Weimar Republic, Collapse & Rise of the Nazi State

Final Months of WW I and Immediate Collapse of Imperial Germany

  • 100\;\text{Days Offensive} (late 1918) broke the previously static Western Front; Allied advance showed German High Command that a march on Berlin was now possible.
  • German Navy: built to rival Britain, fought only once (Battle of Jutland, 1916 – tactical stalemate).
    • Early \text{Nov}\;1918 admirals planned a "suicide sortie" to preserve honor.
    • Sailors’ mutiny at Kiel spread across northern ports ➜ nationwide revolt.

Abdication & Birth of the Weimar Republic

  • 09\;\text{Nov}\;1918:
    • Kaiser Wilhelm II forced to abdicate (Allies demanded it for an armistice).
    • Crown Prince also renounced claim.
  • Power vacuum in Berlin; socialist deputy Philipp Scheidemann unilaterally proclaimed a German Republic from the Kaiser’s palace balcony.
  • Constitution drafted in the peaceful city of Weimar ⇒ historical label “Weimar Republic.”
  • Progressive features: universal suffrage for men & women; parliamentary democracy with president & chancellor.

Versailles Treaty & “Stab-in-the-Back” Myth

  • Weimar leaders had to sign peace; Allies threatened occupation if they refused.
  • Treaty’s territorial, military, and reparations clauses blamed on republicans, not the generals or monarchy.
  • Propaganda map/pamphlets showed red-shaded lost territories, feeding rage.
  • Myth: Germany was "unvanquished"; defeat blamed on civilian politicians, leftists, Jews.

Early Threats to the Republic

Spartacist (Far-Left) Rising, Jan\;1919

  • Led by Rosa Luxemburg & Karl Liebknecht; modeled on Bolshevik seizure in Petrograd.
  • President Friedrich Ebert cut a “devil’s bargain” with Gen. Gröner: Army crushes revolt ⇔ politicians leave Army autonomous (anti-democratic officers remain).

Kapp Putsch, \text{Mar}\;1920 (Far-Right)

  • Wolfgang Kapp + Freikorps tried to seize Berlin.
  • Army remained neutral; workers’ general strike brought putsch down.
  • Success of strike bred overconfidence on left; would fail against Nazis in 1933.

Reparations, Ruhr Crisis & Hyperinflation

  • Weimar fell slightly behind on deliveries (e.g.
    telephone poles) ⇒ France & Belgium occupied the Ruhr (1923).
  • Govt. ordered passive resistance; paid idle workers by printing money.
  • Result: hyper-inflation 1923:
    • Marks lost value hourly; wages paid twice a day; middle-class savings wiped out.
    • Images: woman burning currency for heat, children stacking worthless notes.
  • Middle class – essential to democracy – radicalized by ruin.

Dawes Plan & “Golden Years” 1924\text{–}1929

  • US banker Charles Dawes: staggered, smaller reparations; foreign loans stabilised currency ⇒ Nobel Peace Prize.
  • Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann (DVP):
    • Locarno Treaties (1925): Germany accepted western borders, permanent loss of Alsace-Lorraine; gained League of Nations entry (1926).
    • Refused to recognise Polish Corridor loss.
  • Cultural bloom:
    • Bauhaus (founded 1919; moved to Dessau 1925): flat roofs, glass curtain walls, “form follows function,” “less is more.”
    • Film innovations would later migrate to Hollywood.

Great Depression (from Oct\;1929)

  • Wall St. crash: over-valued stocks + lack of trading curbs.
  • US bank failures 🡒 recall of loans to Europe ⇒ collapse of Austrian Credit-Anstalt; domino through Europe.
  • Orthodoxy: tighten credit, cut budgets, raise tariffs (Smoot-Hawley, 1930) ⇒ global trade plunged.
  • British economist John Maynard Keynes argued for deficit spending (government spender of last resort) — influence felt only post-WW II.

Hitler’s Background & Early Nazi Movement

  • Born 1889, Linz (A-H Empire); failed art-school applicant in Vienna; modest talent (painting shown).
  • Fought WW I; won Iron Cross; gassed 1918; learned of armistice in hospital – deep resentment.
  • Joined small German Workers’ Party (DAP) in Munich 1919; pushed founder Anton Drexler aside.
  • Full name became National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) – misleading mix of nationalism & alleged socialism.
  • Modeled SA (Sturmabteilung, brown-shirts) on Mussolini’s black-shirts.

