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Economic weakness of the Weimar Republic
The fall of the Weimar Republic
Reasons for weimar republic failure
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Recommended: Economic weakness of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic was the type of government that Germany had from the years 1918-1933. This government went on just after the first world war, during the great depression, and right before the second world war. The failure of this government was caused by man factors that over time picked the government apart, forcing a new government to be chosen.
One reason that the Weimar Republic failed in Germany was the fact that the people that lived in the Republic were always frightened and scared. They were frightened and scared because this was one tactic used to try to control them. Like stated in Document 2, Article 48 “ ….with the aid of armed forces….Reich President may take the measures necessary for their restoration….”. This shows that
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An example of this is that during this time people were tired they had just gone through a world war and are going through a great depression so people at this time are tired, angry, and just really want a government that will work. This is backed up by Document 7 which says “People are already worn down by the struggle of daily life….more ready to submit”. Document 7 is showing that these people are tired and ready to quit, they just want something to work and help them. Also like the picture “Toads of Property” shows there was the high up people and the lows. You can see the high up people who are just fine and betting money playing games, where as the poor people are standing around all sad and look as if they are defeated. If people in your country are feeling defeated and don’t have faith in what is going on the government isn’t going to last long. Like shown, people overall weren’t really happy. They were tired and beaten down from what has went on already and were just defeated in …show more content…
One thing that was allowed that lead to the downfall of the Weimar Republic was the fact that they allowed guns and power if part of the Reichstag. Like shown in Document 6 “We are entering the Reichstag in order that we may arm ourselves….we shall become members….in order that the Weimar ideology should itself help us destroy it. This shows that people unhappy with the government will join it so they can arm themselves with info and weapons and destroy it. This can only happen because the Weimar Republic allows the people in the Reichstag to be able to do that. Also, Article 118 says that the Weimar Republic didn’t censor its news and that is something that almost needs to happen in a government like that. This lead to the downfall because the people heard the news of other countries and hear what was going on and then could use that as fuel in order to take down the Weimar
The Weimer Republic, is the democratic government established in Germany in 1918 that ruled for fifteen years after the collapse of the German empire after the First World War.The republic consisted of moderates from the Social Democratic Party as well as their liberal allies, which included the German Democratic Party, and the Catholic Center Party. The Weimer Republic sought political democracy, which they believed was attainable by the elimination of war, revolutionary terror, and capitalism. Despite their clear goal, the Weimer Republic faced backlash by the radicals of society, which included communists, National Socialists, and the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler. THESIS: The Weimer Republic’s instability in the period of 1918-1933 is
The Weimar constitution was forced into creation by the German desire to sign an armistace with the Allied forces after significant defeats on the Western front. Not only were the Allies demanding a democratic governing style in Germany, but there was also a strong desire to move away from the autocratic state that had existed under the Kaiser. Although the new constitution outwardly appeared to be democratic, there were several internal factors that severely undermined the democratic integrity of the new constitution, and made it almost indistinguishable from its autocratic predecessor.
...ded was because of a lack of unity between the different factions wanting the same things. The left side of the spectrum was still suffering from its division in previous years where the socialist had divided into three groups; the SPD, the USPD and the KPD. The right wing also weren’t unified and had no clear plan. This meant that there was no obvious alternative to Weimar and is the reason why the public supported the legitimate government; that isn’t to say that the reputation of the republic wasn't damaged by the different attempts at seizure of power but for the time being Weimar was stable enough to stay in power.
... resulted in a “presidential government”, where the president ended up having nearly ultimate power over the government. With the power out of the parliament and into the presidency, the democratic Weimar republic was seeing the end of its existence. With the fall of Hermann Muller's government in March of 1930, and Hindenburg's subsequent appointing of Heinrich Bruning's as chancellor, the Weimar republic was now heavily focused on presidential power of parliamentary.
There were a number of heavy restrictions placed on Germany by the treaty; in particular the economic effects as a result of the reparations caused huge turmoil for the German people. John Maynard Keynes states “The reparations part of the Treaty of Versailles caused the collapse of currency and inflation in Germany and with these two events the German people’s savings were wiped out.” (Keynes, 1995, p. 73) The effects were further exacerbated by the Depression of the 1930s during which there was huge “unemployment, poverty and famine.” (Mayer, 1967, p.766) Consequently, the German people became tired of their weakness and suffering and began to strive towards power. The failure of the Weimar Republic to address the Treaty of Versailles became the main cause for the problems they were experiencing. “Many Germans, especially German nationalists, went as far as referring to the acceptance of the treaty as treasonous.” (Grunberger, 1964, p.59) Thus, Hitler offered promises that the current government failed to amend which were extremely appealing to the German people, stating “The German people liked Hitler’s Four Year Plan that called for slum clearance, housing programs, land reclamation, and construction of roads many problems that had been created by the Treaty of Versailles.”
Why did the Weimar Republic fail? After World War One ended and Germany was defeated, they returned to their country with heavy losses, a 6.6 billion pound reparation cost and a feeling of being let down. The country suffered huge economic losses and the country fell into poverty and starvation. Any government ruling a country like this already would have a very hard time keeping it alive.
