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Economic weakness of the Weimar Republic
The fall of the Weimar Republic
Reasons for weimar republic failure
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The Weimar Republic was the type of government that Germany had from the years 1918-1933. This government went on just after the first world war, during the great depression, and right before the second world war. The failure of this government was caused by man factors that over time picked the government apart, forcing a new government to be chosen.
One reason that the Weimar Republic failed in Germany was the fact that the people that lived in the Republic were always frightened and scared. They were frightened and scared because this was one tactic used to try to control them. Like stated in Document 2, Article 48 “ ….with the aid of armed forces….Reich President may take the measures necessary for their restoration….”. This shows that
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An example of this is that during this time people were tired they had just gone through a world war and are going through a great depression so people at this time are tired, angry, and just really want a government that will work. This is backed up by Document 7 which says “People are already worn down by the struggle of daily life….more ready to submit”. Document 7 is showing that these people are tired and ready to quit, they just want something to work and help them. Also like the picture “Toads of Property” shows there was the high up people and the lows. You can see the high up people who are just fine and betting money playing games, where as the poor people are standing around all sad and look as if they are defeated. If people in your country are feeling defeated and don’t have faith in what is going on the government isn’t going to last long. Like shown, people overall weren’t really happy. They were tired and beaten down from what has went on already and were just defeated in …show more content…
One thing that was allowed that lead to the downfall of the Weimar Republic was the fact that they allowed guns and power if part of the Reichstag. Like shown in Document 6 “We are entering the Reichstag in order that we may arm ourselves….we shall become members….in order that the Weimar ideology should itself help us destroy it. This shows that people unhappy with the government will join it so they can arm themselves with info and weapons and destroy it. This can only happen because the Weimar Republic allows the people in the Reichstag to be able to do that. Also, Article 118 says that the Weimar Republic didn’t censor its news and that is something that almost needs to happen in a government like that. This lead to the downfall because the people heard the news of other countries and hear what was going on and then could use that as fuel in order to take down the Weimar
...ded was because of a lack of unity between the different factions wanting the same things. The left side of the spectrum was still suffering from its division in previous years where the socialist had divided into three groups; the SPD, the USPD and the KPD. The right wing also weren’t unified and had no clear plan. This meant that there was no obvious alternative to Weimar and is the reason why the public supported the legitimate government; that isn’t to say that the reputation of the republic wasn't damaged by the different attempts at seizure of power but for the time being Weimar was stable enough to stay in power.
... resulted in a “presidential government”, where the president ended up having nearly ultimate power over the government. With the power out of the parliament and into the presidency, the democratic Weimar republic was seeing the end of its existence. With the fall of Hermann Muller's government in March of 1930, and Hindenburg's subsequent appointing of Heinrich Bruning's as chancellor, the Weimar republic was now heavily focused on presidential power of parliamentary.
After World War One ended and Germany was defeated, they returned to their country with heavy losses, a 6.6 billion pound reparation cost and a feeling of being let down. The country suffered huge economical losses and the country fell into poverty and starvation. Any government ruling a country like this already would have a very hard time keeping alive. At this point the Emergency Weimar Republic constitution was adopted by three parties, the Social Democratic Party, the Catholic Center and the German Democratic Party, in early 1919 they won 76 percent of the vote and began to govern Germany. The Weimar Republic was modelled around the imperial constitution and was written in Weimar. People had to blame someone and they blamed the republic for everything, for loosing the war, to the situation they were in now. One of the main reasons the Weimar republic fell from power was the treaty of Versailles, the German people thought all the bad things that had happened to them and their country were a result of it. In addition to this there were parties from the left and right challenging them. A bi product of the treaty of Versailles was the huge economic lose in their country; this gave the German people more reason to blame and loathe the Weimar republic. The third and final main reason was Hitler's raise to power, he offered the countries people freedom from the Weimar rule and they gradually accepted it.
This was a time period is remembered as a time of political turmoil and violence and economic hardship. Many of the challenges of this era set the stage for Hitler's rise to power. After World War I, Germany was left destroyed morally and financially. With two million young men dead, at home people suffered from malnutrition due to the Allied blockade. Malnutrition was so severe that it often lead to death. There were poor working conditions in Germany, which lead to over 562 strikes during the Weimar Republic era. Germany was crumbling down as a nation. In August 1918, it was obvious that the military offensive had failed and Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff handed over control of the government to Chancellor Max Von Baden, a moderate and two social democrats to handle peace negotiations. With this new leadership came the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty brought shame to Germany. Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty is also known as the “War Guilt Clause”, forced the German Nation to take complete responsibility for starting World War I. Accepting that responsibility meant Germany had to pay back at material damages and reparation payments. These are a few of the failures of the Weimar Republic era created to make the perfect opportunity to Hitler’s rise to power. With his powerful speeches at the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was able to persuade nationalist parties into his
He did this by introducing a new currency and working with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which would lead to plans that would reduce the reparations burden. Though many have maintained that the Weimar Republic was a failure, did not take into account the miracle that the Weimar government stayed in power for fourteen years. Nevertheless, Weimar Germany during the period from 1919 through 1924 faced extreme unpopularity, attacks from both political parties, and a disastrous economy. If the Weimar Republic had been more successful, Hitler might have not been able to use these troubling factors against the Republic, to come into power.
