The Early Years - Political Instability And Extremism 1919-24 Flashcards
What was the problem proportional representation?
The wide variety of political parties combined with the policy of proportional representation meant that it was pretty much impossible for one political party to hold the majority in the Reichstag causing the need for coalition governments.
Why was the variety of political parties and the formation of coalition governments problematic?
- Many parties were dedicated to overthrowing the Weimar Republic placing a burden on the centre parties (SPD, DDP and Centre Party) to form stable coalitions.
- Despite party leader accepting compromise the difficult decisions in Germany contributed if not cause the downfall of some of these coalitions.
- During times of political, social and economic crisis society became more polarised and support for extremist parties would increase. As these parties would generally refuse to enter coalitions this made it even harder to gain and Reichstag majority.
What are some examples of coalition govs failing due to disagreement?
- June 1919, Scheidemann cabinet resigned because it could not agree on the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.
- May 1921, disagreements also occurred in the Fehrenbach cabinet over whether to accept the allied ultimatum on reparations. This brought it down.
What happened to the SPD politically over the early years?
1918-19 it was the SPD that had taken the lead in establishing the Republic and trying to form stable govs but after June 1920 the SPD ceased to take a leading role in any coalition gov due to internal divisions and sometimes it did not participate in the ruling coalition at all.
How many coalitions where there between February 1919 and November 1923?
No less that ten.
What did these frequent changes in government and the Reichstag cause?
Continuity of policy was impossible and confidence in the whole democratic system was declining.
Who benefitted the most from confidence in the democratic system declining?
The extreme anti-democratic parties on the left and right benefitted the most.
Describe the 1919 Sparticist uprising.
- Led by Liebknecht and Luxemburg.
- They wanted to overthrow Ebert gov and establish a communist regime.
- Newspaper and some public building occupied.
- The revolt was poorly prepared and poorly supported as the Sparticists had not secured majority support from the working class in Berlin, whom they claimed to be acting for.
- Ebert relied on the army to neutralise the revolt but due to Groener having few reliable military units at his command he sent the Freikorps to deal with it.
- 13 January the uprising had be crushed due to brutal street fighting in which many prisoners (including Liebknecht and Luxemburg) were executed.
- The uprising deepened the divisions on the left for many years to come.
What were the other left wing uprisings?
March 1919 - another Spartacist rising in Berlin. In Bavaria, a communist gov based on workers’ councils, was established. These were both suppressed.
April 1919 - Strikes in Germany’s industrial heartlands in Halle and the Ruhr. They asked for shorter hours, more control over their own industries and a gov based on workers’ councils.
1920 - Red rising.
March 1921 - KPD tried to force a revolution, beginning with a rising in Saxony. Strike disruption spread to Hamburg and the Ruhr, but the risings were crushed by the police and 145 people were killed.
1923 - a bit more strike activity at the time of Germany’s economic collapse. Again centred in Saxony and Hamburg, but was suppressed.
What was the Red rising?
1920 - Communists formed a ‘Red Army’ of 50,000 workers and seized control of the Ruhr. Virtual civil war took place against the army/Freikorps. Troubles also broke out in Halle and Dresden, and over 1000 workers and 250 soldiers and police were killed. More disturbances in Saxony and Thuringia, where workers organised self-defence units, were also put down in April.
Was there a threat from these left-wing revolts?
As long as the gov had the army on their side they were never truly threatened from these revolts but continued working-class rebellions did damage the Republic as fear of a communist/Bolshevik revolution grew among the middle classes causing some to support right-wing parties.
Why was the challenge from the right problematic?
Right-wing views were strong amongst the army and Freikorps. Additionally, large landowners, industrialists, civil servants, police and judges whom the Republic relied were also traditional conservative anti-republicans.
Why was the challenge from the right also weak?
Most right-wing groups only agreed that democracy was wrong and the politicians of the Weimar Republic had betrayed the fatherland. There were many competing right wing groups with different objectives. Some wanted the restoration of the monarchy, some wanted a dictatorship, etc. In some areas like Bavaria there were groups that fought for separations from Germany whilst others wanted a united Germany so it could once again become a great power. These divisions hindered the right wings ability to overthrow the republic.
How did the Kapp Putsch, 1920 start?
Due to the Treaty of Versailles, in January the gov had to reduce the size of the army and disband some of the Freikorps units. In February, defence minister Noske ordered two Freikorps units to disband (12,000 men) stationed 12 miles from Berlin. General Walther von Lüttwitz refused to disband one of them so the gov ordered his arrest. Lüttwitz decided to March his troops to Berlin in protest and other sympathetic officers offered their support. Right-wing politician Wolfgang Kapp also supported him with intent on organising a putsch.
Who remained non-committal during the Kapp putsch and why?
Generals Hans Von Seeckt and Lundendorff. They sympathised but were aware of the danger of voicing open support.
How was the Kapp Putsch neutralised and what did Ebert’s gov do?
Ebert’s gov was forced to withdraw to Dresden and when Ebert and chancellor Gustav Bauer called the army for support they denied because they did not want to fight their own men. There was considerable tension between the military and civilian elements of the Putsch and it failed to gain widespread support. Trade unions encouraged by socialist members of Ebert’s gov called a general strike bringing Berlin to a standstill. Within 4 days to Putsch collapsed, Kapp and Lüttwitz were forced to flee and Ebert’s gov returned.
What lessons were learnt from the Kapp Putsch?
- The army was not to be trusted all the time.
- Civil servants could be disloyal (Kapp was also a civil servant).
- The workers as a group displayed considerable power.
- Without the army’s support the Weimar government was weak.
- The Judges were more lenient to the right wing offenders compared to left also showing the power they had.
Who were usually involved in political assassinations?
Generally right wing nationalists would organise themselves into leagues committed to the assassination of political figures and those associated with the ‘betrayal’ of Germany.
These Vaterländische Verbände (patriotic leagues) were often formed from old Freikorps units and acted as fiercely anti-republican paramilitaries. Some were supported by the German army.
Describe the assassination of Erzberger.
In August 1921, the former finance minister was assassinated in the Black forest by a group called the Organisation Consul. He had already been shot in January. Erzberger had been involved in the signing of the armistice and he signed the treaty of Versailles. He was also Germany’s representative on the reparations committee.
Describe the assassination of Rathenau?
On 24 June 1922, the Jewish foreign minister involved in the signing of the armistice and trying to negotiate with the allies to try and improve the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was shot in his car (a grenade was also thrown in it). Rathenau has been a popular figure and the following day 700,000 protesters lined the streets of Berlin. Abroad the value of the mark fell as other countries feared the repercussions.
What was the overall effect of political assassinations?
They caused the Reichstag to pass a law in July 1922 ‘for the protection of the Republic’ which imposed serious penalties for people involved in conspiracy to murder and banned extremist organisations. But the Judges whom had to carry out these law were very lenient on right wings offenders and it showed people that right wing offenders could get away with murder. Additionally, some govs refused to implement the law e.g. in Bavaria.
Weimar politicians seemed to exaggerate the threat from the left and underestimate the threat form the right which now established itself firmly in Germany.
How many political assassinations were there between 1919 and 1923?
376 political assassinations, 22 carried out by the left and 354 by the right.
How were the left and right punished for political assassinations?
326 right wing murderers went unpunished and only one was convicted and sentenced to severe punishment until 1923, 10 left wing murderers were sentenced to death.
How did the right feel after the end of passive resistance in the Ruhr?
The nationalist right once again accused the government of betrayal. The occupation of the Ruhr and the subsequent hyperinflation crisis, were the backdrop to the last attempt to overthrow the Republic by force in 1923 by the Nazi party.
