Weimar Woes

Important definitions

  • Socialism - political belief system which focuses on equality and wants wealth to be shared and is against capitalism

  • Conservatism - political belief system which favours tradition

  • Liberalism - political belief system which places people’s freedom and rights above all else

  • Nationalism - political belief system based on placing one’s country and culture above the rights of individuals and groups

  • Constitution - set of rules which governs the relationship between a government and its people

  • Totalitarian - a system in which the state/government has absolute power and control over every aspect of people’s lives

Franco-Prussian War Background

  • Germany wasn’t a country until 1871, just a collection of small states

  • The largest of these states was militaristic Prussia

  • In 1870, France declared war on Germany and the German army (dominated by the Prussians) won

  • Outcomes

    • France had to pay Germany reparations of 5 billions francs

    • Many in France desired revenge, with some even taking of another war

    • France experienced revolution and unrest

    • Balance of power shifted on the continent - Germany became the dominant power

    • French territory of Alsace Lorraine was taken by Germany

    • German faith in militarism remained strong

Kaiser Wilhelm ll

  • Germany was an autocracy led by the Kaiser

  • Germany built an overseas empire

Germany and the First World War

  • 28 June 1914 - Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated by Serbian Terrorist

  • Key battles on the western front

    • August 1914 - Battle of the Frontiers, German army captures Belgium and pushes into France

    • September 1914 - Battle of Marne

    • April-May 1915 - Second Battle of Ypres

    • February-December 1916 - Battle of Verdun

    • July-November 1916 - Battle of the Somme

    • July-November 1917 - Third Battle of Ypres

    • Early 1918 - German Offensives

    • August-November 1918 - 100 Days Offensive

    • 11th November 1918 - Armistice

Impact of WWI on Germany

  • Over one millions soldiers dead - physical

  • Germany was ruled as a dictatorship by Kaiser and Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff - political

  • 400,000 died of Spanish Flu which hit Germany in summer 1918 - physical

  • British navy blockaded Germany, stopping them from importing food - physical

  • By winter 1918, potatoes ran out and only turnips left - physical

  • Soldiers and workers started to set up communist soviet councils across Germany - political

  • Opposition leaders were imprisoned - political

  • Civilians were starving due to famine - physical

  • the hopes of the pre-war years had been dashed and Germans looked for someone to blame - psychological

  • National income was about one third of what it had been in 1913 - economic

  • Restrictions were placed on the earnings of German workers - economic/social

  • 600,000 widows and 2 million children without fathers - social

German Revolution 1918-1919

  • Social Democrats

    • Germany was in political turmoil

    • 9th November, von Baden (Chancellor) announced abdication of Kaiser (without his being aware)

    • Kaiser then fled to Holland and Baden resigned his post and declared that Ebert, leader of the SPD was now chancellor

    • SPD was the largest political party

    • That day, two new republics were proclaimed, one by Scheidemann and one by Karl Liebknecht, the leader of the revolutionary socialist Spartacists

    • Power struggle between the moderate SPD and the radical communist Spartacists

    • Armistice was signed by Ebert and members of the SPD - they were later called the November Criminals as they stabbed Germany in the back

    • 19th January 1919 - first free elections held and SPD won 38% of the vote and formed a coalition government with the Centre and Democratic Parties

    • By August 1919 the government had completed the drafting of the Weimar Constitution and the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles neither of which proved popular with the German people

    • Germany was now a democracy

Treaty of Versailles Terms

  • Germany not allowed to join the League of Nations

  • Rhineland demilitarised

  • Saar Basin, rich in coalfield, given to France for 15 years

  • Alsace-Lorraine returned to France

  • Germany forbidden to unite with Austria

  • Lands in eastern Germany e.g. Posen and Polish corridor given to Poland

  • Lost all of its overseas colonies

  • Danzig, important port, made a free city

  • Germany army restricted to 100,000 with no conscription

  • Germany navy - six battleships, 15,000 sailors and no submarines

  • Germany was not allowed an air force

  • Had to accept the War Guilt Clause

  • Would have to pay reparations of £6.6. billion

  • 16% of Germany’s coal and 48% of its iron industry were lost

Reactions to the Treaty

  • Unfair

    • Germany not represented at Paris Peace Conference

    • Treaty of Versailles was a diktat

    • Germany not allowed to join League of Nations

    • Germany under impression that Woodrow’s 14 points would mean that the treaty would be more lenient

  • Blame

    • War guilt clause - Article 231

    • Found it humiliating

  • Reparations

    • Economy was already weak

    • Reparations were a huge burden and Germany was unable to pay them after the first instalment

