WW2 PDF Document Analysis

❏ Kaiser Wilhelm did not know how to deal with the blame of the war, cracks in the political imperative, signing of the armistice and upcoming Treaty of Versailles. ❏ Generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff told the Kaiser that he pretty much had no choice but to call it a day...

❏ Kaiser Wilhelm did not know how to deal with the blame of the war, cracks in the political imperative, signing of the armistice and upcoming Treaty of Versailles. ❏ Generals Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff told the Kaiser that he pretty much had no choice but to call it a day or get someone to do it for him. He was too arrogant to sign any treaties. ❏ An embargo and blockade was set up around Germany and Austria-Hungary. ❏ 100,000s were starving because Germany’s only trading partner was Austria-Hungary. They did not have anyone to trade with them for food and materials. ❏ People were desperate for change that would include a democracy, free press, food, and something new. ❏ As rebellions spread across Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm lost the support of the Germany military and he abdicated on November 9, 1918. ❏ Germany became a republic after the abdication. ❏ Germans wanted to avoid a communist takeover so the Weimar Republic was established. ❏ Weimar Republic was a new government created at the end of WWI in Germany. ❏ It replaced the German Monarchy which was led by Kaiser Wilhelm I (who fled from Germany at the end of WWI). ❏ Strengths ❏ Elections took place every four years for President and Parliament members. ❏ Germans over 20 can vote. ❏ Reichstag would make all laws. ❏ Bill of Rights created. ❏ Weaknesses ❏ Proportional Representation: Each party got the same number of seats in the Reichstag as the percentage of votes it received in an election. This led to many parties in Parliament. Difficult to pass laws ❏ Article 48: Gave the President the power to act without Parliament’s approval in an emergency. What is an emergency was not defined. ❏ On November 10, Friedrich Ebert becomes President and Gustav Bauer became Chancellor. They represented the Social Democratic Party. ❏ Germany had a history of political parties in their parliament (under Wilhelm), but they had very little power (it was not a democracy). They talked about policy, but the Kaiser could pretty much veto or do what he wanted. ❏ On November 11, the armistice was signed by the new government that was less than 24 hours old. ❏ It was signed in a railway carriage at Compiegne, north of Paris. ❏ Chancellor Bauer had to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. ❏ In February 1919, a Constituent Assembly met in Weimar to create a new constitution. ❏ They created the government in Weimar instead of Berlin because they had to flee Berlin due to the chaos/revolution there. ❏ They used the Declaration of Independence, the Declaration of Rights of Men and Citizens, and Bill of Rights to construct their own constitution. ❏ They will have an election every 4 years for the Reichstag and every 7 years for the President. ❏ Constitution guarantees individual rights. ❏ The President appoints a Chancellor. He is responsible to the Reichstag. Chancellor deals with domestic and foreign policies. ❏ They must make sure that the Chancellor can cooperate and get alone with the parliament to get things done. ❏ Chancellors can’t just do whatever they want until Hitler. They need a majority in Reichstag to get things done. There must be a coalition of parties to agree on laws because no party made up more than 50%. ❏ January 5-12, 1919 ❏ Spartacists leaned to the far left (communists) as Freikorps leaned to the far right (nationalists). ❏ Soldiers were told on November 10, 1918 that there was an armistice that would be signed on November 11, 1918. ❏ Many were furious with the new government created by the Social Democrats (they would call them November Criminals later and spread the “stab-in-the-back” myth). ❏ Many of these soldiers would join the Freikorps (300,000). ❏ Freikorps were angry how Germany had been exhausted by the war, starved by the Allied food blockade, and disrupted by attempted communist revolutions. They also found it difficult to find jobs. ❏ Many members of the new government were Jewish (Social Democrats). This would lead to anti-semitism against German Jews. This leads to the birth of Nazism. ❏ Both groups were hostile to democracy. ❏ There were mass demonstrations in Berlin because the government dismissed a popular chief of police (Robert Emil Eichhorn). ❏ Spartacists (named after Ancient Greek slave revolt) decided to take advantage of this moment and copy the Russian Communist revolt. ❏ In January 1919, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg (founders of the Communist Party of Germany or KPD), leaders of Spartacists, played an integral role in staging the rebellion against the Weimar government. ❏ It was put down by the Freikorps within two weeks. ❏ Luxembourg and Liebknecht were executed. ❏ They considered the Spartacists as “November Criminals,” which was used for democrats, communists, socialists, and Jews as well. ❏ Freikorps tried to seize Berlin in 1920. Workers defended Berlin and defeated them with a strike. ❏ ❏ March 13, 1920 ❏ Friedrich Ebert was Chancellor of Germany (1919-1925). Led the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). ❏ Many hated the war loans that financed the Great War in his party. ❏ The Weimar Republic ordered for Freikorps units to be disbanding because there number reached pass 100,000 (violation of Treaty of Versailles). ❏ Many Freikorp members (former, right-wing soldiers who lost positions because of Treaty of Versailles) were not happy with the economic conditions of Germany, especially the high unemployment and inflation issues. ❏ Wolfgang Kapp (a nationalist) led the coup