Chapter 4 Flashcards
The 1919 and 1920 Reichstag
elections. Seats in Jan 19 vs June 20
USPD= 22-83
SPD=163-103
DDP=75-39
Centre=91-64
DVP=19-65
DNVP=44-71
KPD=0-4
Why was political fragmentation a problem?
Before 1914 there were a wide array of political parties representing different religions, classes, regions and special interest groups. Since political parties in the Reichstag had no say in the choice of governments, this was not a major problem. In the Weimar Republic, however, the fragmentation of political parties was a matter of great importance since governments needed to command majority support in the Reichstag. With an electoral system based on proportional representation, no one party was ever in a position to form a government by itself and all governments, therefore, were coalitions.
How was politics becoming more divided?
The fragmentation of political parties became even more pronounced as
German society became more divided. Moreover, many parties, both large and small, were dedicated to the overthrow of the Republic.
Examples of coalition governments not being able to deal with tough circumstances and major decisions
In June 1919, for example, the Scheidemann cabinet resigned because it could not agree on signing the Treaty of Versailles. Similarly disagreements in the Fehrenbach cabinet, over whether to accept the Allied ultimatum on reparations, brought it down in May 1921.
Effects of increased division on government
This placed an even greater burden of responsibility on the moderate centre parties, such as the SPD, the Centre Party and the DDP, to work together to form stable coalitions.
Although the party leaders understood the need for compromise, the country faced unprecedented problems which called for tough and unpalatable decisions, which placed severe strains on coalition governments. In June 1919, for example, the Scheidemann cabinet resigned because it could not agree on signing the Treaty of Versailles. Similarly disagreements in the Fehrenbach cabinet, over whether to accept the Allied ultimatum on reparations, brought it down in May 1921.
Another reason why it was difficult to form stable coalitions was that, in times of social, economic and political crisis, society became more polarised and support for the moderate parties ebbed away. The more extreme parties on the left and the right gained support. Since these parties would not join coalition governments, the task of forming a government with a Reichstag majority became even harder. This was evident after the1920 Reichstag election.
General party story of first four years of republic
The story of the first four years of the Weimar Republic was one of unstable governments and shifting coalitions. It is also a story of the changing fortunes of the SPD. Whereas in 1918-19 it was the SPD that had taken the lead in establishing the Republic and trying to form stable governments, after June 1920 the SPD ceased to take a leading role in any coalition government due to internal divisions and sometimes did not participate in the ruling coalition at all. This is summarised in Table 2 below.
How many coalition govs between Feb 19 and Nov 23 and effect?
In the period between February 1919 and November 1923 there were no less than ten coalition governments. Although many of the changes in cabinets involved little more than a reshuffling of the political pack of cards, these frequent changes meant that continuity of policy was impossible to achieve and confidence in the whole democratic process was undermined. Overall, it was the extreme anti-democratic parties of the left and right which benefitted most from this undermining of confidence in the democratic system.
KEY CHRONOLOGY
Political extremism 1919-23
1919 January
Spartacist rising in Berlin
March
Second Spartacist rising in Berlin
April
Strikes in Halle and the Ruhr
October
Assassination of
Hugo Haase
1920 February
Kapp Putsch
April
Workers’ revolts in Saxony and
Thuringia
1921 March
Communist-led revolt in Saxony, spread to Hamburg and the Ruhr
August
Assassination of
Erzberger
1922 June
Assassination of
Rathenau
1923 October
Communist-led revolt in Saxony
November
Beer Hall Putsch in
Munich
What happened to extremism in these years?
There was continuing political violence as parties of the left and right set up armed and uniformed paramilitary squads to guard their meetings, march through the streets and beat up their opponents. Violence on the streets became the norm in many cities as political differences became more polarised.
Sparticist Uprising
On 5 January 1919, the Spartacus League, known as the Sparticists, led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, staged an armed uprising in Berlin to overthrow Ebert’s government and set up a revolutionary communist regime. Newspaper offices and some public buildings were occupied. The revolt was poorly prepared. It was also poorly supported, as the Spartacists had not secured the support of the majority of the working class in Berlin, in whose name they claimed to be acting. Ebert’s government relied upon the army to put down the revolt, but General Groener had few reliable military units at his command. He therefore had to use the irregular forces of the new Freikorps. By 13 January, the Spartacist rising had been crushed after brutal street fighting in which many prisoners, including Liebknecht and Luxemburg, were executed. The defeat of the uprising cleared the way for the
government to hold elections to the Constituent Assembly later in January, but the brutality with which the revolt had been suppressed, and Ebert’s
reliance on the army and the Freikorps, deepened the divisions on the Left for many years to come.
