Challenges to the government of the Weimar Republic · Web viewThe Weimar Republic was created at a...

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Paper 3 – Weimar and Nazi Germany – Key topic 1 – Weimar Germany 1918-1929 Key question - 2-3: Why was the Weimar Government so unpopular in its early years 1919 - 1920? The Weimar Republic was created at a time of confusion and chaos after Germany had lost World War One. People were starving, the Kaiser had fled and the new Republic got off to a troubled start for two reasons: Many Germans hated the government for signing the armistice in November 1918 - they called them the November criminals. The defeat in the war came as a huge surprise to the German people, and many ordinary German soldiers, which led to a theory that the brave German army had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by the politicians. In early 1919 the victorious Allies met to discuss how to punish Germany and on 28 June 1919 the new German government was forced to sign a peace settlement called the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty punished Germany militarily, territorially and financially. Many Germans felt their country had received a very harsh deal in the treaty and resented the government for agreeing to its conditions. However, German government had been given an ultimatum – sign within five days or risk invasion. 1 | Page

Transcript of Challenges to the government of the Weimar Republic · Web viewThe Weimar Republic was created at a...

Paper 3 – Weimar and Nazi Germany – Key topic 1 – Weimar Germany 1918-1929

Key question - 2-3: Why was the Weimar Government so unpopular in its early years 1919 - 1920?

The Weimar Republic was created at a time of confusion and chaos after Germany had lost World War One. People were starving, the Kaiser had fled and the new Republic got off to a troubled start for two reasons:

· Many Germans hated the government for signing the armistice in November 1918 - they called them the November criminals. The defeat in the war came as a huge surprise to the German people, and many ordinary German soldiers, which led to a theory that the brave German army had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by the politicians.

· In early 1919 the victorious Allies met to discuss how to punish Germany and on 28 June 1919 the new German government was forced to sign a peace settlement called the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty punished Germany militarily, territorially and financially. Many Germans felt their country had received a very harsh deal in the treaty and resented the government for agreeing to its conditions. However, German government had been given an ultimatum – sign within five days or risk invasion.

What did the Treaty of Versailles 1919 do to Germany?

German land lost

The following land was taken away from Germany :

Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)

Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)

Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)

West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)

The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum

The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas colonies.

Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk 1917 which was when Russia had surrendered to Germany.Some of this land was made into new states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia.

Military parts of the Treaty.

Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was not allowed tanks

There was to be no airforce.

Germany was allowed only 6 battleships and no submarines

The Rhineland was made into a demilitarised zone . No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone. The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.

Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria to form one superstate, in an attempt to keep her economic potential to a minimum.

Other key parts of the Treaty

Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war. This was Clause 231 - the "War Guilt Clause"

As Germany was responsible for starting the war she was therefore responsible for all the war damage caused by the First World War. Therefore, she had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to France, the UK and Belgium to pay for the damage done. The figure was not set at Versailles - it was to be determined later. The Germans were told to write a blank cheque which the Allies would cash when it suited them. The figure was eventually put at £6,600 million - a huge sum of money well beyond Germany’s ability to pay.

A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace and prevent any future war.

Task 1:

Key term

Explain what it means

Use it in a sentence

Treaty

War Guilt

Reparations

November Criminals

Versailles

Demilitarised

Task 2: Explain why the German people hated the Treaty of Versailles 1919. You may use the following headings to help you in your answer War Guilt, reparations. You should have 3 PEE paragraphs answering this question.

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One historian has stated that in his opinion the main reason that the German people hated the Treaty of Versailles was that they thought that their army had not been defeated but stabbed in the back by the Weimar government.

Task 3: Write a reply to this historian explaining whether you agree with his

Interpretation or not.

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Challenges to the government of the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic's unpopularity meant it faced violent uprisings from both sides of the political spectrum during 1919 and 1920.

Task 4:

Key term

Definition

Use it in a sentence

Chaos

Communists

Freikorps

Spartacists

Strike

Kapp Putsch

Task 5: Who were the Spartacists? Why did they rebel against the Weimar Government?

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Task 6: How and why were the Spartacists eventually defeated?

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Task 7: What was the Kapp Putsch 1920?

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Task 8: Why did the Kapp Putsch fail?

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Task 9: Which was the greater danger to the Weimar Government the Spartacists Rebellion Or the Kapp Putsch? Explain the reasons for your answer clearly.

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