Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

Effects of WW1 in Germany

Physical Effects
○​ Farming was disrupted as many farm workers were drafted into the army
○​ By 1918, Germany was producing only 50% of the milk and 60% of the
butter and meat which had been produced before the war
○​ Germany faced starvation and harsh winters due to the Allied naval
blockade preventing any resources from entering the German
○​ As a result, an estimated 750,000 Germans died due to disease and
famine.
●​ Psychological effects
○​ Germany’s status as a proud and ambitious state was ruined, making
Germans bitter and angry.
○​ As a result, they started looking for someone to blame for their loss in the
war.
○​ A society famous for its unity now became famous for its squabbling and
internal conflict.
●​ Political effects
○​ The political problems faced before the war became worse by its end
○​ The Reichstag had been a symbol of a place where the ordinary could
make the biggest of influences in Germany. However, it began to become
weak
○​ This was because Kaiser Wilhelm II made Germany a military dictatorship
and imprisoned opposition leader
○​ This led to an attempted armed revolution and overthrowing of the Kaiser.
○​
Was there a revolution in Germany 1918?
●​ Stage 1: Getting rid of the Kaiser
○​ The Kaiser’s position at the war's end became very weak, and soon
enough, soldiers began to mutiny.
○​ The Social Democrat party (The leading party of the Reichstag) sent an
ultimatum to the Kaiser to abdicate, or else there would be a revolution.
○​ On 9 November 1918, the Kaiser abdicated, and the leader of the Social
Democrats, Friedrich Ebert, announced the setting up of the German
Republic and he became the Chancellor.
○​ The Next day, the Kaiser fled into exile in Holland, and the next day, on 11
November, an armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany.
●​ Stage 2: Who would control Germany?
○​ After the Social Democrats took over, Germany was extremely unstable;
demobilised German soldiers began joining armed demonstrations and
violence on the streets.
○​ The new government faced threats from Left-Wing Revolutionaries, known
as the Spartacists, led by Rosa Luxemburg, and Right–wing
Revolutionaries, like the Freikorps, led by Wolfgang Kapp.
●​ The Spartacist Rising: January 1919
○​ The Spartacists were a group of communists who wanted a real socialist
revolution, just like in Russia the previous year, and did not trust Ebert as
they thought he wouldn’t look after the interests of the working class.
○​ The Spartacist Rising was an attempted revolution to overthrow Ebert’s
Government in Berlin while the government was still in turmoil.
○​ On the night of 5 January, they captured the headquarters of the German
Newspaper and Telegraph Bureau.
○​ However, the whole uprising was badly prepared or planned, partly
because their leader, Rosa Luxemburg, was murdered, and they did not
get any support from other left-wing groups and had no hope of success.
○​ Ebert sent members of the Freikorps to settle the issue, and within 5 days,
the Spartacist’s headquarters was captured, and 5 days after that, the
movement was crushed; 100 Spartacists were killed compared to 13
Friekorps.
○​ Over the next 4 months, the Friekorps helped Ebert crush many left-wing
