Popularity Of The Extremes 1918-33 (Focus On Communists And Kpd) Flashcards
Hyperinflation
They got much more support as the public lost faith in Weimar but lost supporter in 30,31,32
Voters were attracted by bold action promised by the extreme parties.
Between May 1928 and July 1932, the Communists increased their seats from 54 to 89.
The KPD managed to increase their vote share from 10% to 15%, equivalent to one million extra votes. Success for the Communists came about for two main reasons.
Firstly, the Wall Street Crash had triggered a significant increase in unemployment and unemployed. Germans found the Communist’s message promising jobs appealing. Linked to this were falling wages.
As economic crisis deepened, businesses cut wages to lower their costs. Increasing support for the Communists worried many in German society, and those who opposed the Communists (such as the upper and middle classes – including business owners) increasingly turned to the Nazis who were seen as the best chance of defeating the Communists
Revolutionary disturbances from the extreme left
- Red Bavaria
- The ‘German October’
- The Red threat
- the Spartacists revolt
Red bavaria
- After collapse of Bavarian monarchy, USPD leader Kurt Eisner took political lead.
- Eisner had trouble to unite socialist parties to implement reforms and was assassinated 21 feb 1919
- Bavarian soviet republic with a ‘red army’ proposed radical political and economical changes. Led by Eugen Levine
- after a month Freikorps and the army defeated ‘Red army’ with 1000 deaths. Event known as the White terror.
- this shifted politics to right wing and became a haven for extremists, but also showing uprising of the communists too.
The ‘German October’
- crisis of 1923, left-wing revolutionary actions came to a head in central Germany
- KPD and SPD formed coalitions in the regional governments of Saxony and Thuringia
- Communists went further and made military preparations for an uprising with ‘Proletarian Hundreds’ (defence units)
- Overthrown by German army and regional govs were re-created without Communists
Spartacist uprising jan 1919
- aim to overthrow the provisional government in order to create a soviet republic
- 5 Jan occupied public buildings, called for general strike, formed revolutionary committee
- Little chance of success
- 3 days of violent fighting, 100 dead
- Spartacist coup easily defeated and leaders LIEBKNECHT and LUXEMBURG were brutally murdered in police custody
What did Spartacist uprising show/result in?
- they were strong on policies but detached from political realities
- no real strategy just workers with rifles
- created troubled atmosphere in following few months.
- KPD did not participate in jan 1919 election
‘The Red threat’
- actions from the extreme left gave impression that germany was really facing a Bolshevik inspired red threat
- as result of right wing propaganda many Germans began to have fears about possible impending revolution
extreme left posed less threat as Weimar believed as main failures were through:
- bad coordination - incapable of mounting a unified attack
- poor leadership - shown through Liebknecht and luxemburg
- concessions - kapp putsch divided extreme left
- repression
What were the 4 ideologies of the extreme right?
- Anti-Marxism (fear of communism)
- Anti-Democracy (aim to destroy Weimar and its constitution)
- Authoritarianism
- Nationalism
Organisations of extreme right
Freikorps
Extreme right uprisings
- the kapp putsch
- the Munich beer hall putsch
The kapp putsch 1920
- it’s goal was to undo the German Revolution of 1918–1919, overthrow the Weimar Republic, and establish an autocratic government in its place
- 12000 troops/freikorps to march on Berlin and seize main buildings to install a new government
- army refused to fight Freikorps until strike
- putsch collapsed , before leaving Berlin, SPD members called strike leaving capital paralysed and people fled. After 4 days, Kapp and government exerted no real authority and fled the city
Aftermath of kapp putsch
- can be seen as success of Weimar as withstood uprising and retained the back of people of Berlin
- clearly a weakness of Weimar though as gov failed to confront the problem of the army’s behaviour being right-wing attitudes and lack of sympathy for the republic during time of the putsch
- judiciary unchanged as were right-winged bias and condemned left wing
- army unreliable
The Munich beer hall putsch 1923
- crucial to rise of Hitler
- ‘march on Berlin’
- nov 8 Kahr (leader of bavarian state government) was addressing a large audience in one of munichs beer halls, Hitler and Nazis took control of the meeting and declared a ‘national revolution’. Under pressure, Kahr agreed.
- Seeckt used powers to command the armed forces to resist the forces
- Next days when Nazis attempted to take Munich they had un sufficient support and easily crushed the putsch.
- 14 Nazis killed, injured Hitler was arrested on a charge of treason
Aftermath of Munich beer hall putsch
- dealings of judiciary biggest concern as Hitler was only sentenced to mere 5 years and released after less than 10 months on the grounds that he was there by ‘accident’
