~ Weimar Republic Notes ~
Establishment:
v Germany agreed to an
Armistice on Nov 11th 1918
v By early Nov 1918 many
cities had been taken over by workers’ and soldiers’ councils. This was very similar to what happed in
Russia during the Communist takeover of 1917 ad politicians were fearful of
another communist takeover in Germany itself
v The German Emperor,
Kaiser, abdicated Nov 28th 1918
v Peace terms were
opposed on the Germans 1919
v The leader of the
Social Democrats (SPD) Ebert, becomes president, signs an armistice with the
Allies and promptly holds the country’s first free elections in January
1919. Ebert wins and becomes the
first elected leader of the Weimar Republic, so called because its first
government meets in the small town of Weimar rather than dangerously unstable
Berlin
Political:
v From 1919 to 1923,
there was a series of attempted revolutions in Germany, some by Communists –
who hoped to take advantage of the situation and follow the example of Russia –
other right wing nationalists who blamed the government for accepting the treaty
and tried to overthrow it
v The new Republic faced
overwhelming problems from the outset; on the left, the Communists press for
the revolution like in the USSR.
On the right, nearly all the Kaiser’s former advisers remained in place
in the Civil Service, the Judiciary and the Army; the country itself was very
authoritarian (military didn’t put down Kaap Putch)
v In March 1919, what was
left of the Germany Communists attempted another takeover.
The Free Corps was called in to crush them and within a few days had
killed 1000 people. Ebert
had ordered that anyone seen carrying a weapon was to be shot dead. The Free Corps once again saved the
government and restored order.
v Uprisings; Spartacist
uprising, Barvarian uprising, Kaap Putsch, and Beer Hall Putsch
v Proportional
representation led to the election of many tiny parties, all of whom squabbled,
so no government could get the majority of the Reichtag – so it could never
pass the laws it wanted
v Too many Chancellors; 14 in Republic
Economical:
v Germany was in a state
of economic chaos; food was in a short supply and much of the workforce had
been killed or injured during the conflict
v War production fell
with the end of hostilities
v Men returning from the
front demanded jobs that weren’t there
v Allied blockade
continued until 1919; Over ¼
million people died of starvation and Influenza
v In 1919, Versailles
deprived Germany of 75% of her iron ore resources and 15% of her arable lands
v 1921, reparations sum
of £6,600 million aggravated inflammatory problems as Weimar governments reeled
out bank notes to meet payments
v With no goods to trade
will the government resorted to printing off even more paper money to meets it
debts
v Prices rose, people
lost savings, diminishing standard of living, wages ceased to have any real
value, unemployment
v Middle class hated
Weimar
v Industrials were able
to build new factories at little cost, the government was a heavy borrower and
their National debt within Germany was wiped out, landowners could pay off
mortgages.
v Dawes Plan spread
reparations payments over a longer period and gave Germany a loan of 800
Million Gold Marks, which placed the currency on a stable footing, rather than
on paper values. This heralded an
era of ‘recovery’
v Wall Street Crash
(1929)
v German economic
historian Borchhardt is critical of Weimar’s economic performace in the
1920s. He argues that the state
was living beyond its means, with both subsidies and the redistribution of
wealth harmful to economic growth.
v The historian
Abelshauser concluded that ‘the Weimar Republic was an over-strained welfare
state’ as the economic growth of the recovery period was insufficient to meet
the growing aspirations and served to retard industrial advance and increase
the elite’s alienation from the new democratic regime because they wanted to
break the power on the union and complained about the ‘political wages’ that were set up by
arbitrators appointed by government.
Socially:
v
Many German soldiers believed they had not been defeated
v
Weimar had great problems gaining acceptance throughout Germany
too. The harsh conditions of the
Treaty of Versailles angered Germans and many directed their resentment at the
Weimar – quite unfair as they had little choice but to sign
v
Some Germans, especially the military still resented the government
for signing the Treaty of Versailles, claiming that if Germany could or would
have won the war if negotiations had not been called. This became the ‘stab in the back’ legend. Ebert and other members of the SPD
became known as the ‘November Criminals.’
v
Germans cannot shake off their old political timidity and their
deference to an authoritarian state
v
Wanted a ruler to wear a uniform and a fistful of medals
Constitution:
v Constitution provided
an open framework for an experiment in democracy, which would have been quite
capable of further refinement under more favorable circumstances
v It brought different
groups into new order
v If offered new
corporatist (getting businessmen/politicians cooperate and sort things out) to
ways of attempting to reconcile basic social divisions and it laid down the
foundations for an expansion of the welfare state
v Helped to make a
transition to a peacetime economy
v Universal suffrage,
freedom of speech, balanced power, collision government
v Image of the social dissonances (lack of harmony in) German
society
v It was a hodge-podge of
principals drawn from Socialist and liberal agendas; it represented so much confusion in regard to
economic objectives and unresolved class conflicts
v The German democracy
was stymied (impeded) from the beginning
v Doubtful whether such a
democratic constitution would work in the hands of a people that was neither
physiologically nor historically prepared for self-government
v Wasn’t unified and too
many influences
v Constitution gave the
President, the states and the army too much power, whilst proportional voting
meant tat the Reichstag was divided and weak
v Gave the President power in ‘times of emergency’
v The system of
proportional voting led to 28 parties. This made it impossible to establish a
majority in the Reichstag, and led
to frequent changes in the government.
