Weimar Republic

• Ebert’s opposition from the right

  • People who grew up in success of the Kaiser resented Treaty of Versailles, blamed Ebert for agreeing to it
  • In March 1920- Dr Wolfgang Kapp led 5000 Freikorps for a rebellion in Berlin (Kapp Putsch) the army refused to fire but people carried out a general strike and Kapp fled the country after his failure
  • In summer of 1922 Ebert’s foreign minister (Walther Rathenau) was assassinated by extremists
  • In Nov 1923: Hitler led Munich putsch- received short prison sentence
  • Right wing opponents had powerful people in charge
• What was the structure of the Weimar constitution?

  • President: appointed courts and chancellor and controlled the armed forces
  • Chancellor: appointed by president, appointed government ministers
  • German people: elected governments for Germany’s other regions, elected the Reichstag (parliament)
  • The government sent laws to the Reichstag for approval
• How did Hyperinflation occur?

  • France invaded the Ruhr to collect raw materials- workers went on strike
  • No goods to trade so printed money-> currency made worthless, prices rocketed
  • Middle class Germans suffered the most
  • In 1923 Streseman was elected: he called in worthless marks and burnt them- new currency called rentenmark
  • Negotiated to receive US loans under the Dawes plan
  • Renegotiated reparations payments
  • Hyperinflation politically damaged Weimar government- right wing had something to blame on Weimar-> linked it to hatred of treaty of Versailles which the government signed
• What were the chalenges to the Weimar Republic from 1919-23?

  • Hyperinflation
  • Opposition from the left
  • Opposition from the right
  • Ruhr crisis
  • Treaty of Versailles
• Weimar Republic achievements (economy)

  • Reparations spread over longer period
  • 800 million marks from US loans into German economy
  • Used to create facilities and therefore jobs
  • In 1928: gained it place as second largest industrial power
  • Increased welfare benefits and wages
  • Wages for industrial workers rose
• Weimar Republic achievements (political)

  • No more attempted revolutions after 1923
  • By 1928 moderate parties had 136 more seats than radical parties
  • Political figure who had been leading opponent of Ebert in 1923 said the republic is beginning to settle
• Weimar Republic achievements (culture)

  • In Kaisers time there had been strict censorship, but Weimar allowed free expression
  • Artists turned their back on old styles and tried to represent the reality of everyday life even when reality was harsh
  • George Grosz often criticised political and businesses and highlighted trauma of war
  • Architecture developed, first Bauhaus exhibition attracted 15,000 visitors
  • In 1920 there was a golden age for cinema, Marlene Dietrich
  • Going to clubs was a major past time
• Weimar Republic achievements (foreign policy)

  • In 1925: Streseman signed the Locarno treaties, making the border between Germany and France inviolable and as a result in 1926 Germany was accepted into the League of Nations
  • Allowed him to negotiate terms to the treaty (particularly Germany’s eastern frontier and reparations)
  • By the time he died in 1929 he had negotiated the young plan and led to removal of British, French and Belgian troops from the Rhineland
• Weimar Republic failures (economic)

  • Economic boom in Weimar Republic was precarious, US loans could be called at a short notice causing ruin
  • Increased inequality-> big businesses and landowners won
  • There were concerns that unemployment was beginning to rise despite Weimar efforts to improve pay- 6% of working population
  • Losers were farmers and middle classes-> loans to pay back but not producing enough food
  • A university lecturer in 1913 earned 10 times as much as a coal miner, in the 1920s they earned twice as much
• Weimar Republic failures (political)

  • Both the nazis and communists building up party organisations
  • 4 different chancellors across the stable years

  30% of vote regularly went to parties opposed to the republic

  • Right wing organisations which posed the most threat were only quietened and not destroyed
  • Right wing nationalist party and Nazis began to collaborate to appear more respectable
• Ebert’s opposition from the Left

  • Spartacists: group led by Karl Liebkneckt and Rosa Luxemburg, wanted Germany ruled by workers councils or Soviets
  • Spartacists set up Soviets in many towns joined by sailors and ex soldiers
  • Some ex soldiers formed anticommunist vigilante groups called Freikorps- Ebert had them put down communist rebellions
  • Liebkneckt and Luxemburg murdered
  • Other rebellions followed creating heavy communist casualties
  • Ebert’s ruthlessness created lasting bitterness between parties
  • Communists stayed a powerful antigovernment force throughout the 1920s
• What factors did the Weimar Republic’s success depend on?

  1. The constitution: designed to be as democratic as possible and represent as many groups as possible
  2. The German people: would the German people accept an instant change from autocratic system to democratic system
• What was the political impact of WW1?

  • Extremist groups tried to gain power
  • Stresses of war led to a revolution in Oct- Nov 1918, fighting between left and right wing
  • Many ex soldiers and civilians despised new democratic leaders, thought heroic field Marshall Hindenburg has been betrayed by weak politician
• What was the social impact of WW1?

  • Huge gap between rich and poor living standards
  • German workers bitter at restrictions placed on earnings during war whilst factory owners made vast fortunes
  • Many Germans angry about losing the war, law and order breaking down in a country where people were used to order and discipline
• What was the economic impact of WW1?

  • National income was one third of what it had been in 1913
  • War left 600,000 widows and 2 million children without fathers-> by 1925 state was pending a third of its budget on war pensions
  • Food shortages: nearly 300,000 people died from starvation and hypothermia in 1918
• Why did the structure of The Weimar constitution cause problems for Germany?

  1: Gave too much power to the President: they appointed chancellor, and judges And controlled the army

  -> dictators to rise and corruption

  2: Proportional representation made agreements difficult to come to

  -> 20% of votes = 20% of the seats. Meant coalitions formed