German History Exam 2

Front 1

These were a series of repressive measures passed by the Austrian
statesman Klemens von Metternich. They had as their purpose the suppression of popular ideas
such as liberalism and nationalism.

Back 1

Karlsbad Decrees

Front 2

This Austrian statesman was the organizer of the Congress
of Vienna and the architect of the Concert of Europe. He was the foremost conservative of his
day, and he sought to prevent any new liberal or national revolutions in Europe.

Back 2

Klemens von Metternich

Front 3

This is a series of political ideas such as political participation by the people and
basic freedoms such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. These ideas are the basis of
modern democracy.

Back 3

Liberalism

Front 4

This is an intellectual movement whereby people have a strong sense of
identification with their ethnic group, or nation. It is usually accompanied by the idea that a
nation should be a sovereign political entity, or nation state.

Back 4

Nationalism

Front 5

This was an ideology that arose in Europe during and after the
French Revolution. It was an attempt to maintain the feudal social and governmental traditions
of the ancien regime. Its greatest proponent of this ideology was Prince Clemens Metternich of
Astria, who used the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to attempt to rid Europe of nationalism and
especially liberalism.

Back 5

Conservatism

Front 6

This occurred from 1846 to 1847 in German lands when the potato crop failed
due to a mold. It led to widespread food shortages.

Back 6

Potato Blight

Front 7

During the Revolution of 1848 in Prussia, this was the elected body
that wrote a new, liberal constitution for a united Germany.

Back 7

Frankfurt Parliament

Front 8

These were German liberals and nationalists who had participated in various
revolutionary activities in German-speaking countries during the Revolutions of 1848 and who
fled to America during the suppression of the revolutions that followed in 1848 and 1849.

Back 8

Forty-Eighters

Front 9

This is an intellectual movement whereby people have a strong sense of
identification with their ethnic group, or nation. It is usually accompanied by the idea that a
nation should be a sovereign political entity, or nation state.

Back 9

Nationalism

Front 10

This is a political entity that is sovereign and encompasses the physical
boundaries of an ethnic group or nation. Throughout European history, these usually came
about due to the rise of nationalism and the development of national identity.

Back 10

Nation State

Front 11

This man was a great German nationalist musical composer. One of his greatest works is Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Back 11

Richard Wagner

Front 12

This is a broad term that actually encompasses many more specific ideologies. It
is a broad ideology that emerged in nineteenth-century Europe that sought to guarantee both
political equality (as classical liberalism did) and economic equality. Generally, socialist
systems seek to ensure that the means of production are owned collectively or by a central government authority so as to insure an even distribution of goods and services.

Back 12

Socialism

Front 13

This was a pan-German political organization that provided a forum for the discussion of liberal political ideas. It was founded in 1859.

Back 13

National Association

Front 14

This man was the king of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death in 1886. He was certifiably insane and is most well known for the many fairy-tale castles he built in Bavaria.

Back 14

Ludwig II

Front 15

This was a liberal party that was firmly in control of the Prussian bourgeoisie. It challenged the power of the Prussia aristocracy known as the Junkers.

Back 15

Progressive Party

Front 16

This was the name of the Prussian parliament prior to unification in 1871. It also
denotes the various state parliaments that existed in Germany after unification in addition to the supreme German parliament, the Reichstag.

Back 16

Landtag

Front 17

This was the name given to the Prussian militia. It was an institution that was
largely controlled by the bourgeoisie, as opposed to the regular army, which was controlled by the Junkers.

Back 17

Landwehr

Front 18

This occurred when the Kingdom of Denmark attempted to annex the provinces of Schleswig-Holstein in 1864. By war, Prussia prevented this because they had a mixed German-Danish population. Bismarck used the joint administration of these two provinces to maneuver Austria into a war in 1866.

Back 18

Schleswig-Holstein Issue

Front 19

This word means compromise, and in the context of German history it means the
compromise between Hungarian nationalists and the Austrian monarchy in 1867 that resulted in the Dual Monarchy and the creation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Back 19

Ausgleich

Front 20

This man was the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. He served as president of the
Second French Republic from 1848 until 1852, and he became the emperor from 1852 until 1871
in what was called the Second French Empire. He was forced to abdicate in 1871 when France suffered a defeat in the Franco-Prussian War.

