Failure of the Weimar Republic

“The Weimar Republic failed because it never had the support of the people.” Do you agree? Reference 1919-29.

The Weimar government had been set up after the First World War but had faced several problems in its first five years, including:
· Having to sign the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which was unpopular with many Germans.
· Unemployment.
· Attacks from extremists on both left and right of the political spectrum.
· The French occupation of the German Region of Ruhr in 1923 caused by failure of the German government to pay reparations.
· Massive hyperinflation, which brought ruin and misery to many Germans, who blamed the Weimar Republic Also many other economic problems.
· The formation of the Nazis under Hitler.
· Social problems caused by the stresses of war

The Republic did recover from paying massive amounts of reparations during the years 1924 to 1929, mainly under the foreign secretary, Gustav Stresseman. He organised loans from the USA, which stabilised the German currency and helped industrial expansion. He also improved relations with other countries and Germany was allowed to join the League of Nations.

The recovery of the German economy was fragile. It depended heavily on American loans. In 1929, disaster in the form of the Wall Street Crash struck. Many American banks were forced to recall their loans. German companies were unable to pay these debts. German businesses began to close and millions lost their jobs. Another cause of unemployment was the restriction of Germany’s army. This meant that thousands and millions of returning soldiers needed jobs but were faced with only poverty.

Between 1928 and 1230, German unemployment rose from 2.5 to 4 million. This provided an opportunity for extremist groups such as the Communists and Nazis. As unemployment rose, more and more people felt let down by the Weimar government and began to support extremist parties. These parties thrived under the waves upon waves of public support and began uprisings against the already failing government. Examples of these revolts would be the Spartacist uprising, The Kapp Putsch and The Munich Putsch. During these, members of the Weimar government were identified as the ‘November criminals’ (those who had signed the Treaty of Versailles) and held liable for the destruction of Germany.

When Germany could no longer keep up with paying the war reparations, French and Belgian soldiers marched into the most important industrial region in the country, Ruhr during the year 1923. This was seen as embarrassing and a blight on the Germans. The Weimar Republic was perceived as a scapegoat for all of Germany’s problems. Another disadvantage of Ruhr being occupied by allied soldiers was that Germany’s industries also had major fallbacks and Germany went into further recession.

National income in Germany was at this time a third of what it had been during 1913 and the war had left 600,000 widows and 2 million children without fathers. By 1925, the state was spending about a third of its money on war pensions. Industrial production was also lowered to two thirds of what it had been in 1913. Due to all these economic problems, the German government began to print more and more money which led to its value being lost. This hyperinflation was the last straw to cause Germany to enter a Great Depression.

This depression caused a period of utter chaos. No government could take control and solve Germany’s terrible economic problems. During this time came the real appearance of the Nazis. The German people were looking for a scapegoat for Germany’s problems. The Nazis gave them scapegoats, including the Weimar politicians. The Weimar Republic was seen as weak. Because of voting by Proportional Representation, no one party could achieve a majority in the Reichstag.

Germany was ruled by weak coalitions that were unable to tackle the serious problems brought about by the Wall Street Crash. Chancellors began to rely on the President’s power to issue decrees, rather than on trying to pass laws. A number of social problems had also arisen. The war deepened divisions in German society. Many German workers were bitter at the restrictions placed on their earnings during the was while the factory owners made vast fortunes from the war. These effects of the war downhearted the public and they turned towards the government for a form of explanation, which could not be provided under the circumstances.

Therefore, I disagree with the statement above. The Weimar government failed due to all the reasons listed in this essay, which caused it to lose support of the people. This is illustrated by the time during the Kapp Putsch when the President, Ebert, was forced to leave Berlin due to an uprising. The government couldn’t be sure of the army any longer, though many hadn’t joined the uprising yet. Ebert therefore turned to the ordinary people and called for a general strike. The strike was successful and the uprising was made unfeasible as they didn’t have the means to control the people. If the government hadn’t had the support of the people, this strike could never had happened. Consequently the lost support of the public, in my opinion, is an effect of the failure of the Weimar government, not a cause of it.