v
During 1919-33 there were 20 separate coalition governments and the
longest government lasted only 2 years
v Political chaos caused many to loose faith in the new democratic
system
v
The German states had too much power and often ignored the government
v
The army led by the right-wing General Hans von Seeckt was not fully
under government control as he failed to support them during the Kaap Putch or
the crisis of 1923
v Many government officials, especially judges were right-wing and
wanted to destroy the government.
After the Kaap Putch, 700
rebels were tried treason; only 1 went to prison. After the Munich Putch, Hitler went to
prison for only 9 months.
Article 48:
v President was given emergency powers; ‘In the event that the public
order and security are seriously disturbed or endangered, the Reich President
may take the measures necessary for their restoration.
v The Reich President may, if the public safety and order in the
German Reich are considerably disturbed or endangered, take such measures as
are necessary to restore public safety and order. If necessary he may intervene with the help of the armed
forces. For this purpose he may be
suspended, either partially or wholly, the Fundamental Rights (personal freedom
from arrest, sanctity of the home, secrecy of telephone and postal
communications, free speech and free press, freedom of assembly, and
association and protection of private property) On demand of the Reichtag these
measures shall be repealed
v Could pass laws
v 1929 there was crisis on Wall Street, which led to a drop on German
economy
v Reichtag suggested cutting wages and unemployment pay – there was an
outcry buy the government used Article 48 to pass the law it wanted
v The election of 1932 left Hindenburg (President) and Papen (chief adviser) with the
problem that they still couldn’t get enough support in the Reichtag to pass
laes. They offered Hitler post of
Vice-Chancellor in return for his support, as Nazis were biggest party, but
Hitler demanded Chancellor.
Government thought they could control Hitler, but within 18 moths, Hitler had made
himself dictator of Germany
v Article 53 allowed the President to appoint the Chancellor
Left Wing
Rebellion:
v
In Jan 1919 50,000 Spartacists rebelled in Berlin, led by Rosa Luxenburg and Karl
Leibknecht
v
In 1919, Communist Workers’ Councils seized power all over Germany, and
a Communist ‘People’s Government’ took power in Bavaria
v
In 1920, after the failure of the Kaap Putch, a parliamentary group
called the Red Army rebelled in the Ruhr
Right Wing
Rebellion:
v
The Kaap Putch in March 1920, a Freikorp brigade rebelled against the
Treaty. It took over Berlin and tried
to bring back the Kaiser
v
Nationalist terrorist groups murdered politicians including Erzberger
who signed the armistice
v 8-9Nov 1923, Hitler’s Nazis tried to take control of Bavaria (Munich
Putsch)
Set-up:
v Born of military defeat
v High command under Ludendorff and Hindenburg sensed the
inevitability of defeat and tried to ease the way towards armistice with the
Allies by advising Kaiser Wilhelm II to appoint Prince Max as Chancellor. A powerful underlying motive was the
army’s desire to avoid any direct blame for Germany’s surrender
v Allied response was unfavorable as President Wilson argued that the
German power structure
was still intact and that he could deal only with a real democracy
v Civil war as rival groups from the left competed for power
v
England encouraged democracy because they are more vulnerable to
foreign influence and they are not as big as a military threat
v Czechoslovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania,
Greece
v Self-determination
v Fear of communism – 1917 Russian revolution by Bolsheviks
Successes:
v 1923-1929 saw a remarkable recovery and greater stability
(‘Stresemann era’)
v Stesemann was the leader of the DVP, first Chancellor in 1923 and then the Foreign
Minister until 1929
v Economic developments includes; the stablization of the currency in
the form of the Rentenmark and an agreement on reparations with the Allies in
1924 known as the Dawes
Plan
v Massive investment followed, mostly from the US, which enabled
German industry to recover almost to 1913 levels, despite the loss of resources
and land in 1919
v Stresemann stabilized Germany’s international relations; he followed
the 1922 treaty with Russia and another in 1926, participated in a collective defense pact
at Locarno in 1925,
and took Germany to the League of Nations in 1926
v Political stability as coalition governments functioned more or less
effectively, lubricated by political diplomacy of Stresemann
v Stresemann organized
an allience of the moderate, pro-democracy parties. This meant for the first time the
government could get a majority in the Reichtag and pass the laws it wanted
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