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    Test your Understanding

 

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  •  When was the Kiel mutiny which precipitated Germany’s defeat in World War I?
    • October 1918
  •  When and where was the Weimar Republic declared?
    • Weimar, in Germany
  •  Who became President of the Weimar Republic in 1919?
    • Freidrich Ebert
  •  List FIVE differences in the Constitution, 1914 versus 1919.
    • Elected president not hereditary Kaiser
    • Chancellor responsible to the Reichstag, not to the Kaiser
    • Reichstag made laws and controlled the government (not the Kaiser)
    • Proportional representation (before only males over 25 could vote)
    • Bill of Rights
  •  What was the Reichstag?
    • German Parliament
  •  What did the Weimar’s Bill of Rights promise?
    • Equality before the law, and political and religious freedom
  •  Name FIVE problems the Weimar government faced, 1919-1923
    • Ineffective Constitution
    • Left-wing rebellions
    • Right-wing rebellions
    • Invasion and hyperinflation of 1923
    • Munich Putsch
  •  Which article of the Constitution gave emergency powers to the President?
    • Article 48
  •  What is ‘proportional voting’ and how did it damage the Weimar Republic?
    • parties got Reichstag seats, not by winning constituencies, but in proportion to the number of votes they got nation-wide
  •  Who was leader of the army in the 1920s, and how did he damage the Republic?
    • von Seeckt - he was right-wing and did not put down right-wing rebellions
  •  Who led the Spartacist Revolt in 1919?
    • Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Leibknecht
  •  Where did a Communist ‘People’s Government’ come to power in 1919?
    • Bavaria
  •  What Communist group rebelled in the Ruhr in 1920?
    • Red Army - a paramilitary group
  •  Who led a Freikorps brigade to rebel against the Versailles Treaty, March 1920?
    • Dr Wolfgang Kapp
  •  Which SPD foreign minister was assassinated in 1922, and why?
    • Walter Rathenau - becase he made a treaty with Communist Russia
  •  Why did many right-wing troublemakers get away with their crimes?
    • Because right-wing judges sympathised with their cause
  •  Where did the French invade in January 1923?
    • The Ruhr
  •  What was ‘hyperinflation’, and what caused it?
    • Runaway rising prices.   It was caused by the government printing money to pay striking workers, who had gone on strike to oppose the French invasion
  •  What did Bruno Buchrucker do?
    • led the Black Reichswehr rebellion in Berlin, October 1923
  •  Who founded the Nazi party?
    • Anton Drexler
  •  Which FOUR groups of people did Hitler blame for Germany’s problems?
    • the Allies who enforced the Versailles Treaty
    • The November Criminals who signed it
    • The Communists
    • the Jews (who he said were behind it all)
  •  Give SEVEN causes of the Weimar government’s problems
    • Communists wanted world revolution/hated the new government
    • Right-wing politicians hated the Versailles Treaty and wanted the Kaiser back
    • Officials were disloyal and hated the government
    • Army led by General von Seeckt was unreliable
    • Proportional representation prevented one party getting a majority
    • Occupation of the Ruhr humiliated the Gernans and led to hyperinflation
    • Printing money to pay strikers.
  •  How many of the 25-points of the programme of the Nazi Party can you remember?
    • Unity of all German-speaking peoples
    • Abolition of the Treaty of Versailles
    • Conquer land to feed Germany’s population
    • Only Germans (not Jews) can be citizens
    • Special laws for non-Germans
    • Only Germans can vote, be employed or hold public office
    • Expel foreigners to give all Germans job and a decent standard of living
    • Foreigners who have come to Germany since 1914 must be expelled
    • All citizens have equal rights and duties
    • The first duty of a citizen is to work
    • No payments to unemployed people
    • War-profiteers give back the money they made
    • Nationalisation of industries
    • Large companies must share their profits
    • Pensions must be improved
    • Help for small shops and businesses
    • Give small farmers their land
    • Punish criminals by death
    • Reform of the law to make it more ‘German’
    • Improve education so that all Germans can get a job
    • Improve people’s health by making it law for people to do sport
    • A new People’s Army
    • German newspapers free of foreign influence
    • Freedom of religion
    • Strong central government with unrestricted power
  •  What were the FOUR principles of Mein Kampf?
    • National socialism & loyalty to Germany
    • Racism; all races inferior to Aryans
    • Lebensraum; living space in Poland & Russia
    • Strong government - Obedience to Fuhrer & use of armed force.
  •  Who were the thugs of the Nazi party who terrorised opponents?
    • Sturmabteilung - the Stormtroopers (SA)
  •  Which FIVE groups supplied most supporters of the Nazis?
