Was the Weimar Constitution doomed from its very beginnings?
Many people have questioned the fact on whether the Weimar Republic should have survived or failed. One interpretation was that it was doomed from the start; ‘its very beginnings’, because of long term weaknesses, such as, the Anti- Democratic society in Germany. There was a thought that the politicians that created the republic never meant for it to succeed, right- wing politicians that had newly formed the republic would take the blame for the defeat of the 1st World War.
With the loss of the War of attrition; and the exhaustion of Germany, she found herself in a vulnerable position. Living conditions were in a dangerous situation, earnings fell by 25%, food produce and meat consumption dropped dramatically. Diseases due to malnutrition spread, deaths from starvation and hypothermia rose, deaths in general had more than tripled. In the economy and finance department the value of the mark dropped by 75% of its original value. Agricultural production shrank. Inflation began as the borrowing and printing of excess money expanded. The costs of war; 2 million killed, 6.3 million wounded and £8,394 million wasted. Germany was in trouble.
Who was truly responsible for the defeat of Germany? After Germany’s loss, a bitter mood surrounded its atmosphere; it had been claimed that the German Army had been stabbed in the back, by the ‘unpatriotic and weak’ politicians of the government. According to sources the German army had been a terrifying and fearless fighting force and could have won the war. Before the end of the war the Anti- war agitators had created a sense of unrest amongst civilians and had smashed the morale of the troops. From October 1918 the new civilian government had failed to support the military. Mutiny’s arisen everywhere and creates the spread of disorder, prime source of the Kiel Mutiny where many sailors and civilians turn on their leaders. On the 9th November the Kaiser abdicates, chancellorship powers handed to Ebert. Unrest was spreading throughout Germany. In the Revolution of November 1918 these same unpatriotic and weak politicians; ‘November Criminals’, seized power and declared a republic, The new government arranged an unnecessary armistice and then accepted the humiliating terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The significance of this was that the belief that Germany’s brave, undefeated army had been ‘stabbed in the back’, by these unpatriotic elements. The association of the socialists and the Weimar Republic weakened the prospects for a Weimar democracy. The evidence suggests the idea of a ‘stab in the back’ theory was a much distorted view of the reasons for Germany’s defeat. However, it is widely believed hostility towards the Weimar Republic.
