Establishment and Development of the Weimar Republic

Question 1

What was the social impact of WWI on Germany?

Answer 1

• Percentage of women in the workforce rose to 37% during the war and didn’t fall dramatically after
• Many soldiers who were misinformed due to censorship during the war believed Germany hadn’t really lost but had been cheated
• Many Germans who believed Germany had been cheated looked for someone to blame, leading to tension among Germans

Question 2

What was the economic impact of WWI on Germany?

Answer 2

• War cost about $40 billion (closer to $1100 billion now)
• Industrial output fell by over 40% between 1914 and 1918
• Up to 30% of all trade was organised illegally on the black market
• Shortages of raw materials
• From 1915 to the end of the war Germans were forbidden from driving a car

Question 3

What was the political impact of WWI on Germany?

Answer 3

• Kaiser was forced into abdication, leaving a power vacuum that was filled by the Weimar Republic
• Polarised and extreme and views such as Communism being widely supported, particularly in industrial cities
• Left wing uprisings in 1919, eg. Spartacist attempted revolution in Berlin, brief Soviet republic in Bavaria
• Government forced to make use of the Freikorps - disillusioned right-wing soldiers

Question 4

What did the Treaty of Versailles mean for Germany?

Answer 4

• Germany lost 13% of its territory
• Unification of Germany and Austria forbidden
• Rivers to be open for all nations and be run by an international commission
• Rhineland demilitarised
• All German colonies distributed as mandates under control of countries supervised by the League of Nations
• Forced to sign the War Guilt Clause, accepting all blame for all loss and damage caused by WWI
• in 1921, Germany’s reparations sum to be paid was $6600 million and had to make substantial payments in kind like timber
• All coal production in the Saar region to be given to France
• Germany had to abolish conscription, reduce its army to 100000, no tanks, no big guns, no military aircraft, no submarines, navy limited to six battleships & cruisers and 12 destroyers and torpedo boats
• Had to accept the League of Nations but wasn’t allowed to join

Question 5

What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 5

• Seen by many Germans as the real cause of the country’s problems and believed it was unfair
• Contributed to the “stab in the back” myth
• Weimar democracy weakened as it was forced to take the blame for WWI even though it was pursued by Imperial Germany

Question 6

What was the “stab in the back” myth?

Answer 6

The distorted view due to nationalist propaganda and censorship that the German army had not lost WWI and that unpatriotic groups such as Socialists and Jews had undermined it

Question 7

What was the impact of the stab in the back myth?

Answer 7

Severely weakened Weimar democracy and led to scapegoating

Question 8

What were the strengths of the Weimar constitution?

Answer 8

• Bill of Rights defended civil rights liberties
• Proportional representation meant all voters’ views were heard
• Supreme court kept government in line
• Chancellor kept accountable as approved by Reichstag
• Democratic ideals informed the constitution
• Universal suffrage and a wide range of parties

Question 9

What were the weaknesses of the Weimar constitution?

Answer 9

• Proportional representation encouraged the formation of many smaller parties like the Nazis and made it more difficult to form and maintain governments
• Proportional representation made it near impossible to gain a majority so unstable coalitions had to be formed
• President’s power seemed equal to that of an emperor, created uncertainty in constitutional matters from the start and made it difficult to keep a balance of power
• Article 48 provided the head of state with authority to suspend civil rights and restore order by issuing emergency decrees, this was misused to override the power of the Reichstag and helped bring Hitler to power in the crisis of 1933
• Traditional institutions of Imperial Germany such as the Army and civil service maintained significant power and undermined the Weimar government

Question 10

Why was the KPD a threat to the Weimar Republic?

Answer 10

• In 1919-1923 the KPD had the support of 10-15% of the electorate
• There were continuous revolutionary disturbances such as Red Bavaria and German October
• Weren’t willing to work within the democratic parliamentary system so there was no chance of coming together into one movement or cooperation between the moderate and extreme left

Question 11

What was Red Bavaria?

