treaty of Versailles
- Germany had to pay £6.6bn war costs to other countries for war damages
- Germany lost all 11 colonies in its Empire
- German Army reduced to 100,000 troops
- German Navy reduced to 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats
- No German Air Force allowed.
- In losing land – Germany lost 50% of its Iron and 15% of its coal
Weimar republic constitution
1918-1923
- still kept the 18 local governments in Germany
- Reichstag was to become the dominant house in Parliament
- proportional representation meant that the number of sets given to a party was based on votes
- the chancellor was the head of the government
- the president was to be the head of state who chose the chancellor and mde final decision for the Reichstag - he could stop the Reichstag and change the law under article 48
what were the weakness of the Weimar Constitution
- due to proportional representation there was no agreement because there were 28 parties with different views and extremist views
- article 48 could be abused so the Reichstag lost power
- state governments pass laws going against the Reichstag
- Coalition
what were the economic problems of the Reichstag
- german gold reserves had been spent during the war
- Versailles treaty reparations £6.6 billion debts as war damages needed to be paid
- occupation of the Ruhr - French troops invade the industrial Ruhr region to take goods and coal after Germany struggled to pay war debts. No good were available for German people
- hyperinflation of what goods were available
- German people suffer hardship with little food, coal and most lose their business, wages and savings
the Weimar republic events between 1918-1923
- 1918 WW1 ends and the German Kaiser flees to holland leaving no government
- Germany were forced to accept a peace otherwise Britain, France and USA would invade
- A new German Assembly met in the city of Weimar Germany by Ebert to help stabilize Germany
- Weimar republic created
- Treaty of Versailles accepted by the new Weimar republic government
Political problems of the Weimar Republic 1918-1923
- right wing parties (Nazis) which are very pro-German and anti-foreigner battle with left wing parties (communists) with foreign influence from Russia in streets causing violent political unrest
- both these parties hate the Weimar Republic as being too weak to sort German flash cards
- the Spartacist league (left wing) formed to take over the Weimar Government and turn Germany Communist. Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht. Chancellor Ebert turned to the Freikorps to put the uprising down - thousands die in street battles and leaders executed
- the Kapp Putsch 1920 - ( a right wing) led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp revolted in Berlin to overthrow Weimar Government but failed
Weimar Republic recovers in Stresemann Era 1924-1929
during the Ruhr crisis chancellor Ebert appointed Gustav Stresemann as his new chancellor and foreign secretary
- Stresemann negotiated the Dawes plan in 1924 with USA banks investing money into German industry - gets economy going and helps to solve unemployment and poverty
- Young plan 1929 - this reduced the total war debt to pay £2 billion and gave Germany another 59 years to pay (1988)
- Locarno treaty - France promised peace with Germany; Allies leave German Rhineland, Germany may be invited to join the league of nations
- Kellogg-Briand Pact - Germany became one of 65 countries that signed the Pact agreeing not to use war to achieve foreign policy aims; Weimar seen as peace-making government
what was the Ruhr Crisis of 1923
on the 11th January 1923 60,000 French and Belgian troops marched into the Ruhr and they seized control of all mines, factories and railways.
The French believed the Germans will work for them but this doesn’t happen and the people support the Weimar republic’s decision not to work
The workers went on Passive Resistance and go on strike, some even burning some factories
Industry in the Ruhr became stagnated so the French brought in their own workers
The French arrested, imprisoned and deported the resistance leaders
As a result there was violence with huge protests over the French treatment of the workers
The French then shoot a number of strikers and some French soldiers are also killed
Germany industry production fell dramatically
what were the results of the Ruhr Crisis
- the invasion united German people against the French and the impact of the Treaty of Versailles
- to support the workers the government prints more money to pay them
- However as the government had no money, it caused the value of the mark to drop leading to the second crisis hyperinflation
- German industrial production fell
what caused hyperinflation
1923
- the occupation of the Ruhr
- the reparations from the war of £6.6 billion
use bread as an example of hyperinflation
Nov 1918 - 1 mark
Nov 1922 - 163 marks
Sep 1923 - 1.5 million marks
Nov 1923 - 200 billion marks
what was the impact of hyperinflation on pensioners and middle class people
pensioners:
- their pensions rose and life savings became worthless as prices rose
- they couldn’t work so faced starvation and couldn’t afford to heat their homes
middle class:
- savings were made worthless by inflation
- business men couldn’t buy good from abroad because German money was worthless
- many became bankrupt
- but debts could be paid off easier
what was the impact of hyperinflation on the rich, farmers and workers
workers:
- they had few savings so weren’t badly affected
- those employed were paid higher wages
The rich:
- had land possessions and foreign currency
- possessions could be bartered for food and other essentials
- they could even buy small businesses
Farmers:
- could grow and eat their own food
- their food could be used to sell or trade for money and goods
what is the difference between a source and an interpretation
source - an original piece of evidence
interpretation - someone’s viewpoint after a time period or event has taken place
what is an autocracy
when one person is ruling on their own
from this Germans will have looked at democracy as an improvement
what happened when Kaiser Whielm II abdicated
Germany’s biggest political party the Social Democrat party (SPD) set up a new democratic government in January 1919 which Germany had never had before and it was ran by Ebert
it got the nickname the Weimar government
what was the Reichstag
- would suggest and vote new laws
- elected by the people every 4 years
- controlled taxation on the people
- more powerful than the Reichsrat
what was article 48
in an emergency the President could use article 48 to make emergency laws without consulting the Reichstag
who was the head of state and what could he do
the president - Ebert
- elected by the people every 7 years as opposed to being born into royalty like the Kaiser was
- doesn’t get to chose members of the Reichstag like the Kaiser did
- chooses the chancellor
- controls the army like the Kaiser
- president can dismiss the Reichstag and call new elections
what was the Weimar government constitution
set of rules:
- everyone over 20 could vote
- people voted for MP’s who would sit in the Reichstag
- the Reichstag would suggest and vote new laws
- chancellor head of Reichstag and was elected every 4 years
- there would be a president voted for every 7 years who controls army and chose chancellor
- each German state would also have its own local government for local laws.
- Voting was to follow Proportional representation
- article 48
what were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution
- very fair particularly the voting
- allowed lots of people to have their say
- state governments ensured local issues were addressed
- wouldn’t allow one person to take over as the president and chancellor balanced each other
- a poor chancellor or president would only be around for a limited time
discuss the problem, solution ad result of hyperinflation
solution:
- Stresemann stopped the printing of paper money
- replaced all old money with a new currency called the Rentenmark
- One rentenmark replaced 1000 marks
Result:
- Germans quickly accepted the new currency and hyperinflation ended
- people who lost their savings never got them back
discuss the problem, solution and result of the occupation of the Ruhr
solution:
- At the beginning of 1924 Stresemann ended Passive Resistance
- Dawes Plan 1924: agreed to reorganise reparation payments and USA loaned Germany money so they could pay France
- French left Ruhr and promised not to return
result:
- could pay reparations and French left Ruhr
- under the plans Germany had to keep paying the reparations until 1988
- Relied heavily on America if they wanted their money back then Germany would be in trouble
discuss the problem, solution and result of other countries not trusting Germany
solution:
- In 1925 Germany signed the Locarno pact with Britain, France, Belgium and Italy promising not to invade one another
- In 1926 Germany was allowed to join the league of nations
- In 1928 along with 64 other countries
