iGCSE Edexcel History notes
aper 1: Germany and Superpower Relations
P
Paper 2: The USA and China
ermany: Development of dictatorship,
G
1918-45
1 The establishment of Weimar Republic and its early problems
The German Revolution of 1918-19
● B y November 1918, the war had caused terrible suffering among the German
people
○ 1.8 million German soldiers had died and the army had been forced to
retreat
● There were dreadful food shortages due to low domestic production because of
a naval blockade imposed by the Allies which prevented food imports
○ The Germans blamed Kaiser Wilhelm II for this
● In October 1919, naval commanders at Kiel were ordered their ships to fight
against British naval forces, even though it was clear they would lose
○ The sailors led a mutiny and refused to fight
● The Kaiser had lost control and many ordinary Germans set up their own
workers’ councils rather than accepting the authority of the Kaiser’s officials
● It was clear that Germany could not fight on, but the Allies refused to make
peace unless the Kaiser abdicated
The Abdication of the Kaiser
● T here were calls from the German people for the Kaiser to abdicate, as he was
blamed for their country’s defeat
● On 9th November, the Kaiser was forced to abdicate, and he fled to Holland
● The following day, a new republic was set up and President Friedrich Ebert took
the office, as a Social Democrat
● On 11th November 1918, an armistice was agreed by Germany and the Allies
○ Ebert’s representative, Matthias Erzberger, signed the armistice to
officially end the First World War
Page1
, The Weimar Republic
● A fter the Kaiser’s abdication, a Council of People’s Representatives took control
of Germany in November 1918
○ This was temporary until a new permanent government system could be
put in place
● Elections were held on 19th January 1919, with promising results for promoting
Germany’s new democracy
○ The turnout was high, 82% of the electorate voted, and moderate parties
gained most of the seats
○ Ebert’s SDP won 40% of the seats
● The new constitution become known as the Weimar Republic, often referred to
as the Weimar Constitution
● The Weimar Constitution guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech
and religion, and quality under the law
● All men and women over the age of 20 were given the vote
● It set up a parliamentary democracy in which the elected Reichstag (parliament)
made the laws and appointed the government
● The head of government was the chancellor
○ He was elected every 7 years
○ He could use his powers to provide checks and balances to the Reichstag
● The Weimar Republic consisted of 18 states, organised as a federation
○ This meant each state had their own parliament, passed their own laws
and ran its own police force
● However the new republic was faced with a lot of opposition from the start
○ Many of the country’s senior figures, such as army leaders and judges, did
not support the new democratic republic
○ Many other Germans wanted the Kaiser to return
○ People who had been influenced by the Russian Revolution in 1917 wanted
a communist revolution to rid Germany of the industrialists and the
traditional ruling class
● Germany also had problems that the new republic found difficult to solve, some
problems including:
○ Germany was politically divided and economically damaged, so for the
new system to be a success, politicians and other powerful forces in
Germany would have to work together
■ However there was a lack of commitment to do this
○ The system of proportional representation gave many different political
views a say, which should of been positive but as the political system
required cooperation and compromise, Germany had no experience
running a political system this way
Page2
,Proportional representation
● S eats in the Reichstag were awarded according to the percentage of votes
gained
● It had positives and negatives, all parties which received votes had
representation in the Reichstag, but as a result many some and sometimes
extremist parties won seats
○ This led to an unstable government because no individual party had a
majority and several parties had to form a coalition
● Coalition governments would work well if there was an agreement, but in post
war Germany the coalitions often broke down
● This meant that the government no longer had a majority in the Reichstag,
resulting in a series of short term governments that were unable to effectively
address Germany’s problems as a nation
○ The politicians involved were seen as unhelpful and self interested, which
also led to resentment among the general public
Chancellors of the Weimar Republic
● M any chancellors found that their office time came to a sudden end when a
coalition failed
● The table shows the number of Chancellor Days in office
days served by each chancellor
Ebert 96
between 1919-23
Scheidemann 127
Bauer 279
Muller 86
Fehrenbach 313
Wirth 1 year 188 days
Cuno 1 year 202 days
Page3
, Summary of S&W of the Weimar Republic
Feature Strengths Weaknesses
Democratic ll people had the same
A he republic faced serious
T
rights in law, including the opposition from people
right to vote in democratic who did not want
elections. Everyone over democracy to succeed.
