Germany was virtually bankrupt. The war had
made them skint
The German populace was starving because of the
British navy blockades.
Kaiser had abdicated (stepped down from power)
Treaty
of
Versailles
REPARATIONS: Germany to pay for the damages of the war
German Army was restricted to 100,000 men.
Germany Navy was restricted to 6 ships and 0 submarines.
German Airforce forbidden
Rhineland demilitarised - no soldiers, tanks or military could enter it.
Alsace-Lorraine to be returned to France
Germany forbidden to unite with Austria.
League of Nations created
To prevent war outbreak again
November Criminals: the soldiers felt that the government had betrayed them
because they ended the war so quickly; and so refused to support them.
Weimar Republic
Formed in 1919
Leaders decided to meet up in a small town called Weimar as Berlin was far too violent.
Friedrich Ebert became the leader of Germany after the Kaiser abdicated.
He was the leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP)
President of the new Republic of Germany.
Hated communists.
Used the Freikorps (ex-soldiers) to attack the Spartacists.
Signed the Treaty of
Versailles - known as the 'November Criminals'
Anotações:
see 'Post World War One Germany'
Democratic political party
Spartacus League (or KPD)
Communist political group (Anti-Weimar)
COMMUNISM
'the belief of everyone being equal, there are no different classes and no great difference in
wealth. There is no private property and the state owns everything you have.'
They believed that Germany should become a communist country.
Named after 'Spartacus' - a
Roman gladiator who led a
revolt, consisting of slaves,
against slave masters.
Leaders were Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
The Spartacist Uprising - Jan. 1919
On the 6th of January, thousands of
Spartacists attacked and tried to take over
Berlin. Their objectives were to capture
important political buildings.
Friedrich Ebert, leader of the
Social Democratic Party (SDP),
sent 2000 Freikorps (ex-soldiers).
After 3 days of brutal fighting,
the Freikorps re-captured the
buildings and tortured and
executed Spartacist leaders.
National People's Party (DNVP)
Wanted one strong government and one man leading the country.
Hated the idea of democracy, believing it was weak.
Nationalist political group (Anti-Weimar)
Leader was Alfred Hugenberg
National Socialist German Workers' Party
(NSDAP or Nazi)
Also wanted Germany to have a strong government and
one man leading the country
Hated idea of democracy, believing it was weak.
Leader was Anton Drexler
Nationalist political group (Anti-Weimar)
Proportional Representation
'an electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the
number of votes cast for them'
This meant that lots of political parties that were different were able to win
seats in the Reichstag. This means every vote counted and the percentage of
votes that they got equaled the percentage of seats they got in the
Reichstag. However, this process was long and so law-making was long.