History Edexcel IGCSE Germany notes | Part 1/5: Weimar Republic | 2 effects of everything

Summary

In this first installment of the series on Edexcel IGCSE History Germany 1918-1945, we delve into the establishment of the Weimar Republic, highlighting two significant effects of critical events. The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II led to the negotiation of the Treaty of Versailles and the formation of a democratic republic. However, this new Weimar Republic faced challenges, from unstable coalitions and rising extremism to economic burdens via the Treaty. The Spartacus Uprising and the Kapp Putsch further tested the government's authority, while the French occupation of the Ruhr region ushered in hyperinflation, crippling the economy and eroding trust in the government.

Highlights

• Kaiser Wilhelm II's abdication led to a democratic Weimar Republic but also to the onerous Treaty of Versailles. 🤝
• Weimar's proportional representation system prevented majorities, fostering unstable coalitions. ⚖️
• Article 48 allowed presidential rule without Reichstag consent, spurring political extremity. ⚔️
• Massive reparations led to economic burden, while limiting the military left Germany feeling vulnerable. 💔
• Hyperinflation turned the currency worthless, forcing citizens to trade goods over money. 📉

Key Takeaways

• The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II marked the end of monarchy in Germany and the start of the Weimar Republic. 🏰
• Unstable Weimar Republic governments led to a rise in political extremism. 🌪
• The Treaty of Versailles imposed hefty reparations, severely straining Germany's economy. 💸
• Hyperinflation ran rampant due to economic mismanagement, reducing the German mark to mere paper. 📝
• Political uprisings such as the Spartacus Uprising and the Kapp Putsch weakened government authority and trust. 🚨

Overview

The Weimar Republic emerged from the ashes of the German Empire following the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II. This pivotal shift introduced a democratic government system, albeit fraught with difficulties. The nation adopted progressive policies, including women's voting rights, yet struggled with coalition instability and backlash from groups like the Freikorps, leading to the reoccurrence of political extremism.

Economically, the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles loomed large, requiring Germany to pay substantial reparations. This financial strain, combined with the loss of territories like West Prussia and Alsace-Lorraine, crippled the economy. Moreover, the Weimar government's perceived betrayal for signing the treaty further ignited public discontent, feeding into extremist narratives spearheaded by leaders like Hitler.

The French occupation of the Ruhr exacerbated economic difficulties, sparking hyperinflation. The government resorted to paying striking workers, depleting resources and rendering the currency nearly valueless. While later efforts to stabilize the economy emerged, the Weimar Republic's initial years were marred by struggles that sowed the seeds for future challenges.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction and Kaiser's Abdication This chapter provides an overview for the 'Edexcel Igcse History' series, specifically focusing on Germany from 1918 to 1945. It aims to cover the effects related to the establishment of the Weimar Republic and its initial challenges following the abdication of the Kaiser. The speaker sets the stage for examining two main effects for each topic on the history specification.
• 01:00 - 03:30: Effects of the Weimar Republic and its Constitution Chapter 1: Effects of the Weimar Republic and its Constitution The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II marked a pivotal change in Germany's governance, instigated by the Kiel Mutiny and subsequent revolutions among sailors, soldiers, and citizens throughout the country. The end of the First World War saw this transition, culminating on November 9, 1918, paving the way for the Weimar Republic. This chapter explores the creation of the Weimar Constitution and the significant implications it had on Germany's socio-political landscape.
• 03:30 - 06:00: Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on June 28, 1919, as part of the peace process that began after the armistice on November 11, 1918. It was created to establish a permanent peace post-World War I.
• 06:00 - 09:00: Spartacus Uprising The chapter 'Spartacus Uprising' discusses significant political and social changes in post-war Germany, highlighting the introduction of freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and proportional representation which allowed even women to vote. Friedrich Ebert was elected as the president. However, the government faced criticism due to the Treaty of Versailles, which resulted in Germany losing land and accepting the humiliation of war guilt, leading to accusations of betrayal or 'stabbing Germany in the back.'
• 09:00 - 10:30: Kapp Putsch The chapter discusses the effects of the Weimar Republic and its constitution, focusing on the introduction of democracy in Germany during the 1920s. It highlights how adult German citizens, including women, were granted the right to vote in democratic elections for Reichstag members every four years and for the president every seven years. This chapter covers the progressive move towards proportional representation in the early 20th century political landscape.
• 10:30 - 13:30: French Occupation of the Ruhr The French Occupation of the Ruhr chapter describes the political instability in the Weimar Republic due to the proportional representation electoral system. This system caused no party to win a majority, as they never received over 50% of the votes in elections. Consequently, this led to numerous short-lived and unstable coalitions and a rapid succession of chancellors, resulting in 11 governments between 1919 and 1923.
• 13:30 - 16:30: Causes and Effects of Hyperinflation The chapter titled 'Causes and Effects of Hyperinflation' delves into the unstable impact of hyperinflation on a country. One significant consequence was the rise in extremism, fueled by widespread frustration with the political system. A key example is Article 48 of the constitution, which allowed the president to enact laws without the Reichstag's consultation, thereby undermining democratic processes. This article was invoked 66 times in 1932, just prior to Adolf Hitler's ascension to power.
• 16:30 - 18:00: Conclusion and Revision Tips In this chapter, the focus is on the dissatisfaction of middle-class voters with the Weimar Republic, particularly due to its liberal cultural stance, exemplified by the presence of numerous gay bars in Berlin. These voters desired the return of the Kaiser to restore traditional values. This discontent contributed to the Kapp Putsch in March 1920, an attempted coup led by Wolfgang Kapp to overthrow the Weimar government and reinstate the Kaiser. The chapter concludes with a brief mention of the Treaty of the Sun.