Beer Hall Putsch (Munich) Nov\;8\text{–}9\;1923

  • Aim: seize Bavarian govt then march on Berlin; collapsed within 24 h; 16 Nazis & 4 policemen killed.
  • Trial made Hitler a national figure; lenient judge sentenced him to 5 years, served \approx1.
  • In Landsberg prison wrote Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”): autobiography, ideology, virulent antisemitism; framed defeat as betrayal.
  • Lesson learned: “Use constitutional means to destroy constitution.”

Electoral Breakthroughs During Depression

  • Reichstag election 14\;Sep\;1930:
    • Nazis 12→107 seats ( 18.3\% ).
    • Communists 54→77 seats ( 13.1\% ).
  • July 31 1932:
    • Nazis 230 seats ( 37.3\% ) – largest party, not majority.
    • KPD 89 seats ( 14.3\% ).
    • >51\% of electorate voted for anti-democratic extremes.
  • Stalin ordered German communists to fight Social Democrats (SPD) more than Nazis (“after Hitler, our turn”).

Hindenburg, von Papen & Hitler’s Appointment

  • President Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg re-elected Apr\;1932 against Hitler; aged \sim85, monarchist, lukewarm on democracy.
  • Conservative intriguer Franz von Papen:
    • Convinced Hindenburg to name Hitler Chancellor (30\;Jan\;1933) believing cabinet of 11 — 3 Nazis could “box him in.”
    • Fatal miscalculation; Nazis gained legal power lifeline despite fall to 196 seats ( Nov\;1932 ).

Gleichschaltung (“Coordination”) – Rapid Consolidation 1933\text{–}34

  • Reichstag Fire 27\;Feb\;1933 blamed on Dutch communist; communists (
    KPD \approx81 seats) banned.
  • Enabling Act 23\;Mar\;1933: Reichstag (all parties except SPD) granted Hitler decree powers for 4 years.
  • All parties except NSDAP outlawed by Jul\;1933.
  • Independent trade unions dissolved 02\;May\;1933; assets seized; Labour Front (DAF) substituted.
  • First concentration camp Dachau opened Mar\;1933 for political prisoners; intimidation through beatings, releases of broken bodies.

Night of the Long Knives 30\;Jun\text{–}2\;Jul\;1934

  • SA chief Ernst Röhm ( \approx3\,000,000 men) dreamed of replacing Army.
  • Hitler purged SA leadership; dozens executed.
  • In return, Army swore Hitler Oath of personal loyalty.

Führer Title 19\;Aug\;1934

  • Hindenburg died 02\;Aug\;1934; offices of President + Chancellor merged.
  • Plebiscite confirmed Hitler as Führer; democracy officially dead.

Totalitarian Society

  • Strength Through Joy (KdF): subsidised holidays, cruises; sweetened workers’ obedience.

  • Religious Policy:

    • Concordat 1933 with Vatican: Church withdrew from politics (notably silent on racism).
    • Majority of Lutheran & Calvinist congregations formed state-loyal German Evangelical Church; dissenters built Confessing Church (Martin Niemöller, Dietrich Bonhoeffer).
    • Niemöller’s famous warning: “First they came for the Socialists …”

  • Propaganda Machine (Joseph Goebbels):

    • Volksempfänger (“people’s receiver”) radios tuned only to state frequencies.
    • Book burnings 10\;May\;1933 (Berlin university square; \approx12,000 volumes).
    • Modern Berlin memorial: underground empty bookshelves sized for lost volumes.

  • Art & Film:

    • “Degenerate Art” exhibition 1937 mocked modernism; regime promoted sentimental realism (Aryan family scenes).
    • Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl:
      • “Triumph of the Will” (Nuremberg Rally 1934)
      • “Olympia” (Berlin Games 1936) – pioneered tracking shots, slow-motion, athletic glorification; initiated Olympic torch relay from Olympia to host city.

1936 Berlin Olympics & Racism

  • Games intended as Nazi showcase; IOC head Avery Brundage aided propaganda (kept US Jewish sprinters like Marty Glickman off relay team).
  • Jesse Owens (USA) won 4 golds; Hitler avoided congratulating medalists to dodge a photo-op with a black athlete.

Ethical & Historical Implications

  • Weimar downfall illustrates fragility of democracy when:
    • Economic catastrophe erodes middle-class security.
    • Elites (Army, judiciary, conservative politicians, churches) appease or ally with extremists, believing they can be “controlled.”
  • Propaganda, scapegoating, and incremental legal changes can dismantle freedoms quickly (“it was all legal”).
  • Antisemitism, racism, and political violence flourish when unchecked by solidarity — echo of Niemöller’s warning.
  • Cultural & scientific brilliance (Bauhaus, film) can coexist with — and be extinguished by — authoritarianism.