Answer 11

• USPD leader Kurt Eisner was assassinated in February 1919
• Bavarian Soviet Republic with a Red Army of workers was set up by Eugen Levine proposing radical political and economic changes
• Freikorps and army brutally crushed the republic one month later
• There were 1000 deaths in May, known as the White Terror
• As this happened in a conservative, agricultural, Catholic area, it shifted politics to the right and made Bavaria a haven for extremists

Question 12

What was German October?

Answer 12

• In 1923 the KPD and SPD formed coalitions in the regional governments of Saxony and Thuringia
• Communists made military preparations for an uprising with “Proletarian Hundreds” defence units
• Stresemann’s government foiled the plan
• Army crushed the units and the regional governments were recreated without communists

Question 13

Why was the extreme right a threat to the Weimar Republic?

Answer 13

• Anti-democracy, pro-authoritarianism: rejected the Weimar’s principles, aimed to destroy the democratic constitution because it was seen as weak, favoured the restoration of a dictatorial regime
• Nationalism: reinforced the idea of the stab in the back myth and November criminals after Germany’s humiliation in 1918-1919, right wing politicians found a range of scapegoats for the German acceptance of the armistice, shifted the responsibility from Imperial Germany to the Weimar Republic and used it against it
• Freikorps became a law in themselves: had no respect for the Weimar government and were prepared to use violence and murder to intimidate others

Question 14

What was the Munich Beer Hall Putsch?

Answer 14

• Gustav von Kahr was leader of the Bavarian government, ultra-conservative and blamed most of Germany’s problems on the Weimar Republic, wanted to destroy it and make Bavaria independent
• By 1923 General von Lossow had begun to disobey orders from Berlin’s defence minister because of Kahr
• Kahr, von Lossow and Hitler planned to march on Berlin
• Kahr and von Lossow abandoned the plan by November but Hitler didn’t want to lose the opportunity
• When Kahr was addressing a large audience in a Munich beer hall on 8 November 1923, Hitler took control of the meeting and declared a national revolution
• Kahr and von Lossow cooperated under pressure and agreed to proceed with the uprising
• Seeckt commanded the armed forces to resist the putsch
• Nazis attempted to take Munich the next day but had insufficient support and were easily crushed by Bavarian police
• 14 Nazis were killed and Hitler was injured and arrested for treason

Question 15

What was the Kapp Putsch?

Answer 15

• Freikorps decided to try and seize power in 1920 as demands to reduce the size of the German army because of Versailles caused unease
• It was proposed that the Erhardt Marine and the Baltikum brigades of the army stationed in Berlin should disband
• Kapp and Luttwitz exploited this situation by encouraging 12,000 troops to march on Berlin and seize the main buildings of the capital virtually unopposed and install a new government
• Ebert and the Chancellor requested from the army to put down the rebellious forces but the army refused to become involved with either side and did not provide any resistance to the putsch

Question 16

What happened in the invasion of the Ruhr?

Answer 16

• In January 1923 Poincare sent 100,000 French and Belgian troops into the Ruhr to collect coal which hadn’t been delivered to France on time
• French troops faced no military opposition as Germany wasn’t in a position to fight back
• German workers refused to work for the French
• Collapse in services such as transport and French workers were brought in
• 13 workers were killed when the French tried to rake vehicles belonging to a German business

Question 17

Why did the invasion of the Ruhr cause hyperinflation?

Answer 17

• Government saw it as its responsibility to pay the striking workers and paid out millions of marks
• Cost the government twice the annual reparations payments because coal supplies and tax revenue had dried up in the meantime
• Taxes weren’t raised as they were already thought to be too high
• Government printed more money, causing a rise in prices and fall in value of the mark

Question 18

What was the impact of hyperinflation?

Answer 18

• Prices were so high people had to carry money in wheelbarrows and sometimes burned paper money because it was cheaper than buying fuel
• Fixed income workers such as pensioners, students and veterans were severely affected
• White collar workers who earned salaries which were harder to negotiate were affected, led to them voting for more extreme parties
• People with savings saw their values drop
• Population became severely malnourished
• Mittlestand suffered as they had goods which could be bought in department stores if needed and didn’t have unions fighting for them
• Germany’s debts were wiped out

Question 19

How did Stresemann help the economy recover from hyperinflation?