Back 20

Napoleon III

Front 21

In German this word means “caesar” or “emperor,” and it was the title assumed by the
Prussian kings after the unification of Germany in 1871.

Back 21

Kaiser

Front 22

This was a political party in Imperial Germany that represented the
Prussian aristocracy, or the Junkers, and other large property owners.

Back 22

Conservative Party

Front 23

This was a political party in Imperial Germany that represented
industrialists and large commercial interests. The views of this party closely matched those of
Bismarck.

Back 23

Free Conservative Party

Front 24

This was a disparaging term used by Bismarck to describe the Roman
Catholic Church.

Back 24

Black International

Front 25

This was a political party in imperial Germany that was composed of
those liberals who had accepted Germany's lack of full democracy. They also tended to be
nationalists, and thus, they accepted Bismarck’s arrangement for Germany since it brought about
unification.

Back 25

National Liberal Party

Front 26

This was a disparaging term that Bismarck used to describe socialism and
the various political parties that adhered to it.

Back 26

Red International

Front 27

This was a political platform of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD)
and was enunciated in 1891. It advocated a mix of Marxist revolution in addition to peacefully
working within Germany’s parliamentary system to get better conditions for German industrial
workers.

Back 27

Erfurt Program

Front 28

This was an alliance put together by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck in
1882 that included Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary.

Back 28

Triple Alliance

Front 29

This was a treaty engineered by Bismarck between Russia and Germany.
Both sides agreed to never attack one another, but under Kaiser William II this treaty was allowed to lapse.

Back 29

Reinsurance Treaty

Front 30

This German term means “youth style,” and it denotes a school of art and design
that originated in Munich in the 1890s and spread to other German-speaking lands. It eschewed
the many classical Greek and Roman themes that had been popular and instead a more modern, unique look.

Back 30

Jugendstil

Front 31

This man was a German sociologist whose comparative studies examined the
unique path that western civilization. He did his greatest work during the Wilhelmine period.

Back 31

Max Weber

Front 32

This German philosopher was the foremost figure in the intellectual
movement known as irrationalism. He was violently anti-Christian, and he rejected science as a
means to attain human happiness. He believed only a small number of “supermen” had the “will
to power” and the ability to dominate the rest of mankind. He rejected both liberal democracy
and socialism since they assumed equality between all people.

Back 32

Friedrich Nietzsche

Front 33

This Austrian psychologist developed a theory called the Oedipus Complex.
He believed that the unconscious mind was the seat of irrational sexual desires that are
manifested during infancy and that are based upon sexual attraction to the parent of the
opposite sex.

Back 33

Sigmund Freud

Front 34

This was a thesis advanced by historian Fritz Fischer in the 1960s that stated
that Germany was responsible for initiating World War I. He based this upon Germany’s
expansive war aims. However, later historians demonstrated that those goals were made after the
war started and that the Allies had expansive war aims as well. This thesis is not widely
accepted today.

Back 34

Fischer Thesis

Front 35

This was an alliance between France, Great Britain, and Russia. It was
created between 1894 and 1907 by series of agreements and understandings between the three countries.

Back 35

Triple Entente

Front 36

This man was the crown prince of Austria-Hungary. The
assassination of him and his wife in Sarajevo in 1914 was the spark that led to World War I.

Back 36

Franz Ferdinand

Front 37

This was General Erich von Ludendorff’s term for the various
October Reforms that were initiated in October 1918. He believed it was best to initiate such
democratizing reforms from the top in order to prevent a Bolshevik-style revolution in Germany.

Back 37

Revolution from above

Front 38

This was a pact between the SPD leader Friedrich Ebert and General
Wilhelm Groener. In this compromise, the army agreed to support the new government if would
adopt a moderate (as opposed to a radical) course. In exchange, the army would be used to
suppress revolts that might lead to a situation like the Bolshevik Revolution that had occurred in
Russia.

Back 38

Ebert-Groener Pact

Front 39

These were left-wing members of the SPD (Socialist Party of Germany) who were
frustrated with the slow reforms of their party in the immediate post-World War I era and left to create the Communist Party of Germany (KPD).

