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Why did weimar fail
Reasons for the collapse of the Weimar Republic
Reasons for failure of the Weimar Republic
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Collapse of the Weimar republic/ Rise of the Nazis
This essay will examine how the lack of effective opposition and the weakness of the Weimar, was a major factor in the Nazis rising to power between 1919 and 1933.
On the 28th of June 1919, a peace treaty, also known as the treaty of Versailles, was signed, ending the First World War. The treaty had a humiliating effect causing great resentment. Germany had no choice but to accept the terms of the treaty, which later had a considerable impact on the countries running. The negotiations for this treaty took six months, at the Paris peace conference. Germany was forced to accept all responsibility for causing the war, making substantial territorial concessions along with disarming, which reduced their army to 100,000 men, no tanks or U-boats and the Rhineland, which previously belonged to Germany, was to be demilitarised. They also had reperations of £6.6 billion to pay back.Germany then lost all conections with it’s overseas colonies and could never again unite with Austria. They lost a large area of teritory to Belgium, France and Poland, this was a significant loss to Germany as these areas were rich in mineral wealth. This would put a strain on Germany’s ability to re pay the allies.
A new constitution was adopted in August 1919 by the Weimar republic, and brought with it many positive aspects such as a representative parliament, where the people of Germany had a say in their political system. They had the ability to directly elect their president giving them the choice of the best person to run the country. Another advantage of the constitution was the introduction of the Bill of Rights giving them the guarantee of free speech, legal equality and the right to have minimu...
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... that they would be the only legal party left standing.
In 1934, during the night of the long knives, Hitler was able to destroy the SR and gain support from the army that further consolidated his position.
In conclusion, there were many reasons the Weimar Republic failed, firstly due to the treaty of Versailles, where the Weimar Republic was blamed for everything that happened as a result. This then caused a lack of trust and the German people began to question their government during the period of hyperinflation and their economic crisis. The Garman people found the Nazis and slowly voted them into Government. Hitler took advantage of Germany while it was vulnerable and he succeeded using clever tactics. For the people of Germany it was certain that there was no way of overcoming the events that took place, which eventually led to the collapse of the Weimar.
The main political changes that the Nazi Party or the NSDAP endured during the period of November, 1923 until January 1933 was its rise from a small extreme right party to a major political force. It is vitally important that the reasons behind this rise to power also be examined, to explain why the NSDAP was able to rise to the top. However first a perspective on the Nazi party itself is necessary to account for the changing political fortunes of the Nazi Party.
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. To begin, one of the factors that contributed to the instability of the Weimar republic was the presence of new political ideals. Marie Juchacz unintentionally highlighted that reason in her speech to the National Assembly.
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 4 years (from 1924) leading up to it to a head. This essay will
The Treaty of Versailles is a cause of World War II because of the restrictions it placed on Germany as the alleged sole aggressor of the war. The war reparation totaled $98 billion, and under Clause 231 Germany was forced to take the entire load onto her ruined economy and attempt to repay the debt starting with an initial $5 billion payment. In terms of military, Germany was limited to a 100,000 man army, with her navy stripped to the level of a coast guard, she was allowed no heavy artillery, no weapons of mass destruction and the border with France became a demilitarized zone for 15 years following the signing of the treaty on June 28 1919. Germany also lost all her territories in Africa and became a mandate of the Allied Forces, those living in mandated zones could participate in “self-determination” after the Allies taught them how to be a democracy (...
In 1922 the government declared that they could no longer pay reparations to France due to severe economic problems. The French responded to this by sending 60,000 French and Belgian troops to invade the Ruhr. They took most of Germany’s raw materials, the government called for the workers to carry out passive resistance; the workers in Germany refused to collaborate with the French. Consequently industrial production ground to a halt. Many in Germany blamed the government for the invasion of the Ruhr as it was the government who signed the treaty which meant they had to pay large reparations to France. Already the government was facing unpopularity with some Germans. After the invasion of the Ruhr, industrial production decreased dramatically so industries and factories shut down. This meant that unemployment rose. Consequently poverty in Germany rose too. The government decided to print more money to give to the people. As more and more was printed prices rose higher and higher and then more money had to be printed to meet the increasing prices. As a result money became worthless. This was the second problem the Weimar Republic faced; hyperinflation. Although the wages rose the prices always seemed to rise faster this meant that many people’s income was too low to live on. Most people suffered from the hyperinflation, and were extremely fed up with how the government had printed more money. It wasn’t just the fact that all their life savings could now only buy them a loaf of bread but it was also that it was degrading and it was humiliating: the German mark and economy had become worthless. Before Stresemann the Weimar Republic was facing unpopularity amongst most people, without Stressemann the Weimar Republic might not have seen 1924.