Answer 19

• In September 1923, passive resistance in the Ruhr was called off
• In November 1923 the Rentenmark was issued and was relatively secure as it was based on a mortgage of all the land and industry, each Rentenmark was worth one trillion old marks
• New currency enforced by decree after the Reichstag voted to give the government full power to make decisions in currency matters

Question 20

What was the Dawes Plan?

Answer 20

• Accepted April 1924
• Reduced Germany’s total reparations bill
• Spread out payments, Germany had to pay 1 billion marks annually until 1929 and 2.5 billion marks thereafter
• Approved a loan of 800 million gold marks from the USA to Germany to help meet the first revised payment

Question 21

What was the impact of the Dawes Plan?

Answer 21

• Opened Germany up to US capital
• Germany’s economic problems received international recognition for the first time since WWI
• Germany gained credit because of the loan and subsequent investments
• Resulted in a French promise to evacuate the Ruhr during 1925
• Germany was dependent on the USA and the Wall Street Crash was imminent

Question 22

In what ways did the economy recover in 1924-1929?

Answer 22

• By 1928 production was back to its 1913 level
• Germany could lower prices because of a growing number of cartels
• Between 1925 and 1929 German exports rose by 40%
• Hourly wage rates rose every year from 1924 to 1930 and by 5-10% in 1927 and 1928

Question 23

In what ways did the economy not recover in 1924-1929?

Answer 23

• Economic growth was uneven
• In 1926, production declined
• Value of imports always exceeded that of exports
• Unemployment never fell below 1.3 million, averaged 1.9 million in 1929 before the Wall Street Crash
• Agricultural production was still only 75% of its 1913 figure, income per head for farmers was 44% below the national average
• Foreign loans made Germany liable to suffer from any problems that arose in the world economy
• Investment was too low to encourage growth
• Cost of the welfare state could only be met by the government taking on more debts
• Economy slowed down from 1927

Question 24

How did working and living conditions improve in 1924-1929?

Answer 24

• Erzberger implemented progressive taxes, including increased taxes on capital and raising the highest income tax from 4% to 60%
• New laws restricted the maximum working week to 48 hours and a introduced a state scheme for compulsory arbitration during strikes
• From 1929, benefits and pensions for widows and the wounded were included in the welfare scheme
• National Youth Welfare Law introduced programmes for youth from poor backgrounds and provision for youth clubs and sports facilities
• 1923-1925 New National Insurance Code included more standardised pensions, an improved health insurance scheme provided by doctors and insurance funds, accident insurance for occupational diseases
• 1927 Unemployment Insurance Law created a system covering 17 million workers which offered benefits at 75% of pay for 75% of a year

Question 25

How politically stable was the Weimar Republic in 1924-1929?

Answer 25

• Stable in comparison to years before and after
• Original ideals of the Weimar Republic weren’t developed
• Main democratic parties still refused to work together and compromise so failed to establish a shared political outlook, leading to instability, eg. Stresemann’s successful foreign policies were rejected by people who pressed for a more hardline approach

Question 26

What was the Young Plan?

Answer 26

• Presented in 1929, accepted in 1930
• Reduced Germany’s reparations to 1/4 of the original 1921 sum (112 billion Gold Marks (about $8 billion)), paying $473 million each year for 59 years
• 1/3 of the sum was mandatory, the other 2/3 were only to be paid if Germany could afford it without harming economic development

Question 27

What was the impact of the Young Plan?

Answer 27

• Seen by the right-wing as another betrayal of German interests to the Allies, as any reparations payments was based on the “lie” of the war guilt clause
• A national committee was formed by the leader of the DNVP to fight the Young Plan, using media to generate support from the Stahlhelm ex-servicemen, the Pan-German League, leading industrialists and the Nazis
• The National Opposition drafted a “Law against the Enslavement of the German People”, denouncing all reparations and demanding punishment of collaborating ministers, which made gained enough signatures for a referendum in 1929 but won only 5.8 million votes

Question 28

What was the economic impact of the Great Depression?

Answer 28

• US firms and banks recalled loans
• Unemployment rose to 2.5 million by 1929
• Demand for German goods collapsed
• Production fell, leading to further unemployment

Question 29

What was the political impact of the Great Depression?

