Problems Facing The Weimar Republic (essay plan) Flashcards
1) Weaknesses of the Weimar constitution:-
- Unpopular w/ 🇩🇪 elite- wanted 1 ruler
- G’s didn’t understand how democratic system worked/ not prepared for democratic constitution
- 🇩🇪 used to dictatorship/ few able democratic politicians
- G’s didn’t like Pres Ebert- wanted someone who served in army/general/commander
- Constitution- mix of principles from socialist + liberal agendas
- Economic objectives/unresolved class conflicts=confusing
- Article 48- rule by decree could be abused by Pres
- undermines democratic system
- Coalition govn=hard making decisions
- no party gained majority
- e.g 30 parties in Reichstag 1930
2) Treaty O’ V 1919
The Major Powers:-
- JAN 1919- allies met Versailles Palace Paris-peace treaty for 🇩🇪
- 32 countries represented-major powers Brit/France/USA/Japan/Italy
- USA- Woodrow Wilson- hope new EU based on justice. Fourteen points.
- France- Georges Clemenceau- prevent another 🇩🇪 invasion of France/ get back Alsace+Lorraine/ 🇩🇪reparations for damages
- Brit- David Lloyd George- want fair peace settlement/ lasting peace
2) Treaty O’V 1919
Territorial clauses:-
- Saar basin-prosperous coal/iron area put under international control-15 years
- Danzig-under international control
- Polish corridor created- give Poland outlet to sea
- Upper Silesia➡️Poland
- 🇩🇪lost all overseas colonies
- 🇩🇪Withdraw from left bank of Ruhr
- Malmedy+Eupen➡️Belgium
- Alsace+Lorraine➡️returned to France
- Parts of Schleswig➡️Denmark (after plebiscite)
- East Prussia cut off from rest of 🇩🇪
- Lost:- 13% 🇩🇪 territory
- 12% 🇩🇪 population (6.5m)
2) Treaty O’V 1919
Penal Clauses:-
*Anschluss- 🇩🇪 not allowed to unite w/ Austria + recognise independence of Austria/Czech
*Disarmament:-
-army ⬇️-100,000 men
-conscription abolished
-Rhineland: left bank demilitarised/ not allowed w/
in 50km of right bank
-occupation of Rhineland- allies 15 years
-navy restricted to 6 light cruisers/12 torpedo
boats/12 destroyers
-❌all u- boats (submarines)
-tanks ❌
-❌airforce scrapped
*Clause 231:war guilt clause-
🇩🇪 take responsibility for causing war (allowed them to ask for reparations)
*Reparations- 6,600m marks for damage of war
🔺3 weeks to examine treaty
🔺treaty nicknamed DIKTAT
2) Treaty O’V 1919
Reaction to treaty:-
- 🇩🇪 nation- infuriated/rejected treaty
- Weimar politicians- no choice but sign (alternative=war again)
- June 1919- treaty accepted 237-138 votes in parliament
- Military country reduced- g’s angry
- G’s expected victory up to 1918 (told by Generals)-angry/frustrated at loss
- Millions g’s denied national rights
- Diktat- dictated peace/🇩🇪 not allowed to join discussions on peace terms
- 🇩🇪 100% responsible for war = unfair
- Reparations cause economic collapse
- Opponents of Weimar Republic blamed Govn for treaty/ govn seen as “NOV criminals” who’d “stabbed 🇩🇪 in the back”-common myth
2) Treaty O’ V 1919
Historians:-
🔷Nationalist newspaper- Deutsche Zeitung
“Death rather than slavery”
🔷AJ Ryder
“The Treaty O’ V signed the death warrant of German Democracy”
Threats to the Weimar Republic
3) Threats from the left
Spartacist Uprising 1919:-
*Aim: Rev/ overthrow govn
- Karl Liebkneck/Rosa Luxemburg:
- broke away from USPD Party (Dec 1918)
- led group of revolutionaries/form Spartacist Union
*Events:-
*1st Jan 1919
-German Communist Party (KPD) formed
-Spartacist Union w/ other exterme l.w groups’
support
- 5th Jan 1919
- Spartacist begin revolt- Berlin
- revolutionary committee formed
- buildings taken over e.g newspaper offices
- uprising poorly organised/weak no.s
- Revolt ended by army/Freikorps (r.w paramilitary) led by General Walther Von Lüttwitz
- Spartacist policies/tactics scared Ebert/SPD govn
- Ebert forced to use anti-democratic forces to restore order
- Helped spread/encourage political violence in 🇩🇪
- Ebert-Groner Agreement
- Ebert: supply/support army against l.w groups
- Groner: army support against Rev/loyalty to govn
*Spartacist leaders- murdered for actions
3) Threats from the Left
Other l.w opposition:-
1919-23
- l.w unrest- never serious threat to govn
- strikes/demonstrations in industrial areas
- e.g Ruhr/central 🇩🇪
German October (Oct 1923)
-KPD planned uprising