After the First World War Germany recognised her first ever democratic government, the Weimar republic lasted from 1918 – 1933 an astonishingly long time given its turbulent start. The November revolution saw the election of soldier and worker councils similar to that of the Russian revolution in 1917, it spread across Germany like wildfire and in turn split the country before a democracy could even be instated nevertheless on November 9th 1918 the German republic was established. From then on, the Weimar Republic was set on an unstable and insecure path and this is why it is one of Germanys most important historical periods; it was Germanys earliest form of non-imperial government and rule and its collapse in 1933 paved the way for the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. For these reasons there have been endless works published on the Weimar republic and the outpouring of literature post world war two focuses on the collapse of the Weimar republic and how the Nazi party came to power. However, to understand why the debate surrounding the Golden Era in the Weimar Republic is an interesting one and lacking in historical works, it is key to examine the historiography of the Weimar republic as a whole.
In addition, having lost the war, the humiliated Germans were forced by the Allies to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 that officially ended World War I. According to the harsh terms of the treaty, Germany had to hand over many of its richest industrial territories to the victors, and was made to pay reparations to the Allied countries it devastated during the war. Germany lost its pride, prestige, wealth, power, and the status of being one of Europe's greatest nations. (Resnick p. 15)
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.
The main reason was that people were discomposed that Germany had lost a war and most of the people blame for the defeat. On the other hand, during 1929-1933, the worldwide Great Depression, which impacted Germany, and there was no leader of Weimar could solve the economic problem.
World War I was ultimately ended in 1918 after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. Peace settlements were signed on June 28, 1918 at the Hall of Mirror in Versailles, Paris. The Treaty was an agreement among the United States, Great Britain, and France. Woodrow Wilson, George Clemenceau, and David Lloyd, who represented the "Big Three" countries, collaborated in negotiating the Treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was designed to weaken Germany and give Germany full blame for causing the war. The Treaty implemented massive reparations to Germany which would obliterate Germany's economy, notwithstanding the millions of dead allied soldiers. The settlement strictly limited the German's military. Germans were additionally forced to depart from their homes in Russia, Poland, and Alsace-Lorraine and return to Germany or Austria. Furthermore Germany had to give back any land belonging to other countries. With no alternative, Germany signed the peace settlements. The Treaty of Versailles was undoubtedly justified, Germany was positively the main instigator of the war and its excessive brutality of fighting provoked the war more particularly. Thus, making the amends to Germany was rational because of all the destruction Germany had triggered.
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.
LaVern Rippley, an author as well as a PhD German Historian, emphasizes how, "...burdensome war reparations, inflation, foreign military occupation... and heavy losses of territory doomed the republic." (Rippley) At this point in history the German people had no support and their moral somewhat would seem depleted. Not until their country's fall in World War II would the world try and help them re-establish
The instability of the Republic is revealed when a new foreign minister and chancellor are implemented as this shows that the Weimar Republic had to use reform as a means of escaping a public uprising. In addition to the social threat, the arrival of France in the Ruhr created a sense of hostility and although France did not proceed they had effectively confiscated the industrial heart of Germany. It is this instability and potential of revolt that puts the Weimar Republic under threat. To conclude, the government that was given the task of restoring Germany while paying vast reparations was always going to be overshadowed by the threat of change. The idea that political extremists posed a threat to the Weimar government is wholly true because the disjointed nature of the Reichstag allowed radical parties to emerge without threat from a unified force attempting to halt them. However, Ebert and his government relied on the weakness of these extreme groups to act as the obstacle to revolution. The weak constitution supported the rising threat as the conditions in Germany setup a mood of potential change. The established conservatives had always existed in unified Germany and their influence had become part of the embedded tradition of the country; making it
Under the democratic government, censorships were lifted and German people were free to express themselves. Cultural improvements were occurring throughout the country. There was greater production and use of literature, music, and theatre. Germany was beginning to get back on its feet after a harsh war; its relationships between the government and the people, and also with the allies were improving. Although Germany appeared to be recovering and getting prosperous again, there were many underlining problems which threatened its stability.