German 1918-1945 - Was the Weimar Republic Doomed from the Start?

What was the political impact of WW1 on Germany?

What was the political impact of WW1 on Germany?

- Stresses of the war led to a revolution between October-November 1918, which included events such as the Kiel Mutiny, where soldiers refused to follow orders. In Bavaria, workers striked on the 7th of November and they announced themselves as a separate Communist state.
- Germany was unstable. Soldiers were returning home and joining in violent demonstrations against the Kaiser, which led to his abdication in November 1918
- The Reichstag, when established, was weak

What was the economic impact of WW1 on Germany?

Germany was virtually bankrupt because:
- National income was one-third of what it was before the war
- Industrial production was two-thirds of what it was before the war
- There was a vast number of widows, orphans and disabled veterans to pay for

What was the social impact of WW1 on Germany?

- Germans were bitter because wages had decreased during the war, which meant factory owners made a lot more money
- Huge gaps in living standard between the rich and poor, which were a lot more evident

What was the war-related impact of WW1 on Germany?

The “stab-in-the-back” myth had started to spread: the belief that Germany could have won the war but the new democratic politicians (known as the November Criminals) had stabbed the German Army in the back by signing the armistice. Before the war, the Germans were proud but now they were angry.

How did the Weimar Republic come to fruition?

The leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Friedrich Ebert, became the Chancellor and immediately entered into negotiations and signed the armistice, which led to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles a couple years later.
Despite the huge tensions and problems in Germany, Ebert maintained control long enough to agree to a new constitution, however the assembly which created it met in the town of Weimar due to the political unrest and violence of Berlin.
The new constitution was agreed upon on the 31st of July and would later be nicknamed the Weimar Republic.

What was the role of the President in the Weimar Republic?

- The head of the Weimar Republic
- Elected by people every 7 years
- Played no part in day-to-day politics
- Had some important political powers (ie. chose the Chancellor)

What was the role of the Chancellor in the Weimar Republic?

- Head of the government in the Weimar Republic
- Chose all the government ministers

What was the role of the Reichstag in the Weimar Republic?

- Controlled taxation
- Directly elected by the people at least once every 4 years
- Most powerful of the both houses

What were the features of the Weimar Constitution

- Proportional Representation in the Reichstag
- Article 48
- Forward-looking features: Equal voting to all Germans, men or women as long as they were over 21. They were given freedom of speech and free worship.

What were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution?

Democratic - allowed individual freedoms for everyone. Granted the right to freedom of speech, the right to equality and the right to religion.
Proportional representation - even smaller parties had a share of the vote
Checks and balances - no one person or body had too much power.

What were the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution?

Coalition governments - it was hard to get a majority vote in the Reichstag due to proportional representation. This led to coalition governments with no clear policies being formed.
Article 48 - Gave the President quite a bit of power, Germany could be made into a dictatorship at any time
Unpopular - Parties despised the constitution and extremist parties often wanted to overthrow the government

What was proportional representation?

A system of election that the proportion of votes received by a political party would be approximately equal to the proportion of seats in the Reichstag. (Eg. if a socialist party got 5% of the votes in a election, they would have 5% of seats in the Reichstag). It was considered to be fair as there was representation for all parties.

What were the disadvantages of proportional representation?

- It allowed small extremist parties to gain a foothold in the Reichstag and have publicity
- It was extremely difficult to come to a decision and for a party to gain more than 50% of a vote. This meant that coalition governments had to be formed, which created political instability.

What was Article 48?

Article 48 stated that the President could make laws without consulting the Reichstag in times of emergency. This arguably gave the President too much power as it allowed him to discard the democratic system of government.

Why was the Weimar Republic unpopular?

- The government surrendered in the war before Germany was invaded - led to the “Stab in the back” myth that Germany was betrayed by politicians involved in the armistice (they were known as the November Criminals)
- The public resented the Treaty of Versailles, it was seen as humiliating and as a “diktat” (dictated peace)

What was the Spartacist Uprising of January 1919? (left wing threat)

The Spartacists were a Communist party led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht. They began an armed uprising in Berlin following the protests of workers after a popular police chief was sacked by Ebert. On January 6th, 100,000 workers took to the streets and began to seize key locations. Ebert responded by organising the Freikorps (right-wing ex-military soldiers) against them, which led to a particularly brutal ending, leading to the murder of Luxembourg and Liebknecht.

What was the Kapp Putsch of March 1920? (right wing threat)

Ebert had tried to disband the Freikorps due to their large numbers. In response, the 5000 Freikorps soldiers, led by Wolfgang Kapp, turned on the government and marched into Berlin. The army refused to fire on them. The government fled, they were unable to handle the uprising. The government urged the workers to refuse to cooperate with the Freikorps and go on strike. The workers were mostly left-wing and unhappy with a right-wing takeover and brought all essential services, such as transport, power and water, to a halt. Kapp realised he would not succeed and fled the country but was later imprisoned, bringing the rebellion to a halt.

What was the Ruhr Crisis of January 1923?

The Weimar Republic had argued for a long time that paying reparations would be difficult for them. They defaulted in 1922. In 1923, French and Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr, an important industrial area, and took raw materials and goods as payment. The government urged the workers there to engage in passive resistance, which led to workers striking.

How did the hyperinflation crisis happen?

The Weimar government had to keep paying the striking workers. They did this by printing more money. However this also led to money becoming worthless within Germany.

How did hyperinflation affect day to day living?

- Normal living had changed - money was carried in baskets and workers were paid twice daily to buy goods before prices rose.
- People with savings were impacted severely as their savings became worthless
- People with loans, big business and the government, saw value of debts go down, which benefitted them

How did Stresemann the hyperinflation crisis?

He ended passive resistance and paid the reparations to get the French and Belgians out of the Ruhr. Then he burned all of the old currency and introduced the Rentenmark. This ended the crisis however the personal losses (such as savings) of the public were permanent.

How did the Dawes (1924) and Young (1929) Plan help Germany recover?

The Dawes Plan (signed in 1924 between Germany and the USA) made it easier for Germany to pay reparations. The USA loaned money to Germany (800 million marks, which went into industry and businesses. By 1928, these production levels were the same as they were before the war) and decreased the amount of the reparations paid over a longer period of time. The Young Plan (signed in 1929 by the same countries) further eased reparations. The downside of this was that Germany was now reliant on the USA and if those loans were called back then Germany would be unable to pay them.

What did Stresemann do in terms of foreign policy?

- Locarno Treaty (1925): Guaranteed the borders established by the Treaty of Versailles. Was criticised by Germans because it was seen that they were giving in to the harsh terms of the ToV.
- Joined the LoN (1926) - Brought Germany back into the international sphere. Here, Stresemann tried to reverse some of the terms of the ToV to no avail. Also received criticism for “accepting” the ToV
- Young Plan (1929) - Further eased reparations, led to the removal of British, French and Belgian troops from the Rhineland.

What were the cultural developments in Germany like?

- Under the Kaiser’s rule, there was strict censorship. The Weimar constitution allowed freedom of speech and expression. The arts flourished as a result.
- New painting styles and artists such as George Grosz became more popular.
- Bauhaus style of architecture became more popular
- German cinema also flourished, actresses like Marlene Dietrich became popular.
- Night clubs and dance bands became popular.

All these cultural developments were seen as decadent and corrupt in the eyes of the right-wing. The Nazis used this to their advantage.