History Edexcel IGCSE Germany notes | Part 1/5: Weimar Republic | 2 effects of everything Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 hello and welcome to all you need notes for edexcel igcse history in this series i'll be looking at two effects of all the different topics on the specification for germany 1918 to 45. this first video will be looking at two effects for all the things in the establishment of the weimar republic and its early problems let's go so let's begin with the kaiser's
• 00:30 - 01:00 abdication and the german revolution so the first effect an armistice and a peace treaty were created so following the keel mutiny revolutions broke out amongst sailors and soldiers and citizens across germany and this culminated in the kaiser kaiser wilhelm ii abdicating on the 9th of november 1918. the us then agreed to negotiate an armistice and so the first world war ended on the
• 01:00 - 01:30 11th of the 11th 1918 and this led to a peace process where they discussed a permanent peace treaty and this led to the treaty of versailles which was signed on the 28th of june 1919. the second effect was that a democratic republic was established so now that the kaiser was out of the way the weimar republic and its constitution was set up which secured freedom of speech
• 01:30 - 02:00 freedom of religion freedom of the press and she introduced proportional representation where everyone um even women were able to vote in elections and a bear friedrich eber was elected president but it was weakened by the treaty of versailles and the government was accused of stabbing germany in the back for the land loss that germany endured in the treaty and humiliation for accepting war guilt and
• 02:00 - 02:30 we'll come on to that in a second so two effects of the weimar republic and the constitution the first effect was that democracy was introduced so german citizens adult citizens even women now this was a very liberal idea back in the 1920s they were able to vote for reichstag members every four years in democratic elections and for a president every seven years so this proportion representation
• 02:30 - 03:00 meant that parties got the percentage of seats in the right stack according to the percentage of their vote in the election and this meant that no party ever got a majority in the reichstag because they never got over 50 percent of votes in elections and this led to many short-lived unstable coalitions many chancellors who quickly succeeded one another so we had 11 governments in weimar from 1919 to 1923.
• 03:00 - 03:30 and as you can imagine that's quite unstable for a country a second effect was that it led to a rise in extremism so there was lots of frustration at the system for example article 48 which was part of the constitution meant that the president could make laws without having to consult reichstag and this obviously undermined the whole process of democracy and this was used 66 times in 1932 and obviously that was just before hitler's rise to power
• 03:30 - 04:00 also middle-class voters really disliked the republic for the very liberal culture that it allowed so lots of gay bars for example in berlin and they wanted the kaiser back to restore this and this culminated in the cap putch which we'll learn more about in march of 1920 my wolfgang cap tried to overthrow the weimar government and restore the kaiser finally onto the treaty of the sun
• 04:00 - 04:30 so germany was weakened and humiliated that's the first effect so they were forced um to pay 132 000 million marks in reparations when this treaty was signed on the 20th of june 1919 as i say i'll repeat facts from different things so there's a lot less to remember it looks like a lot but you'll get used to it so this was obviously an economic burden on germany they had to pay a lot of money to the allies to help them rebuild after the
• 04:30 - 05:00 war the german army was limited to a hundred thousand troops this wasn't many other armies weren't limited so germany seemed vulnerable open to attack people could invade um and they also lost a lot of land so west prussia was lost at poland for example el sass lorraine was lost to france uh and in total germany lost 50 that's a half of her iron reserves so they were a lot poorer after the treaty of versailles
• 05:00 - 05:30 and finally there was the article two three one which is known as the war guilt clause so this meant that germany had to take the blame for starting the war which angered many germans who thought it wasn't really their fault and it was sort of justifying the reparations they were given and it wasn't fair second effect of the treaty was that the weimar government lost its popularity so members of the government who signed this were known in the media as the
