Political instability 19-24

• Problems of a coalition government

  • In weimar the fragmentation of parties were a matter of importance since government needed to command majority support in the reichstag.
  • With electoral system based off proportional representation no party could ever form gov. all by itself.
• Problems with a coalition government pt 2

  • German society became more divided
  • Many parties wanted to overthrow the Weimar Republic, there was more responsibility on centre parties such as SPD, centre party and DDP to work together to form stable coalitions.
  • June 1919- Schiedmann gov. resigned because they couldn't agree on signing of treaty of Versailles- country faced unprecedented problems.
• Problems with a coalition pt 3

  • In times of social, economic and political crisis, society became more polarised and support for moderate parties faded as it was difficult to form a coalition
  • Extreme parties on left and right gained support but they wouldn't join in coalition.
  • Between Feb 1919 and November 1932, 10 coalition governments.
• Growth of political extremism- left

  • 5th January 1919, Spartacus League, led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg staged uprising in Berlin.
  • Aimed to overthrow Ebert gov. and set up revolutionary communist regime
  • Newspaper offices and public buildings occupied, Spartacists didn't have majority support of working class in Berlin.
  • Ebert used Freikorps to put down revolt
  • 13th January revolt crushed after street fighting
  • Prisoners liebknecht and Luxembourg executed
  • Didn't end left wing rebellion- more in March 1919, April 1919+20, March 1921+23
• Growth of political extremism

  • Workers had played ket role in overthrow of Kaiser in November and had been 'disillusioned' by revolution that followed, frustrated that Weimar seemed ready to compromise with right wing parties
  • Economic conditions bad and demobilised soldiers found it hard to adjust to civilian life
  • KPD inspired by Bolshevik revolution despite only being small minority group
  • KPD wanted to lead communist revolution in Germany however didn't have support or determination to do so
• Putsch= A coup ot violent attempt to overthrow a government
• Challenge from the right

  • Right didn't believe in democracy
  • Didn't agree with many things, many competing groups with different objectives; some wanted restoration of monarchy others advocated a dictatorship in one form or another
  • Divisions weakened the right wings ability to overthrow republic
  • Strongly against people in authority: Freikorps, army, large landowners, industrialists, civil servants, police and judges
• Political assasinations

  • Right wing nationalists formed themselves into leagues known as patriotic league
  • Wanted rid of prominent politicians and anyone who 'betrayed' Germany
  • Made from old Freikorp units and were anti-republican paramilitaries
  • Potential to be powerful as some supported by army
  • One of first victims was Hugo Hasse in October 1919. He was member of the USPD and had been member of council of peoples commissars, shot infront of Reichstag.
• The assassination of Erzberger

  • August 1921, former finance minister, Mattihias Erzberger, assassinated in Black Forest by 2 members of terrorist league organisation consul
  • Already shot in January 1921 and left wounded
  • Led German delegation for signing armistice and treaty of Versailles
  • Germany representative on reparations committee.
  • Even after buried, widow received abusive letters, inc. threats to defile grave
• Organisation consul= Ultra nationalist paramilitary group formed from freikorps
• The assassination of Rathenau

  • 24th June 1922
  • Foreign minster
  • Driving to work in open top car when 4 assassins from organisation consul shot at him and threw grenade.
  • Rathenau crimes were being Jew and a leading minister in the republican government
  • Participated in signing of armistice and had negotiated to try improve treaty of versallies
  • Popular figure and after death, 700,000 protesters lined streets of Berlin.
  • Assassination had impact abroad, value of mark fell as others feared repercussions
• Between 1919 and 1923, there were 376 political assassinations. 22 by left and 354 by right
• Kapp putsch- what happened

  • After Luttwitz marched troops to Berlin in protest, Eberts government were forced to withdraw to Dresden.
  • Ebert and chancellor called on regular army to crush uprising
  • Seekt told him 'troops don't fire on troops' and they refused to crush uprising
  • However there wad tension between military and civilian elements of putsch and failed to gain support even from right wing
  • Civil servants and bankers remained hostile, trade unions called strike, within 4 days putsch collapsed
• Kapp Putsch- why did it happen

  • The government was obliged to put into effect terms of treaty in January 1920, so they needed to reduce army size and disband some freikorp units
  • In feb 1920 Noske ordered 2 freikorp units disbanded
  • General Walther Von Luttwitz refused to disband one of them, gov ordered his arrest. He decided to march his troops to Berlin in protest. Sympathetic officers gave support and so did Wolfgang Kapp.
  • Kapp was intent in organising putsch
  • Ludendorff and Seekt remained non comittal
• Kapp putsch- impacts

  • Kapp and Luttwitz forced to flee and Ebert government returned
  • Without army weimar was weak
  • Workers as a group showed their power
  • Army couldn't be trusted
  • Civil servants could be disloyal
  • Leniency of judges towards those brought in trials contrasted strongly to the treatment suffered by the left- sent a message the government wasn't really in control.
• Spartacist uprising

  • Aimed to overthrow eberts government and set up revolutionary communist regime. Wanted Germany to be ran by workers councils
  • Was poorly prepared and spartacists crushed
• Bavarian uprising

  • Independent social democrat Kurt Eisner started
  • Because of unresolved problems from pre war period; loss of monarchy authority, lac of rulers political assertiveness
  • Started as peaceful meeting
  • Small group of independents tried to win over soldiers in inner city barracks
  • Eisner assassination proclamation of Munich Soviet republic, the 'barbarian soviet republic' suppressed it and ended workers councils
• Munich Putsch- 1923

  • hitler with support of Ludendorff
  • Aimed to seize power
  • Marched to Munich beer hall where he declared the revolution had began. Kahr and Von Lossow agreed to support but this dissipated overnight. stormtroopers couldn't gain control of army barracks, carried on with march through Munich. hitler fled but caught and sent to prison and Nazis banned