What were Germanys big problems after WW1? Learning objectives: To know what Germanys biggest POLITICAL problems were To know what Germanys biggest ECONOMIC problems were Be able to make links between the causes and effects of events STARTER - Real or fake? Pick out the numbers of the statements that were real terms of the Treaty of Versailles: 1.Germany lost 5% of its land and 1 million people to neighbouring countries 2.Germany had to reduce their armed forces to 50,000 men and 10 battleships, they were not allowed any tanks, submarines or aeroplanes 3.Germany had to accept the blame for the war 4.Germany had to pay reparations of 6,600 million to the Allies How did people feel about the Treaty of Versailles in Germany? From a German magazine in The mother is saying to her child: When we have paid one hundred billion marks then I can give you something to eat. 1)Is this cartoon for or against the Treaty? How can you tell? 2)Who does this cartoon suggest will be affected most by the treaty? 3)How will they be affected? 4)What does this cartoon tell us about how Germans felt about the Treaty of Versailles? Keywords Weimar Republic The name given to the new government of Germany in It got this name because it met in the town of Weimar, because the capital, Berlin, was too dangerous Communist A left wing political group, they believe everybody should be equal and that the country should be run for workers Fascist Right wing political groups like the Nazis were fascist. They believed in having one strong leader who everyone should obey Extremist - groups that believed in violent or radical ideas, and who did not like democracy Moderate groups that supported the new democracy in Germany Germany in 1918Germany in 1918 Read through pages What was Germany like before WW1? How did the war affect Germany? Complete task 1 and 2 on page 139uDbd8 Key Word: Weimar Republic The name of the new government set up in Germany after The First World War. Key Word: Constitution A set of rules used to govern a country. The Constitution of the Weimar Republic The President The Chancellor The Parliament (Reichstag) The German People Elect Chooses Article 48 In an emergency the President can rule on their own. Article 48 In an emergency the President can rule on their own. (used 136 times by Ebert!!) Proportional representationProportional representation Proportional Representation For each vote a party gets they get a seat in the parliament or a percentage of those votes. Therefore every party that gets a vote gets a say in the parliament. The problem with this is... The Political Spectrum: Right WingLeft WingCentre LiberalsLabourConservativesBNPCommunists Moderate Extreme Individuals should have the right to vote Individuals should look after themselves Everyone should look after each other Races should not mix protect our race from others Everyone is equal and should get share of wealth Shared leadership Individual leadership The Political Spectrum: Right WingLeft WingCentre Centre Party (Z) Social Democrats (SD) German Peoples Party (DVP) National Socialist Party (NSDAP) Communists (KPD) Moderate Extreme Shared leadership Individual leadership Supportive of the Weimar Republic Against the Weimar Republic Who do you think they would support (why?) I am Karl, and Im a coal miner. Things have been getting worse and worse for the poor like me! Who will help us at the bottom? I am Gustav and I make lots of money from my factories. Germany is heading for chaos I need to keep making money! My name is Martin Ive returned from the war to find chaos, who will provide the leadership to get Germany under control? Task Who were the main political threats to the Weimar Republic? You are going to research 4 groups who tried to overthrow the new Weimar Republic Use the table you have been given to evaluate four of the threats to the Weimar Republic between 1919 and Make notes on them in the main categories on your table using the information from pages in the textbooks. Give them a danger rating out of 5 (1 = no threat, 5 = big threat) Threats to the Weimar Republic: Political Violence Name of Organisation Who was in charge? Did they have much support? What did they try to do? How close did they come to taking over the country? Danger Rating /5 Which group was the greatest threat to the Weimar Republic? Based on what you have found out write a report to the Weimar government explaining which group poses the biggest threat Summary: Many extremist groups attempted to take control by force. The Weimar government successfully defeated all attempts to take power. Only the Centre and moderate parties were willing to work together in support of the Weimar Republic. The Communists refused to work in coalition with the Social Democrats. This left the governments incredibly fragile. How did economic factors affect the Weimar Republic? LO Understand how economic factors caused political problems for the Weimar Republic Describe how French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr led to economic problems Explanation of how Hyperinflation affected Germany. STARTER Recall of information What terms of the Treaty of Versailles would have affected the German economy? MAKE A LIST IN YOUR EXERCISE BOOKS The invasion of the Ruhr Read page 14 of ESSENTIAL GERMANY and answers the following questions: 1.In what year did Germany announce that it could no longer afford to pay REPARATIONS? 2.How did Belgium and France respond to this announcement? 3.How did the German government react to the decision of the French and Belgians? 4.How did the actions of the German workers in the Ruhr affect Germany s economy? Task 3 Hyper-inflation Keywords: Inflation When money decreases in value, so more is needed to pay for things. It is constantly going on and is quite natural e.g. the average cost of a pint of beer 10 years ago was around 2, it is now around Hyper-inflation Is similar to the above but happening in an out of control manner, with prices rising by massive amounts. Look in your main book page 143 and complete the sources exercise 3-4 you should use the sources to back up your answers! Who were the winners and losers of hyper-inflation? Look at the following people did they benefit or lose out during hyper- inflation? Im Karl my wages from the mine are paid on a daily basis now! Im Gustav my company took out a lot of loans to build up the business Im Martin, and Im living off my soldiers pension now