3. Why did the Weimar Republic Collapse? Flashcards
How was the Wall Street Crash a reason for the collapse of the Weimar Republic?
Great Depression wasn’t treated well by government. Population gets radicalised causing them to vote for extremist, anti-democratic parties
What did Hitler portray himself as which won him lots of support?
‘One of the people’
What feeling among German society did the ToV bring about?
Feeling that the government couldn’t be trusted
What was the reason for democracy being implemented in Germany?
Pressure from America
What was the Weimar Republic born out of which is seen as a weakness?
Born out of Germany losing WW1
Born out of revolutions
Example of a fundamental weakness of the Weimar Constitution
Article 48 allowing president to rule by decree
Problem of the Weimar Republic in the early years: ToV
ToV had harsh terms and reparations damaged Germany significantly
Problem of the Weimar Republic in the early years: twin problem
Twin problem of political extremism and economic problems
Reason why the Weimar Republic wasn’t doomed to fail from the start: democracy
Although Republic had problems in early years, there was no popular alternative to democracy
Most people wanted to give democracy a chance
Reason why the Weimar Republic wasn’t doomed to fail from the start: support for extremist parties
In early years Communist and Nazi support was exaggerated
Reason why the Weimar Republic wasn’t doomed to fail from the start: ToV
If the ToV was the reason for collapse, extremist parties would’ve gained majority in the first election but they didn’t
No one wanted to go against ToV as they had fears of war
Reason why the Weimar Republic wasn’t doomed to fail from the start: 1920s
Golden years where economic recovery took place
ToV reparations made manageable by Dawes and Young Plans
Economy recovery aided to new currency
Support for Nazis on 1928 elections
Got less sears than they did in 1924 election
Response of German people to assassination of Jewish Foreign Minister Rathenau in 1922
700,000 people demonstrated in streets of Berlin against it
Short-term consequence of Great Depression: communism
Made fear of communist among elites greater
Short-term consequence of Great Depression: Brüning
Introduced deflation policies which made unemployment worse
Short-term consequence of Great Depression: extremist parties
Great Depression pushed people to extremist parties
Reason for people voting for Nazi Party: Great Depression
Pushed people to vote for extremist parties
Reason for people voting for Nazi Party: desperation
People desperate for fix of Great Depression
Reason for people voting for Nazi Party: farmers
Nazis promised farmers government grants to help them pay debts
Who failed to defend democracy?
German elites
Problem of coalition governments leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: political divisions of 1920s
Made coalitions become fragile and unstable
Problem of coalition governments leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: some parties
Some parties refused to participate in coalitions
Problem of coalition governments leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: fragility
Fragility of coalitions made task of Chancellor and cabinet very difficult
Economic problems leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: war reparations
Placed huge economic burden on Germany
Historians agree that final amount of reparations was excessive
Reparations remained issue for duration of Republic
Economic problems leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: Germany’s post-war recovery and capacity for political stability
Post-war recovery and capacity for political stability negatively impacted by reparations
Economic problems leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: what happened as a result of Germany’s failure to pay reparations by 1922?
Germany’s failure to pay reparations by 1922 led to hyperinflation crisis, Ruhr occupation and collapse of two coalitions
Economic problems leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: economic crisis
Increased distaste towards coalitions as people realised how they made decision making a longer process
Political intrigue leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: April 1932
Hindenburg wanted to retire but was persuaded to run as president again to keep Hitler out
Political intrigue leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: appointment of Hitler
Hindenburg appointed Hitler due to intrigue, rumour-mongering and lobbying
Rise of extremist parties leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: Hitler between 1924 and 1932
Changed Nazi policies to gain support from powerful interest groups like German industrialists and wealthy capitalists
Rise of extremist parties leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: Nazis attacks
SA and Nazis attacked political opponents
Rise of extremist parties leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: increased votes
People were frustrated at Germany’s fragile economic state through factors such as losing their savings so they turned to extreme parties
Rise of extremist parties leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: increasing Nazi support from general public
After Nazi Putsch’s, Nazi Party became less direct and aggressive which made them more acceptable to general public
Great Depression leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: unemployment
By 1932, 2/5 of German workforce was unemployed
Great Depression leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: German voters
Due to Great Depression many German voters abandoned support for mainstream moderate parties and voted for radical groups instead
Underlaying problems leading to collapse of Weimar Republic: ToV
ToV imposed very harsh terms on Germany
Severity of ToV terms created political debate and division
Public disliked association of Government with ToV