This was a time period is remembered as a time of political turmoil and violence and economic hardship. Many of the challenges of this era set the stage for Hitler's rise to power. After World War I, Germany was left destroyed morally and financially. With two million young men dead, at home people suffered from malnutrition due to the Allied blockade. Malnutrition was so severe that it often lead to death. There were poor working conditions in Germany, which lead to over 562 strikes during the Weimar Republic era. Germany was crumbling down as a nation. In August 1918, it was obvious that the military offensive had failed and Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff handed over control of the government to Chancellor Max Von Baden, a moderate and two social democrats to handle peace negotiations. With this new leadership came the Treaty of Versailles. This treaty brought shame to Germany. Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty is also known as the “War Guilt Clause”, forced the German Nation to take complete responsibility for starting World War I. Accepting that responsibility meant Germany had to pay back at material damages and reparation payments. These are a few of the failures of the Weimar Republic era created to make the perfect opportunity to Hitler’s rise to power. With his powerful speeches at the Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler was able to persuade nationalist parties into his
From the very beginning of the Weimar Republic established in Germany, it was destined to fail. The new change in government was new to the people of Germany and brought about a lot of unease and discomfort within the country. Not used to the new ruling style this new republic created, Germany remained vulnerable that could have called for the chance of many different parties at the time wanting to take over Germany. Not only were they used to being controlled or dictated in the start, suddenly being free from that can bring lots of confusion. No harsh government existed and neither was there a supreme leader to order people around. In the new democracy that existed with the Weimar Republic, rules were mainly up to the people and decided upon together as a community. The people, or the whole population, were the rulers of such a place now who had to decide on how to work together to make it work. Besides waking up every day getting screamed at by a dictator of what to do and how to do a certain thin...
The Weimar Republic was in charge of Germany during this time of the payment of reparation that were inflicted on the country by the Treaty of Versaille. Germans were angered by their government's decision to accept the treaty rather than talking with the other countries. They were not allowed to negotiate with the other countries because they were not invited to talk with the Allied powers. The people turned to the rising power which they called themselves the Nazis, because they could promise something their current government could not. The leader of this group, Adolf Hitler, was able to gain control and transform the Weimar Republic into a totalitarian dictatorship. The revolution was accomplished in gradual steps by using legal and semi legal methods as well as terror socialists leadership within the state. During this process, the old conservative-nationalists elite, while partially preserved, was not cleared up to Nazi
Some of the reasons that doomed the Weimar Republic was the defeat of WWI, the economic hardships caused by the Versailles Treaty, and the notorious Article 48 in the Weimar Constitution. This paper has effectively argued that the communal hardships, constitutional flaw, and poor economy all played a role in the impossible attempt of Democracy Germany attempted after WWI.
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.
One of the most important aspects to Hitler’s rise, was the German people and their relation with the Weimar Republic. The people were repeatedly let down by the poor decision making of the Weimar Republic, they felt like nothing was getting done. When inflation hit, the German people felt stuck and were looking for a change. This presented the perfect opportunity for Hitler to steal the people hearts by taking action and making change. This was the aspect to Hitler’s rise that provided him with opportunity, he still had to maintain stability. He did this by using propaganda and his charisma. If the Weimar Republic had successfully fixed the economic problems in Germany, the Rise of Hitler would not have been possible because he would not have been provided opportunity. The Weimar Republic was one of the reasons Hitler rose. This conclusion was drawn from thorough research. “The bedrock of any democracy is its constitution.” The Weimar Republic’s constitution was inclusive of both men and women. This made the German people have to share more than they were used to especially after losing World War I. After losing World War 1, the german people felt like losers after being on top for so long. They blamed the constitution for their loss because it was too inclusive. If the constitution is the core to any democracy, then the Weimar Republic was destined to fall and open opportunity for Hitler’s rise. It gave
The Weimar Republic was formed after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918 (“Weimar Republic”). This government followed an intense period of German nationalism during World War One, as the Germans sought to establish themselves as a major power. The Weimar government was unpopular from the start, being associated with the loss of the First World War, and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The ruling of the Republic was unstable at best, with fifteen different governments
When the Weimar Republic was set up 1918 it faced opposition from people who believed in Left Wing politics and people who believed in Right Wing Politics. Both groups made the early years of the Weimar Republic very uncomfortable and difficult, as we will see...
When the German Empire fell, it was by a step down by the previous rulers not by the masses kicking them out. This meant that the pre-war elites still existed in the country and were trying to figure out where they belonged in the newly democratic nation. These elites were against social reform, a necessary element of modernization, and voted against it as often as they could. (OR Peuker 104) However, this was not the only thing that about the setback of German modernization, it was also “the peculiarly crisis-prone nature of the process of modernization itself”. (OR Peuker 104) Modernization takes time, something that the Weimar did not have in its favor. Even per-World War 1 the German Empire had attempted to modernize the nation at an alarming pace. All that resulted from this attempt at quick modernization was another piece of “timber” to add to the growing pile of Weimar