As so many people disagreed with the way the government was being run, many groups were formed that opposed the government’s views. One of the most well known of these groups was called the Spartacists, and it was a communist group. The leaders were Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebkecht, and in early January 1919 they began a revolution, to try and overpower the government. However, 2000 free corps (Freikorps) attacked the Spartacists in Berlin and there were bitter street fights for three days. On the 15th January, the two leaders were arrested and later brutally beaten and murdered. A couple of days later, Rosa Luxemburg’s body was found in a canal. The communists, however, were not the only ones opposed to the government. There were groups of extreme nationalists, who also wanted to seize power, and tried on several occasions. Wolfgang Kapp led one such attempt- the Kapp putsch, in Berlin, in 1920. As many of Kapp’s supporters were ex-soldiers, the army refused to take action against the uprising, and the official government left Berlin. However, the rebellion failed, as at the time there was a general workers strike, by the trade unions, and this meant that Kapp was not in control of the situation anymore. Then a man named Adolf Hitler came on the scene. He was an extreme nationalist, who had the support of General Ludendorf, also a nationalist. He led the Munich putsch, in 1923, and had many followers. However, his rebellion also collapsed, when faced with opposition from the police. Hitler and Ludendorf were both put on trial; Ludendorf got off, but Hitler was sent to prison. The government already had very little support from ordinary people suffering from all the trade and economy problems, and all the violent uprisings just made matters worse. The government was having great difficulties controlling the political issues, but when they failed to control the economical problems, it just made matters worse.
Germany was already faced with destruction and poverty, yet one of the clauses of the Treaty of Versailles meant that they had to pay reparations to cover costs of war damages. The amount was fixed at 132,000 million marks (£6,600 million), which was ridiculously high seen as Germany had lost important resources and industrial land in the Treaty of Versailles. However, Germany had no choice in the matter, and if they didn’t pay, the Allies would invade. The first instalment took all the money and goods the government could scrape together, and so they fell behind on the second instalment. As the French didn’t get their money, and refused to accept the government’s excuses, they invaded the Ruhr Valley, the industrial heart of Germany. They took over all the factories, and put anyone who wouldn’t co-operate with them in prison. The government weren’t happy with this, and so they told all the workers not to work for the French; in other words to put up ‘passive resistance’. However, ‘passive resistance’ did more harm to the government than it did to the French, as Germany’s main source of income came to a standstill. To solve this problem, the government started to print large amounts of paper money, even though the government didn’t have the resources to support the currency. This meant that prices rose and inflation was rising constantly. Prices and inflation rose so quickly it led to hyperinflation in 1923. The poverty and unemployment brought on by inflation made the government even more unpopular, for failure to handle any of the problems that were threatening to suffocate them.
People from all classes began to find that they could not afford to keep up a decent standard of living, and that they faced starvation. Although most people were still in jobs, their wages would only buy them a loaf of bread or a cup of coffee, and they couldn’t even afford the coal to heat their houses, or new clothes. People found that prices rose faster than the wages they earned, and they lived in unheated houses and froze in unsuitable clothes. Those who had savings found that their money would now only just buy them a slice of bread or a lump of coal. The government was now facing deep resentment from the public, as the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the failure to handle problems, had practically ruined the lives of the Germans. There were very deep social divisions, among the people of Germany as a result of these problems. Some people wanted a communist revolution, to give power to the workers, whereas others wanted a strong government to protect industry from trade unions and the threat of communism. Nearly everyone felt that the government was not doing a good job of running the country, and that it should be replaced. However, everyone seemed to want different things. One thing everyone did want, though, was a better way of life.
The Weimar Republic seemed to have to deal with so many problems, and it is amazing that they survived for so long. They faced opposition from left and right wing groups from 1919, all the way up to1923, and some of them were serious threats. The government also had to face the economic problems that seemed to go from bad to worse, until in 1923 there was a serious crisis that left many people in poverty. This then made the social problems worse. All the problems however seemed to stem from the Treaty of Versailles, making things so bad, it looked like Germany was on the verge of collapse. Nearly everyone blamed the problems on the government and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. There was a lack of trust and respect for them which eventually led to the fall of the Weimar Republic.
