The social and economic upheaval that followed World War I powerfully destabilized the Weimar Republic, Germany's fledgling democracy, and gave rise to many radical right wing parties in Weimar Germany.
The Weimar Republic is the name given to the German government between the end of the Imperial period and the beginning of Nazi Germany The Weimar Republic and period draws its name from the town of Weimar in central Germany where the constitutional assembly met.
Many of the challenges of this era set the stage for Hitler's rise to power, but it is only with hindsight that some say the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start.
World War I left Germany a shattered nation. Two million young men had been killed and a further 4. At home, the civilian population suffered from malnutrition as a result of the Allied blockade, with starvation a serious and often fatal outcome. Workers went on strike in attempts to gain better working conditions; in alone, there were separate strikes. In short, Germany was coming apart. The government, centered on an ineffective Emperor, devolved into a military dictatorship incapable of reforming the system.
Thus, in August , after it became clear that Germany's last gasp military offensives had failed, Generals Hindenburg and Ludendorff passed control of the government to Chancellor Max von Baden, a moderate, and two Social Democrats to enact reforms. This transfer of power would have far-reaching effects. Those most responsible for the war itself and the accompanying human and economic disasters handed their debacle to a new civilian government which then became responsible for conducting peace negotiations.
The Weimar Republic came to bear for many the humiliation of World War I and the blame for all its accompanying hardships. In many ways, it never shook this association, particularly from the clauses of the Versailles Treaty that reduced the once proud German military to practically nothing and placed all blame for the war on Germany. But, even before that government could come into being, the German navy chose in November to order a suicidal assault against the British navy in an attempt to salvage some honor.
The sailors refused. A massive leftist mutiny began on November 3. On November 9, the Kaiser abdicated and fled the country. Unfortunately, this was too little, too late. Antiwar demonstrations and massive unrest in Bavaria followed thereafter which unseated the old regime. In this moment of great confusion and turmoil, the army under General Wilhelm Groener offered the Social Democratic Chancellor, Friedrich Ebert, a deal. In exchange for a guarantee not to reform the officer corps or reduce the power of the armed forces, Groener promised the support of the military in maintaining order and defending the government.
Faced with increasing violence from all sides, Ebert agreed in what became known as the Ebert-Groener Pact. While some historians condemn this act as a betrayal of democratic values, Ebert had few options at the time in order to maintain some semblance of law and order.
At first, however, right-wing Freikorps or volunteer paramilitary organizations were deployed against left wing agitators. The violent confrontations between left and right-wing extremists became ever bloodier.
At least 1, Germans died in nine days of street fighting in Berlin in March Similar violence took place across Germany, most notably in Munich. With the violence quelled, 25 men including the famous sociologist Max Weber, legal scholar Hugo Preuss, politician Friedrich Naumann, and historian Friedrich Meinecke worked from February to July crafting a new constitution which became law on August The drafters of this new constitution faced the difficult task of creating a government acceptable to both the political left and right without being too radical.
They compromised to satisfy both groups. The basic format of the government was based around a president, a chancellor, and a parliament or Reichstag. The President was elected by a popular vote to a seven year term and held real political power, controlling the military and having the ability to call for new Reichstag elections.
In a nod to conservatives afraid of too much democracy, the framers also added elements such as Article 48 which allowed the President to assume emergency powers, suspend civil rights, and operate without the consent of the Reichstag for a limited period of time.
The chancellor was responsible for appointing a cabinet and running the day-to-day operations of the government. Ideally, the chancellor was to come from the majority party in the Reichstag or if no majority existed, from a coalition.
The Reichstag, in turn, was also elected by a popular vote with its seats distributed proportionally. This system ensured that Germans had a voice in government that they had never had before but it also allowed for a massive proliferation of parties that could make it difficult to gain a majority or form a governing coalition.
The power of the Reichstag - The Reichstag appointed the government and made all laws. This was very different from its powers before the war under the Kaiser. A Bill of Rights - This guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law. Whilst the new system intended to reduce political conflicts, it in fact resulted in many different parties gaining a small amount of seats in the Reichstag.
This meant that no one party had overall an overall majority, and parties joined together to rule in coalitions. In these coalitions, each party had different aims which often led to disagreements on policy. These disagreements made it difficult for the Reichstag to govern. In addition to this difficulty, the unpopular reparations payments, which Germany were forced to pay through the Treaty of Versailles , put a huge amount of economic pressure on the government.
These tough economic and political circumstances made people susceptible to extreme political views. In order to keep control and peace in the early s, Friedrich Ebert relied heavily on the traditionally right-wing army and Freikorps. Throughout the war, the value of the German currency, the Reichsmark, fell considerably. In , one British pound was equal to twenty German marks. In , one British pound was equal to marks.
To try and meet the requirements of government spending and alleviate the post-war situation, the government had little choice but to print more money. This in fact made the inflationary situation worse and again reduced the value of the Reichsmark. Meanwhile, in the midst of this economic crisis, Germany continued to attempt to pay the reparations as dictated by the Treaty of Versailles. The reparations had to be paid in gold marks, which maintained its value, whilst the German currency declined.
This made it more and more expensive to pay. In , Germany requested permission to suspend their payments whilst their economy recovered. This was refused by the Allies. By , Germany reached breaking point as inflation started to run out of control. They were unable to continue paying reparations. On the 9 January , in response to the lack of payment of reparations, France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr. The Ruhr was a region of Germany which contained resources such as factories.
The French and Belgians intended to use these resources to make up for the unpaid reparations. German factory workers refused to co-operate with the occupying French and Belgian armies. With the German governments support, the workers went on strike. The French sent in their own workers, and arrested the leaders of the German strikers and the German police.
This led to violence on both sides. With the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr, goods in Germany became even more difficult to obtain, and therefore very expensive.
To fix this problem and pay the striking Ruhr workers, the government again printed more money. This led to hyperinflation. By the autumn of a loaf of bread cost ,,, marks. Workers paid by the hour found their wages were worthless, because prices had risen since they began their shifts.
The situation was critical. It was at this moment of crisis that Gustav Stresemann was elected as chancellor in September These improved relationships would then in turn help him to secure a reasonable revision to the treaty. Following this policy, Stresemann made the unpopular decision to start repaying the reparations and order the striking workers of the Ruhr to return to work.
Stresemann also appointed Hjalmar Schacht , a banker, to tackle the issue of hyperinflation. In November , Schacht introduced a new German currency, the Rentenmark, based on land values and foreign loans. One Rentenmark was worth 10,,,, of the old currency. This was called the Dawes Plan. Under this plan, the reparations were reduced to 50 million marks a year for the next five years, and then million marks a year following that.
The plan also recommended that the German National Bank was reorganised, and that Germany receive an international loan. This loan was for million gold marks, financed primarily by America. These measures eased the economic pressure on Germany, and relations with other countries began to improve and then stabilise. In , Germany was accepted into the League of Nations. The Dawes Plan, alongside a sudden injection of foreign loans, helped the German economy to stabilise and prosper.
This situation allowed the German government to invest in new public facilities, such as hospitals and schools. Those in work saw real improvements in working conditions as wages increased and working hours decreased.
Culture in Germany also flourished, as previously established thoughts and beliefs were thrown aside for new ideas. The German art school Bauhaus is a key example of this, promoting experimental modernist art and architecture. Unemployment was still very high with two million people unemployed in The farming industry was also slow to recover from the wartime pressures, and agricultural and rural wages were much lower than those in big towns and cities.
Furthermore, the sudden injection of foreign loans had left Germany dependent on income that they could not control. Despite this, Germany had made significant steps on the road to recovery between
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