Political Threats to the Weimar

Republic

Can you select

(highlight or
underline) the top
5 key words/ideas
from our last
lesson on the
wordcloud?
 Political Threats to the Weimar
Republic
Comfort: Write definitions or Challenge: Write a 100 word
questions for each of the key terms section summary of the political
related to this section threats to the Weimar Republic
Push it: How many of the terms using every key term.
can you link together?

Military Freikorps Kapp

Leibknecht Luxemberg Spartacist

 Weimar’s Biggest Threat?
The financial crisis and
hyperinflation
Key focus issues:
• What factors were responsible for the growing financial crisis
leading to hyperinflation in late 1923?
• How did German politicians seek to stabilise the situation?

Set up the You will return

centre of a Key factors to this and
mind map in involved in the reflect on your
the middle of deepening learning later…
your page. financial crisis
Key term –
Reparations
Key factor No.1
Summarise the ToV reparations negotiations into no more than 60
words detailing the course of negotiations and the eventual
agreement (Choose 5 key words as the focus)

Having studied the

Fair Versailles negotiations and
Germany’s growing
financial crisis, how fair do
you feel the level of
reparations set actually Foul
were?
Key factor No.2 The Ruhr Crisis 1923
Up to 4:30
 The Ruhr Crisis 1923
Key term – Passive
Key factor No.2 Resistance

What were the background Discussion Point:

circumstances that led up to the How fair is it to say that the
Ruhr Crisis that year? German government were
most to blame for the collapse
into hyperinflation?
Why did the German government

?
decide to encourage the workers and
And as a
population of the Ruhr to offer
Passive Resistance?
consequence…
The Ruhr Crisis 1923

After
4:30
 Comfort:
What can you learn
from this source about
the events in the Ruhr in
1923?

Challenge:
What is the message of
this source?
How do we know what
the artist is trying to
portray to the viewer?
The writing says ‘Hands off
the Ruhr’
 Is it possible to be a poor billionaire?

To understand the key problems facing the Weimar

Republic in the years 1919-23 and how and why they
were able to survive these problems.

Identify and Explain why the Evaluate and

describe reasons events of 1923 Assess varying
the invasion of provided a impact 1923 had on
the Ruhr challenge to the different groups in
happened and Weimar Germany and the
what Government impact on the govt.
hyperinflation is

Skills: Planning – organising information in variety of ways

 Make the link!
What’s the connection between
these images – be as specific as
you can
 Is it possible to be a poor
billionaire? Suggestions…
Hyper

Inflation
July 1914 £1 = 20 marks
Mark =
January 1919 £1 = 35 marks German
January 1920 £1 = 256 marks currency at
this time
January 1921 £1 = 256 marks
January1922 £1 = 764 marks
January 1923 £1 = 71,888 marks
September 1923 £1 = 1,413,648 marks
October 1923 £1 = 3,954,408,000,000 marks
November 1923 £1 = 1,680,800,000,000,000 marks

Using the information above can you

= suggest what hyperinflation might
be?
 Which of these is true?
Hyperinflation directly resulted in:

a) Money increasing in value

b) Money losing value
c) Everything costing more
d) Wages bought less
e) The French invasion of the Ruhr
 Which of these is true?
Hyperinflation directly resulted in:

a) Money increasing in value

b) Money losing value
c) Everything costing more
d) Wages bought less
e) The French invasion of the Ruhr
Five Funf Billion Millarden German mark =
currency

Is it possible to be a poor
billionaire?
Hyperinflation

1. The government becomes very short of money.

2. The government prints more money to pay its workers and
to pay its debts,
3. The more money printed, the less it is worth.
4. People lose confidence in the value of the German mark
(currency) worldwide.
5. Prices rise at an incredible rate –
January 1919 one US dollar ($) is worth nearly 9 marks. By
November 1923 one US dollar ($)is worth 200 billion marks
6. By November 1923 the German mark is worthless.
What might cost 726,000,000,000
marks?
 Can you buy a loaf of
bread with a 5 billion
mark note?
July 1922 100 marks

Jan 1923 2,785 marks

July 1923 194,000 marks

Nov 1923 726,000,000,000 marks

 Wages did not rise at the Pensioners have a
same rate as prices of fixed income. Why
food etc. Why was this a is this a problem?
problem?

Effects of
Hyperinflation People who have
saved up money…
People who owe money – what will happen to
will they be able to pay back the value of their
their debt more quickly? saved money?

How and why did the events of 1923 lead to a renewed threat to
the Weimar Republic from other political parties?
 Choose one which you think best describes
the economic crises in Germany 1922-23.

a) Hyperinflation led to widespread discontent.

b) Hyperinflation left Germany bankrupt.
c) Hyperinflation meant people were unemployed.
d) Hyperinflation was terrible for everyone.
e) Hyperinflation meant everyone’s wages increased
rapidly.
f) Hyperinflation resulted in a loss of confidence in the
German currency.
Review: Challenges to the Weimar
Republic.

Comfort:
Annotate the hexagons with
key points from our lessons
this week.

Challenge: Annotate the

hexagons AND see how many
links you can make between
each factor on the edges of the
hexagons.
 Examination practice: Q(b)
Why was there an economic crisis in Germany in
1923? (6 marks)
One reason for an economic crisis was…
P
An example of this…
This happened when…
E One of the terms was…

This meant that…

E This led to…
As a result…
…because…
L
Therefore an economic crisis…
This was a key factor….
Level Mark Descriptor
1 1 General answer.
e.g. ‘Because people could not afford to live.’
2 2-3 Identifies AND/OR describes reasons (One mark for each
identification/ description) e.g. ‘Money was worthless.’ ‘There were too
many bank notes’ ‘Because of reparations. Failed to pay.’ ‘Prices were
rising.’ ‘Because of hyperinflation.’ ‘The occupation of the Ruhr.’
‘Because of passive resistance.’
3 4-5 Explains one reason (One mark for an explanation; additional mark for
full explanation) e.g. ‘The German mark lost all value as a result of
hyperinflation.’ ‘The government printed so much money that it became
worthless.’ ‘Germany had to send large quantities of goods to France and
Belgium as part of the reparations payment. There were not enough
goods and prices rose. The government then printed more money.’ ‘The
government printed more money to pay reparations and the workers of
the Ruhr. This made inflation worse.’ ‘With so much money in circulation
prices rocketed and money was worthless.’

4 6 Explains two reasons as above.

(One mark for each an explanation; additional mark for full explanation)
 Highlighters ready!

Peer feedback
 Setting a new course and stabilising the
situation: The
work of Gustav Stresemann
The next section of the syllabus focuses on what are known as
the ‘Golden years of the Weimar Republic’ (1924-1929),
which are also known as the ‘Stresemann years’. In the
immediate short-term after forming a new government in
August 1923, briefly outline the measures/responses that
Stresemann’s government took to attempt to bring the
hyperinflation crisis under some form of stable control using
p.195.

Go back to your facts involved as well as

mind map and now Key factors using a second colour for
reflect on your involved in the any points you don’t fully
learning by deepening understand. Complete this
addressing the key in detail for hwk!
factors and
financial crisis