Early Challenges to weimar

• The Weimar Republic was deeply unpopular for two main reasons
• Many in Germany saw the signing of the armistice as a betrayal
• The terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the peace treaty signed in 1919, were harsh and damaged Germany's already struggling economy
• November criminals


  The government who signed the armistice, seen by some in Germany as having betrayed Germany when they surrendered World War One in November 1918
• There were lots of conspiracy theories that spread among the enemies of the republic including anti-Semitic theories blaming the Jews for the loss of the war
• The German propaganda of World War One meant that some people had no idea that the troops were suffering from food shortages or the stalemate that existed on the Western front
• When Germany surrendered, for some it came as a shock
• Dolchstoßlegende (Stab in the back theory)


  The belief that the German army had not been defeated on the battlefield, but had been betrayed by the civilian government and other forces
• Ebert, the President of Germany, further dismissed the betrayal when he told the returning troops "No enemy has vanquished you" and they returned undefeated from the battlefield
• The Treaty of Versailles was signed

  28th of June 1919
• The Germans were not invited to take part in the negotiations of the Treaty of Versailles
• The Treaty of Versailles


  • It was effectively agreed by the Big Three: David Lloyd George for Great Britain, Woodrow Wilson for the USA, and Georges Clemenceau for France
  • France had suffered badly during the war with large parts of northern France completely destroyed, so Clemenceau pushed for the harshest punishments on Germany
  • Britain had mainly suffered from financial loss and a high casualty rate, and therefore pushed for financial terms
  • Wilson wanted to use this opportunity to create peace in Europe for good and came to the negotiations with his 14 points which included a League of Nations to settle international disputes, democracy, and disarmament
• Negotiating the Treaty of Versailles

  1. The three men (Lloyd George, Wilson, Clemenceau) met 140 times

  2. The treaty eventually comprised of 440 articles
• The four categories of the Treaty of Versailles

  • Land
  • Army
  • Money
  • Blame
• Land


  Details the territories which will be taken away from Germany and the restrictions imposed on certain others
• Territories taken from Germany

  • Posen and East Prussia, given to Poland to allow Poland access to the sea (Polish Corridor)
  • Alsace Lorraine, given to France
• Germany had to renounce all rights over the countries of Poland and Czechoslovakia
• Army


  Germany's army was to be limited to no more than a hundred thousand men, they allowed only six battleships and no air force, and the Rhineland was to be demilitarized
• Money


  The Germans were required to pay reparations of 6,600 million pounds to the Allies
• Blame


  Article 231 of the treaty stated that Germany accepted responsibility for the losses and damages caused by the war as a consequence of the aggression of Germany and her allies
• The treaty was met with mixed reactions around the world, but in Germany it was hugely unpopular
• The German people were angered by the treaty for a number of reasons: some of the territories lost were populated by people who considered themselves German, the military restrictions were seen as a humiliation, the reparations payments were enormous and created serious economic problems, and most importantly, Article 231 was seen as a humiliation as the German people did not believe that the war was their fault
• The treaty was labelled as a "diktat", meaning it was dictated to them without any ability to negotiate