revolutionaries and put Ebert’s government at the top (Or so he thought)
●​ The Kapp Putsch: March 1920
○​ The Friekorps (Volunteer Corps) was an armed group formed of
Unemployed Ex–soldiers with extreme Right – Wing views who helped
Ebert keep control of Germany; their leader was Wolfgang Kapp.
○​ In the months leading to this, due to the Treaty of Versailles, many army
personnel were left unemployed and, thus, in droves, started joining the
Friekorps, which grew in number and power.
○​ The Mistake Ebert had made was that by allocating the Friekorps to put
down the attempted revolutions, he had indirectly given the country's
power.
○​ When Ebert realized this, he ordered the Friekorps to be limited to just
100,000 men.
○​ Thus, Kapp marched into the streets of Berlin in March 1920 and declared
the establishment of a new national government.
○​ As the army supported them, Ebert was forced to flee to Dresden
temporarily and appealed to the workers to strike and shut down the
 economy. This general strike was so successful that Kapp’s Putsch
collapsed within a few days.
○​
Why did the Germans hate the Treaty of Versailles so much?
●​ What kind of Treaty was the German’s expectation
○​ When the First World War was over, the Germans knew they would have
to pay the price for the damages caused by it.
○​ However, the recent changes in the situation inside Germany and the
proclamation of the “14 Points” by Woodrow Wilson made them hope for a
less harsh treaty.
●​ Why did they hope for the treaty to be not harsh on them
○​ The Kaiser had gone; Germany had a new Democratic government
○​ The new republic needed support from the already weakened one
○​ Germany was not to blame for the war, as all countries were equally
responsible
●​ What kind of Treaty did they get
○​ War Guilt: Article 231 stated that Germany was blamed for starting the
war; this term was the most hated upon as war to the Germans was a one
of self - defence
○​ Reparations: The allies claimed a reparations fee of 6600 million British
Pounds in annual instalments
○​ Military restrictions: The French desire for security meant the German
armed forces had to be drastically reduced.
■​ The Air Force was disbanded.
■​ The army was limited to 100,000 soldiers.
■​ The Navy was limited to only 15,000 sailors, 6 Battleships and no
Submarines
■​ The Rhineland would be demilitarised.
○​ Territorial Losses: Germany lost 13% of its land, containing 6 million
people.
■​ Alsace and Lorraine to France
■​ West Prussia and the Polish Corridor to Poland
■​ Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium
■​ Northern Schleswig to Denmark
■​ Part of Upper Silesia to Poland
■​ Danzig to be administered by the League of Nations
■​ Memel to Lithuania
■​ Saarland was to be administered by the League of Nations, and
after 15 years, a plebiscite was to be held to determine its future.
●​ How did Germans react to the Treaty?
 ○​ At first, the government did not want to sign the treaty, but the Allies
warned that if they didn’t, the war would resume, which would be suicidal
for Germany.
○​ After it was signed, it weakened the new government; many stated that if
revolutionaries did not demand peace, the army would have fought and
won the war.
○​ They called the treaty ‘A Stab in the Back’ by politicians, and the treaty
became a symbol of Germany’s humiliation.