Back 39

Spartacists

Front 40

These were groups of volunteers financed by industry and trained by the army to
assist in suppressing rebellion in Germany after World War I. Many of the volunteers were army veterans.

Back 40

Free Corps

Front 41

This was an article in the constitution of the Weimar Republic of that allowed the president
to rule by decree without the consent of the Reichstag in the case of emergencies. Hitler would later use
this article to seize dictatorial power.

Back 41

Article 48

Front 42

These were written by the United States President Woodrow Wilson and
presented at the Versailles Conference in 1919. These outlined Wilson’s plan to preserve peace
in Europe and included an end to secret treaties, recognizing the right to self-government for the
new countries that had emerged from the old European empires, and free navigation of the
seas.

Back 42

Fourteen Points

Front 43

This was an attempted takeover of the German government by Free Corps units in March 1920. It failed due to a general strike.

Back 43

Kapp Putsch

Front 44

This was a 1925 conference in which France and Germany signed a
treaty that guaranteed their boundary. The two countries also agreed not to attack each other in the future.

Back 44

Locarno Conference

Front 45

This was a plan devised by the United States whereby reparations payments were
revised to a more manageable level to prevent further damage to the German economy. Loans were also made to Germany by the United States to bolster the German economy.

Back 45

Dawes Plan

Front 46

This was a German organization, and its English name means Storm
Troopers. They were also called the Brownshirts and the SA, and they were a paramilitary group that the Nazis used to terrorize political opponents.

Back 46

Sturnmabteilung

Front 47

This was a division of the SA or Sturmabteilung, and its name translates as
Security Service. It was usually called the SS for short. It initially served as a Adolf Hitler’s body guard and later became an elite military force.

Back 47

Schutzstaffel

Front 48

This act was passed by the Nazi-dominated Reichstag in March 1933, and it effectively gave Adolf Hitler dictatorial power in Germany.

Back 48

Enabling Act

Front 49

This man was in charge of propaganda for the Nazi Party, and after Hitler
gained dictatorial power in 1933, he became Hitler’s minister of propaganda.

Back 49

Joseph Goebbels

Front 50

This man was an early follower of Adolf Hitler and was a renowned
flying ace during World War I. Within the Nazi government, he was second only to Hitler and was the chief of the Luftwaffe, or air force.

Back 50

Hermann Goering

Front 51

This person is probably the most well-known German historian of the
Sonderweg School. He said the Kaiserreich’s society and government were a carryover from the
earlier medieval period. He characterized the Kaiserreich as being governed by
“feudal-aristocratic-military elites.”

Back 51

Hans Ulrich Wehler

Front 52

German Customs Union

Back 52

This was a free-trade zone set up by Prussia (1818, 1834) and which included German territories not ruled by the Hohenzollerns. This gave Prussia economic dominance
within the German Confederation.
Created the Thaler as the standard currency.
Most states had Thaler except for Austria.
Boosted Prussias economy and power over other states while isolating Austria.

Front 53

Romanticis

Back 53

This was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated during the late
eighteenth century in Europe and reached its culmination in the 1820s and 1830s. It was a
reaction and a revolt against the Enlightenment period, especially the rationalism of the Enlightenment and its view of the universe as a static, predictable machine. Romanticism
emphasized emotion and nature, particularly in art and literature. It also emphasized nationalism,and it saw the European peasantry and its folk culture as a repository of national identity.
Music - Mozart is Enlightenment, Beethoven is Romanticism
Idealism - rationalism and empircism - sense filter everything

Front 54

German Idealism

Back 54

This was a German philosophical movement in the late eighteenth century
and the early nineteenth century. It emerged primarily from the works and thought of Immanuel Kant and became closely associated with the Romantic Movement. German Idealism stresses that how a person understands an object or phenomenon is not so much dependent upon the thing being perceived. It depends largely upon the person perceiving the object or phenomenon and how their senses perceive the object.
Georg Hegel - Geist, dialectical, life is full of competing ideas, thesis/antithesis, everything is God's mind unfolding

Front 55

General German Workingmen's Association

Back 55

This was an organization founded in 1863 that
served as an advocate for interests of German workers. Its members were a mix of socialists and liberals who generally tried to petition the governments of German states to establish legislation that was in the workers’ best interests.
Transcends political boundaries, later turns into Social Democratic Party (SPD)

