weimar

• impact of the war

  • society - huge gap between rich and poor (factory owners had earned huge amounts)
  • political instability - revolution to largely unpopular democratic republic
  • economy - almost bankrupt, 1/3 budget spent on pensions due to losses in war, national income 1/3 of 1913
• why was the new political system weak?

  there were so many parties in the coalition due to lack of majority in the 1919 election
• • article 48 - allowed the president to rule without parliament if crisis occurred
  • article 22 - proportional representation; electorate all citizens over 20
• issues with weimar:

  • army had less power, leading to establishment of freikorps
  • its left-wing views angered nationalists
  • it allowed complete freedom of speech, resulting in political unrest as ideas could spread across country
• terms of treaty of versailles:

  Land: all german colonies to allies; parts of country given to neighbours

  Army: reduced to 100000; no heavy artillery; rhineland demilitarised

  Money: reparations at £6.6 billion; coal to be mined by france in saar; germany to build merchant ships to replace sunken allied ships

  Blame: new government blamed although allied threatened to invade if treaty refused
• who led the spartacists? what were their aims? when?

  Liebknecht and Luxemburg led the Spartacists; to establish a socialist republic in Germany; The Spartacist uprising took place in January 1919 for 7 days.
• why did the spartacist uprising end?

  both leaders captured and killed, spartacists no match against army
• how big a threat were the spartacists to the weimar government?

  the uprising itself was fairly minimal, but it encouraged other communists to revolt. it led to the government moving from berlin to weimar
• kapp putch 1920

  • in march measures to reduce army and bisband freikorps announced - unwise considering communist threat, so kapp stepped in
  • the government got public support to supress, scaring kapp to flee
  • the army didn’t step in; unpopular among berlin citizens as city had been seized
• what led to hyperinflation?

  • paid reparations in 1921 but couldn’t continue to pay
  • france sent soldiers to take resources in ruhr
  • germans went on strike - passive resistance
  • germany not making money from ruhr so had to print
• stresemann’s solutions to economic situation:

  • new currency - rentenmark
  • ended passive resistance
  • dawes plan
  • young plan
• dawes plan:

  • reparations would be more manageable, increasing each year
  • ruhr to be evacuated by allied troops
  • USA would provide loans
• young plan:

  • by 1929 germany was struggling to pay back loans so appealed for help
  • further reduced reparations
  • germany only had to pay one third of loans each year if rest wasn’t affordable
• stresemann's forgeign policies:

  • locarno pact 1925 - cooperate with britain and france to reduce worst features of ToV, 5 countries signed to keep existing borders, relations improved and more discussions could be scheduled
  • league of nations - germany had to become member for locarno pact to happen, he could use position to negotiate more plans (eg young)
• golden period

  • new realistic approach to art that reflected everyday life
  • right wingers glorified war, left wingers very anti-war
  • cabaret criticised, yet very popular
• kellogg-briand pact 1928


  65 nations signed to keep armies for self-defence purposes and to solve disputes by peaceful means. improved relations as by including germany usa recognised it as a leading nation
• • january 1919 - 100000 spartacists take over central berlin, seizing important communication centres
  • their leadership is weak and disorganised
  • chancellor ebert calls in freikorps
  • thousands killed including luxemburg and liebknecht
• freikorps


  extreme right-wing ex-soldiers who hate communists
• • 1920. 5000 right-wing extremists march into berlin to control government and overthrow democracy as they see weimar government and ebert as weak
  • army refuses to act - government has to leave berlin
  • general strike by berlin workers forces kapp to give up
• Successes of Stresemann’s Era

  • weimar republic most stable and prosperous between 1923 - 1929
  • fall in support for left and rightwing extremists
  • economy stabilised and hyperinflation controlled
  • germany welcomed back to world stage
  • germany experiences huge cultural revival
• Failures of Stresemann’s Era

  • germany dependent on US loans that would prove disastrous in 1929
  • Weimar constitution weaknesses and unpopular ToV remained
  • stability and prosperity collapsed following Wall Street Crash