The impact of the Treaty on Germany to 1923 Cambridge IGCSE History revision
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In plain words
Germans called it the Diktat: the dictated peace. Within five years of signing it, Germany had seen an attempted coup, foreign troops in its industrial heartland, and money so worthless that people burned banknotes to keep warm.
9 things to know
- Germans were shocked by the terms. They had expected a peace based on the Fourteen Points. They hated the war guilt clause most of all, and called the Treaty a Diktat, because they had been given no say.
- Political impact: many Germans blamed the new democratic government for signing. The politicians who had signed the armistice were called the "November criminals", and people said that the army had been "stabbed in the back".
- In March 1920, in the Kapp Putsch, right-wing ex-soldiers called the Freikorps tried to seize power in Berlin. They were angry at the cuts to the army. The putsch was defeated by a general strike of Berlin's workers.
- Economic impact: Germany had lost valuable land and industry, and now had to pay reparations. In 1922 it failed to pay.
- In January 1923 French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr, Germany's main industrial region, to take goods in place of the payments. The German government ordered the workers to go on strike, which was called passive resistance.
- With nothing being produced in the Ruhr, the government printed money to pay the strikers. The result was hyperinflation. Prices rose so fast that money became worthless.
- A loaf of bread that cost 250 marks in January 1923 cost 200 000 million marks by November. People's savings were wiped out.
- Social impact: there was hunger, hardship and a deep sense of humiliation. The middle classes, who lost their savings, never forgave the Republic.
- In November 1923 Hitler tried to seize power in the Munich Putsch. It failed, but it showed how much anger there was.
Worked example
Explain why there was hyperinflation in Germany in 1923. This is a 6-mark "why" question.
- Start with the cause: Germany failed to pay reparations, so France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr.
- Explain the link: the government supported passive resistance, so the Ruhr's factories and mines produced nothing, yet the strikers still had to be paid.
- Explain the result: the government printed more and more money. With more money and fewer goods, prices shot up and the mark lost its value.
Tips and tricks
- A chain earns the marks: reparations, the Ruhr, passive resistance, printing money, hyperinflation. Each link needs the word "so".
- Sort the impact under three headings, as the syllabus does: political, economic and social.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
The impact of the Treaty on Germany to 1923: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
What did Germans call the Treaty of Versailles?
It means a dictated peace.
What was the Kapp Putsch?
It was defeated by a general strike.
Why did French and Belgian troops occupy the Ruhr in 1923?
They took goods in place of the money.
What is hyperinflation?
In 1923 a loaf of bread cost 200 000 million marks.
Who were the "November criminals"?Stretch
The name was used by those who claimed that Germany had been betrayed.
Quiz
5 questions
Tap an answer and you’ll see straight away whether it’s right, and why.
Worksheet
3 questions, 20 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
The impact of the Treaty on Germany to 1923
Cambridge IGCSE History 0470 · 20 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
What happened in the Ruhr in 1923?[4]
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Germany had failed to pay reparations. French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr in January 1923 to take goods instead. The German government ordered passive resistance, so the workers went on strike. Production stopped, and the government printed money to pay the strikers.
Why did many Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles?[6]
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They saw it as a Diktat, forced on them without negotiation. The war guilt clause was felt to be unjust, because they did not believe that Germany alone had caused the war. The loss of land, the tiny army and the reparations were seen as humiliating and as designed to ruin Germany. They had expected a peace based on Wilson's Fourteen Points.
"The economic effects of the Treaty of Versailles were more damaging to Germany than the political effects." How far do you agree?[10]
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Economic: the loss of land and industry, and reparations, led to the occupation of the Ruhr and hyperinflation in 1923, which destroyed savings and caused great hardship. Political: the Treaty discredited the new Republic from the start, through the "stab in the back" idea, and led to the Kapp Putsch and the Munich Putsch. Judgement: the two were linked, but the political damage lasted longer, since the hatred of the Republic remained after the currency was repaired.
Answers: The impact of the Treaty on Germany to 1923
- 1. Germany had failed to pay reparations. French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr in January 1923 to take goods instead. The German government ordered passive resistance, so the workers went on strike. Production stopped, and the government printed money to pay the strikers.
- 2. They saw it as a Diktat, forced on them without negotiation. The war guilt clause was felt to be unjust, because they did not believe that Germany alone had caused the war. The loss of land, the tiny army and the reparations were seen as humiliating and as designed to ruin Germany. They had expected a peace based on Wilson's Fourteen Points.
- 3. Economic: the loss of land and industry, and reparations, led to the occupation of the Ruhr and hyperinflation in 1923, which destroyed savings and caused great hardship. Political: the Treaty discredited the new Republic from the start, through the "stab in the back" idea, and led to the Kapp Putsch and the Munich Putsch. Judgement: the two were linked, but the political damage lasted longer, since the hatred of the Republic remained after the currency was repaired.