Weakness of the Weimar Government

Hilter's Germany: Weakness of Weimar Government

structure of proportional representation

1. The system of proportional representation 

Proportional representation is a system in which a political party receives the same percentage of seats in parliament as the percentage of votes it won in the election.

Germany had been controlled by authoritarian rule for a very long time. The democratic Weimar Government had a president who was chosen by the people. There were no specific candidates for the party and people voted for a party instead. Parties gained the seats based on the number of votes won and the parties who gained the most number of seats wins.

2. The Weimar government was unable to keep order in the country. They spent majority of their time trying to put riots and attempts to overthrow the government to an end. Members of the Weimar government became targets for attack. Many were shocked by the level of violence in the country and lost confidence in the government of maintaining law and order.

Spartacists carrying red flag through the streets of
Berlin in their call for revolution on 1 December 1918.

3. The Weimar Government was opposed by the left. The 'left' refers to the Communists. One of the communist group 'Spartacists' wanted to pull down the Weimar Government as they want to set up Communist government that is similar to the Soviet Union one. The communist workers soon took control over many parts of Germany such as public buildings and put up red flags which is the symbol of communism, along the streets. President Ebert subdue the Spartacist by deploying the Friekorps. The Spartacists rebellion took place on 5 January 1919 and ended on 10 January 1919. There were occasionally fights between the Friekorps and the Spartacists in Berlin. Many of the Spartacists were killed including the Spartacists leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. 

4. The Weimar government was opposed by the right. The 'right' comprises mainly the German Army who objected to signing of the Treaty of Versailles. There were disagreement with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles where Germany were expected to pay 269 billion gold Reichsmarks for reparation. Germany was not allowed to have any submarines, tanks and air force and this greatly affected the country. Germany's colonies were taken away, losing 10% of the population and 13.5% of land. The German Army also wanted a dictatorial government that has the power over the country and decline Germany's defeat in the war, blaming the politicians for not having the courage to continue the war.  

Weimar Republic Issues after WW1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rsfBg4SFy4

 

Sources

Source A: Dr Kapp explains the situation in Germany in 1919.
Prices are rising. Hardship is growing. Starvation threatens. The government lacks authority and is incapable of overcoming  the danger. From the east we are threatened with destruction by communism.

Study Source A. Do you think this source was published by a supporter or opponent of the Weimar government? Use the source and your knowledge to explain your answer.

 The source was published by a opponent of the Weimar government. As seen from the source, 'Dr Kapp was always against the Weimar government in its early years.'  Source A shows the problem faced by the country such as social, economic and political issues and stating that Weimar government is incapable to overcome the problems. As seen from the source, 'The government lacks authority.' Dr Kapp was a right-wing politician during the early 1920s who was always critical of the Weimar government and this is made clear by the source that the government is incapable of overcoming internal and external threats of Germany.

Source B: A French soldier guarding a train full of German coal from the Ruhr in 1923.

Study Source D. Explain why the German people were angered by events in the Ruhr in 1923. Use the source and your knowledge to explain your answer.

In 1923, the French took coal from the Ruhr because the Germans could not pay their reparations. This angered the Germans as their coal were taken away to pay the reparations. French and Belgians invaded the Ruhr.This badly affected them as the coal they took were goods and raw materials owned  by Germany and caused their industrial production to collapsed.

Source C: From a book by an historian written in 1993 

The government had not only given its approval to the forming of the Freikorps, but had 

actively participated in forming them.  Those troops who were available for the purpose were 

for the most part men who had no homes and no jobs to go to, or who were reluctant to return 

to civilian life. 

Explain why the Weimar government was able to survive the attempts to overthrow it 

between 1919 and 1923.      

Use source C and your own knowledge to explain your answer.  

The source is about the Freikorps which was a paramilitary group of ex‐soldiers from the First World War. These men were battle‐hardened veterans of the war and hated Communists. The government used them to crush Communist uprisings in 1919 and 1920 such as the Spartacist Rising in Berlin. The Freikorps brutally killed the leaders of the Spartacists – Karl Liebknecht 

and Rosa Luxemburg.

The Weimar government was also able to overcome the Kapp Putsch in 1920 by 

calling on the workers to hold a general strike.  The workers stopped the transport 

and communications systems in Berlin and this prevented Wolfgang Kapp from 

having any real power so his uprising collapsed.  The government was also able to 

survive the Munich Putsch in 1923 because the Army in Bavaria stayed loyal rather 

than joining the Nazis as Hitler had hoped.  The Army shot at the marching 

Brownshirts who were forced back and later Hitler was arrested.

