Weimar Republic's Overcoming of Problems by 1923
Between 1919 and 1923, the Weimar Republic of Germany was besot with
more than its fair share of problems. In particular, the Weimar
Republic had six main problems: Treaty of Versailles, Left wing
opposition -Sparticists, Right wing opposition - Kapp Putsch, Munich
Putsch, Freikorps and Political murders, Ruhr by French and
Hyperinflation. This was known as the crisis of 1919 - 1923. The three
main causes of the crisis were: The treatment of Germany by the
allies, Economic difficulties, and Political difficulties. The Weimar
Republic were able to solve some of these problems, however, a
significant number of problems remained unsolved.
By the end of 1923, the Weimar Republic were able to partly solve some
of its problems. The Treaty of Versailles was a problem in Germany
that remained partly unsolved. Germany surrendered to the Allies on 11
November 1918. In June 1919 Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles,
without a choice. The treaty had many terms including war guilt,
reparations, military restrictions and territorial losses. The Treaty
ha been very hard on Germany and the Weimar Government had been forced
to accept it. Many Germans hated and resented the loss of territory,
the reparations and the war guilt clause. It wasn't actually their
fault but the Weimar government tended to get the blame. By the end of
1923 the treaty was still partly a problem. Germany still had to pay
reparations and were still blamed for starting the war and had a bad
reputation in Germany for signing it. Opposition from the left wing
was another partly unsolved problem among the Weimar Republic. The
attempted takeover of Bavaria had been crushed. Two communist leaders
had also been killed earlier in the year. However the communists were
still active. Opposition from the right of the Kapp Putsch and Munich
Putsch remained a partly unsolved problem for the Weimar Republic.
Hitler failed in his attempts to capture Munich and march to Berlin.
However, the Nazi party did not disappear, and Hitler became
chancellor of Germany in January 1933.
The German Weimar Republic was an attempt to make Germany a more democratic state. While this was a very good idea in theory, the Weimar Republic was ineffective due to the instability that came with it. Several factors contributed to the instability of Germany’s Weimar Republic, such as the new political ideals brought forward and the government’s hunger for war.
Adolf Hitler, head of the NSDAP, became Chancellor of Germany on the 30th January 1933. Following the 'legal revolution' of the following months and President Hindenburg's death on the 2nd August 1934, Hitler made himself Führer and Reichskanzler. The Nazi revolution was complete and Germany was subject to a dictatorship of the extreme political right.
In conclusion, the Weimar Republic of Germany ended up collapsing and giving way to Nazi rule because of the lack of popular support, the lack of organization within the party, and the fact that it had to compete with other, stronger forms of government.
The Left and Right at the Birth of Weimar Germany From the general chaos and unrest that followed the Kiel Mutiny in late 1918, the centre-left emerged to lead Germany into a new era of democracy. Philipp Scheidemann, a key figure in the moderate SDP, declared a Democratic Socialist Republic from a balcony in Berlin on 9th November 1918. However, the whole of Germany was not behind him, since simultaneously, and from a different Berlin balcony, Karl Liebknecht, leader of the communist Spartacists (KPD), declared a Soviet Republic.
The harshness of the Treaty and the way in which it blamed Germany for World War I crippled Germany. Much of its territory was taken away from it, including West Prussia that went to form a new Polish Corridor to the sea. Plus the Treaty forced Germany to reduce its army, demilitarise the Rhineland and get rid of its navy. The Treaty also forced harsh reparations for the War resulting in a great deal of the German people resenting the Allies. And it was later that Hitler used the bitter memories of Versailles to gain public support for his actions.
Richard Bessel’s article stresses the political structure of Weimar Germany as the cause of its failure. Its structure was flawed in numerous ways, all of which contributed to its inevitable failure. First of all, the problems within Germany due to the First World War were massive. This caused economic, political and social problems which first had to be dealt with by the new Weimar government. The loss of the war had left Germany with huge reparations to pay, and massive destruction to repair. In order to gain the capital needed to finance efforts to rebuild, and repay the Allies, the economy had to be brought back to its prewar levels. This was not an easy task.
Many people in other lands thought that the treaty was a way of making legal the punishment on the Germans and this was in violation of Wilsonian idealism. The peacemakers should have been able to set aside hatred that was built up from the past in order to come up with a more proper and fair settlement. Instead of doing this, they placed the blame on the Germans by forcing them to pay for reparations they couldn't afford, insulting them with the accusation of guilt from the war and taking away their territory. The treaty would only intensify the hatred felt by all the parties involved in the treaty and heighten German nationalism. This was a poor beginning for democracy in Germany and for Wilson's New World.
