Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit, pupils study a modern society and the issues that affected it in great depth over a shorter period. They learn about the key events, developments, people and stories that shaped this modern society over a period of around twenty to thirty years.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to describe the political threats to the early Weimar Republic that emerged from both the left and right.

Key Notes

• The Weimar Republic faced violent threats from both sides of the political spectrum.
• The 1919 Spartacist Uprising, led by communists, sought to establish a workers' state but was crushed by the Freikorps.
• When the Freikorps were ordered to disband they launched a failed attempt to restore the Kaiser: the Kapp Putsch.
• The army refused to attack and it was only defeated by a workers' strike.
• Assassinations, paramilitary clashes and coups, like Hitler's Munich Putsch, revealed deep divisions in Weimar Germany.

Vocabulary To Learn

• nationalism: devotion and loyalty or showing strong support to one's own country or nation
• authoritarian: demanding total obedience to those in positions of authority
• freikorps: meaning 'free corps'; a private army formed by ex-soldiers from the First World War
• paramilitary: a group which is organised like an army, but is not official

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• The Weimar Republic's reliance on the Freikorps might suggest that the government supported right-wing ideologies.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• 1923, the Ruhr and hyperinflation Study Guide
• Early unrest and the Treaty of Versailles Study Guide
• Economic recovery under Stresemann Study Guide
• Employment in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Hitler's creation of a dictatorship Study Guide
• How Hitler became Chancellor of Germany Study Guide
• Nazi control of the police and the legal system Study Guide
• Nazi racial ideology and the treatment of minorities Study Guide
• Opposition and resistance in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Social and economic change 1924-29 Study Guide
• Stresemann's international achievements Study Guide
• The early development of the NSDAP Study Guide
• The First World War and the German Revolution Study Guide
• The growth in support for the Nazi Party Study Guide
• The growth of unemployment and rise in support for the Communist Party Study Guide
• The Munich Putsch Study Guide
• The Nazi Party and religion Study Guide
• The NSDAP's 'lean years' Study Guide
• The persecution of Jews Study Guide
• The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act Study Guide
• The Weimar Republic Study Guide
• Weimar culture 1924-29 Study Guide
• Women in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Work and life in Nazi Germany Study Guide
• Young people in Nazi Germany Study Guide