Weimar period

Weimar period

1. Problems they faced

   • Uprisings
     • Spartacist uprising 1919
       • Why?
         • Spartacists wanted a stronger, russian-style revolution
         • They didn't like the SD's weak policies
       • What?
         • A few armed people went and took control of newspaper offices
           • They took control over government beureu
         • Crushed easily by Freikorps
           • Leaders - Luxembourg and Liebknecht killed
       • Effects
         • Freikorps seen as cruel
           • Some disliked them
         • Freikorps going against orders show unpredictability
           • Can't get rid of them - start a Putsch
     • Kapp Putsch 1920
       • Why?
         • Treaty of Versailles humiliation
         • Freikorps wanted more militaristic leader
       • What?
         • Right-wing Kapp led Freikorps and took over Berlin
         • Ebert fled
         • Had to call on strike to stop him
       • Effects
         • Shows Weimar's vulnerability
         • Enemies on both sides of politics
         • Shows people support them
     • Munich Putsch 1923
       • Why?
         • Hitler thought he had support from Bavaria
         • Triggered by passive resistance against Ruhr occupation being called off
         • Hitler thought this to be the best way to gain control
       • What?
         • At meeting in beer hall, Hitler and 600 SA come in
         • Silenced crowd with gun and took Kahr and the others into a side room
           • Promised them good jobs if they helped
             • They said no
               • oof
               • Regardless, Hiter told everyone that Kahr had agreed
                 • Crowd happy about this
                 • Now they had no choice but to agree, so they did
                   • Then Hitler let them go home
                     • Kahr obviously told the government
         • The next day, Hitler, Ludendorff and the Nazis went into Munich
           • They asked the police not to shoot
             • The police shot
               • Commence gunfight
               • Hitler escaped with dislocated shoulder to car
                 • They found him and put him in Landsberg Prison for nine months
       • Effects
         • Hitler got famous - televised trial and writing Mein Kampf
         • Worse for SDs than Nazis
         • Hitler decided only to use democratic means to get into power from then on
   • Hyperinflation -1923
     • What/Why?
       • Because of debt pressures, the Weimar government started printing more money
         • They kept on printing more at an increasing rate
     • Effects
       • People's savings were destroyed
       • Money became pretty much worthless
       • There was a huge economic crisis
         • People were angry and blamed the government
   • Invasion of the Ruhr
     • What/Why?
       • Germany wasn't keeping up with its reparations payments
         • The French came into the most industrial area - the Ruhr - and took the materials for themselves
     • Effects
       • Germans got very A N G E R Y
         • They did some passive resistance
           • Basically they refused to work
           • But this made them even poorer
             • So they started to print more money...
           • Eventually the French did leave
   • Treaty of Versailles
     • What?
       • The Germans had no say in this
       • They had to accept it in order to stop the war
       • Several clauses to it, none of which the Germans were happy about
         • Reparations
           • Had to pay £6.6 bn
         • Military
           • Army limited to 100 000
           • No air force
           • 15 000 sailors, only 6 battleships
         • Territory
           • Demilitarised Rhineland
           • Lost all colonies
           • Lots of industrial land was taken
         • War guilt clause
           • Germany had to accept all guilt for the war
     • Effects
       • People felt let down by the Weimar Government
         • November Criminals
       • People felt humiliated about war guilt
       • Military restrictions made them feel more vulnerable to attack
       • Important land loss made it hard for economy to recover
       • People were ready to look elsewhere in politics
       • Reparations caused economy to go bad

2. Solutions to these problems

   • Pacts / Deals
     • Dawes Plan 1924
       • What?
         • US gave Germany loans
         • They could invest back into the economy
           • They would then find it easier to pay reparations
     • Locarno Pact 1925
       • What?
         • Germany agreed to the borders in the ToV
           • France would therefore feel less threatened and be less likely to attack
           • Tensions died down - Germany was showing goodwill
     • Young Plan 1929
       • What?
         • France agrees to remove troops from Rhineland and give them money & time
     • Joined League of Nations 1926
       • Now had more of an influence over other countries' policies towards them
   • New currency 1923
     • New chancellor Stresemann
       • Awesome dude - did all those deals
       • Introduced Rentenmark
         • Stopped hyperinflation
   • By 1929, their economy had reached post WW1 levels
     • But then the Wall street crash happened
       • And the great depression begun...

3. Culture

   • Censorship lifted
     • Artists became more daring
       • Depicted everyday life
       • Depicted people's struggles
       • Depicted Berlin's shocking night life
         • Became famous for being sleazy
           • Some really didn't like this
             • Felt it undermined German values
   • Architecture became less ornate