Weakness of the Weimar Republic . in conclusion .

In October 1918, Germany's naval command at Kiel decided to take on the might of the British Navy which was blockading Germany's northern part.
This one incident seemed to have been the catalyst that sparked off total anger in Germany. The navy had been the Kaiser's, and Germany's pride and joy and here were the sailors rebelling against authorityorts and starving out the nation. went on strike. Soldiers did join the protests.   

By early November 1918, many cities had been taken over by workers' and soldiers' councils. This was very similar to what had happened in Russia during the communist take over of 1917 and politicians were fearful of another communist takeover in Germany itself.

November 9th, the Social Democrats announced that the Kaiser had abdicated .But there was a general strike in Berlin at that time and the Social Democrats feared that extremists would take over and anarchy would occur.. In March 1919, what was left of the German Communists attempted another takeover. The Free Corps was called in to crush them and within a few days had killed over 1000 people.Free Corps had once again saved the government and restored order. May 1st, 1919, soldiers from the army assisted by the Free Corps took over Munich killing at least 600 people - including children.Weimar Republic faced many problems.  Perhaps the greatest danger was 'the weakness within' - the constitution gave the President, the states and the army too much power, whilst proportional voting meant that the Reichstag was divided and weak.The worst crisis occurred in 1923, when the French invaded to try to force Germany to pay reparations.  

In spite of the harsh terms, the Weimar Republic accepted the humiliating treaty, thereby making it unpopular amongst the German masses.Weimar government refused to pay. German state was financially crippled due to overwhelming war debts which had to be paid in gold.Weimar Republic came about to be one with huge problems during its infancy.Thus, beset with political and economic problems, the German people lost confidence in the Weimar Republic.

In this way, the Wall Street collapse of 1929 was to prove a disaster for the Weimar republic.

Germany had lost 2 million men in the war. These were the core of Germany's work force and Germany's industrial base could not recover without them. Therefore, it seemed that in December 1918, Germany was condemned to economic weakness. The incompetence of the military leaders was forgotten and the government of the time of the Armistice was blamed.


Food shortages in Germany itself had pushed many civilians to the brink of starvation. Farmers were short of labourers to bring in the harvest as young men had been drafted into the military. supply of potatoes had run out and the only real alternative was turnips. It is thought that nearly 750,000 died of a combination of flu and starvation - this figure included mainly civilians but it also included soldiers who had survived the horror of war, returned to Germany and had died of the disease.WW1 destroyed Germany - the economy was bankrupt , many industries destroyed during war, many young men killed or injured, high unemployemnt rate .DIKTAT  so they blamed the Weimar GOVT for this - and called them the November Criminals . they stabbed Germany in the back - betrayed the country and the people THUS - right from the start .  

Weimar Government was UNPOPULAR with the people and had LITTLE SUPPORT from them.

done~.~

Haoqiang

Food shortages in Germany itself had pushed many civilians to the brink of starvation. Farmers were short of labourers to bring in the harvest as young men had been drafted into the military. By 1918, Germany was producing only 50% of the milk it had done before the war. By the winter of 1917, the supply of potatoes had run out and the only real alternative was turnips. This is why the winter of 1916 to 1917 is known as the "Turnip Winter". Turnips were used as animal foodstuff and the thought of eating them repelled many as they were the food of cows, pigs etc. Lack of food had seriously weakened the ability of people to fight off disease. Flu had a terrible impact on Germans as the people had little bodily strength to fight the illness. It is thought that nearly 750,000 died of a combination of flu and starvation - this figure included mainly civilians but it also included soldiers who had survived the horror of war, returned to Germany and had died of the disease.

By Christmas 1918, Germany was at peace with regards to the war. The Armistice held out - though Germany was incapable of fighting anyway. However, the shock of defeat combined with the state of Germany caused the new government lead by Ebert to inherit many problems. 

