1. was the Weimar republic doomed from the start?

when was the Spartacist uprising?

January 1919

who led the Spartacist uprising?

Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

what was the objective of the Spartacist uprising?

• Overthrow Ebert’s moderate Weimar government based on parliamentary democracy

• Establishment of a Communist style government

• No national parliament

Instability with assassinations

• 1919- 1922, 376 political murders, most victims were left- wing

• Judges were more sympathetic to right-wing, sometimes undermining the Weimar Republic

• No right-wing murderers were convicted, but there were 10 left-wing assassins convicted and executed

• 1921- Matthias Erzeberger- signed Armistice agreement

• 1922- Walter Rathenau- Foreign minister

who were the Spartacists?

an extreme left wing revolutionary group, believing in Communism and wished to overthrow the Weimar government

methods of Spartacist uprising

• Formed a Revolutionary committee

• Seizure of some government newspaper offices in Berlin

• Organisation of a general strike

• Armed street fighting against opponents

• Setting up barricades in the streets of Berlin

Government response to Spartacist uprising

• Force by the army and Freikorps who seize Spartacist headquarters and crushed the uprising

• Liebknecht and Luxemburg murdered

Reasons for Spartacist uprising failure

• Spartacists divided as to which tactic should be used- delay or immediate violent seizure of power

• Leaders were murdered

• The loyalty of the army and ruthless methods of the Freikorps ordered by President Ebert

significance of Spartacist uprising

• Showed weakness of new government- President Ebert had to rely of services of an independent group (Freikorps) over which it had little control

• Led to many other Commmunist rebellions (e.g. Bavaria in April 1919 and the Ruhr in March 1920) which were also crushed by the Freikorps

• Communism kept significant influence in German politics throughout 1920s and early 1930s

who were the Freikorps?

• Group of demobilised soldiers with strong right wing, Anti-Communist views and taste for violence

• 4,000 people in January 1919

what was the November revolution of 1918?

• Allies made it a condition of peace that the Kaiser abdicate

• Navy mutinied at Kiel and refused to obey their commanders

• Soldiers deserted the army and joined the protests

• The Social Democrats (the largest party in the Reichstag) sent an ultimatum to the Kaiser to give up power or face revolution

• When no reply came, the Social Democrats declared a new Republic

• Kaiser fled into exile in Holland

• The new Weimar Republic government signed the Armistice ceasefire agreement with the Allies

what problems did Germany face at the end of the First World War?-

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• INSTABILITY

• Extremist groups wanted to overthrow the government

• Those with right wing political views wanted to see the Kaiser return

• Left wing wanted a communist (Bolshevik) government

• FOOD SHORTAGES

• Serious food shortages and famine after years of naval blockade

• 750,000 people died of hunger and disease during the few years after the war

• PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS

• Germans suffered- many were angry and bitter

• Looked for someone to blame for their situation and for their defeat during the war

• DEFEAT AND THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

• Many Germans felt politicians betrayed the army by signing the Armistice

• Thought the Treaty was humiliating and unfair

• The new government associated itself with a very unpopular peace agreement by signing it

• Germany lost land (Alsace and Lorraine), people (over 1.7 million died) and resources (agricultural) required to recover from the war

• ECONOMIC IMPACT

• Huge war debt (£6.6 billion)

• High unemployment particularly amongst returning soldiers

how did the Treaty of Versailles impact Germany?

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• Economically

• Politically

• Socially

• Militarily

• Territorially

what were the economic impacts of the Treaty of Versailles?

• Germany had to pay reparations totalling £6.6 billion

• Unemployment was high and there were food shortages

• 1918 – milk production down to 50% and butter down to 60% of pre-war levels

• Reparations weakened the economy- led to economic crisis in 1923

• Germany lost 10% of its industry, 13% of its land, and 15% of its agriculture.

