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Political challenges in the Weimar Republic
Political challenges in the Weimar Republic
Political challenges in the Weimar Republic
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Why the Weimar Republic was Able to Survive the Difficulties of the Years 1919 to 1924
In the period from 1919 to 1924, Weimar Germany faced multitude
threats. It faced uprisings from both left and the right, economic
crises, criticism over the Treaty of Versailles and hostility from the
old conservative power. However, in spite of the strong opposition,
Weimar Republic managed to survive the turbulent period and even reach
a period of relative stability later in the decade. The reasons why
the Republic survived are many, but the main ones are the effective
leadership it had during this period, the widespread support among the
majority of the people and the disorganized opposition from their
enemies.
Probably the most important reason the Republic survived is the
determination of its leaders. Ebert was absolutely dedicated to the
Republic and adamant to ensure it survived. He used his influence and
the power given to him under the Article 48 to protect the Republic in
its critical years. For example, during the Spartakist revolt in 1919
Ebert uses his powers to crush the revolt by mobilizing the army and
the Freikorps. His deal with Groner ensured that the Republic, while
not exactly having the loyalty of the army, at least had its support.
With this he ensured that any attempt to overthrow the government will
be flawed, securing the government in the process. It is without a
doubt that Ebert had a very important role in ensuring the Republics
survival.
Another important example of decisive leadership was Gustav Stresemann
during the hyperinflation crisis of 1923. At that time Germany was
facing the greatest economic crisis in...
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the army’s neutrality during the Kapp Putsch ensured that it couldn’t
be successful. As long as the army stayed on the Republics side, the
government was able to survive any threat it faced.
The threats Weimar Republic faced between 1919 to 1924 were numerous.
However, the Republic survived. This can be attributed to a mixture of
the governments strengths and the weaknesses of its enemies. The
Republic during this period had strong and decisive leadership in
Ebert and Stresemann, while their enemies on the right and the left
had poor leadership and bad organization. The government had a
wider-range support, while the left and the right never managed to
achieve majority support. The support of the army was a decisive
point. The Republic survived the threats and went on to thrive in the
Weimar’s Golden years.
for the split in 1931. It was also not easy for the labour party when
The Great Depression had a big impact on both the United States and Germany. Both countries were in a state of panic, a state of desperation, and a state of distraught. Not knowing what to do, the people of both countries needed a leader that would step up to absolve them of all of their fears and regain order to life. The United States’ leader Franklin Delano Roosevelt led the country in connection to his people and led them to strength and prosperity through the depression and through war. Germany's leader Adolf Hitler took advantage of his people's desperation and led them in a revolution that would kill millions of people and although having power for a fair amount of time, he would lead his people to their even more increased downfall and broken down economic
1934. By the end of 1935, GNP in real terms had reached the level of
The period after World War One was very politically unstable. Many different kinds of governments, such as fascism and communism, were coming up all over Europe. One country that especially faced this political fluctuation was Germany. After the war, Germany was forced into a democracy known as the Weimar Republic, but this government soon collapsed and Hitler’s fascism took over. There were various factors that contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic, but three major ones were the lack of popular support for the government, the lack of efficiency and internal organization, and the competition of other, more conservative parties such as the Nazis.
The Posing of Threats by the Political Right to the Weimar Republic in the Years 1919-25
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.
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.
The Weakness of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's Rise to Power The question directly relates to the idea that the political power of a country can be taken over by ambitious people in different ways. From our knowledge we know there is three ways this can be done…by take over by force, also known as a 'coup d'etat', in a more democratic and just way or by a political deal. In the 1920's and the 1930's Hitler led a right wing political party and was seen by many as a dictator. He wanted to overthrow and control the German government and he tried all three of these ways in an attempt to do so, some methods were more successful than others.
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. To begin, one of the factors that contributed to the instability of the Weimar republic was the presence of new political ideals. Marie Juchacz unintentionally highlighted that reason in her speech to the National Assembly.
Hyper- inflation in Germany 1923 was that of a huge blow to their economy and moreover, to their self-esteem. The value of the German mark became next to nothing, and people ended up having to trolley wheel-barrows full of money just to buy a loaf of bread. There are several causes for this happening in the first place, Germany had no goods to trade with the first place and they weren’t exactly on good terms with other countries to be in a position to do so. Then there was the severe impact of the treaty of Versailles that was “happily bestowed” upon them after the First World War. The French invasion of the Ruhr caused an uproar in the German government and it didn’t help in terms of Germany’s economy either. These were just a few main causes of the hyper-inflation in Germany, however, to find out what really happened what the real truth is we would have to accept the fact that real answer lies with inputs from all of these causes as they all played a part.
After World War I, Woodrow Wilson, the president of the United States of America, created fourteen points in order to develop peace throughout the European nations. The first five points stated general peace clauses between the warring countries. He put forth the five points to ensure a tranquil environment in which the European countries can function without trouble. The last point also dealt with sense of a peace intention. It asked for a general association of the European countries to confirm national integrity (Wilson’s Fourteen Points 1).
Germany was in need of a democratic government in order to meet the harsh provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. Established by members from the Social Democrat Party in 1919, the Weimar Republic became the central power in Germany for the following years. The republic was found in the city of Weimar and was a replacement, so to say, for the imperial government that had previously stood as the central authority. Even though the Weimar Republic managed to lead Germany for 15 years, it experienced devastating drawbacks such as hyperinflation, lack of support from the public, and the constant efforts from different groups to overthrow the government; because of these factors, different political groups sought a resolution, such as overthrowing the government and pushing for a strong leader. Severe economic problems arose in Germany essentially due to the punitive provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
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.
The Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic was created in Germany in 1918 as a result of widespread socialist unrest. A liberal constitution was drawn up in 1919. There was extensive instability in Germany around this time. The Weimar government had trouble pleasing right and left wing parties because, at this time, Germany was very polarised politically. Hitler dissolved the republic in 1933.