Germany faced difficult times in the aftermath of the First World War.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [4] Wages were paid daily.
2. [4] Those on fixed incomes or salaries were hardest hit.
3. [4] Those with savings lost everything.
4. [4] Pensions for the elderly lost their value.
5. [4] Businesses went bankrupt.
6. [4] Standards of living fell as many could not eat properly.
7. [4] Those who borrowed money found they could pay it back quickly.
8. [4] Money had no value and it was difficult to purchase necessities.
9. [4] Many people were hungry.
10. [6] Stresemann's economic reforms helped Germany to recover from hyperinflation. He introduced a temporary currency, the Rentenmark, to replace the worthless currency used during hyperinflation. He replaced this, in 1924, with the Reichsmark. Stresemann negotiated a US loan of 800 million gold marks, through the Dawes Plan, to kick-start the German economy.
11. [2-3] Stresemann introduced a temporary currency called the Rentenmark.
12. [2-3] Passive resistance was ended.
13. [2-3] The French left the Ruhr.
14. [2-3] Germany accepted that reparations had to be paid.
15. [2-3] The Dawes Plan was agreed with the US in 1924.
16. [2-3] The Reichsmark was introduced in 1924.
17. [1] Hyperinflation was when money lost its value.
18. [10] Right-wing opposition was a more serious threat. Ludendorff supported the Kapp Putsch and the Munich Putsch, and this seemed to suggest that right-wing threats attracted more prominent supporters who had a lot of influence on the public.
19. [4-6] The Spartacists were a left-wing threat to the Weimar Republic. They staged an attempted rebellion against Ebert's government in Berlin in 1919, succeeded in taking over the headquarters of the government's newspaper and the telegraph bureau, and organised a general strike. Although they were unsuccessful, the Spartacists showed how vulnerable the new Weimar government was.
20. [4-6] The Kapp Putsch demonstrated the threat from right-wing opponents. In March 1920, a group of Freikorps led by Dr Kapp tried to take power in Berlin. The Weimar government had no option but to flee Berlin, and Kapp declared himself as the head of a new national government. The army refused to act against Kapp. The Weimar Republic had to acknowledge that they faced real threats from right-wing extremists.
21. [2-3] The Spartacists posed a threat in 1919.
22. [2-3] In 1920 there was communist agitation in the Ruhr.
23. [2-3] In 1921 the KPD supported an uprising in Merseburg.
24. [2-3] Right-wing opponents were a threat with the Kapp Putsch.
25. [2-3] A right-wing terror group assassinated Rathenau.
26. [2-3] Hitler led an attempted rebellion in Munich.
27. [1] Rosa Luxemburg was one of the leaders of the Spartacists.