The Treaty of Versailles was also responsible for the destabilization of the German economy. “The burdensome reparations, coupled with a general inflationary period in Europe in the 1920s, caused spiraling hyperinflation of the German Reichsmark by 1923”. Combined with the effects of the Great Depression, this period of hyperinflation undermined the stability of the German economy and caused massive unemployment. So, when political parties made promises to restore German territory and power after such a
The Weakness of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's Rise to Power The question directly relates to the idea that the political power of a country can be taken over by ambitious people in different ways. From our knowledge we know there is three ways this can be done…by take over by force, also known as a 'coup d'etat', in a more democratic and just way or by a political deal. In the 1920's and the 1930's Hitler led a right wing political party and was seen by many as a dictator. He wanted to overthrow and control the German government and he tried all three of these ways in an attempt to do so, some methods were more successful than others.
The Versailles settlement of 1919 ended the bloodiest war the world had seen. In this treaty ending World War I, Germany was forced to make economic and territorial reparations to the Triple Entente which consisted of Britain, France, Russia, and the United States of America. Several years of total war hindered the ability of Germany to pay what was demanded of them by the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was hit the hardest by the demands of this treaty during the interwar period. When answering how the Nazi party came to rule in Germany, one must look at foreign policy in respect to the Versailles Treaty during the Second Reich. Economically, due to the settlement at Versailles, Germany would be hit by massive inflation as well as a crippling depression under the Weimar Republic. This made many people distrust the newly created Weimar Republic. Socially, Germans generally blamed the government, as well as the Treaty of Versailles for the hard times that they suffered after the First World War. This social environment gave rise to the Nazi movement and many other parties that opposes the treaty and the Weimar Republic alike. Politically, instability and chaos plagued the Weimar Republic giving rise to many different political parties including the National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Thus, the rise of the Nazi party in Germany was due to economic hardship fostered by the Treaty of Versailles, a fractured political system, and social unrest during the interwar period.
Exploring the Reasons Behind Public's Discontent with the Weimar Government There were a number of reasons why the German people were unhappy with the Weimar government. One of the main reasons for this was the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The result of this was that Germany has to take the war guilt, Germany had to pay reparations of 6,600 million marks to the allies in particular France, Germany lost its colonies, it lost its air force & tanks, and its soldiers were restricted to 100,000. The Ruhr was demilitarised. Also they lost their colonies and its land was cut up such as the Polish Corridor and Alsace Lorraine.
The Treaty of Versailles, which put an end to World War I, caused a number of positive and negative outcomes in Germany. Germany was in need of a democratic government in order to meet the harsh provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Established by members from the Social Democrat Party in 1919, the Weimar Republic became the central power in Germany for the following years. The republic was found in the city of Weimar and was a replacement, so to say, for the imperial government that had previously stood as the central authority. Even though the Weimar Republic managed to lead Germany for 15 years, it experienced devastating drawbacks such as hyperinflation, lack of support from the public, and the constant efforts from different groups to overthrow the government; because of these factors, different political groups sought a resolution, such as overthrowing the government and pushing for a strong leader.
The Treaty of Versailles did not just end World War I, but it also changed the world. From it changing every countries view on Germany, to changing Germany itself. It contained many conditions, which led to the countless numbers of results. This treaty created a completely different outlook on the world.
Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles reads: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies."(1) These words fueled the Nazi Party's rise to power and ignition of a Second World War. After World War I, the Allies dissected, punished, and disarmed Germany to prevent the outbreak of another brutal war. Consequently, German lands, acquired by Nazi force, were given back to their original countries, and Germany's army was reduced to 100,000 men. In addition, Germany was responsible for paying immense retribution to all of the Allied Forces, causing German money to lose its value. The result of the Treaty of Versailles was a weakened Germany, both martially and economically. The Weimar Republic, a liberal government set up after Germany's defeat, was inefficient in handling Germany's massive problems. Germany's ill state was the curtain call for a change in the Weimar administration, and Adolf Hitler led the push for a transformation. Once in power, Hitler designed laws that redefined the responsibilities of the citizen. The citizens' duties would allow the Germany to regain her autonomy in the eyes of the world. Although the citizens worked to increase Germany's overrall welfare, the State did not attempt to improve individual well-being. The State held one responsibility. It must protect the lives of its people, so that the people can, in turn, carry out their duties for the S...
The Extent to Which the Weimar Republic Recovered after 1923 In the period after 1923, under Gustav Stresemann, Germany was able to stand back on its feet and overcome many of its difficulties. Weimar Republic was created in 1919 to govern a defeated Germany after World War One. Germany was facing many social, political and economical problems while the new constitution laid open for the seizure of power. There were many rebellions and attempted revolutions making the country very unstable. Situations were made worse by the harsh terms of Treaty of Versailles, causing hyperinflation and a huge amount of national debt.