- The chancellor was the head of the government.
- The chancellor chose ministers and ran the economy and ran the country.
- But to pass laws, he needed majority support in the Reichstag.
- The president was the head of the state.
- The president was directly elected by the people every 7 years.
- He chose the Chancellor.
- He Could Dismiss the Reichstag, call new elections and assume control of the army.
- The president took no part in day to day elections.
Weakness of The constitution.
Firstly, proportional representation meant that even a party with a small number of votes gained seats in the Reichstag.
Secondly, the careful belonging of powers made strong, decisive government by the chancellor very difficult in times of crisis.
Economic Problems 1918-1932.
Bankruptcy.
The treaty of versailes made things worse. It deprived Germany of wealth earning areas such as coal fields in Selesia. It also made the German government pay reperations. By 1923 Germany could no longer pay.
Occupation of the Ruhr.
In Retaliation, the French sent troops into the German industrial area of the Ruhr. They confiscated raw materials, manufactured goods and industrial machinery. The German government urged passive resistance: workers went on strike, there were even some Sabotage. The French replied by arresting those who obstructed them and bringing in their own workers.
The Germans bitterly resented what the French had done. However Germanys reduced troops of 100,000 men was no match for the French 750,000 army.
Inflation
The shortages meant that the prices of things went up – this is called inflation. People had to pay more money to get what they needed.
During 1919 – 1923, government income was only a quarter of what was required, so the government just printed money.
This made it easier initially for the government to pay reparations but it made inflation even worse. By 1923, prices reach spectacular heights. For example a loaf of bread costs 1 mark in 1919 by 1922 it costs 200 marks by 1923 it costs 100,000 million marks.
EXTREME INFLATION = HYPERINFLATION.
The Results of Hyperinflation were complex.
EVERYONE SUFFERED FROM SHORTAGES. This was because German marks became worthless with foreign currency.
EVERYONE FOUND IT DIFFUCULT TO BUY WHAT THEY NEEDED. Even if their wages went up. Many workers were paid twice a day – so they could rush out and get goods before prices went up.
PEOPLE WITH SAVINGS WERE HIT THE HARDEST. Their savings became worthless. Those affected were mainly middle class.
Eventually Things Improved. In September 1932 a new chancellor was appointed – Gustav Stresemann. In November 1923 he cancelled the old mark and introduced a new currency, the Rentenmark. This lead to stability.
Political Problems 1918-1923.
Right wing and left wing.
Right wing of politics:
- Want to keep society very stable.
- Want a strong government dominated by strong leaders.
- Support capitalism –the private ownership of land and business.
- Stress the Importance of the family, law and order and traditional values.
- Are nationalists – Placing the interests of the nation over the individual.
FACISM and NAZISM are extreme right wing movements.
Left wing of politics:
- Want to change society rapidly.
- Aim to treat all people as equal and give political power to workers.
- Oppose Capitalism.
- Are internationalists – they stress co-operation of nations
SOCIALISTS are left wing. COMMUNISM are extreme left wing movement.
Violent Political Unrest.
One thing that made the Weimar republic so violent was that, political parties had their own private armies.
- They recruited mainly ex-soldiers, who were unemployed ad bitter that their government had accepted peace.
- Left wing had its RotfrontKämpfer(Red front fighters).
- Right wing had its Skahlhelm(Steel helmets – a veterans group).
Overall between 1919-1923 there were 376 political murders, mostly of left wing or moderate politicians. However not a single right wing was convicted and executed; this shows how much the judiciary was filled with right wing.
The Spartacist League ( a left wing movement)
Sometimes extreme political groups try to over throw the government by force. For e.g. in January 1919, 50,000 separatist rebelled In Berlin. The most influential communist were Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, organisers of the Spartacist league.
Chancellor Ebert and his defence minister, Gustav Noske needed to put down the rebels. The regular army was in no shape. So They turned to the Freikorps.
The Freikorps were demobilised soldier, returning from war, who had refused to give their arms back. They were anti-communist and worked with the regular army.
With the help of the Freikorps the Weimar government was able to put down the Spartacist uprisings in the early 1919.
