moderate political part supporting Weimar
Money borrowed from US by Br + Fr during WWI
Unemployment benefits, health insurance etc