Kaiser- Fuhrer Revision Notes

1. Bismarck’s Legacy
German Unification
Germany was a new country, which had emerged from nationalism. However in 1800 there had been 400 states which were known as the Holy Roman Empire – each with its own ruler. After the Napoleonic Wars, the Holy Roman Empire came to an end and the number of states reduced to 39 which became known as the German Confederation in 1815.
Prussia and Austria (the two most powerful states) competed for leadership of the confederation. Prussia in 1834 set up a free trade area or Zollverein and achieved the upper hand. Prussia, under the leadership of Bismarck worked to exclude Austria from German affairs. Following the unification of wars of 1864 – Bismarck finally achieved his aim and in January 1871 – King Wilhelm I of Prussia was announced Kaiser of Prussia.
The Constitution
The constitution was a difficult compromise between three political forces:
Liberal Nationalism: the unification of the Germans into one state
Federalism: the traditional authority of the German states in region
Authoritarian: monarchy: the military power of Prussia
The new constitution drawn up by Bismarck was a balance of power between the Emperor, the Chancellor, the Federal council, and the Imperial Parliament.
Emperor (Kaiser)
The King of Prussia was automatically the Emperor of Prussia. As Emperor, he was able to:
1. Appoint and dismiss the Chancellor
2. Dissolve the Reichstag (in consent with the Bundesrat)
3. Direct German foreign policy
4. Command all armed forces as commander-in-chief within the empire
Chancellor and Imperial Government
The Chancellor was in effect the chief minister of the Reich and he was able to:
1. Responsible to the Emperor alone
2. Responsible for shaping the framework of Reich policies
3. Responsible for appointing state secretaries – who had no power on their own
4. Had to sign all decrees of the Emperor
Federal Council
Although the imperial government had control over foreign policy, currency, banking and trade matters. Responsibility for education, justice, health and cultural matters remained in the hands of the states.
Bismarck created the Federal Council (Bundesrat). This meant that it had:
1. 58 representatives nominated from all of the states (17 seats for Prussia)
2. The right to make changes to the constitution
3. Responsibility to ratify all legislation
4. The ability to reject any military issue with just 14 votes.
Imperial Government (Reichstag)
The Reichstag was run according to the following terms:
1. It was elected by all males over 25 by the secret ballot and served for 5 years unless dissolved by Kaiser
2. It could discuss and agree proposals put forward by Bundesrat and the imperial government including the budget
3. It was not permitted to introduce its own legislation
4. It did not allow the chancellor and the state secretaries to be members.

Implications of the constitution
Aspects of the Reich caused long concerns after Bismarck’s day. Its aim was to ensure the position and power of Bismarck himself and to preserve the privileges of Prussia and its ruling class. However it lead to political tensions between monarchical and parliamentary claims to power and between federal and state authority.
The Reichstag was a representative assembly with no real power. However when more democratic parties came to dominate the Reichstag, this made it harder for the Imperial government to manage the assembly.
The position of the Chancellor was independent from the Reichstag and the Chancellor was responsible for the Kaiser– because Bismarck and the Kaiser worked together effectively the problem was disguised. The system made the government difficult unless the Chancellor and Kaiser showed mutual respect.
Prussia enjoyed a privileged status in the federal system and Prussia’s own regional assembly (Landtag) had retained an archaic voting system in which divided the electors into three different classes based on the amount of tax they paid. This allowed the landed aristocracy to have much more political power
There was also a basic problem with taxation and expenditure. Only states could raise direct taxes, the imperial government wasn’t allowed from levying national income tax. Therefore the Reich was dependent on indirect taxes, but as a modernising state, expenditure was increasing. This lack of funds put more dependence on Prussian civil service and increased its influence.
It is already very clear that the power and structure of the constitution was unclear and confused.
Bismarck’s era
Bismarck controlled affairs from 1871-1890 and Germany developed into a powerful industrial nation protected by a well-equipped modern army. He introduced several reforms to help workers and to put of the appeal of socialism:
Sickness Insurance Law (1883)
Accident Insurance Law (1884)
Old Age Pensions Law (1889)

Political Parties 1890-1914

The German Revolution

Ludendorff pushed for political change; he wanted to change Germany from an authoritarian monarchy to a constitutional monarchy. He aimed to establish a more democratic government while maintaining the monarchy. His political turnaround had two main aims; to secure Germanys political peace terms from the Allies. Secondly he hoped the change would prevent the outbreak of political revolutionary disturbances. He also saw the need to shift the blame for Germanys defeat away from the military leaders and the conservative forces to the new leadership. The ‘stab in the back myth’ which said that unpatriotic groups such as the Jews and the socialists who had undermined the war.

