Question 1
Question
Which of the following were 'true' of Germany in 1918?
Answer
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The Kaiser abdicated
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Germany became a Republic as a result of a 'revolution'
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Germany became a dictatorship
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German people were struggling to feed themselves due to a British Naval blockade
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German society was deeply divided
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Ex-soldiers and civilians welcomed democracy with open arms
Question 2
Question
Which political group encouraged uprisings against the Kaiser?
Answer
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The freikorps
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The Social Democrats
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The Allies
Question 3
Answer
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Friedrich Ebert - the First President of the Republic
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Franz von Papen - The Chancellor
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Alfred Hindenburg - The first President of the Republic
Question 4
Question
True of Article 48 of the constitution
Answer
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It was designed to ‘safeguard’ the Republic at a time of political crisis
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It allowed the President to rule by decree
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It allowed the Chancellor to rule by decree
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In the ‘wrong’ hands it could be used to erode democratic values
Question 5
Question
What made the Weimar Constitution ‘democratic’?
Answer
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Universal suffrage
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A Bill of Rights
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A secret Ballot
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Both ‘Houses’ elected
Question 6
Question
Which of the following are 'true' of the Weimar Constitution?
Answer
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It was democratic and had a series of checks and balances.
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The Chancellor could appoint and dismiss the President.
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All Germans over 20 could vote and their liberties were protected by a Bill of Rights.
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The Chancellor could request the Presidential Decree (Article 48) in times of emergency.
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The system of voting was 'first past the post'
Question 7
Question
in 1919 a left wing communist group, the Spartacists, attempted a putsch against the Republic.
Question 8
Question
Which of the following is 'true' of the Spartacist Uprising?
Answer
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They wanted a Soviet style revolution - for them, the 'German Revolution' had not gone far enough.
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They were joined by ex-soldiers, known as Freikorps.
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They succeeded in winning concessions from the Weimar Government
Question 9
Question
The Spartacists Uprising was the only left wing revolt against the Republic at this time.
Question 10
Question
Which of the following are reasons why the Republic faced opposition from the Right wing?
Answer
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They disliked democratic government - they viewed it as weak
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They felt the Republican politicians had 'stabbed the German army in the back' by signing the Treaty of Versailles.
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They wanted to establish a socialist dictatorship.
Question 11
Question
True of Matthias Erzburger?
Question 12
Question
in 1920 Dr Wolfgang Kapp led 5,000 Freikorps into Munich in a rebellion against the state.
Question 13
Question
The Kapp putsch failed because the Government called on the workers to actively resist the putsch by taking up arms against Kapp.
Question 14
Question
Which of the following is 'evidence' of the fact that Ebert's Government struggled to deal with political violence in the period after the War?
Answer
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There were frequent political assassinations.
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In 1922 the foreign minister, Walter Rathenau was murdered.
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Hitler attempted a putsch in 1923.
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Ebert's Government handed out stringent punishments to those convicted of political violence.
Question 15
Question
Approximately how many political assassinations were there between 1919 and 1923?
Question 16
Question
Most political assassinations were carried out by the left against the right.
Question 17
Question
Which of the following is 'true' of the Reparations issue?
Answer
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The bill, announced in April 1921, was the equivalent of £6.6 billion to be paid in annual installments.
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The Reparations bill represented 2% of the German economic output and this was considered an intolerable strain on an already weakened economy.
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Germany made the first payment in 1921 - of £50 million.
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The payment resulted in an increase in inflation.
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The Germans defaulted in late 1922.
Question 18
Question
Which of the following was NOT a consequence of Germany's failure to pay their reparations?
Answer
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France & Belgium sent troops into the Rhineland
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France & Belgium sent troops into the Ruhr
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The Government ordered the workers to resist by going on strike
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The French reacted harshly - over 100 workers were killed
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The German economy suffered
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The Government responded by printing money which contributed to hyperinflation
Question 19
Question
Which of the following were genuine consequences of hyper-inflation?
Answer
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The German currency grew stronger.
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The middle classes lost their savings.
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Civil Servants, on fixed wages didn't suffer.
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Prices spiralled out of control - so much so that wages had to increase to keep up.
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In 1921 what would have bought you a house would not have been enough to buy a loaf of bread in 1923.