the age of 20 could vote These people could vote
for parties that wanted to
destroy the democratic
system
President’s role strong president could
A he president had
T
protect the country in emergency powers, which
times of crisis could be abused to bypass
democracy if he wanted a
specific law to pass quickly
Chancellor’s role he chancellor needed a
T he need for a majority
T
majority in the Reichstag, meant that governments
so their appointment was were often unstable, as
democratic coalitions frequently
collapsed
roportional
P eant the percentage of
M roportional
P
representation votes won by a party representation led to many
directly determined the small political parties in
percentage of seats they parliament
won in the Reichstag, No single party could get a
which was fairer and more majority so parties had to
democratic than other form coalitions, leading to
electoral systems a weak and unstable
government
Article 48 I n times of unrest, this he president could use
T
could be used to make Article 48 to pass laws
laws so that government without consulting the
could continue Reichstag, which could
lead to an abuse of power
or even a dictatorship
States’ rights llowed individual regions
A I ndividual states could
to have control over their oppose the national
own affairs government and try to
remove it
Page4
aper 1: Germany and Superpower Relations
P
Paper 2: The USA and China
ermany: Development of dictatorship,
G
1918-45
1 The establishment of Weimar Republic and its early problems
The German Revolution of 1918-19
● B y November 1918, the war had caused terrible suffering among the German
people
○ 1.8 million German soldiers had died and the army had been forced to
retreat
● There were dreadful food shortages due to low domestic production because of
a naval blockade imposed by the Allies which prevented food imports
○ The Germans blamed Kaiser Wilhelm II for this
● In October 1919, naval commanders at Kiel were ordered their ships to fight
against British naval forces, even though it was clear they would lose
○ The sailors led a mutiny and refused to fight
● The Kaiser had lost control and many ordinary Germans set up their own
workers’ councils rather than accepting the authority of the Kaiser’s officials
● It was clear that Germany could not fight on, but the Allies refused to make
peace unless the Kaiser abdicated
The Abdication of the Kaiser
● T here were calls from the German people for the Kaiser to abdicate, as he was
blamed for their country’s defeat
● On 9th November, the Kaiser was forced to abdicate, and he fled to Holland
● The following day, a new republic was set up and President Friedrich Ebert took
the office, as a Social Democrat
● On 11th November 1918, an armistice was agreed by Germany and the Allies
○ Ebert’s representative, Matthias Erzberger, signed the armistice to
officially end the First World War
Page1
, The Weimar Republic
● A fter the Kaiser’s abdication, a Council of People’s Representatives took control
of Germany in November 1918
○ This was temporary until a new permanent government system could be
put in place
● Elections were held on 19th January 1919, with promising results for promoting
Germany’s new democracy
○ The turnout was high, 82% of the electorate voted, and moderate parties
gained most of the seats
○ Ebert’s SDP won 40% of the seats
● The new constitution become known as the Weimar Republic, often referred to
as the Weimar Constitution
● The Weimar Constitution guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech
and religion, and quality under the law
● All men and women over the age of 20 were given the vote
● It set up a parliamentary democracy in which the elected Reichstag (parliament)
made the laws and appointed the government
● The head of government was the chancellor
○ He was elected every 7 years
○ He could use his powers to provide checks and balances to the Reichstag
● The Weimar Republic consisted of 18 states, organised as a federation
○ This meant each state had their own parliament, passed their own laws
and ran its own police force
● However the new republic was faced with a lot of opposition from the start
○ Many of the country’s senior figures, such as army leaders and judges, did
not support the new democratic republic
○ Many other Germans wanted the Kaiser to return
○ People who had been influenced by the Russian Revolution in 1917 wanted
a communist revolution to rid Germany of the industrialists and the
traditional ruling class
● Germany also had problems that the new republic found difficult to solve, some
problems including:
○ Germany was politically divided and economically damaged, so for the
new system to be a success, politicians and other powerful forces in
Germany would have to work together
■ However there was a lack of commitment to do this
○ The system of proportional representation gave many different political
views a say, which should of been positive but as the political system
required cooperation and compromise, Germany had no experience
running a political system this way
Page2
,Proportional representation
● S eats in the Reichstag were awarded according to the percentage of votes
gained
● It had positives and negatives, all parties which received votes had
representation in the Reichstag, but as a result many some and sometimes
extremist parties won seats
○ This led to an unstable government because no individual party had a
majority and several parties had to form a coalition
● Coalition governments would work well if there was an agreement, but in post
war Germany the coalitions often broke down
● This meant that the government no longer had a majority in the Reichstag,
resulting in a series of short term governments that were unable to effectively
address Germany’s problems as a nation
○ The politicians involved were seen as unhelpful and self interested, which
also led to resentment among the general public
Chancellors of the Weimar Republic
● M any chancellors found that their office time came to a sudden end when a
coalition failed
● The table shows the number of Chancellor Days in office
days served by each chancellor
Ebert 96
between 1919-23
Scheidemann 127
Bauer 279
Muller 86
Fehrenbach 313
Wirth 1 year 188 days
Cuno 1 year 202 days
Page3
, Summary of S&W of the Weimar Republic
Feature Strengths Weaknesses
Democratic ll people had the same
A he republic faced serious
T
rights in law, including the opposition from people
right to vote in democratic who did not want
elections. Everyone over democracy to succeed.
the age of 20 could vote These people could vote
for parties that wanted to
destroy the democratic
system
President’s role strong president could
A he president had
T
protect the country in emergency powers, which
times of crisis could be abused to bypass
democracy if he wanted a
specific law to pass quickly
Chancellor’s role he chancellor needed a
T he need for a majority
T
majority in the Reichstag, meant that governments
so their appointment was were often unstable, as
democratic coalitions frequently
collapsed
roportional
P eant the percentage of
M roportional
P
representation votes won by a party representation led to many
directly determined the small political parties in
percentage of seats they parliament
won in the Reichstag, No single party could get a
which was fairer and more majority so parties had to
democratic than other form coalitions, leading to
electoral systems a weak and unstable
government
Article 48 I n times of unrest, this he president could use
T
could be used to make Article 48 to pass laws
laws so that government without consulting the
could continue Reichstag, which could
lead to an abuse of power
or even a dictatorship
States’ rights llowed individual regions
A I ndividual states could
to have control over their oppose the national
own affairs government and try to
remove it
Page4
