4) Pilitical Instability And Extremism Flashcards
What was the political government like in the 1919-1924
All governments were correlations because no party could get the majority needed to Govan with an outright power due to proportional representation
Fragmentation of political parties became more prominent when German society became more divided
Most party leaders understood the need for compromise but the country faced problems which called for tough and unpalatable decisions therefore straining coalition governments
For example the scheidemann Government broker part due to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
Another reason for difficulty of a stable correlation was that in times of social, economic and political crisis society became more polarised and support for the moderate parties less
Which part is where the moderates
The SPD
The Centre party
The DDP
Why was it difficult to form government with extreme parties
The parties would not join coalition government so therefore making it harder to form a government with a majority harder
How many coalition governments were they between February 1919 and November 1923 and what were the consequences
No less than 10 coalition governments
The frequent changes meant the Continuity of policies were impossible to achieve and confidence in the whole democratic process was undermined
The extreme anti democratic parties were benefiting the most from this undermining of confidence
What were the challenges from the left of the political spectrum
On 5 of January 1919 the Spartacus league Led by Rosa Luxemburg staged and armed uprising in Berlin to overthrow Eberts government. The revolt was poorly prepared, supported as the Spartacus had not secured the support of the majority of the workWorking-class in Berlin. Abets government relied on the army to put down the revolt by using new Freikorps
13 of January the Spartacus uprising had been crushed after a brutal street fight when Luxembourg was executed allowing the government to hold the constitutional assembly in January
What happened on march 1919 On the left wing of politics
Another Spartacus rising in Berlin.
In Bolivia a Communist government based on work’s councils was established
Both suppressed
What happened on April 1919 on the left wing of politics
A wave of strikes in Germany’s industrial heartland of the rule Valley
Asking for shorter hours, more control over their own industries and the government based on workers councils
What happened in 1920 on the left wing of politics
The workers had shown their power in defeating the right-wing Kapp Putch With a general strike in Berlin
Communist formed a red army of 50,000 workers and seat control of the Ruhr
Freikorps and regular army struggled to crush the rising
Over 1000 workers and 250 soldiers and police were killed
What happened on March 1921 on the left wing of politics
The KPD tried to force a revolution beginning with a rising in Saxony
The rising was crushed by the police and 145 people killed
What were the effects of left-wing revolt
For the government there was no real serious threat but continued working-class rebellion damaged the Republic as fears of a red revolution frightened the middle-class into supporting right-wing parties
How effective was right-wing opposition to the Weimar Republic
Right wing was hostile to the Republic as they did not believe in democracy and associated politicians to have led Germany into betraying the fatherland
Different right-wing groups and different objectives, some wish to see the restoration of the monarchy
The division is weak and the ability of right-wing groups to overthrow the Republic.
Right-wing ideas were strong among members of the army and Freikorps but also amongst large landowners, industrialist, civil servants, police and judges because they were traditionally anti-Republican
What was the Kapp putsch of 1920
To put into effect the Treaty of Versailles in January 1920 they needed to reduce the size of the army and dispense some Freikorps
In February 1920 the defence minister ordered two Freikorps units of 12,000 men to disband
When general Walther von luttwiz the commanding general refused to disband one of the units the government ordered his arrest.
He marched his troops to Berlin to protest with support from other officers right-wing civil servants and politician Wolfgang kapp
General vans Von seeks Or Ludendorff did not commit
How did the Wymore government deal with the Kapp Putsch of 1920
The best government was forced to withdraw to Dresden and then his Chancellor asked the regular army to cross the uprising
Seeckt famously told ebert “ troops do not fire on troops, when army man fire on army man who comradeship within the office a corps has vanished
Considerable tensions between the military and civilian elements of the Putsch and it failed to gain widespread support even from the right wing.
Civil servants and bankers remained at best lukewarm and often hostile while trade unions encouraged by the socialist members of eberts government called a general strike
What were the important lessons from the kapp putsch
The army was not to be trusted
Civil servants could be disloyal
The workers as a group could show their power and without the army’s support the Weimar government was weak
The leniency shown by right-wing judges towards those brought to trial in the aftermath strongly contrasted with the harsh treatment suffered by the left-wing
Showed the government was not in charge
What was the importance of the assassination of Erzberger
In August 1921, the former foreign minister Matthias Erzberger was assassinated by two members of the terrorist league organisation console
Lead the German delegation for the signing of the armistice and the signed Treaty of Versailles
He was also Germany’s representative on the reparations committee
Even after he was buried his widow continued to receive abuse
