In 1919, they launched their own offensive to seize power. However, they were destroyed by the Freikorps who were anti-Communist soldiers who were hooked on fighting and didn’t want to return to normal civilian life. Therefore, they agreed to Ebert’s plans to destroy the Spartacists. The Freikorps won, Luxumburg and Leibknecht were murdered, and the communist offensive had failed.
At the time, this was considered very serious because Weimar had only been established for a few months and already its presence was under threat. However, when the Freikorps defeated the Spartacists it was considered that Weimar had been successful. However, more tests were to come.
The Kapp Putsch 1920
The second major threat to Weimer was in 1920 with the Kapp Putsch. This involved Wolfgang Kapp, an extreme right wing nationalist leading who wanted to set himself up as a dictator and reject Versailles. He led 5000 Freikorps into Berlin in a rebellion. However, the army refused to fire on the Freikorps and it looked as if Ebert’s government was doomed. However, the German workers declared a general strike in Berlin, which bought the capital to a halt with no transport, power or water. Then after a number of days, Kapp realised that he was going to be unsuccessful and so fled the country.
Economic Disaster 1923
By 1923, Germany had fallen behind with her reparations payments. Therefore, the French occupied the industrial heart of Germany, the Ruhr. The Ruhr then went on strike and there were violent clashes between French soldiers and the German population. The government printed more money to make up for the lost revenue (and help pay off the old war debts): the result was to be known as the “great inflation” which was when hyperinflation occurred.
Therefore, Stresemann took over as Chancellor and announced at the end of the Ruhr strike to appease the French. Stresemann then introduced a new currency called the Retenmark and ended the problem of Hyperinflation.
The Munich Putsch 1923
When Streseman announced the end of the Ruhr Strike, in was considered as giving in to the enemy. Hitler, an extreme right wing nationalist-wanted to take power to take power as dictator and reject Versailles, was the leader of the Nazi Party and planned to seize Munich and then go north and seize power in Berlin. This was known as the Munich Putsch. However, it failed when the local police opened fire. Hitler was then imprisoned where he wrote Mein Kampf.
Therefore, Weimar had survived 4 major threats and so looked as if it could cope with anything. Therefore, looking at it, it looks like Weimar wasn’t doomed from the start.
The “Golden Years”
The period from 1924-9 was classified as the “golden years” of the Weimar Republic by the historian Feuchtwanger. The reason being that each year improved on the previous. The reason being that in 1924 the Dawes Plan was proposed. Dominated by Stresemann (leader of the DVP) who was foreign minister from 1923-9 when he died, days before the Wall Street crash.
Dawes Plan 1924
It was set up to alleviate the burden of reparations imposed on Germany after the Great War as a result of the Treaty of Versailles.
Locarno Pact 1925
France and Germany guaranteed not to invade either ones frontiers and so they appeared to have reconciled. Britain and Italy also signed to make the gurantee look even more impressive.
League of Nations 1926
In 1926, Germany were also allowed to join the league as a permanent member but not as one of the big four.
Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928
Streseman signed the Kellogg Briand pact to ensure that Germany would never start a war ever again. This made the league look like a success. Germany became prosperous- profits for business, jobs Germany’s relations with France improved. The Republic stabilised after the “rocky period” 1918-23.
Young Plan 1929
This further reduced reparations (by this plan, Germany would have finished paying in 1988) and Britain and France finally withdrew their troops from the Rhineland which they had occupied since the war.
Therefore, the golden years of the Weimar Republic were a period of stabilisation of which each year improved on the next.
Why did Hitler succeed in becoming Chancellor in 1933?
In 1928, Hitler began his attempt to build the power of the party by democratic means. In the 1928 election, the Nazi Party received just under 3 percent of the vote, but during the campaign, it had gathered a strong base. In 1929 a new settlement of the war reparations question, the Young Plan, was adopted, opening up the possibility of an early end to the remaining foreign occupation of a portion of Germany. Such an event might stabilise the republic, and in fear of this, the republic’s opponents organised a national initiative against the plan.
In late 1929, the first effects of the worldwide economic depression were felt in Germany. The last government of the Weimar Republic based on a majority in the Reichstag was not able to cope with the crisis and fell in March 1930.
Hindenburg appointed a new government led by Brüning as chancellor. However, Brüning and the Reichstag could not agree on how to resolve the crisis. Hindenburg dissolved the legislature and operated the government by emergency decree, rather than through the normal legislative procedure. In new elections held that September, the Nazis scored a great electoral breakthrough, increasing their representation in the Reichstag from 12 to 107.
Therefore, when the 1933 elections came around, because the other Parties had failed to cope with the Depression, the majority voted the Nazi Party and Hitler and therefore, they got into power
Conclusion
After the Weimar Republic was established when the Kaiser abdicated and Ebert became chancellor then President, there were four major threats to Weimar in the first 4 years of its existence. They were the Spartacists rising who were then destroyed by the Freikorps. Then there was the Kapp Putsch when he tried to seize power in Berlin but then the workers went on strike and caused the Kapp Putsch to fail. Thirdly, there was the economic disaster when hyperinflation was caused when the French army seized the Ruhr. However, Streseman solved this by introduced a new currency called the Retenmark (Deutsch Mark today) and the German currency was back to normal. Finally, the Munich Putsch involved Hitler trying to seize power in Munich. However, he failed when the police opened fire and Hitler was imprisoned where he wrote Mein Kampf.
However, after the 4 years of utter chaos in Germany, the period of the “golden years” began. This was a period of stabilisation of which each year improved on the next.
However, when the Great Depression hit, the World Economy had collapsed and hit Germany hard. Moreover, the major political parties in Germany were unable to cope with the situation and so when the next election came round millions of German’s voted for the Nazi Party and got Hitler into power.
Therefore, Weimar was not doomed from the start because if had of been then it wouldn’t have lasted 15 years and the four major hits of which it took in its first four years. And it was the collapse of the American economy, which bought Hitler to power and the end of the republic.