  • Armed forces

    • Huge blow to militaristic Germany’s pride

    • Unable to defend itself

    • Significant unemployment

    • None of Allies forced to disarm

  • Territory

    • Blow to their pride

    • Damaged economy

    • German speakers felt displaced angering nationalists

Creation of the Weimar Republic timeline

  • October-November 1918 - Kiel mutiny and German Revolution

  • 9 November 1918 - Kaiser abdicates and Ebert becomes Chancellor and German Republic formed

  • 11 November 1918 - Armistice signed and war ends

  • 4-15 January 1919 - Spartacist uprising led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. Freikorps and the German Army are used to stop the uprising

  • 19 January 1919 - General election, Ebert becomes president

  • April 1919 - Communist uprising in Bavaria

  • 28 June 1919 - Treaty of Versailles signed

  • 11 August 1919 - Ebert signs in the new Weimar Constitution

Weimar Constitution

  • Strengths

    • All Germans - men and women - had equal rights, including the right to vote which was a genuine democracy

    • Proportional representation gave all parties a voice, so was much fairer - 28 parties were represented in the Reichstag in the 1920s

    • Each state had its own traditions and it was right that they should keep some control over their own affairs

    • Unlike the Kaiser, the Chancellor was accountable to the Reichstag which had been elected by the people

    • Bill of Rights guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion and equality under the law

    • Article 48 allowed the President to make important decisions quickly, useful in a crisis

    • The President was elected by the people which was fairer than a Kaiser who inherited the post

  • Weaknesses

    • Article 48 allowed president to act without parliament in an emergency however it did not define what an emergency actually was, it was greatly overused weakening confidence in democracy

    • PR made it difficult for one party to gain a majority making it difficult to pass laws or respond to emergencies

    • PR led to lots of coalition governments which were not very stable

The democratic system of the Weimar constitution

  • President

    • Elected every seven years

    • Supreme Commander of the German army

    • Appointed and dismissed Chancellor and judges

    • Article 48 in emergencies to bypass the Reichstag

  • Chancellor and government

    • Appointed government ministers

    • Proposed new laws

    • Needed majority of Reichstag to pass laws

  • Reichstag

    • Elected by German people

    • Term of four years

    • Made laws and controlled budget

  • German people

    • All men and women over 20 had the vote

    • They elected the president every seven years

    • Elected the members of the Reichstag and local government using proportional representation

Left wing and Right wing

  • Left wing

    • Equality

    • Government helps control economy to make it more fair e.g. higher taxation

    • State should be quite big

    • Global outlook

  • Right wing

    • Stability

    • Less government intervention e.g. lower taxation

    • State should be quite small

    • Focus on nation and its strength

Main political parties in Weimar Germany

  • Communist party (KPD) - wanted Bolshevik style government like in Russia. Support came from working class

  • Social Democrat Party (SPD) - largest party, led by Ebert. Wanted to improve welfare system and introduce reforms to help poorer Germans. Support came from workers

  • German People’s Party (DVP) - liberal party supporting businesses and middle classes

  • Centre Party - catholic conservative opposing radical changes

  • German National People’s Party (DNVP) - right wing nationalist party, wanted to see the restoration of the monarchy in Germany

  • National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP) or Nazi Party - far right nationalist and antisemitic party wanting to overturn the Treaty of Versailles and reclaim lost territory

Political challenges to Weimar Republic

  • Spartacist Uprising

  • Red Rising in the Ruhr

  • Kapp Putsch

  • Munich Putsch

Spartacist Uprising

  • Left wing, communist rebellion which happened before the Weimar constitution was signed

  • January 1919 - Spartacists tried to set up a communist style government like Bolshevik Russia

  • Led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

  • They seized newspaper offices in Berlin, barricaded streets, organised a general strike and prepared for armed fighting

  • Ebert made a deal with the Freikorps (right-wing nationalist ex-soldiers) and the German army to stop the uprising

  • 170 dead, including the leaders who were brutally murdered

  • The uprising showed the instability and fragility of the Weimar government as it was forced to rely on the Freikorps

  • Led to further communist uprisings in Bavaria 1919 and the Ruhr 1920

Red rising in the Ruhr, 1920

  • Who - groups of workers led by members of the communist party

  • Why - many German workers angry about bad pay and bad working conditions

  • What - communist ‘red army’ of 50,000 workers occupied the Ruhr region of Germany and took control of its raw materials

  • Success - did not have a clear plan and the unrest never seriously threatened the Weimar’s control

Kapp Putsch, 1920

  • Who - Freikorps led by Wolfgang Kapp

  • Why - government ordered that Freikorps brigades be disbanded as there was little need for them now as left wing groups had been crushed

  • What - around 12,000 Freikorps marched to Berlin and government forced to flee

  • Success - failed to win much support as Berlin workers went on strike in protest at the putsch and Kapp fled from Berlin