The Kapp Putsch (a right wing political revolt)
The unrest continued. In 1920, 5000 Right wing supporters of Dr Wolfgang marched on Berlin to overthrow the Weimar and bring back Kaiser. Kapp realised he could not govern and fled. He was caught and put into prison , where he later died.
Unrest Subsides.
It wasn’t until the end of 1923 that the political unrest calmed down. A new chancellor Gustav Stresemann came to Power, inflation was under control, suffering was reduced and politics became more moderate.
Weimar recovery, 1924 – 1929 T Stresemann era
Firstly Stressmann abolished the existing currency and set up a new one the Rentenmark. Later in 1924,a new independent national bank the Reishbank was given control of this currency .
The Dawes Plan.
In April 1924, Stresemann agreed the Dawes plan. Charles G Darwin, an American banker had been asked to resolve Germans non- payment under his plan.
- Annual payments were reduced to an affordable level.
- It was agreed Americans banks could invest in to German industries.
This reassured that allies that they would get their reparations. Stresemann had already called of passive resistance in the Ruhr BY German workers.
All this improved Germany’s economy:
- Employment went up
- Government income from taxation improved.
- Industrial output doubles fuelled by US loans.
- Imports and exports increased.
However, there were drawbacks. The extreme political parties hated Versailles and were furious had again agreed to pay reparations’.
The Young Plan 1929.
Stresemann made further progress with reparations. Five years later, he agreed the young plan. This plan was put forward in August 1929 by a committee set up by allies and headed by an American banker, Owen Young. The Young plan reduced total reparations debt from £6.6 billion to 2 million. More over Germany was given 59 years to pay.
- It reduced the annual pay for the government.
- This made it possible to lower tax.
- This, in turn, released spending power which boosted German industries and employment.
The Locarno Pact 1925.
Stresemann also made progress in international affairs. In October 1925 he signed the Locarno Pact. The pact was between Germany, Italy, Britain and Belgium
- Germany agreed to keep its new 1919 border with France and Belgium.
In Return:
- The last allied troops left the Rhineland.
- France promised peace with Germany.
- The powers agreed to open talks about German membership of the League of Nations.
The League of Nations.
At the end of First World War, the allies had founded the League of Nations. But Germany was excluded from it.
So in September 1926, Stresemann persuaded the other great powers to accept Germany as a member. Germany was given a place on the League of Nations council, which took most important decisions. Stresemann saw it as another step to German equality with other nations.
Kellog Briand Pact
In August 1928, Germany became one of the 65 countries to sighn the Kellog- Briand pact. An international agreement in which states promised not to use war to settle disputes.
It was also one more thing to make moderate Germans feel that the Weimar was becoming a Success.
Between 1923-1929, moderate Germans regained confidence in the Weimar republic.
- Stresemann had restored economic stability.
- He had also regained a place for Germany on the International stage.
- He had kept the support of moderate parties on Left and Right wing.
- He was steering the Weimar out of its troubled early years.
Economic Crisis, 1929-1932. The great depression.
The Wall Street crash.
In October 1919, share prices began to fall on the Wall Street stock market, in New York. Falling shares meant peoples investment fell in value. On “Black Thursday” 24th October 1919, 13 million shares were sold.
Economic effects.
It was equally bad for companies that sold at home or abroad. The world wide depression was a disaster for export industries but high Unemployment meant that domestic demands for goods fell too. Unemployment raised a lot!
Social and political effects.
The economic collapse caused suffering.
- The middle classes lost savings, their companies or their homes.
- Workers became unemployed.
People demanded political action, the Weimar republic failed them. Heinrich Bruning (Chancellor) proposed:
- Raising hopes to pay the cost of Unemployment benefit.
- Reducing Unemployment benefit to make payments more affordable.
This pleased no one. Right wing parties, middle class and the wealth opposed higher taxes. Left wing parties and the working class opposed lower benefits. The coalition of parties which Bruning government depended on collapsed in 1930. Bruning could only govern by decree.
Bruning resigned in 1932, leaving a dangerous power vacuum for a new leader to step in to.