2. The German Economy
In 1871, Germany had already completed the ‘take off’ into sustained economic growth. Industries associated with the first stages of industrialisation – coal/iron/textiles were well established. Germany was a respectable economic power, although second to Great Britain.
By 1914, Germany was Europe’s industrial superpower. It had nearly succeeded Britain’s level of iron production and nearly its coal production.
Germany’s ‘Second industrial revolution’
New Technology:
1. Electrics
The first transmission of electricity in the 1880’s made dramatic impact – it provided a source of heat, light and power. Two German firms came to dominate the market (AEG and Siemens) so much so that in 1913 50% of the world’s electrical products came from Germany.

2. Chemicals
The increased production of Potash and Potassium massively improved the yield of fruit and vegetables and grains as it increased the availability of fertilisers. Research and development gave Germany a lead in dyes, pharmaceutical products and artificial fibres.

3. Cars
Daimler and Benz developed the first automobile- by 1900 cars were already being manufactured. Mass production had not been developed until the 1920’s.

4. Precision equipment
Growth in research and development into new technologies such as optics and cameras.
The Labour Force
As the population was growing it increased the curve of urbanisation. The number of Germans employed in primary industry (farming/fishing/agriculture) had increased, however the number of Germans employed in secondary industry (industry/ mining) and tertiary sector (commerce/banking and transport) had increased dramatically.
In 1888 the three sectors were equally balanced, but by 1913, agriculture had fallen to less than 25% whereas industry had risen to 45%. This shows the industry was the driving force in the economic change.
Reasons for German success
Long Term
Population: Germany’s population grew rapidly, this provided the market and labour force for an expanding economy. In addition younger generations were more willing to move from job to job and learn new skills.
Raw Materials: Germany had plenty of natural materials. The huge demand for energy could be met from the domestic supplies instead of depending on imports. This was a huge benefit for the balance of trade.
Geography: Major rivers such as the Rhine and the Elbe, and easy access to the Danube. Flat northern plain was perfect for the construction of the excellent railway system.
Short Term
Education: Germany had the best elementary schooling system in the world. Between 1890 and 1914 enrolment to university doubled. The higher education institutions also made provisions with those with technical skills and therefore worked closely with firms.
Banks: Free from any kind of state control, German banks provided generous long term loans. This in turn led the big banks to become involved in industry directly. This created a close partnership between the banking and commercial sectors of the economy.
Protection: Bismarck decided to abandon free trade in 1879 and follow a policy of tariffs to protect agriculture and industry. The Tariff Law 1879 caused political tensions however it generally helped to stimulate the growth of a large internal market.
Government Ownership: The approach of government, either state of federal, had a crucial role in developing various enterprises.
3. Changing Spirit: New Ideas
Socialism
As Germany become more industrialised the idea of Marxism gained ground throughout the workers. This led to the creation of the Social Democrat Party in 1875 which declared its aim to be to overthrow the existing political and economic system. Bismarck saw socialism as a threat to order that Anti-Socialist Laws were passed around 1878 and remained until 1890.
However, by the time it liberated in 1890, SPD had organised into a nationwide mass party. At the Erfrut Congress of 1891, the party had adapted a fully Marxist programme aimed at overthrowing the Wilhelmine system. It proved to be popular and in the election of 1893 the SPD had won nearly a quarter of the vote.
Nationalism
Nationalism was seen as a liberal progressive force leading the way to the creation of a parliamentary democracy. However after certain events the nature of Nationalism was to change by 1900. This was partly because of Bismarck who was able to stay in power longer than expected. More significantly, German Nationalists had changed their priorities – they became more conservative. It was harsher directed at the internal minorities; the Jews, French, Danes and the Poles who formed 5% of German population. These minorities with their own religion, languages and cultures were in conflict with the nationalists who aspired to a united nation state. The imperial government decided to enforce the German language within schools in all Polish speaking areas and it led to so much discontent 40,000 pupils strike against the authorities.
Anti- Semitism
There is a long tradition of Anti-Semitism in European history. The Jews became an easy scapegoat for the discontent felt by many people as rapid industrialisation and urbanisation took place. Since many of the Jews were actually immigrants, they were noticeable due to their traditions. Although Jews compromised less than 1% of the German population, they composed a much higher percentage of bankers, lawyers, doctors and writers. Moreover impoverished and wealthier Jews became the focus of envy because they were viewed as privileged.
Social Darwinism
A philosophy that portrayed the world as a struggle between people, races and nations. The Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was a compromise between the allied powers or the ‘big three’
Woodrow Wilson
1. Idealist, strong religious framework
2. Academic, but then draw into politics when he campaigned against corruption
3. At first he was against American entering the war, but then he drew up 14 points:

