Lesson plan pages 7-9 - Pearson Education



Lesson plan pages 7–9

The Treaty of Versailles

|Lesson objectives: |

|By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: |

|describe the main terms of the Treaty of Versailles |

|explain the reasons for German resentment of the Treaty of Versailles |

|identify problems facing the German government in 1918. |

|Starter |

|Activity 1: Students look at the cartoon on page 7. Ask students to consider what it suggests about the situation in |

|Germany in the early 1920s. |

|Possible responses: The impossibly high fences in the cartoon suggest Germany is facing enormous problems. The fences |

|represent the large amount in reparations that Germany had to pay from 1921. The tiny horse marked ‘German industry’ |

|represents Germany’s reduced industry (students may remember from Unit 1 that the Treaty of Versailles took key industrial |

|areas from Germany) which prevented it from generating enough money to pay the reparations. |

|Development |

|Activity 2: Students divide their page into two columns: Terms of the Treaty of Versailles; Why the terms led to resentment|

|in Germany. Students complete the table by making a list of the key terms of the treaty and writing a sentence of |

|explanation for why each of them led to resentment. This will encourage the students to recognise the distinction between |

|fact and explanation. |

|Possible responses: Key term: reparations set at £6,600 million in 1921. Explanation: caused resentment because it was felt|

|to be too high a sum, especially given Germany’s debt after the war and the reduction in the size of its industrial |

|territory. Key term: loss of Posen and West Prussia. Explanation: caused resentment because the newly created Polish |

|corridor divided Germany in two. |

|Activity 3: Students read about the ‘stab in the back’ theory on page 9. Students design a poster presenting the view that |

|Ebert’s government stabbed Germany in the back by signing the Treaty of Versailles. They should try to show key terms of |

|the Treaty of Versailles as well as presenting the idea that the German military was betrayed by the politicians in the |

|poster. |

|Conclusion |

|Activity 4: Students complete Activity 1 on page 7 which requires them to write a response from Chancellor Ebert justifying|

|his decision to sign the Treaty of Versailles. |

|Possible responses: The military collapse and economic and political turmoil in Germany gave Ebert little option but to |

|sign the Treaty of Versailles since they could not sustain a reopening of the war. |

Lesson plan pages 10–11

The Weimar Republic – a new constitution

|Lesson objectives: |

|By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: |

|describe the main features of the Weimar constitution |

|evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar constitution. |

|Starter |

|Activity 1: Students look at Source A on page 10. Ask students why they think this armed demonstration is taking place and |

|what it suggests about the difficulties facing the new German government in 1919. |

|Possible responses: The armed demonstration might be taking place in protest at the government having signed the punitive |

|Treaty of Versailles in 1919; it might be due to the belief that the new government were ‘November Criminals’ who had |

|stabbed Germany in the back by signing the armistice. It shows the severity of the problems (potential armed uprisings) |

|confronting the new German government. |

|Students read the opening section of page 10 on the early problems facing the new government. |

|Development |

|Activity 2: Students complete the diagram of the German constitution on Worksheet 1a using the information in the panel on |

|page 10 (‘The terms of the constitution’). |

|Activity 3: Students consider the question: ‘What were the strengths and weaknesses of the new German constitution in |

|1919?’ Divide the class into two groups: one group collects evidence to show the strengths of the constitution; the other |

|to show the weaknesses of the constitution. The findings could be presented as a debate or class discussion. Students |

|should use pages 10–11 for information. |

|Possible responses: Strengths of the constitution: the system of checks and balances ensured that no one person or |

|organisation within the government could have too much power under normal circumstances; it was democratic (the Reichstag, |

|local government and the president were all elected). Weaknesses of the constitution: the president had potentially too |

|much power and might exercise that in a dictatorial manner; the careful balancing of powers might make it difficult for the|

|chancellor to govern decisively in times of crisis; extremist parties did not believe in the constitution and although |

|these only had the support of a minority of Germans, the proportional representation system could give them some |

|representation in the Reichstag. |

|Conclusion |

|Activity 4: Ask students to vote on whether they think the Weimar constitution was a poor constitution which was unlikely |

|to ever bring about good government. |

|Possible responses: Although there were certainly weaknesses in the constitution, overall it probably had more strengths |

|than weaknesses. It would only be in extremely difficult circumstances (like those that arose in the Great Depression) that|

|the weaknesses of the constitution would become evident. |

Worksheet 1a (pages 10-11)