Citation: Source A&B 
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:W781DCJ0wgsJ:www.schoolhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php%3Fapp%3Dcore%26module%3Dattach%26section%3Dattach%26attach_id%3D3219+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg
source C
http://clc2.uniservity.com/GroupDownloadFile.asp?GroupId=58332&ResourceID=35554Source

D

Hyperinflation

The reparations bill caused the Allies to pay large sums of money which had a great impact on the German economy. It meant that a large proportion of the income they earned had to leave the country to settle the post war bills. However, in order to manage reparation payments, stringent economic control practices were needed. It can be said that the Weimar Government had deliberately failed to place many of these things into place, trying to force the allies to rethink on the level of reparations that Germany had to pay. The consequences of this include the French occupation of the Ruhr, the cost of the war, the loss of land and colonies, and the printing of more money.

The French occupation of the Ruhr: The Ruhr valley was the Industrial heart of Germany. While it was occupied by the French, the German economy could not benefit from the industrial output, therefore straining the economy event to a greater extent.

The cost of the war: Even if the reparations were ignored, the war had a high cost on Germany.

The loss of land and colonies: This was followed by the rise in the cost of raw materials as the German economy could no longer be dependent on the cheap imports from her own colonies or produce raw materials in the same quantity from German sources. The increase in the cost of raw materials was due to hyperinflation, which also meant that the cost of living in Germany had to rise

The printing of more money: In order to control hyperinflation, a Government should limit the amount of currency in circulation. However, the Weimar Government did the Opposite of the above mentioned strategy by printing more money causing the value of German money to decrease.

Sources:

At eleven in the morning a siren sounded. Everybody gathered in the factory yard where a five-ton lorry was drawn up, loaded with paper money. The chief cashier and his assistants climbed up on top. They read out names and just threw out bundles of notes. As soon as you caught one you made a dash for the nearest shop and bought anything that was going....

       You very often bought things you did not need. But with those things you could start to barter. You went round and exchanged a pair of shoes for a shirt, or a pair of socks for a sack of potatoes; some cutlery or crockery, for instance, for tea or coffee or butter. And this process was repeated until you eventually ended up with the thing you actually wanted.

Willy Derkow, who was a student at the time, remembering in 1975

Inference:

From this source, I can infer that during hyperinflation, the common people received more than enough money to buy all necessary items. This is evident from the source where it state, “They read out the names and just threw bundles of notes. As soon as you caught one, you made a dash for the nearest shop and bought anything that was going.” This shows that money had no value during that period of time in Germany and the poor people benefitted the most as they could afford to buy things to fulfil their daily necessities.  

Sources:

Effects

This table shows what happened to the price of bread in Berlin (prices in marks):

  

	December 1918	0.5
	December 1921	4
	December 1922	163
	January 1923	250
	March 1923	463
	June 1923	1,465
	July 1923	3,465
	August 1923	69,000
	September 1923	1,512,000
	October 1923	1,743,000,000
	November 1923	201,000,000,000

   Inference:

From this source I can tell that the cost of living in Germany had risen as the government had printed more money to pay for the post war reparation s. This can be seen from the table where it shows one piece of bread in Berlin costing 0.5 marks in December 1918 increased to 201,000,000,000 marks within 5 years. This shows that since the value of the German currency decreased due to the printing of more currency notes, the value of all inventory increased.

 

Source C: A German woman writing about the effects of hyperinflation.

As soon as I received my salary I rushed out to buy what I needed. My daily salary was just enough to buy one loaf of bread and a small piece of cheese.... A friend of mine, a vicar, came to Berlin to buy some shoes with his month's wages for his baby. By the time he arrived, he only had enough to buy a cup of coffee.

What can you study from Source C?

I can infer from Source C that the economic situation in Germany is in shambles. This is evident as Source A states ‘’ my daily salary was just enough to buy one loaf of bread and a small piece of cheese.... A friend of mine, a vicar, came to Berlin to buy some shoes with his month's wages for his baby. By the time he arrived, he only had enough to buy a cup of coffee’’ This shows that the reparation terms of the Treaty of Versailles led the Weimar Government to print more money as a solution.

Citation

Source B and C  from http://www.johndclare.net/Weimar_hyperinflation.htm

Hyperinflation picture from en.wikipedia.org

The Great Depression in the 1930s

The Great Depression was the reason that led to the rise of Hitler in the late 1920s

Background of the Great Depression

The Great Depression started when the stock market crashed (Wall Street Crash) on 26 October 1929, which is now known as Black Thursday. The stock market crash caused panic throughout America. Many lost their money and became bankrupt. Since they didn't have any money to spend on luxury goods, this affected the business of the shop owners, causing them to make less money, eventually cutting the salary of the employees or retrenching them.  This caused many to be jobless and live in poverty. The agricultural sector was also affected as the land was taken away from the farmers. The loss of jobs caused many people to seek jobs in faraway places in America.

