What impact did the War have on Germany?
Social impact•
traditional values were changing as more and more women
worked during the war
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German workers were bitter and angry about restrictions
placed on their earnings during the war whilst factory owners
made a lot of money
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There were huge gaps between the standards of living between
the rich and poor.
Political Impact
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Germany had a revolution and became an unstable republic
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Stresses of war led to a revolution in October and November
1918
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Many ex –soldiers and ordinary people disliked the new
government- they thought Germany had been betrayed by the
Weimar politicians
Economic Impact
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Germany was nearly broke by the end of the war
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Industrial production was two thirds what it had been in 1913
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National income was a third of what it was before the war
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The government was left with 600,000 widows and 2 million
children to support- it spent one third of all its money on
pensions.
The Weimar Republic
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9th November 1918 the Kaiser abdicated (he gave up his
throne)
Frederich Ebert became the leader of the new
government- the Weimar Republic. He signed an
armistice (truce) bringing the war to an end
A powerful myth developed- called stab in the back. This
was the idea that Germany had been stabbed in the back
by politicians who accepted the end of the war
In January 1919 elections took place for the new
government
The constitution
Article 48
Courts
The President
Chancellor
Armed forces
Government
Ministers
The Weimar Republic faced lots of threats 1919-1921
Reichstag
The Threat from the Left
Who:- Spartacists (Communists)
When:- January 1919
Leaders:- Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
Why:- wanted a more Communist style government- wanted workers to run
the countries based on a system of Soviets (worker councils)
What happened:-workers took control of some of the cities. The government
used the right wing Freikorps to crush the Spartacists- the leaders were
killed.
Results:- the Communist threat had ended and they never really made any
attempts to take power again. But Ebert had used the right, the Freikorps
who equally didn’t like the government- they had made them powerful. It
shows that lots of people didn’t like the government.
Threat from the Right
Who:- Kapp Putsch (army and Freikorps)
When:- March 1920
Leaders:- Dr Wolfgang Kapp
Why:- disliked Versailles and they thought the Weimar Republic were weak.
They wanted a strong government.
What happened:- Kapp and 5,000 Freikorps marched into Berlin and took
control of the city and government. Ebert and the Weimar Republic fled,
before they left they called a general strike which crippled the city and after
4 days Kapp was forced to leave.
Results:- the government had survived but showed that it lacked any real
power. However, it did have some popular support because the Berlin people
supported it and went on strike.
German people- all vote over the age of 20. They
elect members of the Reichstag and the President
Constitution- set of rules and laws that govern a country
Reichstag-Parliament
Reichstag were voted by Proportional Representation- this
means the % of votes = the no. of seats in the Reichstag
Article 48- emergency powers given to the President- can
rule without the Reichstag in times of emergency
Chancellor- was in charge of the Reichstag- needed
support from more than half of the Reichstag
President was head of the government.
The Treaty of Versailles
Another threat was the Treaty of Versailles
Guilt- Germany blamed for the war
Arms reductions- 100,000 soldiers, no tanks or airforce
Reparations- set at 6.6 million
German territory- lost 12% including Rhineland, West Prussia, Posen, Overseas colonies
Le-ague of Nations
Germany hated the treaty
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Guilt- unfair- all countries were to blame not just Germany. Kaiser had started
the war but he left
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Reparations- they were too high and would take too long to pay off. They claimed
Economic crisis and hyperinflation
The invasion of the Ruhr
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In 1921 Germany paid her first reparations, but in 1922 said she could not pay
even though it was only 2% of her industrial output
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The French were fuming and thought Germany were lying
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Jan 1923 they invaded the industrial area of the Ruhr, the German government
couldn’t stop them, so they decided to follow policy of passive resistance- the
workers would go on strike
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100 workers were killed and 100,000 protestors were kicked out of the region
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What this meant was that Germany was no longer making any money and was
broke- they couldn’t pay wages or their debts
Hyperinflation
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Because the government had no goods to trade- they had no money
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They decided to print more money
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This set of a chain reaction- there was too much money in circulation and wages
and prices rapidly increased
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Prices increased so much that mid 1923 bread cost millions and millions of marks.
People got paid mid day before prices went up and had to carry their wages in
wheel barrows.
The Munich Putsch
November 1923 Hitler and the Nazis attempted to
take power in Bavaria, Munich
Why
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1923 was a year of crisis and Weimar was at
its most unpopular
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Bavaria and its leaders were known to be
anti-Weimar- they thought they would
support them
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Hitler was supported by old war heroes like
Ludendorff
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Hitler though people like Kahr would
support them
The Munich Putsch
What happened?
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8th Nov Hitler crashed a meeting in a Beer Hall in Munich and tried
to persuade Kahr and Lossow to support him
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The next day they marched into Munich but the army were waiting
for them- Kahr had been let go and informed the authorities
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The Putsch failed and Hitler and the other leaders were arrested
and put in prison for 5 years. They only served 9 months
Results
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Short term failure- Hitler went to prison
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Long term- more successful- Hitler reorganized the Party and
decided they would get power legally- votes
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He had time to think- wrote his book in prison- Mein Kampf