Weimar Republic

1
Weimar Republic

• 1919 - 1933

2
Early Germany

• Germany lost the war and humiliated with the
  Treaty of Versailles
• Kaiser abdicated and succeeded by a provisional
  socialist government, composed of three Social
  Democrat (SPD) members and three members of the
  radical Independants (USPD)
• Several weeks ensued with the government loosely
  controlled by a council of Workers, soldiers
  and farmers councils, with a SPD majority
• Disagreement of the two major parties
• SPD aimed at calling a National Assembly,
  drafting a democratic constitution, and limiting
  the power of the councils
• USPD promoted power for the councils
• Tensions rose between the more radical socialists
  and the SPD
• General Elections to a National Assembly held on
  January 19, 1919
• During the fourteen years of the Weimar Republic,
  there were twenty separate coalitions, the
  longest government lasting two years
• This political chaos caused many to lose faith in
  the new democratic system

3
Elections

• The Social Democrats (SPD), German Democratic
  Party (DDP), and the Centre Party (Zentrum)
  collectively secured a vast majority, with
  Friedrich Ebert as the President of the Republic
• The newly formed coalition government began their
  session in Weimar and worked under the following
  guidelines

• The president held the most power however, he
  would leave the conduct of everyday political
  matters to a Reich Chancellor who proposed
  ministers to the President
• The National Assembly would assume the role of
  the Reichstag until it was recalled

4
Challenges of the Government

• Upon gaining power, three major problems were
  faced by the ruling political party
• Partial responsibility for the severe terms
  imposed by the peace Treaty of Versailles
• Competition with other powerful political
  traditions and new political forces German
  conservatism and nationalism remained strong and
  influential while an abrupt rise in German
  communism was experienced
• The new government was obliged to meet the
  immense economic demands imposed by the
  victorious allies

• Causes for resentment included
• Refusal to permit Germany to enter into the
  League of Nations
• Significant loss of eastern territories
• Control of German industry by foreign nations (as
  a form of reparation)

Socialists crushing their 3 ideological enemies
Monarchism, Communism, Nazism
5
Period of Crisis1918 - 1923
6
Spartacist Attempt at Revolution

• A radical revolutionary group (Spartacist League,
  Communist Party of Germany) wanted a true
  socialist revolution
• Ebert accepted army assistance against the
  forces of the left from General Groener
• Communist uprising in Berlin (January 1919) was
  repressed and Soviet in Munich dispersed (April
  1919) by army units and newly formed Volunteer
  Corps (Freikorps)
• Reasons for failure of Spartacist movement
  included
• Many Germans were disillusioned with Soviet
  communism, having fought agains the Russians in
  the First World War
• Spartacists were primarily civilians and were
  easily dealt with by the Freikorps
• End Result of the Uprising
• Majority of the German population
• shies away from extreme left wing
• parties in politics

7
Failure of Kapp Putsch

• Right wing dissatisfaction with the new
  government deteriorates when government moves to
  disband Freikorps units
• A revolt in Berlin results in March 1920, led by
  Wolfgang Kapp (a nationalist politician), and
  backed by the Freikorps and the military
  commander of Berlin, Luttwitz
• 350,000 Friekorps soldiers who refused to be
  disbanded by the provisions of the treaty of
  Versailles occupied Berlin
• The regular army refused to crush the revolt,
  choosing to be impartial, and the government fled
  to Stuttgart
• Eberts call for a general strike, to thwart the
  movement of Kapp and Luttwitz supporters, was
  carried out by trade unions in the city and the
  putsch collapsed
• At the same time, a communist revolt was crushed
  in the Ruhr
• The new government suppressed a series of
  right-wing assassinations

8
Inflation

• Resulted from
• Crippling cost of war
• Pressure of reparation demands
• Policy of printing money to meet
• budget deficits
• Reparation repayments led to the devaluation of
  the German economy. A reduced capacity to
  purchase goods existed, as wealth was given to
  the Allies as reparations.