Munich Putsch, 1923

  • Who - Nazi Party and General Ludendorff and 55,000 members and the SA

  • Why - Hitler and his party believed that democracy only led to weak government

  • What - Nazis planned to take over government and set up Ludendorff as leader. Started in Munich where Hitler and 600 SA members burst into a meeting and forced the leader of Bavaria (von Kahr) to support their plan

  • Success - not properly planned and von Kahr left the meeting and withdrew his support. German government responded quickly and ordered army to crush the revolt. Nazis and army fought and 14 Nazis killed. Leader of putsch arrested and Hitler was sent to prison for 5 years but released after 9 months

Freikorps

  • Who were the Freikorps

    • Paramilitary groups formed in Germany in December 1918 after WWI

    • Composed mostly of former soldiers who struggled to adjust to civilian life

    • Around 250,000 members total, spread across various independent groups

    • Not tied to a single political party, but generally right-wing and anti-communist

  • Reasons for joining

    • Some veterans missed the structure and violence of military life

    • Others were angry over Germany’s defeat in WWI and blamed the new democratic Weimar politicians

    • Many held extremist views:

      • Rejected democracy and capitalism

      • Strongly anti-Marxist

      • Often anti-Semitic, blaming Jews for Germany's defeat

  • Helping the Weimar Government

    • Used by the government (especially by Defence Minister Gustav Noske) to suppress uprisings

    • Key role in:

      • Crushing the Spartacist Revolt in Berlin (Jan 1919)

      • Assassinating leftist leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

      • Defeating the short-lived Bavarian Soviet Republic

    • Functioned as a substitute army due to Treaty of Versailles restrictions

  • Other Actions

    • Carried out violent attacks on socialists and workers' movements

    • Sabotaged French occupation in the Ruhr (1923)

    • Their violence caused fear and resentment, even from those they were helping

  • Against the Weimar Government

    • Though they helped the government, their loyalty lay with the army, not democracy

    • Disbanded in 1920 by the government

    • In response, some took part in the Kapp Putsch (March 1920), an attempted right-wing coup

      • The regular army refused to stop the coup

      • Only failed due to a workers' general strike

  • Political Violence and Legacy

    • Involved in high-profile political assassinations, including Foreign Minister Walter Rathenau (1922)

    • After disbandment, many members joined extremist groups:

      • Ernst Röhm (later leader of the SA)

      • Rudolf Hess (became Hitler’s deputy)

      • Rudolf Höss (later commandant of Auschwitz)

Economic Problems Germany 1918-1923

  • Bankruptcy

    • After WWI, the new Weimar Republic inherited a devastated economy

    • Germany had spent all its financial reserves on the war

    • The Treaty of Versailles made matters worse by:

      • Forcing Germany to pay reparations (compensation for war damages)

      • Taking away wealth-earning areas (like coalfields in Silesia)

    • By 1923, Germany could no longer afford reparations or basic economic needs

    • The country was bankrupt

  • French and Belgian Occupation of the Ruhr 1923

    • In November 1922, Germany missed a reparations payment       

    • France and Belgium did not believe Germany’s claim that it couldn’t pay

    • In January 1923, they sent troops to occupy the Ruhr, Germany’s industrial heartland

    • Their aim: confiscate raw materials, coal, steel, and goods as reparations

    • The German government responded with “passive resistance”:

      • Ruhr workers refused to work or co-operate with the occupying forces

      • Production stopped, but workers were still paid by the government

    • With no goods being produced and wages to pay, the government printed more money

    • This led directly to hyperinflation

  • Hyperinflation

    • Already existing inflation worsened rapidly in 1923

    • Money printing caused a dramatic fall in the value of the mark

    • The more money printed, the less it was worth; prices rose constantly

  • Consequences of hyperinflation

    • The value of money collapsed:    

      • In 1919, £1 = 20 marks

      • By November 1923, £1 = 20 billion marks

    • A loaf of bread:

      • Cost 250 marks in Jan 1923

      • Rose to 200,000 million marks by Nov 1923

    • People carried wheelbarrows of cash to shop

    • Foreign businesses refused to accept the mark

    • Workers were paid twice a day, but wages lost value within hours

    • Pensions, savings, and bank accounts were wiped out

    • Middle class suffered greatly — wages couldn’t keep up with inflation

  • Social and Political Effects

    • Public trust in the Weimar Government declined

    • People blamed the government for the crisis

    • Hyperinflation weakened support for democratic leadership

  • Rebellions and Uprisings 1923

    • The severe economic hardship led to political instability and violence:

      • Reichswehr rebellion – a nationalist uprising   

      • Communist revolts in Saxony and Thuringia

      • Separatist movement in the Rhineland

      • Munich Putsch (Nov 1923) – the Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, attempted a coup but failed