• Weimar Govt unstable - due to consequences of WW1
  
• WW1 destroyed Germany - the economy was bankrupt , many industries destroyed during war, many young men killed or injured, high unemployemnt rate ( especially soldiers who returned and found themselves unemployed due to demilitarisation) , the gap between rich and poor was huge,money losing value - thus a lot of suffering
  
• as a result people were angry - Germany in chaotic situation - many riots and rebellions and violence
  
• the Versailles Treaty worsened the situation - many Germans hated the Weimar Govt for signing the treaty - because they felt it was an unfair treaty that humiliated Germany:
  
• by putting the blame and GUILT of WW1 soley on Germany destroying Germany by taking away territories , making them pay HUGE reparations, demilitarising Germany and making her totally defenceless against attacks to many Germans
  
• -VT was a DIKTAT - unfair treaty that they were forced to sign - so they blamed the Weimar GOVT for this - and called them the November Criminals - they stabbed Germany in the back - betrayed the country and the people THUS - right from the start -
  
• Weimar Government was UNPOPULAR with the people and had LITTLE SUPPORT from them
  

Dianah

Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic

However, many historians believe that the strength and success of the Weimar republic was largely an illusion:

1.  It depended on economic success and prosperity, and this in turn was wholly based on American loans.  If anything happened to undermine the American economy, the Weimar Republic would be in great danger.

2.  As soon as economic prosperity returned, the Great Coalition organised by Stresemann collapsed, and the moderate pro-democracy parties began to argue among themselves again.  Thus they would not be strong enough to resist a challenge from extremist parties if ever there was one.

3.  Extremist politicians were not won over by the good times.  Right-wing nationalists still hated the Republic as the 'November criminals' - they just waited for a situation to arise which would give them the opportunity to attack the Weimar government.

  

In this way, the Wall Street collapse of 1929 was to prove a disaster for the Weimar republic.

Germany had lost 2 million men in the war. These were the core of Germany's work force and Germany's industrial base could not recover without them. Therefore, it seemed that in December 1918, Germany was condemned to economic weakness.

Communism had also taken a hold in Germany - and this group, known as the Spartacists, were determined to bring down Ebert and set up a communist style government in Berlin.

The war had brought :

economic disaster to Germany

a serious loss of man power

near total disrespect for the government

many thousands of armed and disillusioned former soldiers roaming the streets

a civilian population traumatised by the impact of the war

The most obvious was Ebert's inability to control Berlin. Such was the violence and chaos in Germany's capital city between the German Communists and the Freikorps and army, that the government moved to the nearest large city which was 'peaceful' and set up government there. This was the city of Weimar. Hence the name of Germany from 1919 to 1933. However, how could Ebert's government appear strong when it had fled its own capital?

Ebert had inherited a far worse problem. Many soldiers had returned from the war with their weapons. Their retreat had been so haphazard that there had been no formal disarming of soldiers. Germany was littered with weapons. Soldiers had been greatly angered by the defeat and they blamed the government - which happened to be Ebert's. These men could not be disarmed nor were they loyal to the government. They were potentially a serious source of trouble. Ironically, it was not Ebert's fault that Germany had lost the war. The incompetence of the military leaders was forgotten and the government of the time of the Armistice was blamed.

Hueilian.

The Versailles Peace Treaty at the end of the First World War dispossessed Germany of its territories, its resources and its pride as a nation. In spite of the harsh terms, the Weimar Republic accepted the humiliating treaty, thereby making it unpopular amongst the German masses.

The German state was financially crippled due to overwhelming war debts which had to be paid in gold. The French occupied Germany’s chief industrial area—the Ruhr—to exact debts when the Weimar government refused to pay. The uninhibited printing of paper money caused the value of the German mark to fall considerably, thereby causing hyperinflation. When the Great Economic Depression occurred, the German economy was the worst hit because USA—which had been bailing it out of debts—discontinued its monetary support.

Democracy was a new idea in Europe, and the Weimar Republic came about to be one with huge problems during its infancy. The Weimar Republic was weak due to inherent constitutional irregularities such as proportional representation and Article 48 (which gave the President the power to impose emergency and rule by decree). The democratic parliamentary system seemed to give the people no solutions or benefits in the times of the severe economic crisis. Thus, beset with political and economic problems, the German people lost confidence in the Weimar Republic.

Make Germany Pay - Weimar, Extremists, Versailles

Joejack.

After Germany lost the First World War, the Kaiser fled and a new democratic government of Germany was declared in February 1919 at the small town of Weimar. It was too dangerous to make a declaration in Berlin where there had just been a revolt by a Communist group called the Spartacists. The Weimar Republic was a genuine attempt to create a perfect democratic country.

On February 11th, 1919, the new parliament elected Ebert as president on the new German Republic. Ebert's problems did not end with the crushing of the Spartacists.

