How far do the early problems of the Weimar Republic suggest that it was doomed from the start? 1919-1923

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Rebecca Cullen

How far do the early problems of the Weimar Republic suggest that it was doomed from the start? 1919-1923

        After the defeat in World War 1 Germany faced a number of problems which it took many years to sort out. I will be looking at these and evaluating to what extent these suggest the Weimar Republic was doomed. It faced a new democratic constitution, attempts to over throw it, problems with the Versailles Treaty, foreign occupation of the Ruhr and hyperinflation coupled with general economic crisis.

After the embarrassing defeat of WW1, the German people felt let down and a broad feeling of the “stab in the back” was circulating. They felt the politicians had given in and they were the ones who had surrendered. It attributed Germany's defeat to a number of domestic factors instead of failed “ ”. All through the war the public had only been told the good news and everyone thought they were winning. As a result the loss was a huge blow. It also is cited as an important factor in Adolf Hitler's later rise to power, as the Nazi Party grew its original political base mainly from embittered WWI veterans. This feeling was not helped by the political elite still being in power. The public resented this and there was a general dislike for democracy. They had been used to being ruled by a Kaiser, a monarchy where they don’t get any say in it. With the public set against democracy from the start, it is hard to see how the Weimar Republic could be successful. On top of this Germany faced economic problems which led to inflation.

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However there are definitely some positives that came out of all this. Because of the stable government democracy, A Bill of Rights guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law. All men and women over the age of 20 were given the vote. This was even better than Britain where only women over 30 could vote. There was an elected president and an elected Reichstag (parliament). The Reichstag made the laws and appointed the government, which had to do what the Reichstag wanted. This made a fair system if not always fast. Before the ...

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