How big was the left wing threat?
The defeat of the Spartacists did not end left-wing rebellion. The workers, who had played a key role in the overthrow of the Kaiser in November 1918, had been disillusioned by the revolution’ that followed and frustrated that the Weimar Republic seemed too ready to compromise with the Right. Economic conditions also bred disorder, while demobilised soldiers found it hard to adjust to civilian life. Although the new German Communist Party (KPD) had only minority support in Germany, it was nevertheless a committed, radical minority with strong support in the industrial centres in the Ruhr and Saxony.
Inspired by the example of the successful Russian Bolshevik revolution in 1917, and heavily influenced by the Comintern, the KPD was keen to lead a communist revolution in Germany. However, ultimately it did not have the support or the determination to do so. The government was never seriously threatened by these left-wing revolts, but continued working-class rebellions did damage the Republic as fear of a ‘red revolution’ frightened the law-abiding middle classes into supporting right-wing parties.
Who were the Freikorps?
Faced with the disintegration of much of the regular army in the chaos of defeat and revolution at the end of 1918, Field Marshal Hindenburg and General Groener encouraged former officers to recruit volunteer forces into new Freikorps units. The majority
of the recruits came from demobilised junior army officers
and NCOs (e.g. corporals and sergeants), but the Freikorps also attracted students, adventurers and drifters. Placed under the overall command of General Walter Luttwitz, the Freikorps were supplied with uniforms and weapons from army stores but were not officially part of the army. In action, therefore, the Freikorps were less disciplined and were able to give full expression to their rabid spirit of aggression and revenge (as historian Richard Evans says in The Coming of the Third Reich).
What was Comintern?
the Communist
International, set up in 1919 to oversee the actions of Marxist parties across the world; Socialist groups from other countries were invited to join and receive support, but leadership was in the hands of the Russian Communist Party
Further Left-wing risings
March 1919
There was another Spartacist rising in Berlin. In Bavaria, a communist government based on workers’ councils, was established. These were both suppressed.
April 1919
There was a wave of strikes in Germany’s industrial heartlands of Halle and the Ruhr valley. As well as asking for shorter hours, the strikers demanded more control over their own industries and a government based on workers
councils
1920
The troubles continued, and after the workers had shown their power in defeating the right-wing Kapp Putsch (see below] with a general strike in Berlin, communists formed a ‘Red Army’ of 50,000 workers and seized control of the Ruhr. A virtual civil war followed as the regular army and Freikorps struggled to crush the rising. Troubles also broke out in Halle and Dresden, and over 1000 workers and 250 soldiers and police were killed.
More disturbances in Saxony and Thuringia, where the workers organised self-defence units, were also put down in April.
March 1921
The KPD tried to force a revolution, beginning with a rising in Saxony. The strike disruption spread to Hamburg and the Ruhr, but the risings were crushed by the police and 145 people were killed.
1923
There was a further bout of strike activity at the time of Germany’s economic collapse. This was again centred in Saxony and Hamburg, but it too was suppressed.
How threatening was the challenge from the right?
The powerful right wing posed a major threat to the Weimar government. The Right had been hostile to the Republic from the outset since it did not believe in democracy and it accused the politicians who now led Germany of having betrayed the Fatherland. This, however, was the limit of what they agreed upon. There were many competing right-wing groups with different objectives. Some wished to see the restoration of the monarchy, whilst others advocated a dictatorship in one form or another. In areas such as Bavaria there were groups that fought for separation from the rest of Germany, whilst others wanted a united Germany so that it could become a great power again. These divisions weakened the ability of right-wing groups to overthrow the Republic. Nevertheless, right-wing ideas were strong amongst members of the Freikorps and in the army, whilst the large landowners, industrialists, civil servants, police and judges on whom the Republic relied were also traditional conservative anti-republicans.
The Kapp Putsch, 1920 events
The government was obliged to put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in January 1920, and consequently needed to reduce the size of the army and to disband some Freikorps units. In February 1920, the defence minister, Gustav Noske, ordered two Freikorps units, comprising 12,000 men, to disband. These units were stationed 12 miles from Berlin. When General Walther von Lüttwitz, the commanding general, refused to disband one of them, the government ordered his arrest. Lüttwitz decided to march his troops to Berlin in protest and other sympathetic officers offered their support.