How did it affect Germany?

Because Germany was largely dependent on USA for money to pay the war reparations and to rebuild its economy, the stock market Crash of 1929 affected Germany the most. Since Germany borrowed huge sum of money from USA, when the US wanted Germany to pay back all the money they borrowed, it caused several problems. The impact on Weimar Germany was even direr. Germans were not so much reliant on production or exports as they were on American loans, which had propped up the Weimar economy since 1924. These loans ceased in late 1929, while many American financiers began to ‘call in’ outstanding foreign loans. The German economy was not resilient enough to withstand significant withdrawals of cash and capital. Banks struggled to provide money and credit, and consumers lost confidence in them. In 1931 there were runs on German and Austrian financial institutions and several major banks folded.

There was spiralling unemployment. German industrialists had enjoyed prosperous times in the mid- to late-1920s, thanks to foreign loans and investment. However by the early 1930s, there was little demand for their products, while capital and credit were almost impossible to obtain. To compound the problem, the United States – at that point the largest purchaser of German industrial exports – put up tariff barriers to protect its own companies. German manufacturers consequently endured a sharp downturn in export sales. Many factories and industries either closed or downsized dramatically. By 1932, German industrial production had fallen to just 58 per cent of its 1928 levels. The effect of this decline was spiralling unemployment. By the end of 1929 around 1.5 million Germans were without a job; within a year this figure had more than doubled; and by early 1933 a staggering 6 million (26 per cent) were out of work.

This unemployment had a withering impact on German society. There were few shortages of food but millions found them without the means to obtain it. Germany’s children suffered worst: thousands died from malnutrition and hunger-related diseases. Millions of industrial labourers – the same men who in 1928 had been the best-paid blue collar workers in Europe – spent a year or more in idleness. However the Depression affected all classes in Germany, not just factory workers. Unemployment was also high among white-collar workers and the professions

Sources

Source A: A description from a British novelist Christopher Isherwood, who lived in Berlin during the worst of the Depression

Morning after morning, all over the immense, damp, dreary town and the packing-case colonies of huts in the suburb allotments, young men were waking up to another workless empty day, to be spent as they could best contrive: selling boot-laces, begging, playing draughts in the hall of the Labour Exchange, hanging about urinals, opening the doors of cars, helping with crates in the market, gossiping, lounging, stealing, overhearing racing tips, sharing stumps of cigarette ends picked up in the gutter.

What can you infer about Source A? Explain your answer

I can infer from Source A that the Great Depression has created many problems for the employed who were retrenched. This is evident as Source A states that ‘Morning after morning, all over the immense, damp, dreary town and the packing-case colonies of huts in the suburb allotments, young men were waking up to another workless empty day, to be spent as they could best contrive: selling boot-laces, begging, playing draughts in the hall of the Labour Exchange’ This shows that the people who lost their job led worthless and useless lives as they cannot earn a living anymore.

Source B: An excerpt of Gustav Stresemann before his death  

"The economic position is only flourishing on the surface. Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano. If the short-term credits are called in, a large section of our economy would collapse."

What can you infer about Source B? Explain your answer

I can infer from Source B that Germany’s economy is not stable. This is evident from Source B which states ‘Germany is in fact dancing on a volcano’. This shows that Germany’s economy could worsen. Based on my contextual knowledge, The Treaty of Versailles had imposed harsh reparation on Germany that its economy obliterated. This is worsened by the Great Depression which caused thousands in Germany unemployed and caused hyperinflation in Germany. 

Source C: Unemployment rate in Germany in 1930s

September 1928	650,000 unemployed
September 1929	1,320,000 unemployed
September 1930	3,000,000 unemployed
September 1931	4,350,000 unemployed
September 1932	5,102,000 unemployed
January 1933	6,100,000 unemployed

What can you infer from Source C? Explain your answer

I can infer from Source C that the unemployment rate has increased significantly as a result of the Great Depression. This is evident in Source C which shows that in September 1928 to 1929, the unemployment rate increases from 650,000 to 1,320,000 and in September 1930 to 1931, the unemployment rate increased from 3,000,000 to 4,350,000. This shows that the unemployment rate has skyrocketed

Source D: A Great Depression Quote from Milton Friedman

The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement rather than by any inherent instability of the private economy.

What can you infer from Source D? Explain your answer.

I can infer from Source D that one of the reasons for the Great Depression was the ineffectiveness of the government. This is evident as Source D states that ‘The Great Depression, like most other periods of severe unemployment, was produced by government mismanagement.’ This shows that the Government in USA was not capable enough to prevent the Great Depression from happening.

