Weimar Government's Survival of the Crisis of 1918- 1923

Weimar Government's Survival of the Crisis of 1918- 1923

When the Weimar Government came into power it faced many problems and

threats from both the left and right. As they signed the treaty of

Versailles, many Germans were hostile to the government because they

couldn’t believe that Germany had lost the war.

One reason why the Government survived was because of the actions of

Stresemann. As a result of the Treaty, there were major economic

problems, which the government had to fix. The Government had to pay

reparations which were solved when Stresemann worked for the Young

Plan which meant Germany could pay it back easily. Stresemann also

overcame hyperinflation when he introduced a new currency called the

Retenmark which made the German economy more stable. The Weimar

survived these crises’s because Stresemann improved the economy which

meant that there was less support for opposition as people were

experiencing a “boom” and were conditions for them improved.

Another reason why the loyalty of the army. It was the army’s duty to

protect the state and did so when opposition attempted to rise. The

army with help from the patriotic Freikorps suppressed the Spartacist

Uprising and killed its’ leaders. Also the army came to the

Governments’ saviour again during the Munich Putsch. The army

suppressed the opposition from the right and prevented them from

taking over the Munich government. The Weimar survived this because of

the army support and suppressing of opposition. If the Weimar didn’t

have their support then they would have been overthrown by either the

left or right.

Also if the government survived because of the problems the left and

right had within themselves. The KPD who was a major left party wasn’t

involved in the organising of the general strike that prevented the

Kapp Putsch. As a result in Germany’s economy improving and KPD lack

of taking control its membership dropped to 180, 000. The right also

had problems. It had lots of small parties and were frequently split

when trying to agree on things.