Revision
• We will be doing revision & exam technique in
class until half term.
• I am also available for revision Mon-Thurs
lunch & Thursday after school.
• Today at lunch, I will be doing Denazification
after the war.
Weimar Republic & its Problems
LO: To describe one problem that the Weimar
Government (1919-33) faced in detail
Key words
Armistice, November Criminals,
Weimar Government, Putsch,
Treaty of Versailles
Germany before WW1
• Germany was a “super state” within Europe
• It had a strong military and was industrially
successful with good farming land and natural
resources like iron which made lots of money
• Most Germans had good jobs and comfortable
housing
• They had the best welfare and health system
in Europe
• Their education system was excellent
Why were each of
these problems?
Problems
1. The Armistice (Peace Agreement)
2. The Treaty of Versailles
3. The Kapp Putsch
4. The Spartacist Rising
You must now
Describe a problem that the Weimar Government faced in
1918. (4)
Choose:
1. The Armistice (Peace Agreement)
2. The Treaty of Versailles
3. The Kapp Putsch
4. The Spartacist Rising
The two weaknesses of the new
constitution
1. Article 48 – Danger to democracy
(could lead to a lack of fairness)
2. Proportional Representation
(Led to weak coalitions and extremist parties
could gain power)
1923 The Invasion of the Ruhr
and hyperinflation
LO: To use a primary source to describe the
“Hyperinflation” of 1923
STARTER: Match up the following (just write
the letters/numbers):
1. Treaty of Versailles
2. Reparations
3. Weimar Government
4. Proportional Representation
5. Article 48
A) 6.6 billion pounds
B) Government between 1919-33
C) The President could make decisions
without consulting the Reichstag
D) Said Germany could only have an army
of 10,000
E) Voting method which resulted in weak
coalition Governments
Hyperinflation – Clip
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI1i5yhwOz8
1. What did businesses do as the Government
printed more money?
2. What is it called when money becomes worthless?
3. Who suffered the most?
4. Who benefited from hyperinflation?
5. What did some people use to buy things?
6. Who did people blame for the situation?
Using Source H and your own
knowledge explain how hyperinflation
in 1923 affected German people. (6)
Source H: photo taken in 1923 of a woman heating
her home by burning money
1923
• Germany could no longer repay the reparation
repayments
• How do you think the French reacted?
In pairs what does this poster
tell us?
The French Occupation of the Ruhr
• When the Germans could no longer repay the 6.6 billion pounds in reparation
repayments the French were angry
• They sent troops to an area called the Ruhr in Germany which was very industrial
and produced iron. They then occupied this area to take resources from Germany
• Germans in the area went on strike to stop the French getting these resources.
This was called “Passive Resistance”
• This meant that Germany had even less money as they were not longer making
money in this area
• Germany had to print more and more money to try and pay the reparation
repayments
WHY WAS THIS A PROBLEM?
Hyperinflation
More money is
printed = more
worthless it
becomes
1
People couldn’t
afford the basics
and got angry with
the government.
2
Businesses raised
prices as the
money wasn’t
worth as much
3
Using Source H and your own
knowledge explain how hyperinflation
in 1923 affected German people. (6)
Source H: photo taken in 1923 of a woman heating
her home by burning money
Help - think about these questions and use
these sentence starters
What was hyperinflation in 1923?
Why can the woman in the picture not buy wood to heat her home?
Why is the woman burning money?
What does this tell us about the woman’s living standards?
How did this make people feel in Germany… who were they angry with?
SENTENCE STARTERS:
Source H shows us…
Hyperinflation affected German people because...
Hyperinflation also affected German people because….
The Munich Putsch 9 November 1923
LO: To be able to assess the usefulness of a secondary
source to a historian researching the Munich Putsch
STARTER: Put the following in Chronological Order (only
write the letters)
A) Treaty of Versailles
B) The Nazi Party is formed
C) Hyperinflation
D) The Armistice is signed
E) Invasion of the Ruhr
F) Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party
G) The Munich Putsch
Background to Munich 1923
• Hitler had been gaining power slowly since
taking over the Nazi Party in 1921.
• He had built up the SA to be his private army
and was now ready to try an armed uprising.
• He wanted to get his opinions heard and put
into practice.
Events of the Putsch
November 8th 1923
* A meeting being chaired by
Gustav von Kahr (head of the
Bavarian gov’t) was gate
crashed by Hitler and the SA.
* They burst in, jumped on to
a table and fired 2 shots at
the ceiling.
* He announced he was
taking over Bavaria and tried
to get those there to join him.
* von Kahr was locked in a
room, but escaped that night.
November 9th 1923
* Hitler, Ludendorff and 3,000
supporters (some of whom were SA)
decided to march through Munich.
* Armed police blocked the way 
used truncheons & rifle butts to stop
them continuing.
* Gun battle  Hitler fell (dislocated
shoulder); 1 minute, 16 marchers
killed. Hitler escaped (ran away) but
Ludendorff marched on and was
arrested.
November 11th 1923
* Hitler arrested.
Events of the Putsch
February 1924
* Hitler tried for his part in the Putsch on a charge of
high treason.
* von Kahr appeared as a prosecution witness.
* Hitler turned the trial into an attack on the Weimar
Republic and a PR success  gave him nationwide
publicity!
* Trial established him as a national leader of
opposition to the Republic.
* He got 5 years (minimum sentence); Ludendorff got
nothing; other leaders (Röhm etc) got short sentences.
* Nazi Party was banned as result
Source A
Source B
Several of my meetings have
been disrupted and a
considerable section of the
audience had to be taken away
badly injured. I urgently
request the cancellation of
the meeting with me as
speaker. As things are, there is
obviously no longer any police
protection able to stop the
aggressive actions of the SA.
[A photograph of Hitler addressing the crowds
at a mass rally of Nazi Party supporters in 1932.]
[A report written by a member
of the Social Democratic Party
in Berlin (February 1932)]
(a) What do Sources A and B suggest about the methods used by the Nazis in their rise to
power? [4]