The Weimar Constitution

Lesson plan pages 12–13

Economic problems, 1918–1923

|Lesson objectives: |

|By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: |

|describe the economic difficulties facing the Weimar government by 1923 |

|explain how the hyperinflationary situation occurred |

|explain the impact of the economic crisis on people in Germany. |

|Starter |

|Activity 1: Students use the information on page 12 to draw a flow diagram showing the main stages of the descent into |

|hyperinflation. The flow diagram should begin with ‘Germany was bankrupt after World War One, having spent all its gold |

|reserves in the war’, and go on to include the economic impact of losses from the Treaty of Versailles; reparations; French|

|occupation of the Ruhr and loss of profits from industrial production in the region as a result; decision of the German |

|government to print more money; inflationary spiral. |

|Alternative activity: Students do the card-ordering Activity on page 13 to establish the causes of the economic crisis. |

|Development |

|Activity 2: Ask students to explain how each of the following might have been affected by the period of hyperinflation in |

|1923, using page 13 for information: |

|A retired couple (probably lost much of their savings and pension; unable to buy much food as prices rose). |

|A German factory worker (wages increased – sometimes had to carry money home in a wheelbarrow – but prices rose even |

|quicker, so unable to afford much food). |

|A baker (had to put up prices of bread dramatically; may have refused to accept cash payments, asking for payment in kind |

|instead). |

|A businessman with substantial savings in the bank (savings probably lost value; experienced shortages of goods). |

|An American company trading with Germany (refused to accept marks in payment for goods, only accepting dollars; may have |

|stopped sending goods to Germany if they did not receive dollars). |

|Activity 3: Ask students to consider who/what these Germans might have blamed for their problems. |

|Possible responses: Blamed the Treaty of Versailles (so therefore blamed the Allies, particularly France); blamed the |

|French for their occupation of the Ruhr; blamed the Weimar government (for signing the Treaty of Versailles; failing to end|

|the French occupation of the Ruhr; printing more money). |

|Conclusion |

|Activity 4: Students look at Source A on page 12. Ask students to consider the message of the cartoon. |

|Possible responses: It comments on French aggression in occupying the Ruhr. The French woman has, however, impaled her |

|right hand on the chimneys of German industry which suggests perhaps that Germany will one day gain revenge on France for |

|the occupation of the Ruhr. |

Lesson plan pages 14–15

Political problems, 1918–23

|Lesson objectives: |

|By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: |

|identify the differences between left-wing and right-wing political views |

|describe the main political parties in Weimar Germany |

|explain why extremist parties were dissatisfied with the Weimar government. |

|Starter |

|Activity 1: Students fill in the panels on Worksheet 1b, recording the views of left- and right-wing politicians, using the|

|information on page 14. |

|Development |

|Activity 2: Students read the political views of each of the characters listed on Worksheet 1b and mark the appropriate |

|letter on the arrow to show the extent to which their views are left or right wing. |

|Possible responses: The letters should be marked from left to right in roughly the following order: A (the student is the |

|most extreme left-wing character); E (the factory worker is still strongly left wing, but not quite so much as the |

|revolutionary student); D and F (these characters should be placed in a roughly central/centre-right position as their |

|beliefs represent elements of left- and right-wing views); C; B (the ex-soldier is the most extreme right-wing character). |

|Activity 3: Students mark onto the arrow on Worksheet 1b the initials of the political parties shown in the table on page |

|15, in appropriate positions. |

|Activity 4: Students look at Source B on page 15 and answer the following question: What can be learned about the German |

|Communist Party (KPD) from this poster? |

|Possible responses: The poster shows the aims of the communists: to get rid of capitalism, the wealthy, the landed nobility|

|and militarism. The poster shows an ordinary working man slaying the monster representing these things – this reflects the |

|communist belief that workers should be given power and that change should be brought about by revolution (violence). |

|Conclusion |

|Activity 5: Students look at Source A on page 14, which presents an alternative view of a communist revolutionary. Ask |

|students to consider the ways in which and the reasons why this poster is very different from Source B on page 15. |

|Possible responses: Source A is drawn from the perspective of a right-wing politician, so the communist revolutionary is |

|not shown as heroic but as destructive, needlessly violent and destabilising German society by attacking family values, |

|property, businesses and money. |

Worksheet 1b (pages 14-15)

