Weimar Germany Overview

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The effects of WWI:

Millions were dead or injured. Germany had suffered the most deaths.

The main powers (e.g. France, Belgium) had spent too much money on the war.

All wanted to prevent this happening again, but couldn't decide how.

The Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement between the winners and Germany. It was signed in June 1919, and was a compromise between the desires of President Wilson (a 'just peace') and Clemenceau (revenge). The terms were discussed in Paris between 32 countries, but the conference was dominated by Lloyd George, Clemenceau, and Wilson. The final terms outlined the following:

Germany had to take to the blame for the war (Article 321).

Germany's armed forces were reduced to 100,000 men, all volunteers, without armoured vehicles.

Germany were also not allowed armoured aircraft.

Germany's warships were reduced to 6 and it was not allowed no submarines.

Germany had to pay reparations of £6600 million - this figure was decided in 1921.

Germany lost its empire - areas that once belonged to it were now called mandates, and were put under the control of countries on the winning side by the League of Nations. For example, France was given Alsace-Lorraine.

Germany was not allowed to unite with Austria.

The Rhineland (an area of Germany on the border of France) was demilitarised.

Germany had no say in the negotiations, and the Treaty was nicknamed 'the Diktat'. Germany had no choice but to sign, or return to war.

The Germans were bitter about the Treaty for numerous reasons:

They could not afford the reparations, especially after the impact of WWI. It would've taken them until the 1980s to pay fully. Germany accused Britain and France of "trying to starve their children to death."

They did not feel they were solely responsible for the war - they felt Article 321 was a "lie." This clause hurt Germany's pride.

They had not been involved in the negotiations of the terms.

The Germans felt helpless with a tiny army - they feared invasion from countries like France. At first, they refused the reduction, and the sailors sank the fleet, rather than handing it over.

They hated the loss of territory, claiming the Treaty was an attempt to destroy their economy.

Many Germans were now forced to live in other countries, as the Treaty had given away lots of German land.

They resented not being able to unite with Austrian Germans.

The Big Three each gained things from the Treaty, but none of them were happy with it. Woodrow Wilson got a League of Nations, and self-determination for the people of Eastern Europe; he was disappointed that some of his 'Fourteen Points' (written as a basis for peace) did not get into the Treaty, and that the US Senate refused to join the League of Nations or to even sign the Treaty. George Clemenceau liked the harsher aspects of the Treaty, such as the reparations, the tiny army, the demilitarisation of the Rhineland, and Alsace-Lorraine going to France; he wanted the Treaty to be even harsher, and for Germany to be split into smaller countries. David Lloyd George favoured German colonies being given to Britain (as this expanded the Empire), and the small navy (as Britain's navy remained strongest); however, he thought the Treaty was too harsh and would cause another war in 25 years.

League of Nations: established to stop wars, encourage disarmament, improve working conditions, and tackle diseases - countries would discuss issues, rather than fighting.

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The Weimar Constitution

After surrendering WWI, the Kaiser abdicated and fled the country. A new Republic was declared, with elections for a new Reichstag held in January 1919. Freidrich Ebert was the first President elected in Weimar Germany. With the new government came:

A Bill of Rights, that guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech, religion, and equality under the law.

All men and women over the age of 20 were given the vote.

A President, who was elected every 7 years - they were not part of the Reichstag.

A chancellor, who was chosen by the President. They were in charge of the day-to-day running of Germany, but needed the support of the Reichstag to pass laws.

The Reichstag, which was a parliament elected every 4 years. This was chosen by a system called Proportional Representation - this meant that parties received seats in proportion to their votes.

Article 48, which allowed the President to make decrees (laws passed without consulting the Reichstag or chancellor) in a 'state of emergency'.

The Weimar government was fair, but there were two fatal flaws:

Proportional Representation was a disaster in practice - weak coalitions were formed, and the Reichstag found it difficult to agree and pass laws, as there was no strong majority.

Article 48 gave excess power to the President in an 'emergency' but it never defined an emergency - it turned out to be exactly what Hitler needed to gain power legally.

The people of Germany also resented the government for signing the armistice in November 1918 - they called them the November criminals. Ex-soldiers refused to disband and formed private armies - they called themselves Freikorps.

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The Spartacist Revolt

The Spartacists were communists - they wanted Germany run by the working class, and believed all power and wealth should be equally distributed. They were spurred on by the success of the Russian Revolution of 1917, and wanted to replicate it by: overthrowing the central government; establishing soviets (workers' and soldiers' councils) in place of central government in German towns and cities; using violent methods.

The Spartacists were led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg.