-army defeated it before it began
~Inadequate leadership
~Internal ➗
~Poor organisation
~Lack support
3) Threats from the left
Historians:-
Hite+Hinton
Some extreme workers felt they hadn’t benefited from abdication of kaiser + a full scale comm Rev was needed (similar to Russia)
4) Threats from the right
Kapp Putsch (March 1920):-
- Extreme right- opposed to Weimar
- “Stab in the back”/ “Nov criminals” myth
- Anger at Treaty O’ V
- Kapp- want restoration of monarchy
- Leaders:
- General Ludendroff (leading member of Freikorps)
- Wolfgang Kapp
*Aim: overthrow Weimar govn
- Events:-
- Oct 1919- National Association formed to raise support for conspiracy
- Treaty O’ V demand ⬇️army-100,000/ state started to disband units
- March 1920- Ehrhardt Marine Brigade (Berlin) refuse to disband (leader of brigade=leader of Freikorps) p- news spread
- 13th March-2,500 these troops led by Lüttwitz began to seize govn buildings
- Only Commander and Chief of army (Reinhardt) prepared to use force against rising
- Other generals/commanders refused to send troops
- Weimar govn ➡️ Stuttgard
4) Threats from the right
Kapp Putsch (March 1920) defeat:-
- Trade unions-general strike
- civil service refuse to carry out Kapps orders
- Strike effective-incl workers from key industries
- water
- electricity
- gas
4) Threats from the right
Kapp Putsch (March 1920) aftermath:-
*Govn didn’t move against opponents bc Ebert-Groner agreement -need army + it’s support
- KP set off waves of strikes and Comm uprisings
- 19th March- Spartacist revolt Ruhr mining region
- need rw to put these down
- KP- worsened ➗ of RW groups + Weimar Republic
- late March-new cabinet formed by Muller- uses army to end Spartacist revolt
- April-SPD led govn in Bavaria forced to resign-replaced by new RW govn-KP worked
*Elections 1920
-KP aftermath- ‘Weimar Coalition’ parties-SPD/
-centre/DDP=heavy losses
-coalition dominated 78% ⬇️ to 45%
-parties supporting Republic weakened
-govn dominated by series of coalitions-bitterly
opposed by extreme lw/rw
-new govn led by Fehrenbach-DVP support-didn’t incl socialists
4) Threats from the right
Munich Putsch (NOV 1923):-
*Leaders-Hitler/general Ludendorff
- Aim:
- overthrow govn
- gain support
- raise awareness of Nazi party
- establish authoritarian RW government
- events:
- 8th NOV 1923- Von Lossow/Von Kahr addressing 2,000 RW supporters-beer hall Munich
- Hitler➡️meeting-declares a national rev
- H forces VL and VK into side room at gunpoint
- stormtroopers seized members of Bavarian govn
- H forces VL/VK to promise loyalty to putsch
- Ludendorff releases them + VL/VK alert Ebert
- Ebert declares national state of emergency
- H doubts about marching on Berlin
- 9th Nov-Ludendorff persuades H to proceed w/march on Munich to seize power (1st step to march on Berlin)
- noon-2000 armed Nazis gain some public support/march into military base in Munich
- Met by armed police/Bavarian soldiers
- shot fired (probs Nazi) police return fire
*Putsch defeated
-14 Nazis killed
-11th Nov- Ludendroff + H arrested
-Seekt (Bavarian Govn) bans Nazis
-Feb 1924- H/Lud tried for treason (carries death
penalty)
4) Threats from the right
Munich Putsch (NOV 1923) trial:-
- H trial=opportunity to attack Weimar regime/publicly give views
- H achieves national fame
- trial just before elections-helps Nazi vote
- Nazis now=third largest party in Bavaria
- Judges sympathetic
- Ludendorff acquitted-excuse present ‘by accident’
- H min. sentence- 5 years in prison
- H kept in good condition in Landsberg prison
- dictates own book Mein Kampf- expresses views
- Nazis nearly disintegrate w/o leader
- 24th DEC 1924- H released after 9 months
4) Threat form the right
Munich Putsch (Nov 1923) significance:-
*MP=military failure but +ve outcome for Nazis
*effective propaganda
-trial-H opportunity to express views nationwide
-views impressed middle-class judges (H min
sentence/released early/Lud let off)
- Profile of Nazi party
- regional party in Bulgaria to major national party
- Nazis received publicity
- became 3rd largest party in Bavaria
*Profile of Hitler
-before putsch-wasn’t widely known/party
performed badly in elections
-after-national fame during trial/many sympathise
