Following the German surrender in November 1918, the Empire experienced a brief, but significant civil revolution. The German Revolution lasted from the end of the war until August 1919. During that time, a national assembly was held in the city of Weimar where a new constitution was drafted. A new federal republic (known as the Weimar Republic) was born and a semi-presidential representative democracy overthrew the monarchy of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The new government faced immediately faced a multitude of issues including political instability, reestablishing and maintaining international post-war relations, and severe economic turmoil – most notably the period of hyperinflation which occurred in the early 1920s.
Hyperinflation is an economic condition characterized by “a rapid increase in the overall price level that continues over a significant period” and in this period the concept of inflation is essentially rendered meaningless (Kroon 90). The post-World War I German economy experienced a crippling period of hyperinflation which lasted nearly two years and had an enormous impact on the economy. The hyperinflation began inconspicuously as the inflation rate crept just a percent or two per year during the war years. In the post-war period inflation began to rise and in early- to mid-1922, inflation raged. During this period, businesses reached full operational capacity and unemployment nearly disappeared. While nominal wages increased, real wages dropped precipitously. Workers were paid two or three times a day, and they rushed home to pass the money to family members who could go and exchange the rapidly depreciating currency for real goods (clothing, food, etc.) before it became completely worthless. Prices rose so rapidly pe...
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...ce of many Germans to the Weimar Republic – perhaps even paving the way for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party’s rise to power in the 1930s.
Works Cited
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Hubbard, R. Glenn, and Anthony Patrick O’Brien. Macroeconomics. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2013. Print.
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Kroon, George E. Macroeconomics The Easy Way. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc., 2007. Print.
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The German Weimar Republic was an attempt to make Germany a more democratic state. While this was a very good idea in theory, the Weimar Republic was ineffective due to the instability that came with it. Several factors contributed to the instability of Germany’s Weimar Republic, such as the new political ideals brought forward and the government’s hunger for war.
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Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich; a History of Nazi Germany. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960.
After the First World War Germany recognised her first ever democratic government, the Weimar republic lasted from 1918 – 1933 an astonishingly long time given its turbulent start. The November revolution saw the election of soldier and worker councils similar to that of the Russian revolution in 1917, it spread across Germany like wildfire and in turn split the country before a democracy could even be instated nevertheless on November 9th 1918 the German republic was established. From then on The Weimar Republic was set on unstable and insecure path and this is why it is one of Germanys most important historical periods; it was Germanys earliest form of non-imperial government and rule and its collapse in 1933 paved the way for the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. For these reasons there have been endless works published on the Weimar republic and the outpouring of literature post world war two focuses on the collapse of the Weimar republic and how the Nazi party came to power. However, to understand why the debate surrounding the Golden Era in the Weimar Republic is an interesting one and lacking in historical works, it is key to examine the historiography of the Weimar republic as a whole. Furthermore, to understand why historians focus on other periods in the Weimar’s history in particular the consequences of the treaty of Versailles and the consequences of the Wall Street crash in 1928 which led to its collapse.
Richard Bessel’s article stresses the political structure of Weimar Germany as the cause of its failure. Its structure was flawed in numerous ways, all of which contributed to its inevitable failure. First of all, the problems within Germany due to the First World War were massive. This caused economic, political and social problems which first had to be dealt with by the new Weimar government. The loss of the war had left Germany with huge reparations to pay, and massive destruction to repair. In order to gain the capital needed to finance efforts to rebuild, and repay the Allies, the economy had to be brought back to its prewar levels. This was not an easy task.
"Germans Barter for Goods in Response to Hyperinflation, 1923." Historic World Events. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Student Resources in Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Jarman, T.L. The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany. New York: The New York Library,
The Failure of the Weimar Republic in 1932 The failure of the Weimar Republic to solve the problems that faced Germany during the 1920s and early 1930s is very well documented and the consequences of this failure are well known. The Republic was faced by a number of problems from the outset of which many were related to the economy, it faced some of the most serious economic problems ever experienced by a western democracy in history. By the Great Depression of the 1930s, the institution of the Republic as such was blamed by many for the economic problems and these, in turn, for the Weimar's downfall. The good days of the Weimar Republic came to an end in the late 1920s, especially as the depression began to take a hold on the German economy. As a result, the political situation became uncertain and dangerous; the genuine believers in the Republic began to loose the battle against the enemies from the left and right.
Schacht’s Running of the German Economy In 1933 many problems faced Germany economically, the Nazi party’s main aims were to tackle the serious depression and sort out Germany’s rising unemployment. Germany has poor economic and social organization, Hitler wanted to sort this out so Germany’s economy was geared for War. Another problem was the need to balance deficit payments, the economy needed to recover to increase demand for consumer goods and too bring around re-armament through increased demand of raw materials. The World’s high value market was protectionist and made it hard to increase exports at the time. There was a very real danger of inflation as there was already a growing demand for more money and products.
The main reason was that people were discomposed that Germany had lost a war and most of the people blame for the defeat. On the other hand, during 1929-1933, the worldwide Great Depression, which impacted Germany, and there was no leader of Weimar could solve the economic problem.
Doom of the Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic was born in the aftermath of the First World War. The creators of the Republic were blamed, ridiculed and labelled for the defeat of Germany during World War One and for accepting the crippling terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Weimar Germany was to have a short, turbulent history.
Exploring the Reasons Behind Public's Discontent with the Weimar Government There were a number of reasons why the German people were unhappy with the Weimar government. One of the main reasons for this was the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The result of this was that Germany has to take the war guilt, Germany had to pay reparations of 6,600 million marks to the allies in particular France, Germany lost its colonies, it lost its air force & tanks, and its soldiers were restricted to 100,000. The Ruhr was demilitarised. Also they lost their colonies and its land was cut up such as the Polish Corridor and Alsace Lorraine.
The effect of the Hyper-inflation was of sheer devastation in terms of economy. The German mark’s value decreased alarmingly within a short period of time and people literally started to burn the German mark notes just to make a fire as they thought this was of a much more bigger advantage than of its actual spending value. The rising cost for just one loaf of bread was unbelievable, in 1918 it sold at 0.63 marks, a normal price, until the end of the war hit. January 1923, a selling price of 250 marks and in the following months it rose in quick succession until in November one loaf actually cost 201,000,000,000 marks, just from this example we see the dire effects. People ended up having to take home “Daily” wages instead of weekly, with the help of a wheelbarrow. The w...
The Extent to Which the Weimar Republic Recovered after 1923 In the period after 1923, under Gustav Stresemann, Germany was able to stand back on its feet and overcome many of its difficulties. Weimar Republic was created in 1919 to govern a defeated Germany after World War One. Germany was facing many social, political and economical problems while the new constitution laid open for the seizure of power. There were many rebellions and attempted revolutions making the country very unstable. Situations were made worse by the harsh terms of Treaty of Versailles, causing hyperinflation and a huge amount of national debt.
Savings accounts, the result of years of hard work, were instantly wiped out. Inflation soon followed. hard for families to purchase expensive necessities with devalued money. I will be able to make it. Overnight, the middle class standard of living so many Germans families enjoyed was ruined by events outside of Germany, beyond their control.