Weimar Republic

• Limited nature of revolution: Judges and civil servants

  weren't changed

  Had right-wing tendencies:

  • Munich putsch = Hitler only imprisoned for 9 months
  • Encouraged right-wing revolutions
  • 10/22 left-wing assassins executed (harsher treatment on left-wing)
• Constitution 


  Article 48: head of state could rule without the Reichsag, undermined democracy, misused

  Proportional representation: number of seats = number of votes, never a majority winner = coalition governments (unstable and not long lasting, nearly 20 gov), easy for extremists to gain representation, fair/advanced
• President could rule by decree if he felt that the country was under threat
• Losing WW1: Shock


  Censorship and propaganda = surrender was unexpected

  Anger was directed at the new government (blame)

  WR always associated with the humiliation
• Loss of WW1: TOV

  Political: army + right-wing hated Article 231 (war-guilt), harped back to in propaganda, main cause of Kapp Putsch 1920

  Economic: reparations (£6600 million) = economic decline = contributed to hyperinflation

  Reinforced the stab in the bak myth

  weakened the WR significantly
• Losing WW1: Stab in the back myth 


  Bitter atmosphere, new politicians blamed for the defeat, 'passifists'

  Distorted view of the defeat

  Forever associated with embarrassment
• Hyperinflation: Short-term causes


  Kaiser's government decided not to increase taxation - sold war bonds to gain money, 1918 = 16% of expenditure by taxation

  High demand and low supply of consumer goods = increasing prices; finances were an 'unholy mass' by 1919
• Hyperinflation: Medium-term caused 


  1919 - Ebert guided by Erzberger increased tax on profits, wealth and income = didn't balance the budget

  Deficit financing = increase national debt by decreasing tax to increase people's disposable income (simulate economy)

  Reparations were a contributing factor = economic burden and needed to be paid in hard currency (printed more to obtain hard currency)
• HYperinflation: short-term causes 


  Dec 1922 = France and Britain occupied the Ruhr due to missed reparations

  Inflation spiralled

  Couldn't mine or trade raw materials from the Ruhr = passive resistance, no fuel, couldn't collect tax from that area

  Gino's gov made no effort to solve = economic crisis
• Stresseman's actions


  Called off passive resistance

  Government expenditure was reduced

  Schacht appointed to oversee introduction of Reintenmark (financial export)

  Evoked sympathy from allies - Dawes Plan 1924 = reduced reparations
• Golden years (1924-29): Economic recovery


  heavy industry recovered - increased efficiency and investment, 1928 = pre-war production

  1925-29 = exports rose by 40%

  Improvements in social welfare - pensions and unemployment insurance (signs of wealth)
• Golden years (1924-29): economic weakness


  World economy didn't favour Germany - tariffs and tov (loss of territory = loss of resources)

  Saving and investment decreased due to hyperinflation (low confidence)

  Gov finances weren't good - 1925 = ran into debt and international loans

  Mid 1920s - fall in trade prices which strained farmers
• Golden years (1924-29): Political strengths


  election results = cautious optimism, extremists lost ground, pro-wr did well

  No attempted putsches or assassinations

  anti-republicans were contained = order had been resored
• Golden years (1924-29): political weaknesses


  Coalition governments = unstable, longest was 21 months (grand coalition)

  Hindenburg was appointed president despite being anti-democracy - no sympathy to wr and right-wing beliefs

  turnout decreased

  No signs of system strengthening
• Golden years (1924-29): foreign policy 


  Dawes plan 1924 - monthly reparations based on Germany's ability to pay, France evacuated in 1925

  Locarno pact = improved relations, respect borders, settle disputes peacefully + permanent demilitarization of the Ruhr

  Dangerously dependent on American Loans - recalled at any point
• Golden years (1924-29): Culture


  Increased tolerance and decreased censorship

  Improvements - art = freedom of representation, architecture = Baunas movement, cinema and vibrant night = jazz, cabaret and Berlin became popular

  Conservatives condemned these changes = most especially traditional horrified, moral + cultural decline, society was polarised
• Great Depression (1929): government action


  Why didn't they do much:

  Legal restrictions = printing was limited, G recovered from a minor slump in 1926 without gov, coalition gov couldn't agree on actions (Muller failed in 1926), Gov was scared

  Actions:

  Reduce expenditure (reduced war pensions, not effective, blamed system of gov)

  More interventionalist Bruring set up public works, reparations suspended in 1931, Papen allocated land to free peasants

  Protectionism: taxation, increased food prices (unpopular)
• Great Depression (1929): voting behaviour


  1932 = 1/3 of the workforce were unemployed which overwhelmed unemployment scheme

  Slump in voting behaviour

  Jan 1932 - 14 million votes = Nazis, 5 million votes = kpd

  Hitler = 'last hope'
• Parliamentary decline: Muller (1928-30)


  divided over unemployment replaced after young plan
• Parliamentary decline: Bruning 1930-32


  Appointed via Schleicher's advice

  Centre-right

  Public works and land reforms

  July 1930 - unpopular bill passed by Article 48, dissolved to increase support

  Tried to use economic situation to remove reparation and order the welfare state

  Schleicher turned against him: some coordination with nazis was necessary
• Parliamentary decline: Schleicher (dec 1932- jan 1933)


  Alienated elite and failed to win support

  Tried to gain support by appointing Strassar vice-chancellor (Nazi)

  Papen took initiative against him:

  • Hitler = chancellor
  • Papen = vice-chancellor
• Parliamentary decline: Papen (May-Dec 1932)


  non-party government

  June - lifted ban on SA; gain support form the Nazis to sustain the government

  Nazi + KPD = half seats

  Reichstag voted no condfidence in 1932 (512:42 votes)

  Hitler refused to compriamise