Front 56

Otto von Bismarck

Back 56

This man was the prime minister of Prussia and later the prime minister of a united Germany. He was the principal architect of German unification.
Proud Prussian Junker Aristocrat
Strives for Prussian controlled German monarchy
Wins war with Austria, annexes northern German states.
Attempts to annex southern states. France promises war. Napoleon III gets destroyed by Prussian military machine. Prussia gets most of Germany and Alsace - Lorraine
Leads united Germany and builds Triple Alliance in 1882

Front 57

North German Confederation

Back 57

This replaced the German Confederation when Austria and
Prussia went to war in 1866. It started out as confederation (Staatenbund) but under the 1867 constitution written by Bismarck it became a federal union (Bundesstaat).
AKA Reichstag

Front 58

Kulturkampf

Back 58

This is a term that translates as “cultural struggle,” and it denotes the political
war waged by Bismarck against the Catholic Church and later socialists in Germany.
Cultural divide - North Germany is protestant while south is catholic
Black international - catholic church, Bismarck is concerned by their demand for special privileges, Rerum Novarum - belief in private ownership, saves face with anti-socialist Bismarck
Red international - socialists, Bismarck disliked their ideas and used the Erfurt program to give in to some of their demands and drain their power

Front 59

Schlieffen Plan

Back 59

This was a plan developed by the German general staff prior to start of World
War I. It assumed that Germany would have to fight a two-front war with France and Russia. The plan called for powerful columns of German troops to invade France first and defeat the French army. Troops were then to be transferred eastward to fight the Russian army, which
was slower to mobilize.

Front 60

October Reforms

Back 60

These were reforms passed in October 1918 by the military junta ruling Germany. They were designed to prevent social unrest by providing a “revolution from above.”
Paul von Hindenburg and Eric Ludendorff had control over much of the economy and society for military's benefit
Got rid of 3 class voting system, everybody's vote counts the same
Ministries are now controlled by the Reichstadt instead of the Kaiser (becomes figurehead)
Democracy is born, but too little too late, war is lost

Front 61

Weimar Constitution

Back 61

This document established a president, universal suffrage, and a federal system for the Weimar Republic.
August 1919, president with considerable power, serves 7 year terms
Article 48 - if emergency, president bypasses the reichstag, Hitler uses this
Coalition government - many party system

Front 62

Treaty of Versailles

Back 62

This was the treaty produced by the victorious Allies of World War I. It
was attended by the leaders of Great Britain, France, Italy, and the United States. The principal was punitive and designed to punish Germany.
14 points - Woodrow Wilson, meant to treat Germany as an ally and create UN
France and UK want to punish Germany instead, sows the seeds of WWII
Alsace Lorraine and Poland lost
Rhine valley demilitarized
100,000 man army

Front 63

Ruhr Crisis

Back 63

This occurred in 1923 when Germany was unable and unwilling to make its
reparations payments to France and the French army occupied the Ruhr Valley to insure the reparations payments were made.
Germany defaulted on war reparations on purpose.
UK and America resisted military action.
France struggles to rebuild after war, forced to occupy Ruhr valley and enforce reparations.

Front 64

Discuss the Revolutions of 1848 in Germany

Back 64

Matternich wants to revert back to monarchies and pretend like revolution never happened.
Causes:
Feb 1848 revolution in Paris led to domino effect in Europe
Burghers, nationalists, liberals wanted democracy and unity
Desire for unity in 37 states
Food shortages, potato famine
Discontent among industrial workers, overworked and underpaid
AJP Taylor - Sonderweg, lack of democracy leads to Nazism
King Frederick William IV of Prussia, 1840, creates democratic elected parliament and dissolves after disagreement
King Louis-Phillipe of France forced from power
1848 revolutions in Austria - emperor Ferdinand promises democratic parliament and constitution, never happens and he forces Metternich to leave
Saxony and Bavaria - King Ludwig, leaves throne
1848 Revolution in Prussia
Frankfurt Parliament - May 1848 - June 1849, strives to establish united democratic Germany
Grossdeutschland vs Kleindeutschland
Failure of Frankfurt Parliament - reconsolidation of power by German Princes, power comes back to rulers to get better control of police and army; doesn't consider lower class, parliament is considered outlaws
Prussian King Frederick William IV rejects Frankfurt Parliament - Forty-eighters forced to leave country or get arrested
Effects - end of Feudal restrictions, frees peasants/serfs
Prussians constitution and Landtag representation - 3 class system