d’etat and claimed to be the new Chancello. ❏ 5000 armed men march on Berlin, as they turned on the Weimar Republic. ❏ Ebert ordered General Hans von Seeckt (head of Reichswehr or German military) to put down the uprising, but he refused because they are former soldiers. ❏ Freikorp invited the Kaiser to return to Germany. ❏ They supported returning Germany to an authoritarian government. ❏ This upset many workers who did not want a return to the monarchy. ❏ 12 million Workers went on strike and they shut down transportation, gas, electricity, and water. ❏ Germany did not have trains, water, gas, or electricity. ❏ This paralyzed essential services throughout Germany. ❏ This backed Freikorp into a corner. ❏ The rebellion collapsed and the Weimar Republic took back control! ❏ The attempted coup revealed that the SPD was fragile. ❏ There were a series of political assassinations against the Weimar Republic. ❏ For example: ❏ Hugo Haase (Council of the People’s Representation under Ebert) is murdered in 1919. ❏ In August 1921, Matthias Erzberger (signed armistice) is shot and killed. ❏ Walther Rathenau (Foreign Minister) was machine gunned in June 1922. ❏ Between 1919-1922, there were a total of 376 political murders (modern or left-wing  politicians). ❏ Political right judges went easy on assassins. ❏ Weimar Republic failed to clean house in their judicial branch, as many old imperialist judges remained on the bench. ❏ Many would sympathize with the Freikorp members who were put on trial and later with Hitler when he was put on trial (which was a joke). ❏ In November 1922, Germany defaulted on its reparation payments. ❏ France and Belgium sent troops into Germany’s main industrial area, the Ruhr. They took over coal mines, railways, steel industry, and factories. French shot workers who refused to work for them (132 killed; 150k expelled from area). ❏ Germany printed more money to pay workers. ❏ Unemployment and failing factories led to less tax dollars. ❏ The Weimar Republic decided to print more money to pay for reparations. ❏ This catches up with them harshly. ❏ The government had 300 paper mills and 2000 printing shops dedicated to printing money to pay reparations. ❏ It made inflation worse as prices rose more. ❏ The value of the mark (German currency decreased dramatically after 1921. ❏ They felled behind on reparations to the French and Belgians (who threatened to take over factories and mines). They did just that by taking over the Ruhr in 1923 (took over coal mines). ❏ In 1918, it cost 0.6 marks or 60 cents to buy a loaf of bread. ❏ In January of 1923, it cost 250 marks or 250 dollars to buy a loaf of bread. ❏ In September of 1923, it cost 1.5 million marks or 1 million dollars to buy a loaf of bread. ❏ In November of 1923, it cost 201 million marks or 200 million dollars to buy a loaf of bread. ❏ Money was worthless as people carried their money around with a wheelbarrow and no one wanted to steal worthless money. ❏ This is a period of growth, stability, and prosperity. ❏ Germany received international acceptance. ❏ German currency becomes stable because they get a new currency. ❏ This is due to Chancellor Gustav Stresemann. He implemented several actions to get Germany back on track. ❏ Workers get back to work in Ruhr. ❏ Negotiated with France to leave Ruhr by 1925. ❏ He was a good orator, great interpersonal skills, able to get things done, engaging, and other European leaders like him. ❏ Stresemann tackles hyperinflation by creating the Rentenmark, a state-owned bank. ❏ They issued a new currency, the Rentenmark.This stabilized prices as they limited the printing of money. Value of their money finally rose again. ❏ Its value was tied to the price of gold. It was backed by German industrial plants and agricultural land. ❏ It later became independent. It was backed by German gold. ❏ People began to trust it. Dawes Plan ❏ April 1924 ❏ Created by the Dawes committee that included Charles G. Dawes (former army general, banker, and politician), Owen D. Young, and eight other experts from Belgium, France, and Britain. Stresemann agreed to this American plan. ❏ Reduced reparation payments each year.  ❏ American banks gave loans to Germany (25 billion). Americans wanted to expand their markets into Germany. ❏ The French left the Ruhr. ❏ German economy began to recover. ❏ Industrial output doubles. ❏ Employment increased. Taxes increases. ❏ Extremists hated Germany depended on American loans. Young Plan ❏ February to June 1929 ❏ Negotiated in Paris by a committee of international financial experts under the leadership of American businessman and economist Owen D. Young. ❏ Reparations were reduced in the amounts. ❏ Germany was given 59 years to pay off debt. ❏ Lower reparations led to lower taxes. Public spending grew. This gave a boost to economy. Led to higher employment. 85% of voters supported it. ❏ Replaced the Dawes Plan. ❏ France withdrew from Rhineland in 1930. ❏ It was suspended in June 1931. ❏ Hitler made no payments when he took over in 1933. ❏ They paid interests on Dawes and Young bonds until 1939. Locarno Pact ❏ Signed on December 1, 1925. ❏ It was a treaty between Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Poland, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia. ❏ France promised peace with Germany. ❏ Rhineland remained demilitarized. ❏ Stresemann received a Nobel peace prize. The Golden Age 1924-1929 League of Nations ❏ Stresemann convinced the League of Nations to allow Germany to join it. Kellogg-Briand Pact ❏ Germany signed it. Extremists These victories of Stresemann paved the way for the reduction of extremists. ❏ In May 1924, extremists had 40% support (moderates had 50%). ❏ In May 1928, extremists had 28% support and moderates had 58% support. Problems Lingered ❏ Unemployment still remain high. ❏ Dependance on U.S. loans was not popular with many Germans.