Was Weimar Germany doomed from the start?
In this essay I will explain how Weimar Germany faced many problems such as their people turning against their own government, hyperinflation and the treaty of Versailles conditions. And I believe that Weimar Germany was not doomed from the start and I will try to prove this in my essay.
On the one hand the Weimar Republic was created in 1919 the new government were the people that signed the Treaty of Versailles, and many of the Germans hated them for it as they believed they were betrayed. The consequences of the treaty were severe to Germany, and many Germans were looking for someone to blame, the government was the ideal target. Communists saw an opportunity to create a state that they wanted, and were prepared to challenge the new republic. Many richer Germans had lived well under the Kaiser, and now they just didn’t trust the new government. Considering all of these points, it would seem that the collapse of the republic was inevitable.
On the one hand, the new Weimar government faced opposition from both left and right. From the left Spartacist’s, lead by Luxemburg and Liebnecht. In January 1919 they revolted, and tried to take control of Berlin, they proclaimed a new revolutionary government. However, Ebert had already won the support of the military with the Ebert-Groener pact, and the troops prohibited the revolt.
This pact was significant, the government had associated itself with the right, and perhaps this early incident is one of the factors, which would convince the government to appoint Hitler Chancellor in 1933.
The Right (free corps) were next to revolt. In 1920 the Kapp Putsch revolt happened. Monarchists took over government buildings in Berlin, and even forced the government to flee to Stuttgart. They later surrendered on March 17th as unions declared a strike. The government had had another close escape.
The early major activities of Hitler included his 'Beer Hall Putsch' where he tried to seize control of The Bavarian government.
His revolt was like the others, crushed, but clear opposition to the republic had been established.
The political instability was worsened by the financial troubles of the Treaty of Versailles. By 1921, the reparations had been fixed to 132,000,000 gold marks. It was clear that Germany would not be able to pay. By January 1923, the French were angered at Germany's poor payment record, and occupied the Ruhr region. The citizens of the Ruhr began to hate the French who were exploiting them, and so again needed someone to blame. They decided to blame the people who had agreed to pay reparations, the government. By November 1923, a situation of hyperinflation had developed. Money was becoming more and more worthless by the day. The middle classes had their savings devalued considerably, their savings would have usually been able to buy them a brand new house now couldn’t even afford a loaf of bread. The new government signed the Treaty of Versailles, and this treaty was causing great anguish. The people had no one to blame but the government, the majority of the country were angered, and it could be considered that with the criticisms they were receiving off many countries, and some hatred, the new republic were doomed to fail.
However, the mid 1920's witnessed the Lacarno Honeymoon 1923 saw Streisemann appointed as Chancellor. Streisemann developed a policy he called fulfilment. This was to try and show good faith in attempting to carry out the terms of peace, so to show how impossible the task was, and to try and persuade the allies to be more lenient. In came the Dawes Plan. This reorganised the Reichsbank, and levels of reparations were set to prevent inflation. This would prove essential in Germany's improving economy. Streisemann was significantly involved in introducing the Rentenmark. This began to stabilise the currency and began to settle inflation. This improved economic situation was reflected in the general economic improvements recorded.
By 1926, Germany had joined The League of Nations, and Germany had a voice at the international level. Germany could now do more for her people abroad and at home, by 1929 even the withdrawal of the allies from the Rhineland was on the cards.
On the other hand the German people were more uplifted during the late 1920's, and cultural improvements were occurring throughout the country. There was greater production and use of literature, music, and theatre. Germany was beginning to get back on its feet after the war, and relationships with the allies and between the government and the people were improving. There was optimism for the republic and the economy. This optimism was ended however by the world depression and the Wall Street crash of 1929. Investment was withdrawn from the economy, causing it to go into decline again. This caused unemployment to reach record levels of six million. Many people began to turn to Hitler, who preached employment and greatness; the Nazis gaining 107 seats in the 1930 election reflects this. This shows people were looking for a more extreme solution. There were thousand of demonstrations against the government from most political groups. 13,000 Nazi demonstrations took place during 1930 alone.
The depression created the very situation that Hitler had been waiting for. The Nazi's believed that only a national catastrophe would see them win power, and they were right. The Nazi's stirred up opposition to the government and republic, by making people believe that the government were linked to the treaty and that the treaty was were all their problems had started. The Nazi's also blamed other political groups, especially the communists.
Hitler had such a wide audience. He was attractive to the workers because he promised employment and at the moment it was needed because people were dying as they didn’t have jobs so couldn’t even afford to live anymore, and also appealed to the middle classes because they distrusted the current government. Hitler also promised that he would act legally and with order. However, the elections of 1932 saw the Nazi's lose two million votes at the expense of the communists. The country was showing signs of splitting into two. The one thing that both groups had in common was that they wanted to change the system of government. By now it was clear that the country was going to go one way and the republic was doomed. If the wall street crash hadn’t have happened then the nazi’s wouldn’t have had their chance to strike on Germany which would mean that the Weimar republic wasn’t doomed from the beginning it was doomed when the economic boom took hold. There was a great fear of civil war amongst the people, and they had to choose who they wanted to prevent this, and unite the country. Hitler was the favourite of many German people, and had a strong personality and promised greatness for the German people. By March 1933 it was clear that more people had turned to the Nazis, who gained 92 more seats, and the communists lost 19. The Nazi revolution was beginning. By this time, the Reichstag saw a Nazi majority and was headed by a Nazi Chancellor. Key Nazi points were soon introduced as law. Point 25 of the Nazi 25 points, Centralisation, was evident when Hitler subordinated the local governments. When hindunberg died, Hitler appointed himself Fuhrer, and the Weimar republic came to an end.
From the very start, the Weimar republic faced opposition from both sides. The public blamed their problems on the Treaty of Versailles, and blamed the government that signed it. The new government had a difficult situation on their hands. It was inevitable that the new government would have faced difficulties from the start, but to say that they were doomed is unfair.
In conclusion I believe that The republic was beginning to overcome it all during the mid 1920's as economic, political, and cultural improvements were occurring, and if it hadn't been for circumstances, mainly the Wall Street Crash, the republic may have prospered for many years. These circumstances gave the Nazi's an opportunity for advancement as the people searched for a more radical solution to the depression. It was not evident that the republic was doomed from the start, but it was evident that the republic were doomed from 1930, when the country was splitting into two groups, left and right, who both wanted an end to the republic, and a change to another political system, communist or Nazi. I believe that no one factor was responsible for the collapse of the Weimar republic, but the when it all came together that’s what led to its downfall.
