Germany

Question 1

Detail Germany’s actions during WW1

Answer 1

• Germany declares war on Russia and France in 1914, in support of Austria-Hungary.
• They invade Belgium to get to France, which provokes Britain into declaring war.
• The invasion of France is mostly successful but they fall short of Paris.
• The British Navy blockades Germany, blocking off its food and resources. By 1918, most Germans are starving.
• The Germans defeat Russia, and throw all their forces into capturing France. They run out of men, fail and eventually sign the armistice.

Question 2

Describe Germany in 1918

Answer 2

Ruined economy; near-bankrupt, Industrial production is down to 2/3 of 1913 levels

Split society; 10,000 war protesters,2 million children without fathers, 600,000 war widows, mutinies, damaged traditional values

Politics; Kaiser abdicates and Germany becomes a republic, socialists are the leading party

Question 3

Who was the first leader of the Weimar Republic?

Answer 3

Friedrich Ebert

Question 4

Who lead the Spartacist Uprising in 1919?

Answer 4

Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebrecht

Question 5

What was the Spartacist Uprising?

Answer 5

On 6/1/1919 the Spartacists - a group of German communists - stormed Berlin with the hope of making the country communist. They were crushed when Ebert ordered the Freikorps - a right-wing paramilitary group- to fight back.