Rise and Fall of the Weimar Republic Quiz

Answer: Treaty of Versailles

This treaty created much resentment as the Germans had been led to believe a fair treaty would be drawn up on the basis of President Wilson's Fourteen Points. The treaty included provisions like reparations and the limiting the German army to 100,000 men (while Poland had about half a million men under arms). Overall, Germany lost 13% of its territory and 6.5 million inhabitants. (Not all of those 'lost' regarded themselves as Germans, however: the people of Alsace-Lorraine saw themselves as French, and many of those in Posen and West Prussia and parts of Upper Silesia were Poles.

In the eastern provinces the nationalities weren't neatly separated).

Answer: The traditional élites, above all the army

For this reason it is often referred to as a 'revolution from above'. It was instigated by the elites for various reasons, the main one being that a democratic government was likely to receive more favourable peace treaty from the Allies. The army was very keen to avoid participating in the ceasefire negotiations.

When the senior generals decided that the Kaiser had become a liability, it was Hindenburg (of all people) who ordered his monarch to leave Germany at once. The key leaders of the Social Democrats were aware of the dangers of accepting office in these circumstances, but fear of a revolution 'from below' played a key part in persuading them to accept the 'poisoned cup' offered them.

The élites largely kept their positions and remained a threat to democracy throughout the Weimar period.

Answer: Der Reichstag

The Reichstag had a turbulent time during the Weimar period. The particular form of proportional representation used encouraged the formation of small parties, and no one party had the majority of the seats. Coalitions had to be formed and these were unstable and this weakened an already fragile democratic system, but the key weakness was that Weimar Germany was a deeply divided society.

Answer: Karl Radek

Karl Radek had slipped into Germany unnoticed at the border, and brought 'fraternal greetings' from Russia. Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were murdered by the remnants of a Prussian Guards Artillery unit on 15 January 1919, two days after the Spartacist uprising had ended.

Answer: KPD

KPD stands for Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands. There were various attempted revolutions which were attributed to the KPD, most notably the Sparticist uprising of January 1919 and the formation of 'Soviet Republics' in Bavaria and some other German states.

In those cases where there is no evidence of influence from the central party one needs to treat allegations of KPD involvement with caution. All Communist uprisings were brutally suppressed by the army and assorted mercenaries. Right-wing putsch-attempts like the Kapp-Putsch and Hitler's attempted putsch (of beer hall notoriety) were dealt with very leniently indeed.

Answer: Rentenmark

This currency was introduced as prices increased so rapidly that money became totally worthless in Germany. In order to combat this, Chancellor Stresemann appointed the financier, Hjalmar Schacht, as head of the Reichsbank. The old currency, the Mark, was replaced with the Rentenmark. 1 Rentenmark was equal to 1,000 billion paper marks.

This new currency was limited in its supply and was quickly accepted, ending hyperinflation. However the hyperinflation crisis created a sense of mistrust towards the government's handling of the economy.

Answer: 5 years

For his attempted putsch Hitler was sentenced to 5 years in prison and his accomplice General Ludendorff was let off. During his time in prison, Hitler wrote the first section of his book "Mein Kampf" or "My Struggle". He was released after only 9 months and then continued to destroy democracy from within.

Answer: True

Under the German system of proportional representation in operation at the time, the highest percentage of the vote the Nazis won was 37 per cent, in July 1932. This made them the largest party in the Reichstag. However, in the November 1932 election, they lost two million votes, dropping their percentage of the votes to 33 per cent. So, when Hitler was appointed chancellor on 30 January 1933, his party was electorally in decline.

Answer: Enabling Act

The Enabling Act was passed by the Reichstag on the 23 March 1933. It gave emergency powers to the government for 4 years, essentially meaning Hitler could pass laws without the consent of the parliament or the president. It was passed by 441 votes to 94 with only the SPD voting against it (the KPD had been banned).

It became, essentially, the constitution of the Third Reich. It was renewed in 1938.

Answer: All of these

Not satisfied with this, Hitler withdrew Germany from the League of Nations in October 1933, in order make it easier for Germany to rearm at will. By September 1933 some observers from Britain were aware that Germany was rearming very quickly. However, to say so in public at that stage was a 'no-no'.