European states (Germany): To what extent was the Treaty of Versailles responsible for the difficulties faced by the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1923? Flashcards
Intro/thesis
-Context: main problems were the economic crisis and political instability
-Key was the Weimar Government’s response to the ToV & choices afterwards
Paragraphs
-The Treaty of Versailles
-Economic crisis/hyperinflation in 1923
-Political instability due to the nature of the Weimar Constitution
ToV- examples
-Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France.
-Reparations sum of £6,600 million.
-Germany lost 10% of its lands and 50% of its iron and steel industries.
-The ‘war guilt’ clause provided justification for Allied demands for reparations.
-Germans were angry that they had not been allowed to negotiate. They called Versailles a diktat or dictated peace.
ToV- explanation
-France suffered economically because of the loss of Alsace Lorraine because of its valuable iron ore deposits.
-Not only could Germany not pay the huge reparations bill, but taking away the country’s coal and iron resources meant that its economy would be unable to recover. The fact that Germany faced hyperinflation in the 1920s seems to provide evidence for this.
Hyperinflation/government’s economic actions in 1923- examples
-Although some will argue that the reparations caused the economic crisis that Germany faced in the early 1920s, this was in fact due to the actions of the Weimar government in issuing banknotes. In fact, many historians have argued that Germany could have paid the 7.2% of its national income that the Reparations Schedule required if it had reformed its financial system or raised its taxation to British levels.
-However, this would have been unpopular with the people, and as a new government, the Weimar Republic wanted to maintain popular support.
-In response to the reparations payments (triggered by the Ruhr Crisis), the Weimar Government issued more money, as it was not strong enough to fix wages and prices or increase taxation.
-Within six months, the German currency had collapsed completely. At the worst of the hyperinflation in late 1923, the exchange rate for one US dollar had skyrocketed to 4 trillion Reichsmarks by November.
Economic crisis/hyperinflation in 1923- explanation and historiography
-As a consequence, German corporations found it impossible to do business or trade abroad. Unable to acquire gold or foreign currency, the Weimar government had no capacity for meeting reparations installments.
-The group worst affected by hyperinflation was the middle class, who relied on investments, savings, or incomes from pensions.
-This hyperinflation forced the Weimar government to confront its own extinction, and there was talk that the government might be removed by a popular revolution or a military putsch. The crisis forced the collapse of two cabinets → political instability.
-However, this hyperinflation was caused by the government’s inability to pay back reparations. Fault of the ToV or irresponsibility of government? Nevertheless, can be traced back to ToV.
–Ruth Henig: The fact that the ToV did not survive the 1920s intact stemmed not from the terms of the treaties themselves, but rather from the failure of Weimar leaders to enforce them.
Political instability due to the nature of the Weimar constitution- examples
-Proportional representation enabled many parties, many of which were anti-Republican, to gain seats and hold influence in coalitions. This system also tended to lead to coalitions between parties with different aims, meaning that governments tended to be short-lived, contributing to instability.
-Article 48 was intended as a safety measure and was not supposed to be used other than in a situation of national emergency. However, Ebert ended up using it on 136 separate occasions. It was often used in non-emergency situations where he wanted to override opposition in the Reichstag.
-Kapp Putsch (1920) and Munich Putsch (1923)
Political instability due to the nature of the Weimar constitution- explanation & historiography
-These inherent parts of the Weimar Constitution set the stage for political instability and abuse.
-The structure of the Reichstag might have worked if there had been a national consensus about Germany’s political and economic future. The Weimar period was marked by difficult conditions and extreme political divisions, however, and the troubled Reichstag only reflected these divisions.
-Proportional voting and the abundance of parties it produced made it impossible for one or even two parties to ‘dominate’ the Reichstag. No party ever held a majority of seats in its own right. Passing legislation was necessary to govern effectively but getting bills through the Weimar Reichstag was difficult at the best of times and impossible at the worst.
-Many historians contend that giving such an expansive liberal democracy to a country that had previously known only rigid monarchic and aristocratic rule proved problematic, as they were neither psychologically nor historically prepared for self-government.
-Eric Weitz: ‘The proportional voting system contributed mightily to the political fragmentation of Weimar’. However, he also argues that ‘a less divided society could have made it work’. (divisions somewhat due to the ToV)
