Political and Economic Crises, 1919-23 Essay Flashcards
Introduction - Background Sentences
At the end of 1922, Germany failed to pay one of the reparation payments, which therefore caused France and Belguim to retaliate by invading the Ruhr which was where Germany earned majority of its income for its economy. German workers were instructed by the Government to go on strike at the Ruhr, which led to very little money being made for Germany, to which in response Germany started to print more money in order to pay the strikers.
Introduction - Factors
Within this essay, I will be discussing the threats from the left, threats from the right and hyperinflation and how it can help establish a secure democratic state in Germany or diminish the democratic state.
Introduction - Historiography
Some historians such as Lee and Carr believe that the challenges from the right were the most important for causing the democratic state to destabilise whereas some historians such Evans and Berger believe it to be that the challenges from the left was the reason that Germany began to destabilise in 1919-23.
Introduction - Line of Argument
This essay will argue that Germany’s new leaders managed to establish a secure democracy, but only in the short term. In the long term, their actions overall destabilised democracy in Germany.
Challenges from the left
What was the Spartacist Revolt?
On the 6th January, a general strike was called where 100,000 workers went on strike and targeted important buildings for the government. The Friekorps, called upon by Ebert, came to put a stop to the strike, which ended in the assassination of the leaders of the Spartacists and the remaining members were forced to go underground along with the party.
Challenges from the left
What happened in Bavaria with the Soviet Republic?
In March 1919, a Soviet Republic was declared in Bavaria, which meant that there was no longer the Bavaria monarchy. In the confusion from the country going from a monarchy to a soviet republic, the revolutionaries gained control. However, Kurt Eisner’s Soviet Republic in Bavaria was quickly disbanded by the Friekorps with over 700 killed.
Challenges from the left
Analysis
On the one hand, this was important for stabilising Germany at this time because of the determination of Ebert and the Friekorps, they improved the social economy of Germany as they were able to crush the ongoing revolution and the opposing political interests of some of the German public allowing for Germany’s society to become stable once again.
Challenges from the left
Historiography
Berger sees the political and economic situation in Germany as destabilising due to the work of the SPD who wished for a socialist state within Germany through a social republic which would lead to capitalism. Evans agrees with Berger as he recognises Ebert’s leadership over the Republic in it’s effort to maintain Germany’s essential services. He highlights the determination of the SPD leadership, and how it will comprise the Republic later in the future.
Challenges from the left
Analysis +
On the other hand, this was important for destabilising Germany between 1919-23 because from the confusion that erupted throughout the revolution, many of the Friekorps had died which caused Germany to lose control over the revolutionaries as the army hasn’t trusted enough for them to fight off the revolutionaries, leaving Germany in a fit of chaos as there is less authority over the revolutionaries.
Challenges from the left
Evaluation
Although the efforts of the Friekorps did help prevent revolutions from taking place at the beginning of the crisis, after Ebert’s decision to disband some of their units, instability quickly faced Germany as the Weimar Republic had no supporters to help prevent revolutions to take place against the democracy.
Challenges from the right
What happened with the Friekorps in March 1920?
In March 1920, Ebert had ordered two of the biggest friekorps units to disband, however General von Luttwiz had refused and launched a revolution instead. As part of their revolution, they had taken over Berlin which forced Ebert and many other Weimar politicians to flee from the capital. Many members of the army were supportive of the ongoing revolution, helping the revolution gain support from the public.
Challenges from the right
Analysis
The people of Germany chose democracy when they answered Ebert’s call to put down the Kapp Putsch through their actions of going on a general strike. This was important for stabilising the Weimar Republic as it shows that there was a significant amount of support for the Weimar in March 1920.
Challenges from the right
What happened during the Kapp Putsch?
During the Kapp Putsch, Wolfgang Kapp was elected to be the political face of the putsch. However, the army was divided as some members had supported the putsch whereas others did not. In the end, the army didn’t react at all to either sides calls for help.
Challenges from the right
Analysis +
However, this was important for destabilising the Weimar Republic as it showed that the army still held all the power in terms of whether to support the Republic or not. This kept the army’s autonomy intact and ensured that it sat outside of the Weimar Republic’s sphere of influence.
Challenges from the right
Historiography
Lee differs from Berger’s view on Germany’s situation between 1919 and 1923 as he praises the republic leaders for turning the republic in favour of a democracy and how they weren’t opposed to using the military against the extremists in order to have a democracy. His view emphasises the government’s control over the public and the financial situation of Germany as he sees that Gemany’s government was stable at this time.
Challenges from the right
Evaluation
In the short term, many Germans weren’t opposed to the idea of a democracy after offering their support to Ebert. However, the army still had majority of their control over the public, and from their influence the republic lot many of its supporters as the instability of the country caused the army and the public to turn to the revolutionaries for new leadership in Germany.
Hyperinflation
What was the effect on workers?
At the start of the hyperinflation crisis, workers initially received compensatory wage rises, but these failed to keep pace with hyperinflation. It is estimated an unskilled worker lost about 30% of their spending power of this time.
Hyperinflation
What was the effect on pensioners?
Pensioners savings were utterly ruined. With no way to gain this money back, pensioners were devastated economically and struggled to withstand falling into poverty.
Hyperinflation
Analysis
As a result, the defensive measures during November 1923 used to deal with the inflation crisis by Schacht and Stresemann, this eventually led to a period of political and economic stability within Germany.
Hyperiflation
Analysis +
Although the defensive measures were effective in the short term, however in the terms of long lasting, over time money was still being mass produced causing more and more businesses to go bust resulting in many workers losing their jobs, and also for everyday essentials, such as food especially after many farmers refusing to work under poor working wages, causing Germans to seek out new leadership in order to gain control over the financial situation in Germany.
Hyperinflation
Evaluation
Due to Germany failing to pay reparations at the end of the year in 1922, France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr, resulting in the German government asking for its workers to strike in which they would be paid by producing more money therefore causing the start of the inflation crisis. Due to the failures of the government, Germany was forced into a wave of instability economically which led to instability in its politics as many Germans resented the government as they were the cause of hyperinflation.
Conclusion
Line of argument
This essay will argue that Germany’s new leaders managed to establish a secure democracy, but only in the short term. In the long term, their actions overall destabilised democracy in Germany.
Conclusion
Challenges from the left
Although the determination of Ebert and the Friekorps, improved the social economy of Germany as they were able to crush the ongoing revolution allowing for Germany’s society to become stable once again. However, from the confusion that erupted throughout the revolutions, many of the Friekorps had died which caused Germany to lose control over the revolutionaries as the army wasn’t trusted enough for them to fight off the revolutionaries, leaving Germany in a state of uncertainty and instability. This shows that there was too much confusion for the German public to determine if democracy was going to be successful, which made many Germans seek out the revolutionaries for change to take place in Germany.
Conclusion
Challenges from the right
The people of Germany chose democracy when they answered Ebert’s call to put down the Kapp Putsch, which showed Ebert that there was a significant amount of support for the Weimar Republic in March 1920. However, the Army still held all the power in terms of whether to support the Republic or not as Ebert relied on them to help with keeping down the revolutionaries. This shows that the public often looked up to the army when basing their decisions for who they should trust in Germany. Due to this, many Germans did not trust the democratic system and revoked their support for Ebert and the Weimar Republic, causing instability in Germany’s political situation.
