weimar opposition

• Expectations of the Paris Peace Conference

  - Germany had expected to negotiate a peace based on Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points.

  - Wilson's key ideas were: self-determination; free trade; a general reduction in armaments; and a new international body, the League of Nations, to settle disputes; and ensure peace through collective security.

  - Hite and Hinton (2000):'Germany hoped the Fourteen Points ... would lead to a fair peace: they were in for a major shock.
• November Criminals


  - The German delegates arrived in Paris in April expecting to negotiate, but found they had observer status only.

  - By April 1919, Germany's army had been demobilised. Britain's navy was still blockading its ports while French and Belgian troops were poised on its border.

  - In May 1919, Germany was presented with a list of non-negotiable demands.

  - The new German government signed The Treaty of Versailles. German opinion called it a Diktat and branded those who signed it as 'November Criminals.
• Territorial issues for Germany

  - Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France.

  - Eupen and Malmedy to Belgium.

  - The coal-rich Saarland was given to France for 15 years. There would then be a plebiscite to determine its future.

  - Poland got Poznań and West Prussia, separating East Prussia from Germany. The port of Danzig became a 'free city' under League of Nations control.

  - Czechoslovakia was given the Sudetenland.

  - Control of Germany's overseas colonies was given mainly to Britain and France.

  - Anschluss (unification) with Austria was forbidden.
• Demilitarisation


  - Germany's army was cut to 100,000 troops and conscription was banned.

  - There were to be no tanks, military aircraft, submarines or vessels over 10,000 tons.

  - The Rhineland was demilitarised. Allied troops occupied its west bank and would stay there for 15 years.
• The War Guilt Clause

  - Article 231 - the 'War Guilt Clause' - made Germany accept responsibility for starting the war and so all the losses that resulted.

  - Article 231 led to Germany paying reparations. A commission decided the amount. These were set in April 1921 at £6.6 billion (132 billion gold marks).
• Impact of World War One

  - Dead: 1.3 million in France; one million in Britain; two million in Germany

  - The war dead left widows and orphans to be cared for.

  - Wounded: four million in France; two million in Britain; 6.3 million in Germany.

  - In France, 300,000 buildings and 21,000 square km of farmland was destroyed. The war was not fought on British or German soil, so such damage was small.

  - Belgium's economic losses were so large that it needed a hefty loan from the Allies to repair the damage done to its economy and infrastructure.
• Sparticist Revolt


  - Communist revolutionaries seized key parts of Berlin 9-15 January 1919. Ebert asked the Army and Freikorps to suppress the revolt.

  - The leaders, Luxemburg and Liebknecht, were shot by the Freikorps. Ebert's request split the left-wing. The KPD never forgave him.
• Kapp Putsch

  - The Kapp Putsch was led by Wolfgang Kapp, a Prussian civil servant, monarchist and nationalist; and General von Lüttwitz, a serving army officer.

  - 12,000 Freikorps troops marched on Berlin.

  - The army refused to fire on the Freikorps. -Ebert's government fled Berlin. A new government led by Kapp was announced.

  - There was insufficient support for the putsch.

  - The left-wing SPD and trade unionists organised a general strike in Berlin and an uprising in the Ruhr.
• Context of Munich Putsch

  - Bavaria was a culturally distinct, independent-minded state that disliked both Prussia and the Weimar Republic.

  - In 1923 Bavaria had a right wing, nationalist, monarchist, anti-Weimar Republic government.

  - The Bavarian government opposed Stresemann's ending of passive resistance in the Ruhr. It also thought his government too weak to tackle left wing threats.

  - At the end of September 1923, the Bavarian state government declared martial law because of the upheavals in Germany.
• Plans of the Putsch

  Adolf Hitler and World War One hero, General von Ludendorff, planned to march on Berlin, overthrow the Weimar Republic and impose a new government on Germany.
• 8 November 1923


  - On the night of 8 November, Hitler and the SA took control of a right wing meeting run by Otto von Lossow and Gustav von Kahr in a Munich beer hall.

  - Under pressure, Lossow and Kahr promised loyalty to the Putsch and Ludendorff let them go. Meanwhile, the SA failed to seize the Munich army barracks.
• 9 November 1923


  - Ebert called a state of emergency.

  - Lossow and Kahr warned about, and denounced, the Putsch.

  - Ludendorff persuaded Hitler to march on Munich. He believed the army would support them because of Ludendorff's status and reputation.

  - The march on Munich went ahead.

  - Hitler, Ludendorff and 2,000 armed Nazis were met by soldiers and armed police.

  16 Nazis and four police were killed.

  - Ludendorff and Hitler were arrested.
• Consequences of the Putsch

  - The leaders of the putsch were tried in February 1924 for treason.

  - Ludendorff was acquitted. Hitler was given a light sentence of five years, but was released in December 1924.This indicates how much support there was in Germany for right wing government.

  - The Nazi Party (NSDAP) was banned and Hitler banned from public speaking.

  - But in the 1924 elections, the NSDAP was the third largest party in Bavaria.
• Hitler taking advantage of the trial

  - Hitler used this public platform to expound his views and gain national fame.

  - While Hitler was in prison, he wrote Mein Kampf. This would become a bestseller.
• Strengths of Weimar during Spartacist uprising

  - Ebert's use of the Freikorps was crucial to putting down the Spartacists.

  - Ebert acted swiftly and decisively. Through using the Freikorps (a right-wing group), Ebert was pitting the left and right wing against one another.

  - It could be argued, however, that the Weimar Republic was not strong enough to deal with the left wing threat by itself. It was dangerous to rely on the right, as demonstrated by the Kapp Putsch.
• Strengths of Weimar during Kapp Putsch

  - The Weimar government survived extremist threats through gaining the support of German elites.

  - In the Kapp putsch, civil servants and banks refused to support the uprising.
• Strengths of Weimar during Munich Putsch

  The support of the Army was crucial to the Weimar government controlling the Munich Putsch.
• What parties supported the Weimar?

  - Several parties bought into the Weimar constitution and wanted to strengthen democracy.

  - This included:

  The SPD (Social Democratic Party).

  The Zentrum Party.

  The DDP (German Democratic Party).

  Later, the DVP (German People's Party).