Front 65

Discuss the process of German unification under Otto von Bismarck

Back 65

Prussias role in unification - German Customs Union
Austrian Weakness - era of dualism
Prussia leads economic integration and industrial revolution in German states
Otto von Bismarck - wants a stronger Prussia and united Germany
Progressive party gains power - liberal, many middle class voters who want democracy
Proposed military reforms - 1862, Landwehr regular army of middle class vs Prussian army - rich Junker officers have equal funding, Progressive party wants more funding for Landwehr
Bismarck appointed in 1862 - wants Monarchy and believes Prussia should unite Germany, uses Article 99 to freeze army budget and bypass the Landtag, Blood and iron
Bismarck's Victory - democratized Germany fails

Front 66

Discuss the causes of World War I, Germany's entry into the war, and course of the war for Germany

Back 66

1919 War Guilt Clause - Germany blamed for cause of war by British and French, Germany just honored treaty obligations, all countries were eager to participate in war
Fischer thesis - 1960s - sonderweg - natural expansive policty, James Joll 1990s counter arguments to sonderweg
Causes for Germany's entry - Foreign policy after Bismarck, Alsace-Lorraine taken from French, gives reason for them to fight; System of alliances - triple alliance/entente, fear of encirclement; Chauvinistic Nationalism - beyond patriotism
Assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, June 28, 1914 - Serb nationalist, terrorist act, belief that Serbian govt was involved
Austrian declares war - mobilization by Germany and Russia (protector of Serbia), Austria declares war with Serbia, no diplomatic efforts
War in the West - new weapons lack tactics, machine guns, indirect artillery, trench warfare results
Schlieffen plan - attack France first with most forces, defeat in 6 weeks, then shift troops to Russia
Battle of Verdun and Somme, 1916 - France protects Verdun at all cost, Germany concentrates attacks here so French line weakens elsewhere, France catches on and launches counter offensive in Somme, Germany abandons Verdun attack
Shift in Germany stategy - shorten trench line to utilize manpower
Unrestricted sub warfare, US enters war in 1917
Russia leaves war in 1917 - freed up a front
Armistice - Germany surrenders in 1918
Two military men managed country during war, social classes couldn't work together well

Front 67

Discuss the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Adolf Hitler

Back 67

Knowledge of certain defeat, 1918 - attempt to minimize damage
October reforms - Paul von Hindenberg and Eric Ludendorff control economy and society for military's benefit, appoint chancellor; gets rid of 3 class voting, universal suffrage, ministries controlled by reichstadt, Kaiser becomes figurehead, democracy is born
November riots, 1918 - sailors riot over plan to attack Britain by sea, others join upset by loss of war
Kaiser fleas - Nov 1918
SPD establishes republic - Friedrich Ebert takes control of country; Ebert-Groener Pact - promises moderate reforms while Groener provides security; Spartacists - want radical change, upset with pact
Continued unrest, January 1919 - Free corps form paramilitary and kill communists
Attempt to establish soviet republic of Bavaria, April 1919 - weak, fails
Weimar Constitution, August 1919 - democratic elected president, considerable power, dissolves reichtag, Article 48 - emergency power, Hitler uses; universal suffrage; Chancellor and Cabinet - many party system
Treaty of Versailles, 1919 - 14 points, sows to seeds of WWII, loss of Alsace-Lorraine and Poland, demilitarized Rhine valley, 100,000 man army; War reparations, Germany war guilt
Stab in the back - Weimar republic signs treaty, November criminals
Strikes and rebellions - Kapp Putsch, 1920; Ruhr strikes, communist insurrections, Ruhr crisis
Hyper inflation
Beer hall putsch, 1923 - Adolf Hitler leads, failure, put in jail, writes Mein Kampf
Too many parties in Reichtag
Broad appeal of Nazi party to classes, Plans for domination of Europe and nationalism
Hitler is appointed, Article 48 gives emergency power