 Let’s watch a video on how the Great Depression affected Germany.

This video summarises the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression and how it has impacted Germany. From this video, we can see that the stock market crash happened in the USA. So, whatever happened to USA happened to other countries like Germany as it is a major power (like a ‘brother’ to the other countries, always there with a helping hand).

Source E: A description from Alfred Sohn-Rethel, economist

Only when things went economically wrong for Germany did the Nazi Party flourish, and vice versa. Their election successes and their membership rose and fell in exact parallel to the unemployment figures. During the years of prosperity between 1924 and 1928 the Nazis as good as disappeared from the political arena. But the deeper the [economy] subsided into crisis, the more firmly did the fascist party sit in the saddle.

What can you infer from Source E?

I can infer from Source E that the economic problems in Germany attributed to Hitler’s rise to power. This is evident as the Source E states that ‘Only when things went economically wrong for Germany did the Nazi Party flourish, and vice versa. Their election successes and their membership rose and fell in exact parallel to the unemployment figures.’ This shows that the Great Depression worked to Hitler’s advantage in helping him to rise to power.

Citation

Information 0n Great Depression in Germany, Source A from http://alphahistory.com/nazigermany/the-great-depression/

Source Band D from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/weimar_depression_1929.htm

Source C from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/great_depression.html

Nazi Ideology

                    HITLER'S NAZI IDEOLOGY                             

Hitler rose to power through the Nazi ideology and the promises he presented to the Germans. Hitler promised to carry out or full fill the demands of the Germans which are:

  è The abolition of the Treaty of Versailles

Hitler sought to abolish the Treaty of Versailles as it cause the German economy to be weak due to territorial reductions where they lost many resources and population and the payment of reparations of 269 billion gold Reich marks. They also were physically weak due to Demilitarisation where their army and navy sizes were told to be reduced and heavy artillery was also not allowed, making them military weak. This makes them more susceptible to vulnerability to external forces. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles by the Weimar Republic had humiliated Germany. Therefore, in order to seek revenge for all the losses and damages, the Nazis want to abolish the Treaty of Versailles.

è The union of Germany and Austria

The Nazis want to unify Germany with Austria as majority of the inhabitants living in Austria are Germans.  Becoming one again with Austria Germany can once again become stronger than ever among the countries and they will be feared by other countries.

è Allowing of only German blooded to live in Germany.

As Hitler was only in favour of equality for pure German and not Jews and those who were neither Aryan nor German blooded. But mainly the Jews were excluded because the Jews were good businessman and were thus very wealthy and they entered Germany at the time where people in hard times in post-world war one Germany with economic problems. Therefor they were unpopular among the Germans. Therefore only German blooded could live in Germany.

è Nationalisation of large businesses

The nationalisation of large businesses the private industries or assets would turn into public ownership by a national government or state.

HITLERS PROMISES AND NAZI IDEOLOGY AND POLICIES

Hitler promised to revive Germany’s glory by promising to expand Germany’s territory by gaining more land and resources and to bring Germany to Greatness which the Germans were destined for. The Nazis also hoped to gain more land in Russia and Poland to create some living spaces in the East for Germans. They want to overturn the Treaty of Versailles to gain back Germany’s former borders and take back the land that was taken from them by the Allies like the Saar Coal region, Rhineland as well as parts of Poland. All of this will help thrive the economy. Hitler also promised to increase the population by bringing in more German speakers into the Germany and Reich. In Nazi’s Policy and Nazi’s Ideologies, it stated that that it has promised to solve Germany two main problems -----Rampant Unemployment and Disaster in Farming parts. They also use modern and effective campaigns to get the messages through the Germans effectively.  In this way, people will support Hitler and the Nazis D. Therefore, this in turn influences the Germans to support and vote for Hitler. Therefore, these promises have met the needs of the Germans, unlike the Weimar Government which lacked strong support and did not have effective ways to solve Germany’s economic and social woes. This helped Hitler to rise to power.

Source A : Nazi Ideologies

What can you infer from Source A? Use your Contextual knowledge

I can infer from Source A that the Nazis are ambitious people. This is evident as Source A shows Hitler’s and the Nazi Party’s wishes to flourish the German economy as well to exterminate the inferior races(Jews) and to abolish the Treaty Of Versailles. This shows that Hitler and the Nazi Party were ambitious. Based on my Contextual knowledge, the Nazis had launched the Holocaust, in an attempt to rid the whole of Europe of Jews as he felt that they were an inferior and immoral race.

 Citation

joshuapundit.blogspot.com

www.getting-in.com

Video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICarOzqyyR0

 r and immoral race.