Prior knowledge questions:
When did World War I take place?
Where did most of the fighting take place?
Which country had the highest number of casualties?
Who was part of the Allied powers along with the U.K.?
Was Germany on the ‘winning’ side? Your task is to code the statements into the following categories: Political, Economic or Social. Some might be in more than one category.
Workers rebelled against their The national income had fallen About two million men were killed in the leaders who they believed had led World War I, leaving around greatly. them to defeat in World War I. 525,000 widows.
Women were called to work in various The stresses of war led to a industries to support the war. Many The war had deepened divisions in revolution, and Germany became a people saw this as damaging to traditional family values and society as a German society. democratic republic: the Weimar whole. Republic.
There were huge gaps between the living Germany's industrial production was Germany was virtually bankrupt. standards of the rich and poor. reduced.
Many ex-soldiers and civilians despised Some German workers were bitter at the The German people felt ‘stab[bed] in the the new democratic leaders and came to restrictions placed in their earnings back’ by the politicians who had signed believe that the heroic leader Field during the war. On the other hand, some the Armistice (the surrender agreement Marshall Paul von Hindenburg had been factory owners had made vast fortunes. to end World War I). betrayed by weak politicians. How did the Weimar Republic work?
Article 48 The President
Friedrich Ebert. In an Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Appointed (with the emergency, Berlin support of the Reichstag) the president could make laws without The Chancellor
Philipp going to the Scheidemann. Gerrman Reichstag Federal Archives first. (Bundesarchiv). The Reichstag
The Reichstag. © Bundesbildstelle Elected Elected A woman in The German People – Men and Germany, 1923. women over the age of 20 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. President: Elected every seven years. Weimar Constitution (1919) Was the supreme commander of the army.
Article 48: Chancellor: Army Gave the President Appointed by the emergency powers, President. Had to including the option to have the support suspend the and confidence Reichstag: constitution in an of the Reichstag. 459 members in 1920. emergency. 647 members in 1933. President could Elected every four years. appoint the Chancellor. Greater power and significance compared to the Reichsrat. Reichsrat: Could make laws. Chancellor needed 63 Representatives from their support. the 17 German states. Did not have the power to make laws. Could approve laws proposed by the Voters: Chancellor and the Men and women Reichstag. over the age of 20. Strengths Weaknesses The people did not choose the Both men and women had the Weimar Constitution, and right to vote. therefore it was not popular.
Power was restricted so that Voting age was 21 instead of one group or person couldn’t 25. have too much.
A consequence of proportional representation led to coalition 1) Organise the statements into the table governments that were Presidental elections were unstable. They found it every seven years. above. difficult to have strong policies 2) Evaluate the statements and make a and often fell apart. judgment by answering the question below. Reichsrat were able to Central government increased regulate the power of the in power. However, local Reichstag by delaying new government retained power in laws. the regions. How successful was the Weimar Constitution? Article 48 allowed the president to pass laws as an Proportional representation emergency without the resulted in a fair share of seats consent of the Reichstag. for small parties. The Treaty of Versailles (1919)
Who were the ‘Big Three’? How was Germany The Terms of the Treaty of Versailles involved in the Treaty? Territorial (Land)
Military (Army)
What did Woodrow Wilson want? Reparations (Money)
Guilt (Blame) How fair was the Treaty of Versailles?
There were some elements Not fair of fairness, but Completely at all it was still unfair overall. fair
The justification for my position is …
This task helps you to practice judging & evaluating ideas. STAB IN THE BACK
This symbol represents the What is happening in Jews. this source?
What can you infer about the German reaction to the Versailles peace settlement?
Hint: Use the resource title to support your akg-images/Alamy answer. • Land, money and labour should • Personal freedom be commonly owned. • Low tax • They want to stop the rich • Proud of Germany - nationalist bosses (the capitalists) taking • Capitalists – businesses should make as much advantage of the poor workers money as possible and the wealth will spread (the proletariat).
Left-wing Right-wing Moderate
Communists Social Democrats •President Ebert •Ruling party of Dr. Kapp & the Weimar Republic the Freikorps The Spartacists Spartacist Rebellion Left-wing radicals
Left-wing radicals in Germany were inspired by the Russian Revolution (1917). Vladimir Lenin overthrew the tsar and turned Russia into a communist state.
January 1919 – Left-wing rebels tried to overthrow the government in Berlin. Their revolution was brutally ended by the Freikorps (right-wing ex- soldiers).
Karl Liebknecht, 1913. Their leaders Karl Liebknecht and Interfoto/Friedrich Rauch, Rosa Luxemburg. Munich Interfoto/Friedrich Rauch, Rosa Luxemburg were murdered. Munich Rosa’s body was dumped in a canal. The Kapp Putsch Right wing. Dr. Wolfgang Kapp Anti-communists. The Freikorps
Many right-wing groups in Germany wanted to overthrow the Weimar Republic. They saw it as weak and too sympathetic to the left-wing.
Kapp Putsch. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. In Berlin in 1920 the Kapp Putsch took place. It had support from many in the army, Wolfgang Kapp. particularly the Freikorps (a © Tropical Press Agency—Hulton Archive/Getty Images large group of right-wing soldiers). Friekorps. © Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2007-0003 / CC-BY-SA 3.0 When? Why? Where?
Munich Putsch (1923)
Who? Use the article to help How? you fill out your grid. By 1923, Germany was experiencing hyperinflation.
Hyperinflation is extremely high inflation. If a government prints too much money, the value of that money declines until it’s almost worthless. Prices quickly increase out of control.
Germany has lost France invades the Flow Diagram Task: much of its industry. It Ruhr region (1923) Rearrange the text into the correct prints money to pay because Germany is the reparations. not paying fast enough. order
Lots of German The German mark becomes Germany must pay almost worthless. Germany marks are in war reparations. is in an economic mess. circulation. Prices rise quickly - HYPERINFLATION Learning Checkpoints
• What impact did the reparations terms of the Treaty of Versailles have on the economy of Germany? • What solutions might have helped Germany's hyperinflation? • Do you agree that the Munich Putsch was the most significant event in Hitler’s early rise in popularity? Explain your thoughts. • How did the use of the Freikorps increase fear in Germany? • What criteria would you use to assess the success of the Weimar Republic, 1918-1924?