Why was the Weimar Republic so short-lived?

Germany’s weak political status gave reason for extremist parties to seize power. The Spartacists believed that Germany’s revolution should be similar to that of communist Russia. Even though the attempted uprising (led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht in 1919) was quickly crushed by the Freikorps, it was hard for the government to dissolve the idea of a rebellion from the minds of the German people as it was not in a position to guarantee political stability. The Kapp Putsch was another important attempted rebellion that exploited the weakness of the new Republic not being able to maintain power. The revolt forced President Ebert to leave Berlin and turn to the German people to support a general strike against the revolutionaries because he lacked support from the very right-wing army. This therefore disclosed the general lack of support for the government from the army and the Freikorps (who were partially supporting the revolt under General Luddwitz and General Ludendorff) which limited Ebert’s power when dealing with such situations as he needed the support of the masses to successfully suppress these rebellions.

The collapse of the parliamentary system played a key role in determining the life-span of the Weimar Republic. Ultimately the most obvious sign of failure was the appointment of Hitler as chancellor in 1933 – who supported authoritarianism and anti-Semitism – through growing support for the Nazis during early 1932 and political pressure on Hindenburg to appoint him although one of the many other reasons leading to this collapse was the policy of proportional representation and Article 48 of the constitution that disallowed effective policies from being passed. For example, Franz von Papen’s ‘government’ only lasted eight months during 1932 in which Reichstag support for his newly formed ‘non-party’ government was minimal. This displayed the Republic’s lack of proper organisation and effective decision-making on Hindenburg’s behalf and thus the instability of a coalition government in place during such a crisis. Furthermore, this exploited the weakness of the coalition government being too democratic in the sense that post-war Germany experienced no sustainable recovery.

The Great Depression in 1929 was a key factor that weakened the Weimar Republic and damaged its future prospects. This economic crisis returned fears of inflation and unemployment from 1919 Germany back to the German people and aided to their realisation of the failing nature of a democracy. The slump made the savings of the middle-class worthless because of hyperinflation thus forcing people out of their homes and into considering parties such as the NSDAP who, through radical ideas, could ‘solve’ the economic crisis quickly as some civilians thought. NSDAP votes rose by 15.7% in 1930 since 1928 and they became the second largest party. As argued by Sir Ian Kershaw, “Without the onset of the world economic crisis”, Germany would have been able to re-establish itself as an economically, socially and politically stable nation.

Many historians argue over the inevitability of Germany being a militaristic state. A.J.P. Taylor argues that it was “no more a mistake...to end up with Hitler than it is an accident when a river flows into the sea”. He argues that throughout history Germany had experienced the extremes of success and failure and it was expected that a figure-head such as Hitler would revive Germany from the humiliation of World War One through a dictatorial and revengeful upturn. However, Michael Laffan argues that the failure of the Republic was caused by their weaknesses and their enemies’ strengths and that the fate of Germany was not “predestined”.  

The Weimar government was struggling from the very beginning. It lacked the necessary competence to cope with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the international embarrassment Germany faced. It also struggled to effectively suppress the violence of attempted rebellions from extremist parties promoting communism and authoritarianism as well as failing to establish a sustainable level of democracy. The Great Depression sealed Germany’s fate of returning to militarism and political isolation to dissolve any hope of the survival of a typical democracy.

Bibliography:

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.johndclare.net/Weimar3.htm

http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk

http://www.rpfuller.com

Hite, JH & Hinton, CH, 2000, Weimar and Nazi Germany, Hodder Murray, London

Williamson, DW, 1994, WAR and PEACE: International Relations 1919-1939, Gray Publishing, London