Weimar Republic Dbq

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The Weimer Republic, is the democratic government established in Germany in 1918 that ruled for fifteen years after the collapse of the German empire after the First World War.The republic consisted of moderates from the Social Democratic Party as well as their liberal allies, which included the German Democratic Party, and the Catholic Center Party. The Weimer Republic sought political democracy, which they believed was attainable by the elimination of war, revolutionary terror, and capitalism. Despite their clear goal, the Weimer Republic faced backlash by the radicals of society, which included communists, National Socialists, and the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler. THESIS: The Weimer Republic’s instability in the period of 1918-1933 is …show more content…

In Document 3, “The Situation in Germany” published in 1920, communist party member of the Reichstag, Clara Zetkin, talks about how the Weimer regime is only the terror of the bourgeois middle class hiding under the mask of democracy. Zetkin states how the republic is not giving power to the people, but instead becoming a dictatorship of the middle class. This document discusses how the republic is not actually making any change but instead expressing an anti-war attitude in order to disarm the revolutionaries who oppose them. However, the document holds a bias as Clara Zetkin is a communist Party member of the Reichstag, who is the main opponent of the republic. Despite this, Zetkin remains a reliable …show more content…

He talks about how the republic is still a work in progress, as it is not yet a democracy governed only by mass consciousness. He discusses how the republic is still in the process of brainstorming ideas and making changes and in the meantime is merely overseeing Germany, rather than leading. Carl von Ossietzky is holds no bias as he is a journalist free to choose either side. This makes him a great source because even though he attempts to defend the republic, he addresses all the issues and urges people to understand that the republic is still developing. By addressing the issues of the republic and stating that the republic is still lacking in regard to ideas, he emphasizes how the republic is still only offering an illusion of a democratic government and not making any immediate changes, which is why it is facing opposition from those that wish for more radical change. In Document 7, National Socialist Party member of the Reichsag, Joseph Goebbels gives a speech to Nazi Party members in 1928, in which he urges them to fight back against the republic. Goebbels attempts to exploit the Weimer ideology, which promises democracy, in order to rally people to fight against the republic. He believes that the republic is weak, which is why it will be easy to destroy with popular support. Document 8, a novel published in 1930 by writer and former

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