Political Parties in Weimar Germany

|Use the information on page 14 to fill in the panels on left-wing and right-wing views below. |

|Read the political views of each of the characters listed below and mark them in the appropriate position on the arrow to show how left or right wing they are. |

|A student who wants to abolish the power of the wealthy in Germany and overthrow the Weimar government to give more political power to the workers. |

|An ex-soldier who fought during World War One and resented the Weimar government for signing the Treaty of Versailles, who wants to restore German pride and honour. He feels that this can only be achieved if Germany|

|has a strong leader like the Kaiser again and gets rid of the Weimar government. |

|A relatively wealthy businessman who fears that the communists will take away his property and thinks that to prevent this Germany needs to be governed by a strong leader. |

|A shop owner who fears that if the communists take power they will not allow him to run his own business, but who believes that democratic government is preferable to government dominated by one strong leader. |

|A relatively poor factory worker who wants more political power because he feels the Weimar government has not done enough to help him. |

|A mother concerned with maintaining the importance of the family unit, law and order, and traditional values in Germany. She also believes that Germany should co-operate with other nations. |

Left Centre Right

Lesson plan pages 16–17

Political problems, 1918–1923

|Lesson objectives: |

|By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: |

|identify the aims of the Spartacist League and the Kapp Putsch |

|describe the action taken by each group in their attempt to take power |

|explain why each of these attempted revolutions failed. |

|Starter |

|Activity 1: Ask students to consider why it was likely that the Weimar government would face serious challenges to its rule|

|in the early 1920s. |

|Possible responses: In the previous lesson it was shown that there were several extremist parties who were very |

|dissatisfied with the Weimar government for a variety of reasons; many of these groups supported the idea of revolution as |

|a means to get their way; many of these extremist political parties had their own private armies which made serious |

|violence more likely (see page 16). |

|Explain that the lesson will focus on two of the most serious attempts to overthrow the Weimar government. |

|Development |

|Activity 2: Students use the information on pages 16–17 to help them complete the table on Worksheet 1c, showing the main |

|events of the Spartacist Revolt and Kapp Putsch. |

|Activity 3: Students consider the arguments that could be used for and against the following statement: ‘the revolts showed|

|the serious weaknesses and unpopularity of the Weimar government and suggested it would soon be overthrown.’ This could be |

|managed as a debate. |

|Possible responses: Arguments in support of the statement: both revolts were well supported, which highlighted the |

|unpopularity of the Weimar government; the Weimar government was unable to suppress either revolt single handed, suggesting|

|it was weak and might soon be overthrown. Arguments against the statement: the Kapp Putsch was suppressed by a worker |

|strike in Berlin – this suggests that the Weimar government had the support of the workers (at least in Berlin) and so was |

|not that unpopular; in spite of how powerful they were, the Weimar government was able to overcome both attempted |

|revolutions, showing that it was not that weak; soon after the revolts, the Weimar government was able bring inflation |

|under control, potentially minimising support for further revolts. Potential rebels might also have been deterred by the |

|harsh punishments given to the leaders of the revolts. |

|Conclusion |

|Activity 4: Students give the Weimar government a ‘grade’ (A–F) for its performance between 1919 and 1923. Students should |

|give a comment to explain the grade, and perhaps a suggested target for how to improve in the future. |

Worksheet 1c (pages 16-17)

Political uprisings in Germany, 1919-1920

|Use the information on pages 16 and 17 to complete the table below comparing the Spartacist Revolt and the Kapp Putsch. |

| |The Spartacist Revolt (1919) |The Kapp Putsch (1920) |

|Aims | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|People involved | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Actions taken by rebels | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Actions taken against rebels | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

|Outcome of the uprising and | | |

|treatment of the rebels | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

| | | |

Lesson plan pages 18–19

Weimar recovery, 1924–29: the Stresemann era

|Lesson objectives: |

|By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: |

|identify the problems facing Stresemann in 1923 |

|describe the actions taken by Stresemann to improve the economic situation and Germany’s international relations |

|evaluate the extent to which Stresemann’s actions solved the problems. |

|Starter |

|Activity 1: Ask students to generate a list of the problems facing the new German leader, Stresemann, in 1923. |

