The Weimar Republic: A New Era Of Democracy

The signing of the Versailles Treaty after the closing of World War I brought about a new era of democracy. Included in that new era was Germany’s Weimar Republic. This new republic was set up and regulated by the Allies, but was controlled by the German government. There are five principles that invoke a successful democracy: the average citizen has to be an educated, active member of society, there has to be a favorable economy, a strong civil society, and a social consensus among the general population. If one out of the five points fails, or is not put into effect, then the whole democracy collapses. One point, a favorable economy, was not active in Weimar Germany due to the extremely large wealth gap between the rich and poor. However,

The Versailles Treaty brought about strict regulations into the German government. These regulations halted any potential growth that the Weimar Republic had to offer. One such example of the Versailles Treaty’s strict regulations is found in article 428 which states that the Allies will occupy the Rhineland for a minimum of 15 years in order to insure a payment from Germany. This was a big blow to the German industry because over 40 percent of the steel industry was based in the Rhineland. There were also other major industries, owned by the German government, that had been taken over to. In addition, Articles , 119, 87, 51, 160, all took the land and the military away from Germany. On top of all that, Article 231 and 232 forced the payment of war reparations and the admittance of war guilt from Germany. In conclusion, the Versailles Treaty was a huge blow to the Weimar Republic. It allowed for no industrial growth, heavy regulation of military, and war reparations. All three of these factors directly contributed to the downfall of the Weimar economy. The downfall of the economy, however, led to major internal issues such as hyperinflation and