Weimar opposition

• Makeshift democracy


  The Weimar Republic was weakened by a lack of popular support for democracy
• There is only some evidence that supports the view of the Weimar Republic as a 'makeshift democracy'
• Groups that supported democracy in Germany

  • Military leaders in 1918 and 1919
  • Conservatives and nationalists
  • Communists at times of crisis
• Support for democracy in Germany was clearly partial - none of the groups viewed democracy in an unconditional way
• Democracy or communism?


  The future of the German government was uncertain in the last days of the First World War
• Attempts to reform the existing system to create a parliamentary democracy


  1. Reform the existing system

  2. Create a parliamentary democracy

  3. Similar to Britain
• By the end of October 1918 there were demands for an end to the monarchy
• Kiel Mutiny


  Radical rebellion by German sailors who believed the Kaiser and navy were trying to undermine peace efforts
• Events following the Kiel Mutiny

  1. Sailors took control of their base

  2. Demanded an end to the monarchy

  3. Led to a wave of mutinies and rebellions across Germany

  4. Rebellions did not support the new parliamentary democracy

  5. Revolutionary councils took control of towns and cities

  6. Refused to support Ebert's new socialist government
• Ebert proposed a democratic republic similar to the USA or France, but the revolutionary councils rejected this
• Spartacist Uprising


  Revolutionaries barricaded the centre of Berlin in order to oppose the new revolutionary government
• Ebert's response to the Spartacist Uprising


  1. Determined to end the uprising

  2. Declared martial law

  3. Used the army to crush the rebellion

  4. Two key Spartacist leaders were executed
• The Bavarian Republic gave some hope of a radical form of government, but there were continuous threats from communist revolutionaries over the next four years
• Germany's defeat in the First World War


  Was one of the factors that led to the creation of the Weimar Republic
• Many Germans and the new democracy were disillusioned with Germany's defeat and humiliation
• 'Stab in the back' myth


  The belief that democratic politicians had betrayed Germany
• The Treaty of Versailles was viewed by the vast majority of Germans as profoundly unjust
• Terms of the Treaty of Versailles


  • Loss of territory in Europe
  • Loss of empire
  • Reparations
  • Loss of military
• German views on the Treaty of Versailles

  • Loss of land in Europe was unjust as German land had never been invaded or occupied
  • Loss of empire was a national humiliation
  • Reparations were rejected as Germany was not solely guilty for starting the war
  • Disarmament and demilitarisation were seen as unjust humiliations
• Kapp Putsch


  A violent right-wing challenge to Weimar democracy in March 1920
• Events of the Kapp Putsch

  1. Kapp and his supporters seized control of Berlin

  2. Established an alternative government

  3. Aimed to prevent implementation of disarmament and demilitarisation required by Treaty of Versailles

  4. German army troops in Berlin refused to support Ebert's government

  5. Ebert appealed to unions to call a general strike to defeat the Putsch

  6. Kapp was unable to govern effectively due to the strike and the Putsch collapsed after four days
• The Kapp Putsch demonstrated the fragility of the Weimar Republic in the face of right-wing opposition
• Opposition against the government began


  30 March 1920
• Ebert refused to form a new government
• Kapp and his men occupied the central government buildings


  1. Kapp pronounced the establishment of a new government, with himself as chancellor

  2. However, Kapp's Putsch lacked popular support and the army stayed neutral

  3. Ebert appealed to the unions to call a general strike

  4. The Putsch collapsed after four days
• Most of the Putsch's leaders fled to Sweden; those who were captured were treated leniently, thanks to the conservative nature of the judiciary
• The Kapp Putsch demonstrated that German democracy could not rely on the army or the judiciary for support
• Radical workers responded to the Kapp Putsch by organising themselves into self-defence squads to attack army and Freikorps units


  The biggest left-wing response was the Ruhr uprising
• In March 1920 communists in the Ruhr formed an army of approximately 5,000 workers


  1. The workers' "Red Army" controlled large parts of the Ruhr for several weeks

  2. The government had to rely on the army backed by the Freikorps to crush the uprising

  3. The fighting led to the deaths of more than 1,000 workers
• The Ruhr uprising demonstrated the fractured nature of German politics, showing that opponents of democracy were prepared to attack the Weimar Republic from the left and the right
• Political violence was common between 1919 and 1922, with right-wing groups behind 354 political assassinations during this period
• Walther Rathenau


  A German politician who was assassinated in 1922 by the right-wing terror group Organization Consul
• The level of violence demonstrates the extent to which the right opposed Weimar democracy and were prepared to use undemocratic means to achieve their extremist goals
• In 1923 Hitler's Nazi Party attempted a Putsch in Munich


  1. Hitler planned to initiate a 'national revolution' starting in Munich, hoping the army and Freikorps would back the uprising

  2. President Ebert declared a national state of emergency and ordered the army to crush the revolt

  3. Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested and put on trial for treason
• The period 1924-29 is often described as 'the Golden Years of the Weimar Republic', with no further attempts to overthrow the government
• The elections of May 1924 led to an increased vote for extremist parties including the KPD and the DFVP, but this was short-lived
• The elections of 1928 saw a rise in support for the left and the creation of a government led by the SPD, leading the DNVP to turn against democracy
• The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing economic depression resulted in further polarisation, with more Germans looking to political extremes for solutions
• Nazi Party, 1925-28


  • After the failure of the Munich Putsch in 1923, the Nazi Party was banned but restarted in 1925
  • The party's new strategy was to win power through election, initially performing poorly in the 1928 election
• Reasons for growth in Nazi support after 1929

  • Hitler's involvement in the campaign against the Young Plan gained the Nazis contacts with influential nationalists
  • As unemployment rose, so did membership of the SA, helping the Nazis extend their influence
  • Nazi propaganda was carefully constructed to target specific messages at specific audiences