• 05:30 - 06:00 november criminals so it was seen as they stabbed germany in the back they betrayed the people they weren't on the german side um and this pd that's the governing party at the time and about us party they lost over 60 seats in the june 1920 elections as people were attracted to more extreme options um and they they'd lost trust in the government and they felt betrayed generally and hitler really seized on this later when
• 06:00 - 06:30 he campaigned against the treaty he said uh it was there to harm germany uh she'd never be able to rise again and fight back the allies were wanting to suppress germany and he claimed as well that the government had betrayed germany again this november criminals narrative so people were swayed by hitler's arguments and started perhaps to to vote for the nsdap rather than the spd next the spartacus uprising so one effect of this was that the government's authority was weakened
• 06:30 - 07:00 so in january 1919 100 000 communists who belong to this league called the spartacus league they took over berlin wanting a communist revolution aber he asked the freikorp he's a group of military veterans from the first world war um he asked them to come and fight the freikel were a right-wing organization and the spd
• 07:00 - 07:30 and obviously the communists very very left-wing and the fact that he had to get the freikorp to help rather than just the army should the government was very very weak um and they had to ask the right wing for help that to go towards what were perceived as their enemies and again the same fact because they seemed weak they lost over 60 seats in the june 1920 elections and for the left wing this was a huge betrayal a bear had teamed up with a right wing he turned against his own side
• 07:30 - 08:00 and many many people lost trust in the spd a second effect was that it inspired extremist parties so parties began to grow their own armies to help fight for their cause and this led to increased political violence so there were 376 political deaths from 1919 to 1923. armies of political parties began to fight each other um and it also inspired
• 08:00 - 08:30 other takeover attempts of the government because they were perceived as very very weak and it was easy to do so for example the cat putch so this was from the frey court on the right wing because we'll find out next this happened in march 1920. however the kpd even though they were defeated and the kbd in the spartacus league even though they were defeated they decided still to stand in elections um and to win power that way rather than the revolutions so the kbt began standing in democratic elections and they got quite
• 08:30 - 09:00 a few seats the next one so the cat putch one affected cat butch again they're the same sort of things the government's authority was weakened so the cap which happened in march of 1920s over a year after the spartacus stopped rising and 120 000 frey corp member members again that's the right wing they're old first world war military veterans they've kept their guns there they are part of the right wing
• 09:00 - 09:30 they wanted to take over the government of berlin and to reinstate the kaiser kaiser bilham um and the army who obviously called in to try and stop this uprising um they refused to fire at the fracar member because they members because they were former soldiers they worked together in the war and this made them seem weak because they couldn't control their army uh and so instead they evacuated the government did and in order to get rid of the threat they
• 09:30 - 10:00 had to encourage 12 million workers to strike in order to stop the push so they couldn't do violence against and they couldn't suppress them that way they had to get workers to strike it showed that was quite weak second effect was that again it inspired extremist parties so parties grew their own armies and political violence increased as we've seen so 376 political debts from 1919 to 23. again the government lost six over 60 seats in the june 1920 elections they
• 10:00 - 10:30 were seen as weak easily undermined um and wolfgang kapp who led this push he succeeded in overthrowing the government so he he managed to expel them for berlin um the weimar government fled um and this this the easy takeover inspired hitler's 1923 munich push where he tried to take over bavaria next the french occupation of the
• 10:30 - 11:00 rue so the first effect of this the weimar government paid striking workers so french and uh french troops and troops from belgium they invaded the rua in january 1923 because germany had fallen behind on their reparations in the treaty of versailles a reparation bill gained 132 000 million marks but the government instead of backing down starting to pay again they didn't um back down
• 11:00 - 11:30 this actually made people quite like the government it wasn't a betrayal like it happened at versailles they decided to stand up to the old wartime enemy so they encouraged workers and they paid them to strike in the rule so that the french couldn't benefit financially from invading it so they weren't working the factories anymore and they weren't working in the mines they were getting the workers to defy the french authorities and they were paying them to do it