|Possible responses: Hyperinflation; French occupation of the Ruhr; reparations payments; dissatisfaction about the Treaty |

|of Versailles; unrest amongst extremist groups like the communists. |

|Development |

|Activity 2: Students use the information on pages 18-19 to fill in the table on Worksheet 1d, showing the actions taken by |

|Stresemann to deal with each problem and evaluating the extent to which his actions were a success. |

|Possible responses: Dawes Plan successes: annual reparations payments reduced to an affordable level; loans from the US, |

|which could be invested in German industry (consequently employment increased, trade increased and industrial output |

|doubled). Dawes Plan limitations: German economic recovery was only superficial as it depended on US loans; it was based on|

|the acceptance that Germany would – and should – continue reparations payments, which angered extremists who hated the |

|Treaty of Versailles. Young Plan successes: reduced the total reparations figure to £2 billion; gave Germany an additional |

|59 years to pay; contributed to continued industrial growth and the lowering of taxes. Young Plan limitations: annual |

|payments were still high (£50 million); the payments would now stretch until 1988, so Germany faced an extended period of |

|humiliation; it did not challenge the premise that Germany should be paying reparations. Locarno Pact successes: Allied |

|troops left the Rhineland; France promised peace; discussions were opened about Germany being able to join the League of |

|Nations (this was achieved in 1926). Locarno Pact limitations: the Locarno Pact confirmed the Versailles borders – this was|

|unpopular with those who hated the Treaty of Versailles. |

|Activity 3: Students design a poster or pamphlet that praises Stresemann’s actions in the 1920s. |

|Conclusion |

|Activity 4: Students look at Source A (page 18) and Source B (page 19). Ask students to consider the attitudes of the |

|posters towards Stresemann. |

|Possible responses: Both posters present a negative view of Stresemann and are criticising the Dawes and Young Plans. |

Worksheet 1d (pages 18-19)

Weimar recovery, 1924-29: the Stresemann era

|Use the information on pages 18-19 to complete the table below showing the actions taken by Stresemann to solve Germany’s problems in the 1920s, and to evaluate the extent to which these actions successfully |

|solved the problems. |

|Problems |Action taken by Stresemann |Successes of the action |Limitations of the action |

|Money problems | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

|Problems in international relations | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Lesson plan pages 20–21

Weimar recovery, 1924–29: the Stresemann era

|Lesson objectives: |

|By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: |

|identify the events which led to an improvement in international relations in the 1920s |

|evaluate the extent to which Weimar Germany became more stable during the 1920s. |

|Starter |

|Activity 1: Students look at Source D on page 20. Ask students to provide evidence supporting the message of the picture – |

|that Germany was reviving itself in the 1920s. |

|Possible responses: Germany was recovering economically (industrial output doubled, 1923–28); Germany was gaining |

|international prestige (Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations in 1926). |

|Development |

|Activity 2: Students use Worksheet 1e to draw a line graph showing how far Weimar Germany recovered in the period |

|1919–1929. |

|Possible responses: Events 1–4 should all indicate a failure in the recovery of Weimar Germany (perhaps 4 – hyperinflation |

|– should be the lowest point since this was very serious and affected the majority of Germans). Events 5–11 should mark an |

|improvement in Weimar’s recovery, although total recovery (the top of the graph) is never reached as none of the successes |

|were without limitations. |

|Activity 3: Students write an obituary for Stresemann following his death from a heart attack on 3 October 1929. Students |

|should include a summary of: the problems he faced; the actions he took to solve them; the extent of his success. |

|Conclusion |

|Ask students to consider why there was relatively little support for extremist left- or right-wing parties from the |

|mid-1920s in Germany. |

|Possible responses: The majority of Germans were satisfied with the increasing prosperity brought by Stresemann’s actions, |

|so felt no need to support extremist parties. |

|Stresemann’s achievement in gaining Germany membership of the League of Nations might have led some to believe he could |

|negotiate Germany’s way out of some of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles – indeed, he had been able to reduce the |

|reparations payments in the Young Plan (1929). |

Worksheet 1e (pages 20-21)

How far did Weimar Germany recover 1919-1929?