To bring about international disarmament
To apply the principle of self-determination
To create a league of nations to maintain peace
Georges Clemenceau
1. French Nationalist – deeply influenced by the devastation of war in northern France
2. Motivated by revenge and wanted financial compensation from Germany

To annex Rhineland and create a buffer state
Impose the major disarmament of Germany
Impose heavy reparations to weaken Germany
To get recompense in order to finance rebuilding
David Lloyd George
1. May be seen as a pragmatist – keen to uphold British national interests
2. Initially played on the idea of revenge but recognised there would be compromise

Guarantee British military security – especially the navy Keep communism at bay
Limit French demands as excessive weakening in Germany would damage European economy

The treaty overall caused great human consequence as the allies maintained the blockade on Germany until the treaty was signed which meant that there was major food shortages. Furthermore if Germany did not cooperate with the treaty – the allies would take further military action.
The Ts+Cs of the Treaty:
(Territorial agreements)
Eupen-Malmedy handed to Belgium - Alsace-Lorraine returned to France
North Schleswig handed back to NS - Germany to surrender west Prussia and Posen
Upper Silesia divided between Poland and Germany - Danzig and Memel= free cities
Kiel Canal and rivers= open for all nations - German colonies were distributed
(War Guilt)
Germany was forced to sign the War Guilt Clause article 231 – accepting blame for the causing the and therefore responsible for all losses and damage.
(Reparations)
The IARC (inter-allied reparations commission) totalled the sum of £6600 million to be paid by Germany for the cause of the War

(Disarmament)
Germany had to abolish conscription and to reduce its army to 100,000 and no tanks or big guns were allowed. The Rhineland was demilitarised and there was to be no military aircraft or submarines. German navy was limited to:
Six battleships, six cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 torpedo boats
The German fleet surrendered to Britain in 1918 – but sank its own ships on 28th June 1919. (Maintaining peace)
The Treaty of Versailles also set up the League of Nations which Germany had to accept but wasn’t allowed to join at the beginning.
The ‘Diktat’
Germany thought that the Treaty of Versailles was forced upon them and no negotiations were made. The treaty’s terms were seen as unfair by Germany and their main complaints were:
The treaty was considered to be not in line with Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points. Several countries were seen as German but were not under the German state and placed under foreign rule. In addition to this Germanys colonies were passed onto its allies as mandates.
Germany found the war guilt clause (article 231) impossible to get its head round – which was the allies’ way of demanding reparations. Germany were convinced that the breakout of war in 1914 was purely defensive as it felt encircled by the other countries.
Germany saw the allied demand for reparations as unreasonable as the actual amount was never stated in the treaty – it was to be decided at a later date by the IARC. Germany thought that it was basically signing a ‘blank cheque’
Germany also thought that the demand for its disarmament was unreasonable as Britain and France made no future commitments to disarm – Wilson had spoken in favour of universal disarmament.
Germany’s general treatment from the allies was seen to be unfair too. For example Germany was excluded from the League of Nations and had to accept all decisions made.
A more balanced view
Within Britain there developed a growing sympathy for German’s position however this was not the case in France where it was actually seen as too lenient. It was only after the second world war where there emerged a more balanced view of the treaty.
At the Paris peace conferences, all allied statesmen were keen to achieve their aims at the expense of Germany. However in the end the Treaty of Versailles was a compromise and was not based on Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points as most Germans thought it would be. In comparison, the Treaty of Versailles appeared relatively moderate compared to the terms imposed by Germany on Russia at Brest-Litovsk in 1918.
The significance of the Treaty of Versailles
1. The economic consequences were a genuine concern. The English economist Keynes thought that as German economy weakened it would weaken the European economy too. However their economic potential was considerable – it still had extensive industry and resources and potentially the strongest economy in Europe.
2. In some aspects Germany was in a stronger position in 1919 than it was in 1914. Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Turkish empires had all gone creating a power vacuum in central and Eastern Europe. However, many Germans thought that the Treaty was the cause of the country’s problems and they believed that it was totally unfair.
The Threat from the Extreme Left