In March 1919, what was left of the German Communists attempted another takeover. The Free Corps was called in to crush them and within a few days had killed over 1000 people. Ebert had ordered that anybody seen carrying a weapon was to be shot dead. The Free Corps had once again saved the government and restored order. 

February 1919 and the socialists and communists there fell out on how Bavaria should be governed after Eisner's death. The Communists won out and a Soviet Republic of Bavaria came into being. This was a clear challenge to the authority of Ebert.  The army and the Free Corps was asked to deal with the problem. The main city in Bavaria - Munich -  was put under siege and by April food in the city was in very short supply. 

On May 1st, 1919, soldiers from the army assisted by the Free Corps took over Munich killing at least 600 people - including children.

The Weimar Republic faced many problems.  Perhaps the greatest danger was 'the weakness within' - the constitution gave the President, the states and the army too much power, whilst proportional voting meant that the Reichstag was divided and weak.  In 1919-23, extremists on both the Left (especially the Spartacist revolt) and the Right (especially the Kapp Putsch) tried to overthrow the government.

      The worst crisis occurred in 1923, when the French invaded to try to force Germany to pay reparations.  This led to hyperinflation and a number of rebellions (particularly Hitler's Munich Putsch).

Sherlyn.

World War One had a devastating impact on Germany. Throughout World War One, the people of Germany had been led to believe by their government that they were winning the war. Government propaganda had been used to great effect. When the temporarily blinded Adolf Hitler had gone into hospital in 1918 (the result of a gas attack), he, along with many German soldiers, was convinced that Germany was not only winning the war but was in the process of putting together a major military assault on Allied lines. 

Only the military leaders such as Luderndorff and Hindenburg knew the true state of Germany's military plight which had become even more apparent when America had joined in the war in 1917. The success of the Luderndoff Offensive in 1918 was only paper-thin as Germany had lost many of her most able officers in battle. 

Germany itself was being starved of food and all goods as a result of the British Navy's blockade of her ports in the north. With such a small coastline, the British Navy found it a relatively easy task to blockade her. German troops were poorly equipped and what food there was went to the war effort leaving the people of Germany very short of food.

In the autumn of 1918, the Allies launched a massive attack on the German lines. The German Army could not stand up to such an attack and in just a few weeks the German Army had collapsed. The euphoria of the success of the Luderndorff Offensive was quickly forgotten. Many Germans could not accept that they had lost the war. The blame was put on weak politicians rather than on military exhaustion. In the space of two months, Germany had gone from being a fighting nation to a defeated one; from a nation with a leader - Kaiser William II - to one with politicians leading the country. William II had been forced to abdicate - give up the throne.

The two months of October and November 1918 are crucial in setting the scene of why Germany got off to such a bad start immediately after the war.

In October 1918, Germany's naval command at Kiel decided to take on the might of the British Navy which was blockading Germany's northern ports and starving out the nation. British submarines patrolled off the north German coast and such a mission would have been all but suicidal. The sailors of Kiel mutinied rather than go on such a mission. Officers were killed and naval boats were taken over. This one incident seemed to have been the catalyst that sparked off total anger in Germany. The navy had been the Kaiser's, and therefore, Germany's pride and joy and here were the sailors rebelling against authority.

The army was not sent to crush this mutiny as the Kaiser and his government could not trust that they would not join the sailors. In fact, demonstrations took place all over Germany and those who worked went on strike. Soldiers did join the protests.   

By early November 1918, many cities had been taken over by workers' and soldiers' councils. This was very similar to what had happened in Russia during the communist take over of 1917 and politicians were fearful of another communist takeover in Germany itself.

The leading party in Germany's Reichstag (Parliament), was the Social Democrat Party. It was lead by Friedrich Ebert and the party pleaded with the Kaiser to abdicate to save Germany from mayhem. On November 9th, the Social Democrats announced that the Kaiser had abdicated - at that particular time he had not. But there was a general strike in Berlin at that time and the Social Democrats feared that extremists would take over and anarchy would occur. The Social Democrats announced that Germany was now a republic (lead by a civilian government and not by a monarch), and that the country would be run by the Reichstag. On the following day, the Kaiser fled to Holland and on November 11th, 1918, an armistice was declared.                                     

The Weimar Republic - 1923