a political system in which parties are represented in parliament according to the number of people who voted for them

a set of laws on how a country is run / governed

the joining together of different political parties in order to achieve a majority and form a government

a person whose opinions are not extreme and are therefore acceptable to a large number of people

The Weimar Republic

History

Germany before the First World War

Industrialisation, social reform and the growth of socialism

Germany’s naval ambitions before the First World War

The First World War and the German Revolution

Early unrest and the Treaty of Versailles

The putsches of 1919-23

1923, the Ruhr and hyperinflation

Economic recovery under Stresemann

Stresemann's international achievements

Weimar culture 1924-29

The growth of unemployment and rise in support for the Communist Party

The growth in support for the Nazi Party

How Hitler became Chancellor of Germany

The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act

Hitler's creation of a dictatorship

The Nazi police state

The Nazi Party and religion

Goebbels and propaganda in Nazi Germany

Opposition and resistance to Hitler and the Nazi Party

Women in Nazi Germany

Young people in Nazi Germany

Employment in Nazi Germany

Work and life in Nazi Germany

The Nazi economy and WW2

Nazi racial ideology and the treatment of minorities

The persecution of Jews

The Final Solution

In this unit pupils undergo a period study that provides an unfolding narrative which tells a story about a period that shaped the world we live in today. They look at the key events, developments, people and stories that defined the chosen period.

Period Studies

What was a key feature of the Weimar Republic as a representative democracy?

The difficulty of holding elections regularly

The risk of a single leader or group abusing power

What problem did the division of power between the president, chancellor, and Reichstag aim to solve?

A system where seats in parliament reflect the percentage of votes received

A voting method ensuring only the majority party gains seats

The first democratic elections held in Germany

Friedrich Ebert becomes Germany’s first president

Put the following events in chronological order.

To allow the Reichstag to pass laws more quickly

To ensure the president could govern decisively during emergencies

To limit the power of smaller political parties

Why was Article 48 introduced to the Weimar constitution?

Proportional representation was not purely a positive step forward because it made it difficult to pass __________ in the Reichstag.

What caused food shortages and economic hardship in Germany during the First World War?

The abdication of other European monarchs

The mutiny of sailors in Kiel and rebellions across Germany

Which of the following events contributed to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II?

a form of government without a king or queen

government with power shared by a monarch and a parliament

Match the term to its correct definition.

Friedrich __________ became Chancellor of the new Weimar Republic in November 1918.

What agreement did the new chancellor make with General Groener to stabilise Germany?

Germany signed the __________ on 11th November 1918, officially ending the First World War.

The Weimar Republic

Lesson outcome