• The value of German currency fell and the cost of
  imported goods increased
• This cycle of devaluation and inflation led to
  hyperinflation in 1919. In 1920, the currency
  stabilized for some time prices ceased to
  fluctuate
• However, the Weimar government continued to
  increase the amount of money in circulation,
  further promoting inflation

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Treaty of Rapallo

• Concluded at Rapallo, Italy April 16th, and
  signed in Berlin November 5th, 1922
• A treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union, it
  sought to re-establish normal relations between
  the two nations and created investment
  opportunities for Germany
• The agreement to cancel all financial claims
  against each other strengthened economic and
  military ties
• In addition, it improved the prospects of evading
  military restrictions imposed by the Treaty of
  Versailles
• This was the first agreement by Germany acting as
  an independent agent since World War I (thus, it
  angered the Western Allies)
• Later in 1926, at the Treaty of Berlin, German
  and USSR governments agreed to further promote
  the maintenance of general peace in constant and
  trustful cooperation, strengthening the terms of
  this treaty.
• Lead to the non-aggression pact in WWII

The German Reich Chancellor Joseph Wirth with the
Russian delegates Leonid Krassin, Minister of
Foreign Affairs Grigorij Tschitscherin and Adolf
Joffe
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Occupation of the Ruhr

• French and Belgian troops occupy the Ruhr in
  January 1923 in response to the failure of the
  Weimar Republic to pay reparations.
• Its aim was to gain control of the centre of
  German coal, iron, and steel production in this
  region.
• Initially responded to with passive resistance,
  some incidents of sabotage, and strikes (which
  were eventually called off by Stresemenn)
• A state of emergency followed, with growing civil
  unrest and coup attempts targeted at the
  government.
• Although no action was taken by the League of
  Nations (even though these actions violated
  League regulations), international sympathy for
  Germany grew.
• Eventually, facing economic problems themselves,
  the French withdrew in 1925, accepting the Dawes
  Plan

Protest placard against the occupation of the
Ruhr District Hands off of the Ruhr District!
13
Beer hall Putsch

• Hitlers attempt to overthrow the Weimar
  government of Ebert and establish a right-wing
  nationalistic party occurred in November 1923
• The anger felt against the Berlin government in
  Bavaria for Stresmanns and Eberts call for
  passive resistance in the Ruhr was utilized by
  Hitler in an attempt to overthrow the regional
  government in Munich prior to the take-over at a
  national level. He called for a March on Berlin
• Failure resulted as the army and police were
  alerted. Hitler was arrested two days later and
  charged with treason

14
The Munich Revolution

• On Feb 21, 1919, a rightist student shot the
  Bavarian Minister President, Kurt Eisner, a USPD
  member (Eisner whose party had only received 2
  of the vote was on his way to submit his
  resignation)
• Shooting occurred in the parliament building in
  Munich and the USPD called a general strike in
  Bavaria
• For several months Bavaria remained unstable,
  until on Apr 7, some Independents seized power
  and proclaimed a soviet republic for all of
  Bavaria
• But by May 1919 the Free Corps
• and regular army units repressed
• the Bavarian revolution

Kurt Eisner
15
The Golden Age1924 - 1929
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Political Leadership

• Gustav Stresemenn

• Supported the Weimar Republic and believed that
  isolation and economic problems of Germany could
  best be resolved through democratic means
• Chancellor from August to November 1923
• Ended passive resistance in the Ruhr region
• Introduced measures to bring the currency
  situation under control (introduced Rentenmark
  that ended hyperinflation)
• Aimed to rid Germany of foreign restraints and
  regain full sovereignty and freedom of political
  action

• Paul von Hindenberg
• Represented the stability and strength of the
  old Germany

17
Dawes Young Plan

• Dawes Plan (1924)
• Following the occupation of the Ruhr and the
  subsequent inflation and unemployment, the Allied
  Reparations Committee called for an investigation
  of the problem by Chales G. Dawes.
• Proposal included a plan for instituting annual
  payments of reparations on a fixed scale,
  reorganization of the German State Bank,
  increased foreign loans
• Reparations total was not reduced
• Initially successful stabilized currency and
  control of inflation
• Loans provided by the United States also
  decreased unemployment
• Young Plan (1929)
• Wall Street Crash was problematic for the Dawes
  plan and the German economy Owen D, Young was
  asked to report on the situation by the Allied
  Reparations Committee
• Called for a reduction in the total amount of
  reparations (by about ¾), with annual payments
  increasing yearly
• Increased unemployment caused for suspension of
  all payments in 1931. The following year at
  Lausanne, reparations were cancelled.
  Approximately 1/8 of the original sum demanded
  had been paid.

