Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

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Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

By Simon Garner 10NB

                The Republic came about when in on the 9 November, Kaiser Wilhelm II, abdicated from the throne. The power of Germany was then handed over to the leader of the SPD, Ebert. This then had created a new German Republic. It was then the SPD that agreed to the armistice on the 11 November of the same year.

                Weimar could be seen in a number of was a democracy. These were that now you elected your ruler instead of one person inheriting the throne. Moreover, it was seen as the most democratic system in the world because no one person could gain too much power. There was also a system of proportional representation where if you gained 20% of the votes, you gained 20% of the seats.

                The president of the Weimar from 1919 – 25 was Ebert. He was the leader of the SPD (moderate Socialists) at the time. The year before, after the Kaiser abdicated he became Chancellor and then President in 1919 so that the leader of another Party could be the Chancellor.

                The reason why the republic was known as the Weimar Republic was because when the republic was formed, at the time they couldn’t meet in Berlin because the Spartacist’s were rising and causing chaos. Therefore, the politicians decided to meet in the peaceful town of Weimar in the centre of Berlin.

                When Weimar was established in 1918, the most democratic system in the world was also established when no one man could have too much power. There were three political parties who led the country; they were the SPD (moderate socialists), Centre (representing the Catholic interest), and the liberals (DDP and DVP).      

Threats to the Weimer Republic

The Spartacist Rising 1919

The first Threat to Weimer was in 1919 when the Spartacists (Communist Party) were rising. The Spartacists were a party that were extremely left wing, meaning they were all for equality and that people work for the common good. They wanted to do in Berlin in 1919 Lenin had done to Petrograd in the October Revolution of 1917. They were led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. They argued strongly against Ebert’s plans for a democratic system.

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                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 ...

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