From the very beginning of the Weimar Republic established in Germany, it was destined to fail. The new change in government was new to the people of Germany and brought about a lot of unease and discomfort within the country. Not used to the new ruling style this new republic created, Germany remained vulnerable that could have called for the chance of many different parties at the time wanting to take over Germany. Not only were they used to being controlled or dictated in the start, suddenly being free from that can bring lots of confusion. No harsh government existed and neither was there a supreme leader to order people around. In the new democracy that existed with the Weimar Republic, rules were mainly up to the people and decided upon together as a community. The people, or the whole population, were the rulers of such a place now who had to decide on how to work together to make it work. Besides waking up every day getting screamed at by a dictator of what to do and how to do a certain thin...
The Weimar Republic was in charge of Germany during this time of the payment of reparation that were inflicted on the country by the Treaty of Versaille. Germans were angered by their government's decision to accept the treaty rather than talking with the other countries. They were not allowed to negotiate with the other countries because they were not invited to talk with the Allied powers. The people turned to the rising power which they called themselves the Nazis, because they could promise something their current government could not. The leader of this group, Adolf Hitler, was able to gain control and transform the Weimar Republic into a totalitarian dictatorship. The revolution was accomplished in gradual steps by using legal and semi legal methods as well as terror socialists leadership within the state. During this process, the old conservative-nationalists elite, while partially preserved, was not cleared up to Nazi
The Weimar Republic would have continued to be a functional government far longer than achieved if not for the defeat of WWI, the economic burdens imposed by the Versailles Treaty, and the flawed Article 48 which all contributed to the down fall of Germany’s first attempt at a legitimate Democracy. This paper will argue that the societal, economical, and constitutional aspects all played a role in the hopeless Democracy Germany attempted which ultimately lead Germany into a totalitarian state that would further shake the world with the rise of the NSDAP and Adolf Hitler.
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 Weimar Republic was formed after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918 (“Weimar Republic”). This government followed an intense period of German nationalism during World War One, as the Germans sought to establish themselves as a major power. The Weimar government was unpopular from the start, being associated with the loss of the First World War, and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The ruling of the Republic was unstable at best, with fifteen different governments
One of the most important aspects to Hitler’s rise, was the German people and their relation with the Weimar Republic. The people were repeatedly let down by the poor decision making of the Weimar Republic, they felt like nothing was getting done. When inflation hit, the German people felt stuck and were looking for a change. This presented the perfect opportunity for Hitler to steal the people hearts by taking action and making change. This was the aspect to Hitler’s rise that provided him with opportunity, he still had to maintain stability. He did this by using propaganda and his charisma. If the Weimar Republic had successfully fixed the economic problems in Germany, the Rise of Hitler would not have been possible because he would not have been provided opportunity. The Weimar Republic was one of the reasons Hitler rose. This conclusion was drawn from thorough research. “The bedrock of any democracy is its constitution.” The Weimar Republic’s constitution was inclusive of both men and women. This made the German people have to share more than they were used to especially after losing World War I. After losing World War 1, the german people felt like losers after being on top for so long. They blamed the constitution for their loss because it was too inclusive. If the constitution is the core to any democracy, then the Weimar Republic was destined to fall and open opportunity for Hitler’s rise. It gave
When the Weimar Republic was set up 1918 it faced opposition from people who believed in Left Wing politics and people who believed in Right Wing Politics. Both groups made the early years of the Weimar Republic very uncomfortable and difficult, as we will see...
When the German Empire fell, it was by a step down by the previous rulers not by the masses kicking them out. This meant that the pre-war elites still existed in the country and were trying to figure out where they belonged in the newly democratic nation. These elites were against social reform, a necessary element of modernization, and voted against it as often as they could. (OR Peuker 104) However, this was not the only thing that about the setback of German modernization, it was also “the peculiarly crisis-prone nature of the process of modernization itself”. (OR Peuker 104) Modernization takes time, something that the Weimar did not have in its favor. Even per-World War 1 the German Empire had attempted to modernize the nation at an alarming pace. All that resulted from this attempt at quick modernization was another piece of “timber” to add to the growing pile of Weimar
There were a number of heavy restrictions placed on Germany by the treaty; in particular the economic effects as a result of the reparations caused huge turmoil for the German people. John Maynard Keynes states “The reparations part of the Treaty of Versailles caused the collapse of currency and inflation in Germany and with these two events the German people’s savings were wiped out.” (Keynes, 1995, p. 73) The effects were further exacerbated by the Depression of the 1930s during which there was huge “unemployment, poverty and famine.” (Mayer, 1967, p.766) Consequently, the German people became tired of their weakness and suffering and began to strive towards power. The failure of the Weimar Republic to address the Treaty of Versailles became the main cause for the problems they were experiencing. “Many Germans, especially German nationalists, went as far as referring to the acceptance of the treaty as treasonous.” (Grunberger, 1964, p.59) Thus, Hitler offered promises that the current government failed to amend which were extremely appealing to the German people, stating “The German people liked Hitler’s Four Year Plan that called for slum clearance, housing programs, land reclamation, and construction of roads many problems that had been created by the Treaty of Versailles.”
The Weimar Republic is still with us today, the legacy left behind from the Weimar Republic has shaped the world as we know it today. The Weimar Republic traditionally gets a negative and deterministic view in both popular and scholarly imaginations. Germany’s first democracy is often credited to the rise of Adolf Hitler. This paper will examine, the societal, economic, political, and constitutional factors leading to the collapse of the Weimar Republic.