After the revolution, the left wing movement at first remained in a state of confusion:
The moderate socialists of the SPD were committed to the parliamentary democracy
The communists the KPD pressed for workers revolution
The USPD wanted the creation of radical socialist society but within a democratic framework.
The situation became clear when in 1920 the USPD split and joined either the KPD or the SPD – so from then on there were two left wing parties.
The KPD
The KPD wanted the revolution to proceed on Marxist terms with the creation of a one party communist state and the major reconstructing of German socially and economically. As a result of the 1917 Russian revolution many German communists were encourages by the political unrest. There was no chance of the moderate and extreme left cooperating, let alone them combining into one socialist movement together
6. The Great Inflation

The causes of The Great Inflation

The crisis had been rising since the early months of the war, however, many Germans assumes that it was a result of the Treaty of Versailles and particularly the reparations. However, it is clear that the fundamental cause of the inflation was the huge increase in the amount of paper in circulation, resulting in the government printing more to pay off the interest on its massive debts.
Long Term
Germany had made no financial provision for the war; however despite growing cost for the war, the Kaisers government went against increasing taxation, for political reasons. Instead it borrowed the massive sums by selling ‘war bonds’ to the public. By the end of 1918, only 16% of the war expenditure had been from raised taxation, 84% had been borrowed.
Another factor was that the war years had seen almost full employment. This was to concentrate on the supply of military weapons. Consequently, the high demand for and consumer goods began to push up the prices.
Medium Term
The government of the Weimer Republic could control inflation only by narrowing the gap between expenditure and income through:
1. Increasing taxation in order to raise income
2. Cutting government spending to reduce its expenditure
However, neither of these options was attractive as both would cause political and social difficulties such as increased unemployment and industrial decline. Consequently the Weimer government decided to increase taxation on profits, wealth and income. However it decided not to go so far as aiming to balance the budget. It decided to adopt the policy of deficit financing in the belief that it would:
1. Maintain the demand for goods and therefore create work
2. Cover the cost of public spending on an extensive welfare state – health insurance
3. Reduce the real value of the national debt
Deficit financing means planning to increase the nation’s debt by reducing taxation in order to give the people more money to spend and so increase the demand for goods and therefore create work. The government thought that this would enable Germany to overcome the problems of demobilisation. A good economy would ensure there were plenty of jobs for the returning soldiers and sailors and reduce the real value of the national debt.
The reparations should be seen as a factor to the hyperinflation, but not the primary cause. This added to the economic burden as they had to be paid in hard currency, like dollars or gold. In order to pay the reparations, the Weimer government printed more money in order to sell them to obtain the stronger currencies of other countries.
Short Term
Germany were already allowed to postpone several instalments of the reparations payments in 1922, however in July 1922 Germany requested another ‘holiday’ from making payments. The French government saw this as a threat and therefore Poincare ordered French and Belgium troops to occupy the Ruhr, the industrial heartland of Germany. The government embarked on a policy called ‘passive resistance’ which urged the workers to go on strike and refused to cooperate with the French, although German had to continue paying their wages. At the same time the government was unable to collect taxes from the Ruhr area and the French prevented coal being delivered to the rest of Germany.
Consequences
It had been claimed that the inflation hit the Middle Class worst. It was then assumed that the reason a large proportion of the middle class voted for the Nazi’s was because of their economic suffering. The winners were those who were able to pay off their debts, mortgages and loans with inflated worthless money. This worked to the advantage of such groups as businessmen and homeowners. Hugo Stinnes, who by then end of 1923 controlled 20% of the German industry as a result of borrowing cheaply and investing in new industry.
Peasants:
The peasants coped reasonably well as the demand for food was still high, they depended less on money.
Mittlestand:
Shopkeepers and craftsman also seem to have done reasonably good business, especially if they were prepared to exploit the demands of the market.
Industrial workers:
Worker’s wages and standard of living improved until 1922, however after the trade unions were unable to negotiate wage settlements for their members. However as they had fewer savings they lost less than those living purely on savings.
Civil Servants:
Public employees’ income fell sharply from 1914-20 but made huge gains 1921-2. They suffered again as they depended on fixed salaries- many were attracted to the war bonds and therefore lost out.
Retired:
The old generally suffered badly as they depended on fix savings and pensions
Businessmen:
Generally did well because they brought up property with worthless money and paid off their mortgages they also benefited if they made sales to foreign countries as the exchange rate was very attractive.