Answer 29

• Young and unemployed joined the SA or Communist Rotfront
• 4 major parties of the Grand Coalition couldn’t agree on how to handle unemployment and the deficit it created in the national insurance scheme, so the Cabinet resigned
• Hindenburg made Bruning chancellor because conservative nationalist intriguers who wanted more authoritarian leadership
• Bruning’s economic policy was rejected in the Reichstag but put into effect by emergency decree, so its legality was questioned and Hindenburg had to dissolve the Reichstag and call for another election in September 1930

Question 30

How did Goebbels use scapegoating to the Nazis’ advantage?

Answer 30

• November criminals blamed for the Armistice and creation of Weimar, represented all negative aspects of Weimar democracy
• KPD held 13-17% of electorate in 1930-1932, Nazis played on the fears of communism and the threat of the USSR
• Jews made up less than 1% of the population but Europe and Germany had a history of antisemitism, so Jews were scapegoated

Question 31

How did the Nazis make use of violence?

Answer 31

• Growing unemployment increased SA membership in 1921-1923 and 1930-1934, some out of desperation for food and accommodation but mostly thuggery
• Aimed violence at communists and further destabilised politics, banned for 3 months in the wake of the presidential election
• New chancellor Papen restored the SA in June 1932
• In July 1932 there were 461 political riots in Prussia alone, 10 died on 10 July, 19 died in Hamburg a week later
• Non-democratic tactics used to finally gain power democratically

Question 32

Who did Nazism appeal to?

Answer 32

• Appealed in some way to all sections of society but Protestants, farmers and mittelstand supported Nazism in bigger numbers
• Protestants (2/3 of Germany) more likely to vote for Nazis, Catholics already affiliated with the Catholic ZP and Church
• Mittelstand and farmers more likely to vote for Nazis as working classes were loyal to trade unions and socialist parties
• “Politics of anxiety” played on lack of faith in Weimar, gained support through negative cohesion (supporters of Nazism shared the same fears but not necessarily the same views)
• Young, unemployed people disillusioned with traditional politics likely to join the party and SA, 61% of adults aged 20-30 who joined a political party joined the Nazis

Question 33

How did Papen’s failure lead to Hitler becoming chancellor?

Answer 33

• Hitler demanded the right to form a government as the largest party but was offered only a vice-chancellorship and refused
• SA violence increased and Nazi morale declined
• The Reichstag passed a vote of no confidence in Papen’s government on 12 September 1932
• Papen dissolved the new Reichstag and called for another election
• Nazis were short of money, were involved in a transport strike in Berlin, and the electorate had grown tired of repeated elections, so the Nazi vote fell to 33% on 6 November but Papen still did not have a majority
• Schleicher believed that support for the Nazis couldn’t be ignored and was concerned by Papen’s plan to declare martial law and dissolve the Reichstag, so informed Hindenburg about the army’s lack of confidence in Papen and he demanded Papen’s resignation

Question 34

How did Schleicher’s failure lead to Hitler becoming chancellor?

Answer 34

• Schleicher gained the favour of Hindenburg and became chancellor on 2 December
• He wanted to gain the support of the left through a public works programme and attract the socialist wing of the NSDAP under Gregor Strasser by offering Strasser the vice-chancellorship
• He hoped this would stabilise politics and restore confidence
• Trade unions were suspicious and broke off negotiations, public works alienated landowners and businessmen, Hitler retained the loyalty of the Party and Strasser was forced to resign

Question 35

How did backstairs intrigue lead to Hitler becoming chancellor?

Answer 35

• Papen and Hitler began talks using intermediaries
• Hitler’s position was strengthened as Schleicher was unable to gain a majority and Hindenburg lost confidence in him
• Hindenburg believed that the Nazis were in decline so would be easier to control (chancellor in chains)
• Hindenburg withdrew support from Schleicher and he resigned on 28 January 1933
• Papen and Hindenburg agreed to grant Hitler position of chancellor and other Nazis the positions of minister of the interior and minister for Prussia
• Hitler was appointed chancellor on 30 January 1933