Germany Revision (1918-1923)

Germany pre WWI
1. Germany was an autocratic society which was ruled by a Kaiser, the German verison of a King
  1. One man - one rule - one say
2. The power was with the kaiser and Chancellor. There was a Parliament but it had little to no power.
3. Germany entered the war as a power house, with financial and military stability
4. in 1871, Germany formed a nation
  1. Before this, Germany was a collection of states and kingdoms, including Bavaria and Prussia
5. The second Reich, in 1871 ended after the Franco-Prussian War. Whilhelm I was appointed the Kaiser after this. Germany became a semi-constitutional monarchy
  1. Prussia (Germany) defeats France, gaining territories of Alsace and Lorraine. France remained bitter as the new Kaiser was ccoronated in versailles
The First World War
1. World War I began on the 28th July, 1914 after the assasination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand.
  1. Serbian group - the black hand was responsible
    1. Long term causes - Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism (expanding empires) and Nationalism
2. The Austrian-Hungarian empire declared war on Serbia, calling all allied, including Germany to an official World War
  1. Triple alliance - Italy, Germany and Austria-Hungary
  2. Triple Entente - France, Britain and Russia
3. Germany, through the Zimmerman telegram and sinking of the Lusitania forced America to enter the war as a supreme industrial opposition
4. The British blockade was collapsing German resources. The people were starving and they no longer wanted war
  1. As a result, a Social Democrats (left of centre) leader Ebert, along with returned soldiers, forced the Kaiser to abdicate and flee the capital of Berlin in shame
Germany - A new Democracy?
1. Ebert acted quickly, creating a German Constitution, with a major loophole named article 48
  1. Article 48 allowed the President to create legislation without consulting Parliament. This became relevant in a hung parliament throughout the late 1920's/early 1930's
2. Germany surrendered via the armastice on 11th November, 1918
  1. Whilst the new Government was in power, severe consequences were sure to follow
  2. Germany elected the Reichstag and Reichsrat under proportional representation. This meant that no party held a true and clear majority of votes
The treaty of Versailles
1. Versailles peace conference - 1919, was where tth treaty of Germany's confession was signed
2. 1) War guilt - Germany had to confess to being the instigator of world warfare. The blame was theirs and theirs alone
3. 2) Germany had to give up all conquered lands. Including Alsace and Lorraine
4. 3) reparations totalling to billions of German marks were to be paid, mainly to France which Germany invaded during WWI
5. 4) The German national army had to be limited ti 100,00 men and their navy was crippled
6. 5) The Rhineland was forced to be demobilised as a buffer zone between France and Germany if the Germans ever invaded again.
7. Germany did not attempt to fight the treaty conditions, which was a sign of betrayal to the people
Revoultions and tensions of the 1920's
1. The Spartacists, a left wing group, led by Rosa Luxemburg broke away from the Social Democrats
  1. The Sparatcist cause had the support of Russia and some of the trade unions
  2. Leibnecht and Luxemburg had no actual plans. They were theoretical leaders, not strong in practicality
  3. Ebert called on the support of the Freikorps (voluntary army), a right wing group for support. They obliged and the uprising was crushed
    1. Despite the specified non-violence ideology that Germany wanted, Luxemburg and Leibnecht were killed by members of the army
2. Soviets were councils elected by the common people. They included Merchants, soldiers and workers
3. The Freikorps had become a vital strength in Germany by the 1920's.
  1. Allied forces feared the growing numbers of Freikorps and ordered Germany to demobilise to lessen their military strength
    1. The Freikorps, under the leadership of a man named Kapp, refused to lessen their numbers, marching on Berlin and declaring a new Government.
    2. Leaders such as Ebert had to flee the capital, in fear of violence and destruction
    3. Ebert gained the support of the workers, who ground public services to a halt. Without this, Germany could not develop in regards to industry and economics
    4. The revolution collapsed and Ebert's Government was re-instated. There was no punishment for anyone involved
    5. However, in under a few years, Ebert had been forced to rely on the left and right wing groups of Germany. He and his Government possessed little power in truth.
Facism/Nazism analysis
1. Nationalism
  1. Use of history, flags and propaganda to evoke support for one's nation; even to the extent of sacrificing one's life for their nation
2. Rights
  1. Elimination of freedoms such as press, association and speech. No fair trials leading to Police power. No oppposition
3. Scapegoats
  1. Fascists often blame another group for previous problems. eg - the Jewish race
4. Military
  1. Needs to be strong for territorial gain in the future
5. Business
  1. Suppression of Labour movements (no opposition) - see rights
  2. Support of big business to support goals
  3. Corruption and cronyism is hight
6. Society
  1. Strict control over media and the arts
  2. Removal of groups such as religion (see rights and business)
  3. Return to conservatism (economic policy)
1923 Crisis'
1. Occupation of the Ruhr
  1. Germany could not afford to pay the second war reparation to France. As a result, France occupied the Ruhr, a German mining magnate for coal.
    1. Chancellor Stressmann ordered passive resistance and the German people within the Ruhr refused to work, infuriating the French
      1. Unfortunately, the passive resistance was causing more harm than good. Stressmann, after some time, called it off and decided to continue paying the reparations
        The German people felt betrayed and the German's people's party's opposition saw this as a flaw which could be used; inability to fight for one's nation
2. Hyper-inflatiojn
  1. Germany was a collapsing economy, and attempted to resolve the issue by printing more money, a process called hyper inflation
    1. The value of money dropped substantially and Germany once more were forced into a state of economic catastrophe.
      1. Charles Dawes, an American banker and politician, created the solution of America loaning money to Germany in assistance.
        A new currency called the Rentenmark was created, which stabilized the economy.
        Reichsmark became the currency in 1924
        in 1929, when the Great Depression hit, Germany once more was dragged into disaster. America wanted their loan back but Germany could not pay it back.
3. The Munich Putsch
  1. Hitler believed the German Government was weak at that the time to strike was now (in 1923)
    1. He gained the support of Khar and Losse but was backstabbed and worked at forcing them to support him at gunpoint
      1. The Putsch was successful until Ludendorff let Khar and associates leave. They informed the authorities and the Putsch was crushed
        Hitler was imprisoned for nine months and wrote Mein Kampf - 'My struggle.' He outlined his intentions for the future of Germany
        This was when Hitler realised he could not take Germany by force but could succeed through diplomatic election

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Germany Revision (1918-1923)

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	Created by james.rowe over 10 years ago