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Germany: Democracy and Dictatorship c.1918-1945

The revolution of 1918 and the Weimar Constitution

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4

Overview

Ebert-Groener agreement, stab-in-the-back myth and parties that made up the Weimar Coalition.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

Who signed the armistice, and why did that matter later?

Evaluation

How far were the constitution's flaws responsible for the republic's collapse?

Key term

Who proclaimed the German republic, and who became head of the new government?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What triggered the German revolution of November 1918?

    Model answer

    Sailors at Kiel refused an order to put to sea for a final battle, and their mutiny spread within days into workers' and soldiers' councils across Germany.

  2. 2

    What happened to Kaiser Wilhelm II?

    Model answer

    He abdicated on 9 November 1918 and went into exile in the Netherlands, where he remained for the rest of his life.

  3. 3

    Who proclaimed the German republic, and who became head of the new government?

    Model answer

    Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the republic from a window of the Reichstag, and Friedrich Ebert of the SPD took charge of the government the same day.

  4. 4

    Explain what the Council of People's Representatives was.

    Model answer

    The provisional government of six socialists, drawn equally from the SPD and the more radical USPD, which ruled Germany until the National Assembly met.

  5. 5

    Explain the Ebert-Groener agreement.

    Model answer

    The army high command promised Ebert its support against a Bolshevik-style revolution, and in return Ebert undertook not to reform the officer corps, so the imperial army survived the revolution intact.

  6. 6

    What did the Stinnes-Legien agreement give the trade unions?

    Model answer

    Employers recognised the unions as bargaining partners and conceded the eight-hour day and workers' committees, in exchange for the unions abandoning any move towards nationalisation.

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NottinghamOxfordYork

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AUniversal male suffrage was kept.
BCandidates were officially sponsored.
CThe press was licensed and warned.

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Wilhelm II succeeded in 1888 and dismissed Bismarck in 1890.
TrueFalse

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