|Mark each of the events below onto the grid to create a line graph showing how far Weimar Germany recovered 1919-1929. Some years might not have an event, and some might have more than one. |

|1. The Spartacist Revolt (1919); 2. The Kapp Putsch (1920); 3. French occupation of the Ruhr (1923); 4. Hyperinflation (1923); 5. New currency introduced and new independent national bank established (1924); 6.|

|Dawes Plan (1924); 7. Locarno Pact (1925); 8. Former field marshal Paul von Hindenburg elected president (1925); 9. Germany becomes a member of the League of Nations (1926); 10. Kellogg–Briand Pact (1928) 11. |

|The extreme Nazi Party only gains 2.6% of the vote in the elections (1928); 12. Young Plan (1929). |

Lesson plan pages 22–23

Economic crisis, 1929–32: the Great Depression

|Lesson objectives: |

|By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: |

|describe the causes of the Great Depression in Germany |

|identify the effects of the Great Depression in Germany |

|explain the impact of the Great Depression on German politics. |

|Starter |

|Activity 1: Students sort the cards on Worksheet 1f into the correct chronological order to show the causes of the Great |

|Depression in Germany. The information on page 22 provides a narrative of the causes. |

|Responses: A, H, F, D, E, C, G, B is the correct order of the cards. |

|Development |

|Activity 2: Students investigate how Germany was affected by the Great Depression. For each of the characters below, |

|students should note down how they were affected by the Great Depression and whether they felt the Weimar government had |

|helped them. Students should use the information on page 23. |

|A middle-class businessman who had savings in the bank (possible responses: lost savings and possibly lost job (if business|

|shut down); unhappy with the Weimar government because it raised taxes, which meant he had less money). |

|A poor factory worker working in a factory which closed down during the Great Depression (possible responses: became |

|unemployed, possibly homeless; unhappy with the Weimar government because it lowered unemployment benefits, which made it |

|harder for him to survive). |

|Activity 3: Students look at Source D on page 23 and write an imagined conversation between two of the characters, |

|explaining: how they have been affected by the Depression; who they blame; what the red pamphlets and posters on the wall |

|of the factory mean (increased campaigning by the communists and the Nazis); what they think is the likely future of the |

|Weimar government (not likely to survive for long since, after the coalition government collapsed, the chancellor had to |

|rule by Presidential Decree as it was impossible to pass laws through the Reichstag; democracy was effectively dead). |

|Conclusion |

|Ask students to consider why it might have been easier for the extreme left- and right-wing parties to gain support after |

|the onset of the Great Depression. |

|Possible responses: Previously the majority of people had been satisfied with the Weimar government so were not interested |

|in the ideas of radical groups, but now that most people blamed Weimar for their suffering they were ready to look to more |

|extreme parties. The severe suffering of some might have meant they were more willing to listen to the extreme messages of |

|the radical political parties. As the communists gained popularity, those who hated communism might have felt compelled to |

|support the more radical right-wing parties to fight against the left (and vice versa). |

Worksheet 1f page 22

The causes of the Great Depression in Germany

-----------------------

Reichstag

Reichsrat

Membership: _________________________

Powers:

__________________________________________________

Limitations to powers:

____________________________________________________

All German people over 20 years old

Membership: _________________________

Powers:

__________________________________________________

Limitations to powers:

____________________________________________________

Chancellor

Who: _________________________

Powers:

__________________________________________________

Limitations to powers:

____________________________________________________

Who: _________________________

Powers:

__________________________________________________

Limitations to powers:

____________________________________________________

Local governments

President

B

Many German people could not afford to buy expensive products and so more factories closed down.

A

The value of share prices on Wall Street began to fall.

G

Many German workers lost their jobs.

H

People rushed to sell their shares.

F

The panic-selling of shares led to the prices of shares falling even lower.

E

German and American banks recalled loans they had made to German businesses.

D

Banks who had invested in shares suffered huge losses when the share prices dramatically fell.

C

Many German businesses and factories had to close.

RIGHT-WING VIEWS

1. The type of people that should hold power:

___________________________________________________________________________

2. The economy:

___________________________________________________________________________

3. Society:

___________________________________________________________________________

4. The German nation:

___________________________________________________________________________

LEFT-WING VIEWS

1. The type of people that should hold power:

___________________________________________________________________________

2. The economy:

___________________________________________________________________________

3. Society:

___________________________________________________________________________

4. The German nation:

___________________________________________________________________________

Date

Level of recovery

FAILURE

SUCCESS

1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929

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