Germany 1

Germany 1

Kaiser Wilhelm II
1. G experienced economic + social change
  1. Iron + steel, industrialisation = new jobs, bad conditions = rise in socialism
2. Placed trust in military
3. Constitution
  1. Kaiser
    1. Constitution made him very powerful, controlled army and foreign policy
    2. Could dismiss the Chancellor, bypass the Bundesrat and dissolve the Reichstag
  2. Chancellor
    1. Runs government and proposes new legislation, doesn't need support of Reichstag or Bundesrat
  3. Bundesrat
    1. Representatives from each state, needed for all legislation (could be overruled by Kaiser)
  4. Reichstag
    1. Elected by public, pass or reject legislation, no say in Chancellor or government
Monarchy under threat
1. Better working and living conditions wanted
  1. SPD became more popular
2. Upper classes feared growth of working classes (threatened wealth and social status)
  1. Harder for Kaiser to govern, under pressure to introduce socialist reforms, but would risk angering supporters
    1. SPD = more difficult to get legislation passed in Reichstag
3. 1897 - 'Weltpolitik' - expanding territory, army and navy
  1. Tried to distract from socialism
    1. 1898 - Navy Law 1 - building up navy to rival GB's
      1. 1900 - Navy Law 2 - 17 year navy expansion programme in place
The War Ends
1. WWI = devastating impact
  1. Allies set up naval blockades = 1918 people faced starvation
  2. Turned against Kaiser
    1. Calls for democracy
  3. 1918 - German navy rebelled, some wouldn't board ships
    1. Other mass strikes
2. Revolution
  1. Nov 1918, public protest in Berlin, Kaiser abdicated, SPD + USPD declared republic
    1. Monarchy demolished, chance to be a democracy
      1. 11th Nov 1918 - Armistice signed, new republic under pressure to sign, government wanted to, some saw as betrayal
  2. After Kaiser abdication, G disorganised
    1. Different parties controlled different towns
      1. Temporary government set up by SPD and USPD - Council of People's Representatives
        Controlled until Jan 1919 when new Reichstag set up
Weimar Republic
1. Ebert was first President
2. More democratic
  1. President
    1. Chose Chancellor and is head of army, can dissolve Reichstag, call elections and suspend constitution
  2. Reichstag
    1. New parliament, elected using proportional representation
  3. Reichsrat
    1. Less powerful H of P, local regions, can delay measures passed
  4. Designed to be fair, needed only 0.4% to get a seat, women could also vote
3. Weaknesses
  1. Even small groups could get in, harder to make decisions, all had different points of view
  2. President could suspend and pass laws by himself
    1. Undermined new democracy
Early Unpopularity
1. Ebert signed Treaty of Versailles
2. Severe Treaty terms
  1. War-Guilt Clause
  2. Reduced armed forces (100,000 men)
  3. £6600 million in reparations
  4. Loss in territory
  5. Demilitarisation of the Rhineland
3. Germans called Treaty 'Diktat' (forced upon them), some felt stabbed in the back
Years of Unrest
1. Spartacist revolt
  1. Jan 1919, communists (extreme left)
  2. Karl Liebknecht + Rosa Luxemburg
    1. Took control of important buildings + some people went on strike
  3. Stopped by Freikorps for Ebert
2. Kapp Putsch
  1. Mar 1920, Freikorps, wanted to create new right-wing government
  2. Marched into Berlin but people went on general strike so Kapp fled as he had no support
3. Couldn't pay reparations
  1. 1923 - Invasion of the Ruhr
    1. France + Belgium came to take coal and iron
      1. Miners went on strike
        Ebert tried to solve debt problem + pay miners by printing more money
        Led to hyperinflation, currency became worthless (nobody wanted to trade with Germany so shortages became worse)
        Bank savings also became worthless
Early Nazi Party
1. Hitler began in German Workers' Party in 1919
  1. In 1920 it was rebranded as the Nazi Party
2. Wanted to raise pensions, improve health and education for Germans
  1. 1921 - Hitler formed SA
3. Nov 1923 - Munich Putsch
  1. Hitler's soldiers occupied beer hall in Munich where gov leaders were meeting
    1. Ludendorff let Karr call 'wife' but he called Police instead
      1. Police fired on rebels, Hitler was imprisoned and NP was banned
        Hitler wrote Mein Kampf which spread his ideology (Aryan race and right to Lebensraum)
Recovery
1. Depended on US Money
  1. Oct 1929 - Wall Street Crash
    1. Led to global economic depression
2. Stresemann
  1. Sep 1923 - Stresemann ended strike in the Ruhr
  2. Nov 1923 - Rentenmark replaced German Mark to stabilise currency
  3. 1924 - Dawes Plan - More realistic payment dates, £40 million loan from USA
  4. 1925 - Locarno Pact - G, F, B agreed to respect joint borders
  5. 1926 - League of Nations - G re-established as an international power
  6. 1929 - Young Plan - Reparations reduced to quarter of original amount, 59 years to pay
Changes under WR
1. Unemployed got unemployment insurance
2. Working class got higher wages
3. More houses were built
4. Women given more freedom
5. Period of creativity and innovation
  1. Bauhaus School = highly influential
  2. Change in music, literature and cinema
  3. New ways of critical thinking

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