On January 5th 1919, 50,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in Berlin - this was taken over by the Spartacists. They seized newspaper and communication buildings, and the demonstrators armed themselves. However, the Spartacists were incredibly unorganised. They lacked military training or equipment, and were a coalition of groups with differing visions for Germany's future.

The government had moved to Weimar to avoid the violence. They employed the Freikorps, who hated the communists, to put down the Spartacists. Over 100 workers were killed during the next week; Karl and Rosa were executed and their bodies were thrown in the canal; the communists and many the working class developed a hatred of the Social Democratic government. The Freikorps had ended the revolt by January 13th.

The Kapp Putsch

Led by Wolfgang Kapp, a right-wing journalistic who opposed all he believed Ebert stood for (especially after the Treaty) - he was assisted by General Luttwitz, who led a group of Freikorps. On March 13th 1920, Luttwitz seized Berlin and proclaimed that new nationalist government was being established, with Kapp as chancellor. Kapp had the support of General Erich Luderndorff (one of Germany's foremost military officers), but main officer corps of the German Army did not follow his lead - however, they also did nothing to stop the putsch and give active support to Ebert.

Ebert had to leave the capital - to some, this emphasised his weak position in Germany. The government moved to Dresden and all Ebert could do was call for a general strike. This was successful, and ensured that those who supported Kapp could not move around - thus, the putsch was doomed. Kapp and Luttwitz fled Berlin on March 17th.

Although unsuccessful, the putsch revealed that: the government could not enforce its authority within its own capital; it could not put down a challenge to its authority; only the mass power of the workers could re-establish Ebert's authority.

Invasion of the Ruhr

In 1923, Germany failed to pay reparations, and while Britain argued for lowering reparations, France decided to take stern action. France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr, the industrial heartland of Germany, which bordered France. The region was full of factories and coalmines, so the French and Belgian intended to take raw materials as payment. This was meant with passive resistance from the German workers, which the government supported- the French sent in their own workers, and arrested the strikers and German police. There was violence on both sides; for example, German workers blew up railways to prevent the French taking anything from the Ruhr.

Hyperinflation

With the workers on strike, and the French taking raw materials, goods became difficult to obtain, as well as very expensive. To support the striking workers, the government decided to print more money. Money was easy to get hold of, but goods were as scarce as ever. As a result, prices rose uncontrollably - e.g. a loaf of bread, which cost 250 marks in January 1923, had risen to 200,000 million marks in November 1923; someone who left a suitcase full of money unattended, return to a stolen suitcase, with the money left behind. The currency was worthless.. Pensioners on fixed income and people with savings were most badly affected - a woman sold her house with the intention to live on the money, but a few weeks later it was not even enough to buy a loaf of bread. However, some people made their fortune in this way: people on wages were safe, as they renegotiated their wages every day; one man borrowed money to buy a herd of cattle, but soon after paid back the entire loan by selling one cow.

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Nazi ideology

Adolf Hitler joined a small right-wing group called the German workers' Party in 1919. He was originally sent in to spy on the party, to assess how much of a threat they were. However, he was quickly fascinated by the ideology and, as a result of his oration skills, he eventually took over as leader and changed the name to the National Socialists (the Nazis). Under his rule, the party developed a 25-Point Programme, which included:

Lebensraum - the need for 'living space' for the Aryan race to expand.

A strong Germany - The abolition of the Treaty and all German-speakers united in one country.

Fuhrer - A single leader with complete power; a dictatorship, rather than a democracy.

Social Darwinism - the idea that the German Aryan race was superior to all others; for example, Jews were viewed as 'subhuman'.

Autarky - the idea that Germany should be economically self-sufficient, producing all raw materials needed.

Germany in danger - Jews and Communists threatened Germany, and had to be destroyed.

Munich Putsch

During the crisis of 1923, the Nazis saw the opportunity to cease power amidst the chaos. Hitler had an assembled group of former soldiers and unemployed young men, known as the storm troopers (the SA), which attacked other political groups. Three other nationalist politicians (Kahr, Lossow, Seisser) were planning a revolt, which Hitler agreed to support, along with the SA. On the 4th November 1923, Kahr and Lossow called off the revolt - this infuriated Hitler and posed a problem as he had 3,000 SA troops ready to fight.

On the 8th November 1923, Hitler and 600 SA men intruded upon a meeting Kahr, Lossow and Seisser were holding in the Beer Hall. Hitler, brandishing a gun, threatened the three and demanded they support the uprising. Kahr agreed, and was released - he immediately contacted the Police and Army to inform them of the uprising.

