Why the Republic was unpopular

• The Treaty of Versailles damaged Germany’s economy making the Weimar Republic weak from the start. People blamed the leaders of the new German republic for signing it.
• The leaders of the new republic were labelled as ' November criminals ' as they surrendered in November and were seen as traitors
• As the war guilt clause made Germany accept the blame for the war, the Allies said they were entitled to reparations (compensation). 6600 million pounds was to be paid in yearly instalments to the Allies to repair damage in their countries.
• Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles said that Germany was guilty of starting the war. Ordinary German people hated this blame and felt very resentful because of it. They believed they fought the war in self-defence and that other countries were to blame. These people are demonstrating in Leipzig against the treaty.
• Many German people never believed their army had been defeated in the war. Those who criticised the treaty said that the army had been betrayed by politicians – that they were ‘stabbed in the back’ and forced to surrender when they could have won
• Germany lost all its 11 colonies and 13 percent of its European territory due to the treaty of versailles
• The treaty of versailles made that Germany had to pay reparations of 6.6 billion pounds