18
Locarno Treaty

• Initially created, in December 1924, between
  France, Germany, and Belgium, agreeing to respect
  each others borders
• Germany would never attack France and Belgium (as
  had occurred in 1914) while France and Belgium
  would never use force against Germany (as they
  had in 1923)

Briand, Chamberlain, Stresemann signing the
Locarno Treaty

• Britain and Italy agreed to make sure that the
  terms were not broken
• All the countries agreed that they would never go
  to war if a dispute took place between them
• Guaranteed Germanys western borders against
  further incursions
• paved the way for Germanys acceptance into the
  international community of the League of Nations

19
Stock Market Crash

• Having grown accustomed to the American loans,
  Germany was hard hit by the stock market crash in
  October of 1929 America ceased loan distribution
  and began demanding their repayment to help
  revitalize her own economy
• This resulted in decreased production and
  increased unemployment

20
Hoover Moratorium

• In June 1931, to deal with a very serious banking
  collapse in Central Europe that threatened to
  cause a worldwide financial meltdown, Hoover
  issued the Hoover Moratorium that called for a
  one-year halt in reparations payments by Germany
  to France and in the payment of Allied war debts
  to the United States
• In 1932 Delegates from Great Britain, France,
  Italy, Belgium, Germany and Japan gathered at the
  Lausanne Conference (Switzerland), as the

• Hoover Moratorium was coming to a close, to come
  to a settlement regarding the suspension of war
  reparations and debts. The conference, however,
  came to nothing the payment system reversed back
  to the Young Plan, under which Germany was unable
  to pay anything.
• By 1933 Germany made World War I reparations of
  only one eighth of the sum required under the
  Treaty of Versailles.
• When the Nazis consolidated power reparations
  stopped altogether.

21
Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic

• The republic was born out of German defeat thus,
  many Germans refused to accept its legitimacy
• Certain groups in society (army, big businesses,
  civil and judiciary services) wished to see a
  more authoritarian form of government (admired
  pre-war Germany)
• Severe economic problems that were faced reduced
  government support, especially hyperinflation and
  the Great Depression
• Electoral system was believed to be too
  democratic as splinter parties were easily
  elected while stable governments were difficult
  to form
• The Reichstag was plagued by minority coalition
  governments. Shifting changes in allegiances and
  leadership resulted in considerable instability.
  Many believed that democracy was too weak to
  defend Germany against the communist threat

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References

• Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress.
  (2004). History of Germany The Weimar Republic.
  http//home.carolina.rr.com/wormold/germany/4.htm
• Encyclopædia Britannica. (2006) Rapallo.
  http//concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9376483/
  Rapallo
• Encyclopædia Britannica. (2006) Young Plan.
  http//www.britannica.com/eb/article-9078075
• Eyck, E. A History of the Weimar Republic Fall
  of the Weimar Republic. http//www.barnsdle.demon.
  co.uk/hist/tyra.html
• German Culture The Weimar Republic. (2006).
  http//www.germanculture.com.ua/library/bl_weimar
  _republic.htm
• Historical Dollar-to-Marks Conversion Page.
  (2006). What is Old German Money Worth?
  http//www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/projec
  ts/currency.htm
• History Learning Site. (2006). Kapp Putsch.
  http//www.historylearningsite.co.uk/kapp_putsch.h
  tm
• History Learning Site. (2006). Spartacist
  Uprising. http//www.historylearningsite.co.uk/spa
  rtacists.htm
• Rempel, G. The Weimar Republic I Economic and
  Political Problems. http//mars.wnec.edu/grempel/
  courses/germany/lectures/20weimar1.html
• Scheck, R. (2006). The Weimar Republic.
  http//www.colby.edu/personal/r/rmscheck/GermanyD1
  .html