The next day, Hitler and the Nazis marched through Munich. They expected a triumphant revolt, but they were met by Police, whom opened fire. 16 Nazis were killed, and the Nazi leadership was arrested and put on trial for treason. Hitler had managed to escape the gunfire, with the help of loyal supporters, but was arrested two days later.

Reasons for a putsch

Hitler had multiple reasons for wanting to start a revolt at this specific time:

Weimar weakness - weak coalition governments that struggled to pass laws; it was close to collapse.

In September 1923, the general strike in the Ruhr had been called off by the government. Nationalists were furious.

Hitler thought he would have the support of important nationalist politicians in Bavaria.

The Nazi Party had grown to 55,000 members - it was stronger than ever.

Hitler had made friends with General Ludendorff (a WWI hero), and thought this would convince the army to support him.

He intended to follow the example of Mussolini, who had come to power in Italy in 1922 by marching on Rome.

Results of the putsch

The Nazi Party was banned.

Hitler was banned from speaking in public until 1927.

Hitler was put on trial for treason and sentenced to five years in prison.

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The Golden Era

Formerly a nationalist, Gustav Stresemann realised something must be done to save Germany - he became chancellor in August 1923 until November 1923. His period of control as Foreign Minister (1923 - 1929) is known as the 'Golden Era'.

He brought an end to passive resistance in the Ruhr.

He brought an end to hyperinflation in November 1923 by calling and burning all the old marks and establishing the Rentenmark. The new Rentenmark was worth 3,000 million old marks.

He established the Great Coalition , in 1923, of moderate, pro-democracy parties in the Reichstag; this enabled the government to pass laws more easily. United, these parties were able to resist criticisms from smaller, extremist parties.

Stresemann and Charles Dawes, the US budgets director, came up with the American Dawes Plan in 1924. This gave Germany longer to pay the total reparations. It was also agreed that America would lend Germany 800 million gold marks, which helped kickstart the German economy.

This borrowed money was used to build roads, railways, and factories. The economy boomed and led to prosperity - as a result, cultural life also boomed. Germany was a land of innovation when it came to music, arts, film, etc..

Stresemann persuaded the French to leave the Ruhr in April 1924.

He signed the Locarno Treaty in 1925. This agreed to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, and promises not to invade.

Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations in 1926 - they were even sponsored by France.

Stresemann introduced many reforms to improve the lives of the working class (e.g. job centres, unemployment pay, better housing).

The Young Plan was formulated in 1929. It was headed by Owen Young, and reduced total reparations payments to 112 billion marks.

Cultural leaders included:

singer/actress Marlene Dietrich

architect Gropius, leader of the Bauhaus movement

artists Paul Klee and Otto Dix

writer Erich Maria Remarque, author of 'All Quiet on the Western Front'

film-maker Fritz Lang

Weaknesses were still prevalent:

The success of the German economy was reliant on the success of the American one. If anything undermined the American economy, the Weimar Republic would be in danger.

With the return of prosperity, the Great Coalition collapsed, as the moderate pro-democracy parties began to argue amongst themselves. They would not be strong enough to resist any challenge from extremist parties.

Extremist politicians were not won over by the success of Stresemann. Right-wing nationalists still hated the government and regarded them as the 'November criminals'. They still actively campaigned. They believed Stresemann co-operating with countries was a show of weakness, and resented that he followed the terms of the Treaty.

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Summary of the Weimar Republic 1918 - 1923

In 1918, Germany face many problems as it had just lost WWI. Many people were starving and living in poverty as much of Germany's cities and farmland had been destroyed by the fighting. Germany had become a country of refugees as people moved from place to place to find food and shelter. The Kaiser had abdicated and left Germany without an effective government. A new democratically elected government was set up and this is generally known as the Weimar government as it was initially based in the town of Weimar. This government faced many problems: it was blamed for signing the disastrous Treaty of Versailles; it faced an attempt to take power from the Spartacists, a group of left-wing revolutionaries, in 1919; it faced an attempt to take by the right-wing in the Kapp Putsch in 1920 - both attempts failed, but they made the government look weak. The government hadn't been able to deal with the rebellions themselves: in 1919, they used the Freikorps to crush the communists; in 1920, they had to appeal to the working class in Berlin to go on strike in order to defeat Kapp. BY 1923 things had reached crisis point. Germany couldn't pay reparations so French and Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr. When workers in the Ruhr followed a policy of passive resistance (i.e. refused to co-operate) this meant Germany was producing less goods so the economy suffered further. The government printed more money but this just led to hyperinflation. On top of this, Hitler tried to take power in 1923 in the Munich Putsch.