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| Question | Answer |
| PRE 1918 BIT OF BACKGROUND | PRE 1918 BIT OF BACKGROUND |
| What is a Burgfrieden? | Peace within the fortress. |
| What did this mean? | All political parties and social classes came together and sank their differences, due to the war effort. |
| What happened towards the end of the war, in terms of the power of the Kaiser and why? | -Kaiser had an impulsive nature which meant that he lost support of the OHL. -OHL took most powers of the Kaiser, leaving him as a figurehead leader. |
| What is the OHL and what does it stand for? | -German High Military Command. -Oberste Heeresleitung. |
| Towards the end of the war, what was the political split in Germany, in terms of left and right and why? | -Socialists questioned why Germany was still fighting as they had seen the war as defensive; not offensive. -Nationalists demanded a Siegfriede, peace through victory. |
| Which party gained support over the last years of the war, how much support, and why? | -Fatherland Party created by Admiral Tirpitz and right-wing journalist, Wolfgang Kapp. -This was to rally support for an annexationist war. -1918 - Had 1 million members. -Shows the nationalism in Germany. |
| What is a revolution? | The transfer of power in circumstances outside the normal constitutional processes. |
| In simple terms, what was the revolution from above? | A liberalised constitution of the 2nd Reich in 1918, with the OHL handing power over to a democratic government in 1918. |
| What and when was the first BIG political change in transforming Germany into a democratic government? | September 1918 - OHL advised the Kaiser to hand political power to a new government, led by Prince Max of Baden. |
| What were the three main reasons for the change in political direction? | 1) Impending military defeat. 2) Allies. 3) General Ludendorff. |
| Give evidence for why impending military defeat was a cause for the change in political direction. | 23rd September - Bulgaria requested an armistice. Only a matter of time before Germany's other allies (Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary) followed suit. |
| Give evidence for why the allies were a cause for the change in political direction. | Allies refused to enter peace negotiations with anything other than a fully representative government. |
| Give 2 reasons why General Ludendorff was a cause for the change in political direction. | -New civilian government would be able to get better peace terms from the allies. -New civilian government would be blamed for Military defeat. --Reputations of generals would be preserved. --Help maintain positions in post-war world. |
| In simple terms, what was the revolution from below? | October 1918 mutinies |
| What were the October reforms? | New government formed based on Reichstag. |
| What was the German Revolution? | The social unrest due to Germany losing the war. |
| What happened in late October in terms of the navy? | There were mutinies at naval bases, Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, who refused to sail out to salvage German honour. |
| What happened as a direct result of the mutinies? | -It encouraged the creation of sailors', soldiers', and workers' councils. -These challenged the authority Länder governments. |
| What happened politically in order to prevent a full scale revolution? | -Prince Max announced Kaiser's abdication. -Chancellorship handed over to moderate socialist, Friedrich Ebert. |
| What did the SPD split into? | -Spartacus League in 1916 (revolutionary communism). -USPD in 1917. -Majority SPD (MSPD). |
| Who was the major split between and why? | -MSPD on one hand and USPD and Spartacists on the other. -MSPD wanted to make most of October reforms and the power inherited from Prince Max. |
| What happened on the 9th November 1918? | -Council of People's Representatives is created, led by Friedrich Ebert. --Ebert, Scheidemann and Landsberg (MSPD). --Haase, Dittmann and Barth (USPD). |
| Did this work? If not, why? | -No it didn't work AT ALL. -Big differences emerged over longer-term strategies and policies. |
| What was the biggest difference between the USPD and Spartacists, and MSPD? | USPD and Spartacists: -Wanted a committed council rule which was associated more with revolutionary Russian ideals. MSPD: Prepare for a transition to a national constituent assembly, which was more in line with Western-style democratic institutions. |
| What further 3 differences developed in December 1918? | -The maintenance of law and order. -Whether the army should be radicalised. -Whether the means of industrial production should be brought under socialist control. |
| What was the significance of the SPD split (3 things)? | -New Republic caught between three left-wing divisions. -Big division in central government between councils and constitutional structure on the other. -Länder affected as Bavaria came under Eisner's USPD regime in November 1918. |
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