Luttwitz was also supported by the right-wing civil servant and politician Wolfgang Kapp, who was intent on organising a putsch. Crucially, however, Generals Hans von Seeckt and Ludendorff remained non-committal. They sympathised but were aware of the dangers of voicing open support.
Ebert’s government was forced to withdraw to Dresden, and when Ebert and his chancellor, Gustav Bauer, called on the regular army to crush the rising, Seeckt famously told Ebert: “Troops do not fire on troops; when Reichswehr fires on Reichswehr, all comradeship within the officer corps has vanished?
The situation appeared dangerous, but there was actually considerable tension 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, whilst trade unions. encouraged by the socialist members of Ebert’s government, called a general strike. Berlin was brought to a standstill and, within four days, the putsch collapsed. Kapp and Lüttwitz were forced to flee. Ebert’s government returned, but not quite with the air of triumph that might have been expected.
Lessons from Kapp Putsch
The putsch had taught a number of lessons. The army was not to be trusted, civil servants could be disloyal, the workers as a group could show their power (a realisation that gave renewed vigour to the communist movement) 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 of the putsch contrasted strongly with the harsh treatment suffered by the left wing, and their behaviour sent a message that the government was not really
in control.
Examples of politics assassinations
Hugo Hasse Oct 1919
Matthias Erzberger Aug 1921
Walter Rathenau June 1922
Who carried out political assassinations?
The violence continued as right-wing nationalists organised themselves into leagues, committed to the elimination of prominent politicians and those associated with the ‘betrayal of Germany. These Vaterländische Verbände (Patriotic Leagues), often formed out of the old Freikorps units, acted as fiercely anti-republican paramilitaries. They were potentially very powerful and some were actively supported by members of the regular German army.
Assassination of Hugo Hasse
One early victim of the assassins’ bullets was Hugo Haase, a USPD member who had been a member of the Council of People’s Commissars. He was shot in front of the Reichstag in October 1919 and died of his wounds a month later.
The assassination of Erzberger
In August 1921, the former finance minister, Matthias Erzberger, was assassinated in the Black Forest by two members of the terrorist league Organisation Consul. He had already been shot in January and left wounded but the assassins were determined to complete the job. Erzberger had led the German delegation for the signing of the armistice and had signed the Treaty of Versailles. He was also Germany’s representative on the reparations committee. Even after he was buried, his widow continued to receive abusive letters, including threats to defile his grave.
The assassination of Rathenau
On 24 June 1922, it was the turn of the foreign minister, Walther Rathenau.
He was driving to work in an open-top car when four assassins from Organisation Consul shot at him and hurled a hand grenade for good measure. Rathenau’s ‘crimes’ were to be a Jew and a leading minister in the republican government. He had participated in the signing of the armistice and had negotiated with the Allies to try to improve the Treaty of Versailles.
Nevertheless, Rathenau had been a popular figure and the following day over 700,000 protestors lined the streets of Berlin. The assassination had an impact abroad too; the value of the mark fell as other countries feared the repercussions.
Overall political assassinations and punishment
Altogether, between 1919 and 1923, there were 376 political assassinations, 22 carried out by the left, 354 by the right. In an attempt to halt this rising tide of lawlessness, in July 1922 the Reichstag passed a law ‘for the protection of the Republic; which imposed severe penalties on those involved in conspiracy to murder and banned extremist organisations. Organisation Consul was forced to disband, but the law was not effective because the judges who had to enforce it were often right-wing sympathisers. In Bavaria, the staunchly conservative government even refused to implement it (and so unwittingly allowed the Nazi movement to establish itself. Rathenau’s killers and their accomplices received an average of only four years each in prison. Whilst 326 right-wing murderers went unpunished and only one was convicted and sentenced to severe punishment until 1923, 10 left-wing murderers were sentenced to death.
Effect of political assassinations of right wing threat
Although right-wing activity failed to destroy the Republic, the developments of the 1919-23 period bolstered the arrogance of anti-republican nationalists, who showed they could get away with murder. Since the Weimar politicians seemed constantly to exaggerate the threat from the left and to underestimate that from the right, the anti-republican right wing was able to establish itself very firmly in the new German state.
