collapse of the weimar

Question 1

when was the weimar established?

Answer 1

coming out of WW1- following a new constitution saying that Germany would be a very progressive democracy

Question 2

What were the main reasons behind the collapse of the Weimar?

Answer 2

no tradition of democracy in Germany, Great Depression, Treaty of Versailles, Hitler’s popularity, flaws in the constitution

Question 3

Why did Hitler gain a lot of funding from right-wing industrialists?

Answer 3

they were all scared of a communist revolution- if there was one, they would lose valuable assets such as mines and factories

Question 4

why was the weimar believed to be born out of defeat?

Answer 4

democratic Germany was a precondition set by the Allies for the armistice + peace treaty

Question 5

explain the ‘stab in the back’ myth

Answer 5

Many Germans believed that Germany surrendered while they were close to victory, because of socialist politicians AKA the November criminals (hence, they were ‘stabbed in the back’) -> this was because of the extremely potent propaganda, it was actually Ludendorff and Hindenburg

Question 6

what was the impact of proportional representation on the Weimar?

Answer 6

it made it heavily reliant on small, unstable coalitions which were unable to agree on various matters, making real change frustrating and impossible for the German people

Question 7

why was the German economy so reliant on the American?

Answer 7

Germany had relied heavily on foreign loans in order to revive the country due to the huge payments it owed to other countries following Versailles, thus meaning that when the stock market collapsed in 1929, the Americans demanded loans to be repaid, causing huge economic crisis

Question 8

The economic collapse of 1929 intensified feeling of hostility towards the Weimar Republic, paving the way for the collapse of democracy

Answer 8

:)