• 11:30 - 12:00 and they even encouraged workers to damage the factories in the with arson and arguably the government became more popular because of this they were on the side of the workers on the side of the german people not on the side of the allies second effect was hyperinflation we'll look at this a bit more so the economy was struggling due to war costs they'd used up a lot of their gold reserves um during the war
• 12:00 - 12:30 from the reparations bill from the treaty of versailles and the rural crisis because obviously the government were paying the workers to strike they had to use their own money for that and the rural contained 80 percent of germany's coal and iron resources so this led to less goods being manufactured led to shortages obviously less money pumped into the economy so it's harder and harder for the government to to pay for everything else so they began to print more and more
• 12:30 - 13:00 money by printing more money led to inflation so they printed more money and the money itself became less valuable so the prices increased and they continued to print more and more money which led to hyper inflation so prices rose at a remarkable rate so here's a small fact you can include the price of bread rose from one mark in 1919 to 100 000 marks in 1923 and even more beyond that
• 13:00 - 13:30 actually showing the rapid rate of inflation and how things became well how money became less and less valuable and we'll look at this in a bit more detail in the slides to come so you need to know the causes and effects of hyperinflation okay so i asked that so a few of the causes and we looked briefly at this on the last slide so the large cost from fighting in the war they'd had to pay for weapons for the soldiers um and they'd spent a lot of their gold reserves in the first world war
• 13:30 - 14:00 secondly the versailles treaty the 132 000 million mark reparations bill a huge economic burden they were having to pay this this led to the government having a shortage of money so that's why they had to print more germany had lost their land again treated versailles they'd lost lorraine to france they'd lost fifty percent of their reserves gained these facts we've looked at before they can be used in so many different things but they'd lost land
• 14:00 - 14:30 that led to a fall in the money pumped into the economy and so this this led to the government having less money and again the rural crisis they had to pay the wages for the striking workers so they began to print the effects of hyperinflation then so this is the last part in this section so the first effect was that there were increases in prices of products and therefore more shortages so the german
• 14:30 - 15:00 mark because we're printing so much money it became pretty much worthless so there was less foreign trade there were fewer imports because foreign countries and foreign businesses just couldn't trust the german currency this led to less imports and so food shortages prices skyrocketed again that fact of one mark in 1919 to 100 000 in 1923 for price of bread and this led to many people not being able to afford to eat as if they were
• 15:00 - 15:30 plunged into poverty and in this fact here people would carry money in real barrows and they traded with goods rather than money because money was so worthless um people would burn money because it was cheaper to to burn money than to buy wood to burn and many many struggle to eat and second effect linked with this so the weiner government's popularity decreased so savings especially middle class germans would put into banks they began
• 15:30 - 16:00 worthless because money became worthless so many many people lost to their savings they became poorer they lost trust in the government and people were really really dissatisfied with the government they blamed them for printing more money and for causing this this whole pipe inflation crisis and they seem to be doing nothing about it however it also led to the new chancellor called straserman
• 16:00 - 16:30 he introduced what the new currency called the renton mark in september 1923. this eventually stabilized the economy but there was so much dissatisfaction and anger hyperinflation and the treaty foresight and so many other causes this led to the munich putch november 1923. we'll look at those two in greater detail in later videos but now that's the first part of edexcel igcc history germany 1918-45
• 16:30 - 17:00 all you need notes for it those are two effects they will really help you if you learn them for your b question and your c question and even your a question these are just facts that you need to know and it's a great resource to revise from as always please like and subscribe if you want more videos like this and more revision notes and thank you very much for watching
• 17:00 - 17:30 you