    • Skilled workers
    • Businessmen
    • Lower employees (eg shop assistants)
    • Unskilled workers
    • Farmers
  •  Give FIVE causes of the Munich Putsch
    • Weakness of Weimar republic [ILRI]
    • Nazi Party growing - to 55,000 (including SA/ Ludendorff)
    • Stresemann called off resistance to the French invasion
    • Mussolini's example
    • The planned Bavarian rebellion was called off
  •  Which right-wing group rebelled in Berlin in 1923?
    • Black Reichswehr
  •  What three Bavarian leaders did Hitler try to get to join the Munich Putsch?
    • Kahr, Lossow, Seisser
  •  List FOUR results of the Munich Putsch
    • Nazis defeated - Hitler arrested, imprisoned and forbidden to speak
    • Hitler used his trial as a propaganda exercise
    • Mein Kampf published
    • Hitler began to try to get power by being elected
  •  Suggest FOUR reasons the Weimar republic survived
    • Freikorps put down Communist rebellions of 1919-20
    • Army put down Communist revolts of 1923
    • Left-wing strikers defeated the Kapp Putsch in 1920
    • Stresemann brought stable, prosperous government
  •  List SIX things Stresemann achieved
    • Dawes Plan 1924
    • Controlled inflation
    • Got the French to leave the Ruhr
    • Germany joined the League of Nations
    • Economic growth
    • Reforms made life better for ordinary people
  •  For what were the following famous: Gropius, Marlene Dietrich, Otto Dix and Erich Maria Remarque?
    • Gropius - architect (founder of the Bauhaus school of art & architecture)
    • Marlene Dietrich - singer/ filmstar
    • Otto Dix - painted horrific pictures of trenches
    • Erich Maria Remarque - wrote All Quiet on the Western Front
  •  What modern film was set in 1930 Berlin?
    • Cabaret
  •  Explain FIVE ways Hitler reorganised the Nazi Party, 1924–1928.
    • Set a fanatical personal bodyguard, the SS
    • Took over other right-wing parties
    • Set up Hitler Youth
    • Josef Goebbels developed propaganda
    • Gained the support of wealthy businessmen
  •  How did Hitler appeal to German businessmen?
    • They saw him as a safeguard against Communism
  •  Name FOUR German firms or individuals who financed Hitler.
    • Fritz von Thyssen (steel)
    • Alfred Krupp (steel)
    • IG Faben (chemicals)
    • Opel
  •  Name TWO non-German firms or individuals who financed Hitler.
    • Henry Ford (Ford cars) Irenee du Pont (General Motors)
  •  Who drew the Nazi posters?
    • Hans Schweitzer - 'Mjolnir'
  •  What were the NINE reasons Hitler came to power in 1933
    • Long-term bitterness about Versailles
    • Ineffective Constitution of Weimar Republic
    • Money from rich businessmen
    • Propaganda machine
    • Programme which offered something to everyone
    • Attacks on opponents by SA
    • Personal qualities - especially speaking ability
    • Economic Depression
    • Recruited by Hindenburg
  •  How many unemployed were there in Germany in 1928 and in 1932?
    • 2 million in 1928; 6 million in 1932
  •  How many seats did the Nazi party have in the Reichstag in 1928 and in 1933?
    • 12 in 1928; 288 in 1933
  •  Suggest FOUR personal qualities which helped Hitler come to power.
    • Brilliant speaker
    • Powerful eyes
    • Good organiser
    • Driven determination
  •  What caused the economic depression in 1929?
    • Wall Street Crash caused American banks to call in loans
  •  Who was Chancellor in 1932?
    • von Papen
  •  Who was President in 1932?
    • Hindenburg
  •  What date did Hitler become Chancellor?
    • 30 January 1933
  •  List the EIGHT steps by which Hitler turned his position as Chancellor into that of Fuhrer?
    • Reichstag Fire - 27 Feb 1933
    • General Election - 5 March 1933
    • Enabling Act - 23 March 1933
    • Gestapo - 26 April 1933
    • Trade Unions banned  - 2 May 1933
    • Opposition banned - 14 July 1933
    • Night of the Long Knives - 30 June 1934
    • Fuhrer - 19 August 1934
  •  List SEVEN ways the Nazis kept control of the German people?
    • One-Party State
    • Terror
    • Propaganda
    • Youth
    • Workforce
    • Religion
    • Racism
  •  List SIX German social groups affected by the Nazi regime.
    • Nazi Party members
    • Ordinary people
    • Women
    • Youth
    • Opponents
    • 'Untermensch'