w/ views
-claim actions done in “national interest” +
“internal court of history” would acquit him
- Change in Nazi tactics
- H changes Nazis into major political party to contest in democratic elections
- destroy democracy w/ legal revolution after gaining power
- realise Nazis not gain power w/ violent measures
- democratic system have to be used
- political process rather than revolutionary/violent measures
🔷H
“We must hold our noses and enter the Reichstag”
4) threats from the right
other RW opposition:-
- 1919-23: 100s of weimar politicians assassinations
- most famous Walther Rathaneu (June 1922)
- 1 of weimars most able politicians
- Assassinated by RW terror group
- led to widespread revulsion of these tactics- 700,000 people attend demonstration against political assassinations in Berlin
Threats from RW/LW
historians:-
🔷Hite+Hinton
Weimar Republic survived bc the extremist forces of both left/right failed to attract much support +were both ➗/disorganised
5) economic problems (1919-23)
Economic problems caused by WWI:-
- Cost of war £3904m
- 1913-18-Mark lost 75% of value
- agricultural production ⬇️
- allies blockade
- DEC 1916 auxiliary Labour law govn harsh powers over labour
- only 16% cost of war met from taxation
- real earnings ⬇️ 20-30%
- major food/fuel shortages
- huge economic problems for Weimar govn
- disease and starvation
- pre-war export markets disappeared
- war financed by printing money/borrowing=inflation
- industry=vast profits-resented by German public
- expectations of booty from victory
5) economic problems (1919-23)
Treaty O’V:-
- Lost all colonies
- lost 13% of German territory
- demobilised soldiers unemployed
- lost 12% of German population 6.5 M
- £6600 M reparations
- lost 9/10 of merchant fleet
5) economic problems (1919-23)
Ruhr Crisis (JAN 1923):-
- July 1922-Weimar govn ask for suspension of reparations (allies refuse)
- Dec 1922-German national debt 469,000m marks
- Jan 1923-failed to pay reparations (argue to high/can’t be paid)
- 11th Jan 1923-60,000 French Belgian troops invade Ruhr Valley (German industrial heartland)-claim reparations
- govn encourage workers/population of Ruhr to offer passive resistance
- new centre right govn-led by Wilhelm Cuno
- Nov 1922-Cuno order suspension of reparation payments
- French/Belgium troops respond-arrest mine owners/take over mines +railways
- Passive resistance policy worked
- Amount coal delivered to France/Belgium ⬇️
- govn continue to pay welfare costs of striking workers
- had to keep printing money-inflation
5) economic problems (1919-23)
hyperinflation crisis (1923) causes:-
- Effects of WW1
- treaty O’V
- Ruhr crisis
- Government action 1919-1923-govn policy growth/industrial production/
assisted industry-help export markets last in war-initial mild inflation-stimulate economy/supply
goods for reparations/ keep unemployment low-way to pay reparations=raise taxes-sum too big
(depress economy/⬆️unemployment/ socially
unacceptable)-govn inflated mark-angered allies-suspect 🇩🇪.
deliberately wrecking currency-avoid reparations
5) economic problems (1919-23)
Hyperinflation crisis 1923:-
- 663B marks in circulation=hyperinflation
- German mark (almost)/savings/pensions/mortgages/salaries =worthless
- Many g’s suffered/turned against democracy
- Weimar Republic weakened politically/LT
- crisis contributed to collapse of Republic
- benefited people in debt/fixed mortgages
- e.g. newspaper 1b marks
Ending Hyperinflation:-
- New govn under Gustave Streseman to power
- Stresemann tries to deal with economic problems
- Ends passive resistance in Ruhr to get economy going again
- paid outstanding reparations in full
- Intro-new currency Rentamark
- strict limit 3200 M in circulation at one time
- Reichsbank opened-Pres= Hjalmar Schacht
- cut govn expenditure e.g. 700,000 state employees lose jobs
- Dawes plan -reparations scale down until 1929
- huge loans from USA - hyperinflation ended
- hardline Nationalists accuse Stresemann surrendering to 🇩🇪enemies
- Stresemann leads🇩🇪 into economic stability
Economic problems-Hyperinflation crisis (1923)
historians:-
🔷Hite+Hinton
Hyperinflation “threatened economic chaos and undermined the govn’s reputation”