• These losses reduced Germany’s ability to recover from the war and pay reparations

• National income was 1/3 of 1913 levels

• 600,000 war widows and 2 million children without fathers; by 1925 the state was spending 1/3 of its budget on war pensions

what was the political effect of the Treaty of Versailles?

• By signing the TOV, President Ebert and SPD associated with a unpopular and humiliating treaty

• Some Germans thought the war had not been lost on the battlefield. They believed the army had been “stabbed in the back” (dolchstoss) by politicians a who had signed the Armistice

• Some political opponents referred to SPD as “November Criminals”, blaming them for losing the war and the humiliation

• ‘War Guilt’ was extremely unpopular

• Germany was barred from joining the League of Nations this made the LON seem like a victors club as France, GB, Italy and Japan were permanent members

what were the social effects of the Treaty of Versailles?

• The war deepened divisions in German society

• Huge gaps between rich and poor

• 1.5 million de-mobilised soldiers returned to Germany disillusioned- dejected

• Many workers were bitter at the wartime restrictions placed on their earnings whilst others made huge profits

what were the military effects of the Treaty of Versailles?

• Army limited to 100,000- resented by army

• Discharged soldiers joined Freikorps as a way of continuing military life

• Conscription banned

• Germany was not allowed armoured vehicles, submarines or aircraft

• The navy was allowed only 6 battleships of 33,000 tonnes or less

what were the territorial effects of the Treaty of Versailles?

• The Rhineland became a de-militarised zone

• The Saarland was to be run by the LON- plebiscite after 15 years would be held to see if inhabitants wished to return to Germany

• Alsace and Lorraine returned to France

• Eupen and Malmedy ceded to Belgium; coal rich

• Anschluss- union between Germany and Austria was banned

how did the Kapp Putsch start?

• The discharged soldiers who joined the Freikorps were counted as part of the 100,000 TOV limit by the Allies

• When the Weimar government tried to implement an Allied request that they be disbanded, there was the Kapp Putsch revolt

events of the Kapp Putsch

• The Freikorps were established by President Ebert as a security force to support the police in maintaining order

• Ebert tried to disband some Freikorps units

• In 1920, the Freikorps attempted to seize power in Berlin

• The army refused to intervene, but did not actively support the Freikorps

• Ebert appealed to left wing groups to strike

• People across Berlin stopped working and refused to cooperate with the Freikorps

• Kapp fled into exile

• Many leading Freikorps leaders escaped unpunished

who led the Freikorps in the Kapp Putsch?

Dr Wolfgang Kapp

what was the Ruhr crisis?

• 1922- the government failed to pay its second instalment of reparations

• Germany was burdened with war debts and deprived of the means to generate wealth

• The French thought the Germans were simply avoiding treaty obligations

• Jan 1923- occupied Ruhr with Belgium

• The intention was to seize coal to the value of money owed but this backfired and led to a financial and economic crisis

results of the Ruhr crisis

• German government authorised passive resistance to the French

• German population of the Ruhr refused to work in mines or accept orders from occupiers

• French expelled 100,000 Germans from the Ruhr amid violence and shooting

• The Ruhr was one of the most wealth generating areas in Germany so the revenue of the government fell

• Expelled Germans had to be rehoused

how was the Ruhr crisis ‘solved’?

• In order to bridge the gap between income and expenditure, the government decided to print more money

• Led to hyperinflation crisis of 1923

• Currency collapsed and many resorted to bartering- exchanging goods

when was the Ruhr crisis?

1923

what was the hyperinflation crisis?

• Rapid rise in prices

• German currency became worthless

• Bread went from 250 marks in January to 200,000 million marks in November

when was the hyperinflation crisis?

1923

winners and losers of hyperinflation crisis

• WINNERS

• Owners of goods and properties- landowners

• Debtors

• LOSERS

• The middle class was particularly badly hit by hyperinflation as they lost their savings

• They blamed the government for their misfortune and started to lose faith in the Weimar Republic

• Creditors- those who were owed money

• Those paid at long intervals

• Pensioners, those with fixed incomes