What problems did the Weimar Republic face in the early 1920s in Germany?

The Weimar Republic also faced political opposition from left- and right-wing groups.

For example in January 1919, the newly formed German Communist Party (KPD), led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, attempted to seize power by force, in what has become known as the Spartacist Uprising.  It was suppressed by force by the government with the help of the Freikorps. Next in March 1920, the Kapp Putsch occurred. 12,000 Freikorps (ex-army soldiers who formed paramilitary groups) marched to and entered Berlin in an attempt to overthrow the government. The result being that a new government headed by Wolfgang Kapp was announced.  Lastly in November 1923, the then little known Nazi Party, led by Hitler, tried to seize power in Munich, it would later be known as the Beer Hall Putsch.

The Weimar Republic’s problems weren’t totally political, they also had to deal with serious economic issues. For instance the Weimar Republic inherited debts from the 1WW.  Rather than attempt to repay these war debts by increasing taxes, the new government printed more money. This was the beginning of the hyperinflation crisis; in fact by November 1923 the German mark was worthless.  What could have been one of the biggest problems was the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. They were as followed; Germany was to take all the blame, their army was to be reduced to 100,000 they had only 15,00 sailors and 6 battleships in their navy, they weren’t allowed submarines, tanks or an air force, they would no longer have any over sea colonies, and they lost 16% of their land to Poland and France which had raw materials such as coal but this 16% loss of land also meant 6million people gone.

But that wasn’t all Germany was also being made to pay reparations which came to about £6.6million, this was money that Germany just didn’t have. The Treaty of Versailles placed an enormous economic burden on an already weak Germany, as did the loss of natural resources. In 1923 Germany failed to make reparation payments to France and Belgium. As a result, the French sent troops into the Ruhr, the most industrialised area of Germany, to seize goods in place of reparations. Rather than deal with the economic problems this caused, the government continued to print money, this resulted in hyperinflation and the German currency became worthless.

To conclude on the problems faced by the Weimar Republic contrary to popular beliefs the Versailles Treaty wasn’t the only problem, and definitely not the main problem, either.  Although it can perhaps be said that it escalated the problem they originally faced, the Weimar Republic and Germany as a country was made a scape goat out of as they only joined the war as an ally to another country and they took on the full blame, without even being considered as they were never invited to the negotiations. Its Possible to say that without the Treaty the Weimar Republic might have been successful in the early 1920s.