The Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic

1. Democracy

   • President
     • The chancellor
       • The Reichstag
     • The people
     • Article 48 allowed for bypass of reaichstag

2. The Treaty of Versailles

   • War Guiltt
     • Solely responsible
   • Reparations
     • 'Compensation' of £6.6billion
   • Military restrictions
     • Air Force disbanded
     • Army limited to 100,000 men
     • Navy restricted
       • 15,000 men
       • 6 battleships
       • No submarines
   • Teritorial loss
     • 13% of land shown on maps
       • Polish corridor
       • Alsace Lorraine
     • Colonies lost

3. Political spectrum

   • Centre party
     • Democracy
   • Social democrats
     • Rights for working class
   • Communists
     • Wanted revolution like in Russia
       • Far Left
   • Conservatives and nationalists
     • Restoration of Kaiser
   • Freikorps and Nazi party
     • German power
       • Far Right

4. Early threats

   • The Spartacist Rising-1919
     • Far left revolutionaries
       • Inspired by events in Russia
       • Rosa Luxemburg
     • Defeated
       • Army and Freikorps
         • Suppressed uprising formidably and brutally
       • Not a serious threat
         • Unorganised
         • No training
   • The Kapp Putsch-1920
     • Far right
       • Freikorps
         • Pressured to disband
         • Led by Wolfgang Kapp
       • Get rid of treaty of Versailles
     • Defeated
       • Government called on a workers strike
         • Industry ground to a hault
           • Passive as military wouldn't fight former members
       • Serious threat
         • Powerless to stop without peoples support

5. 3 crisis of 1923

   • Occupation of the Ruhr
     • French soldiers ensuring reparations
       • Passive resistance implemented but not successful
         • Called off, industry resumed
   • Munich putsch
     • The Nazi party
       • Led by Hitler
       • Support of WW1 General Ludendorf
     • Poor execution
       • Police contacted
         • Easily suppressed
           • Leaders arrested and given public trial
             • Hitler able to gain public support
               • Lenient sentence
               • Mein Kampf
   • Hyperinflation
     • Reparations payed by printing more money
       • Devalues all existing currency
         • Fixed wages suffered
           • Starvation
           • Poverty
         • Variable wages coped
           • People in debt able to pay
       • Workers on strike also payed
     • Dealt with
       • Streseman
         • Ended passive resistance
         • Introduction of new currency
           • Rentenmark
           • Supply monitored
           • Higher value