There were several threats to the Weimar republic that caused instability in the system. The first was in 1919 and was the Spartacist uprising. The Spartacists were a group of communists that wanted to see Germany become a communist country as Russia had and were led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. However this threat had no chance really because against the Spartacists were a group of ex-soldiers who hated communism named the Freikorps meaning free corps in English. They had jus come back from the War and enjoyed violence and fought against the Spartacists. After a fight in Berlin, the Spartacist leaders were captured and killed.
The next threat was the Kapp Putsch in 1920. Kapp wanted to make himself dictator, get rid of the Treaty of Versailles and eventually bring back the Kaiser. Kapp was stopped when the workers went on strike causing nothing to get done. This could have been a very serious threat but Kapp however was incompetent.
The next threat was economic disaster in 1923 with the French occupation of the Ruhr, which then led to Hyperinflation. After a reparations figure had been set in 1921 and Germany had stopped paying them in 1922, the French Prime Minister Poincare sent French troops into the industrial heart of Germany – the Ruhr. Germany declared passive resistance and the Ruhr went on strike. In order to pay the workers, the Government had to print more money, which led to hyperinflation. However when Stresemann became chancellor of Germany he decided to give up the strike and introduced a new currency called the Rentenmark. This brought and end to hyperinflation.
The final threat was the Munich putsch in 1923. This was when the extreme right wing march from Hitler who wanted to make himself fuhrer. However this was stopped by a group of police who were not supposed to be there. Hitler’s supporters were fired upon and Hitler himself was arrested and put in jail. This could have been a serious threat if it had not been for the police.
The period from 1924 to 1929 was referred to as the golden years of the Weimar republic. This was because it brought economic recovery in the from of the new currency and improvement in international relations mainly with France because of the Dawes plan which meant reparations were to be cut down and American loans were promised. This meant the French evacuated the Ruhr. Hindenburg was elected president and the Locarno pact with France guaranteed each other’s frontiers. Also in 1926 Germany were allowed to join the council of the League of Nations. This improved international relations greatly.
Hitler was helped to come to power in 1933 because of the depression. When the depression hit it caused despair to millions of people. Hitler gave an end to this despair and promised economic recovery. It is quite likely that without the depression Hitler would have never got into power.
Overall the Weimar republic was not doomed from the start because it lasted for fifteen years, which could be viewed a substantial amount of time. It also survived the dangerous period of 1919 – 1923 and it was only the collapse of the American economy after the Wall Street crash that gave Hitler the chance to get to power. However it could have been doomed because certain people would view 15 years as a short amount of time in terms of History. Proportional representation also meant that there were lots of political parties in power and the Weimar coalition had weak leadership. Finally vitally important institutions such as the army, president Hindenburg, the law courts and police, the universities and the civil cervices were antidemocratic.
In conclusion I think that the Weimar republic was not doomed from the start because it was only the collapse of the American economy that gave Hitler the change to gain power, until that Germany was doing fine and the Weimar republic was a success.