What were the achievements of the Weimar Republic?

●​ Strengths:
○​ All Germans had equal rights, including the right to vote
○​ The proportional representation ensured that political parties were
allocated seats in the Parliament in proportion to the votes they got. This
was fair.
○​ A strong president was necessary to control the government and protect
the country in a crisis.
○​ Each state had its traditions. It was right they should keep some control
over their affairs.
●​ Weaknesses
○​ In 1919, the Republic had many enemies. Giving equal rights to those who
wished to destroy it was not sensible.
○​ Proportional representation encouraged many small parties, each with a
small number of MPs. No one could get a majority, so governments had to
be coalitions. There could never be a strong government.
○​ The president had too much power. It was possible he could turn himself
into a dictator.
○​ The states could be hostile to the national government and even try to
overthrow it.
○​
How did the Weimar Republic survive the crisis of 1923?
●​ Crisis 1: The occupation of the Ruhr
○​ Germany could not keep up with the reparations payments and the French
were determined to make Germany pay
○​ In January 1923, French and Belgian troops marched into Germany’s
Ruhr area, which contained raw materials. This was legal under the terms
of the Treaty of Versailles
○​ The German workers adopted passive resistance and refused to work.
○​ But now, Germany was also suffering from that as they couldn’t get the
regular output from the Ruhr.
 ○​ In September 1923, Gustav Stresemann the Chancellor of Germany
ended the policy and gave raw materials to France
●​ Crisis 2: Inflation
○​ When the government didn’t have enough money to pay off the debt, it
started printing more money
○​ This made the prices skyrocket, and as a result Germany entered a period
of Hyperinflation.
○​ The Hyperinflation inflicted great costs to people of all class and society
backgrounds
■​ Old people living on fixed pensions, or people who lived on their
saving, found that these were now worthless
■​ Workers, if they had a job, were protected to some extent, because
they were simply paid higher and higher wages. Even
unemployment benefits increased weekly.
■​ Those who had debts, or had taken out loans, benefitted. They
could pay the money back at a fraction of the real cost.
■​ The rich, who had not just money but land, possessions, and
foreign currency, were also protected
■​ Many rich businessmen were able to take advantage of the
situation by taking over smaller companies which were going
bankrupt. In the end, though, inflation was so rapid that normal
business and trade was impossible, which caused much
unemployment.
○​ In October, the government scrapped the old, worthless money, and
introduced a new, temporary currency, the Rentenmark. By limiting the
amount of the currency in circulation the value of German money was
stabilised, and in the next year a new permanent currency, the
Reichsmark, was brought in.
●​ Crisis 3: The Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch
○​ After Stresemann called off passive resistance, many right – wing
extremists criticised the decision and began plotting a putsch against the
Reich Government.
○​ On 8 – 9 November, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party launched an attempted
revolution in Munich, the capital city of Bavaria.
○​ It was easily crushed by the army and the police.
○​ To keep support of the right wing, the government gave orders that left –
wing state governments in Saxony and Thuringia should be disposed,
allowing the government to act on the right – wing groups there easily.
How did the Weimar Republic recover from 1924 -1929?
Foreign Policy
○​ Stresemann was responsible for a series of foreign policy successes.
○​ In 1925, Germany signed the Locarno treaties with Britain, France and
Italy which guaranteed Germany’s frontiers with France.
○​ In 1926, Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations as a
permanent member.
○​ These changes help strengthen ties with neighbouring countries and help
improve relations
Local Politics
○​ During the Weimar republic, no party single handedly ever got the
majority, not even the Social Democrats until the Nazi Party.
○​ Due to this, coalitions were formed. However, when these coalitions don’t
work well, they break up resulting in multiple elections taking place
○​ In total, 25 governments over the 14 years of the Weimar government
○​ Many politicians complained of Stresemann’s foreign policy as he was
acting in favour of following the Treaty of Versailles when many Germans
wanted to completely abolish it.
○​ However, the political situation began to recover as much more stable
governments were elected, and in 1928, the Social Democrats joined a
coalition themselves.
The Economy
= During the Hyperinflation crisis, Germany took loans from the USA via the Dawes
plan, a total of 800 million Marks to help solve the crisis, which helped and slowly the
German economy improved.
= In 1928, Industrial production surpassed the pre – WWI production levels.
However, the economy still had its weaknesses

○​ It became dependant on American loans which could be withdrawn

anytime
○​ The Unemployment in the country was still a problem
○​ The Government was spending too much on Welfare benefits, making
employers complain
○​ Some industries had still not recovered such as the agriculture industry in
which farmers earned half of the average national wages
○​ There were extremes of wealth and poverty in Germany
What was the Golden Age of German Culture?
Background
○​ During a time of Turmoil, German culture came to be some of the most
innovative and exciting art and culture in Europe.
○​ The strict Pre-war censorship was removed, and Germans made
significant developments in many areas of the arts.
Painting
○​ Weimar artists tried to show everyday life and wanted to be understood by
the ordinary people
○​ It was called ‘Neue Sachlichkeit’ or ‘New Objectivity’ and portrayed society
in an objective way.
Cinema
○​ German directors such as Fritz Lang were producing some of the most
modern films at the time.
○​ Women also played glamorous roles and became popular film stars
Architecture
○​ Many architects took a welcoming attitude to vehicles and machines, and
used simplicity in their designs
○​ One of them was a group called Bauhaus, who designed anything from
buildings to cigarette kiosks, and were largely successful.