How far were the problems faced by the Weimar Republic in the years 1919 1923 caused by the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 1

1. Germany emerged from World War 1 deeply divided - left versus right (and also mainstream Social Democrats versus the radical left). Nationalists made two attempts to overthrow the new republic (Kapp-Putsch 1920 and Hitler's attempted putsch in 1923). There were also various Communist uprisings, the best known being the Spartacist uprising of January 1919, but there were others, for example in the Ruhr in 1920. Bands of mercenaries and political assassinations became common.

2. Defeat itself was something that many on the right were unwilling to accept. They concocted the stab-in-the-back legend, a conspiracy theory that Germany had not been defeated at all but had been 'stabbed in the back' by various subversives on the home front - socialists, Bolshevists, Jews, liberals, organzied labour and so on.

3. The Treaty of Versailles was harsh, but it is very hard to imagine a peace treaty that would have been acceptable to hardline nationalists.

4. It is worth noting that when attacking the leaders of the Weimar Republic the nationalists nearly always talked about 'the November criminals', in other words those who had asked for an armistice.

5. In 1923 France and Belgium claimed that Germany had defaulted on reparations payments and occupied the Ruhr - the key industrial area of Germany. This was interpreted by most Germans as going beyond the Versailles Treaty.

6. Inflation, resulting initially from the slipshod way in which the German government had financed the war, was also a serious problem.

I hope that the above will make it clear that - contrary to popular mythology - the Versailles Treaty was not the only problem, and probably not the main problem, either.

Joncey

Answer 2

1. Germany emerged from World War 1 deeply divided - left versus right (and also mainstream Social Democrats versus the radical left). Nationalists made two attempts to overthrow the new republic (Kapp-Putsch 1920 and Hitler's attempted putsch in 1923). There were also various Communist uprisings, the best known being the Spartacist uprising of January 1919, but there were others, for example in the Ruhr in 1920. Bands of mercenaries and political assassinations became common.

2. Defeat itself was something that many on the right were unwilling to accept. They concocted the stab-in-the-back legend, a conspiracy theory that Germany had not been defeated at all but had been 'stabbed in the back' by various subversives on the home front - socialists, Bolshevists, Jews, liberals, organzied labour and so on.

3. The Treaty of Versailles was harsh, but it is very hard to imagine a peace treaty that would have been acceptable to hardline nationalists.

4. It is worth noting that when attacking the leaders of the Weimar Republic the nationalists nearly always talked about 'the November criminals', in other words those who had asked for an armistice.

5. In 1923 France and Belgium claimed that Germany had defaulted on reparations payments and occupied the Ruhr - the key industrial area of Germany. This was interpreted by most Germans as going beyond the Versailles Treaty.

6. Inflation, resulting initially from the slipshod way in which the German government had financed the war, was also a serious problem.

I hope that the above will make it clear that - contrary to popular mythology - the Versailles Treaty was not the only problem, and probably not the main problem, either.

Joncey

Answer 3

The Weimar Republic faced many problems. Perhaps the greatest danger was 'the weakness within' - the constitution gave the President, the states and the army too much power, whilst proportional voting meant that the Reichstag was divided and weak. In 1919-23, extremists on both the Left (especially the Spartacist revolt) and the Right (especially the Kapp Putsch) tried to overthrow the government.

The worst crisis occurred in 1923, when the French invaded to try to force Germany to pay reparations. This led to hyperinflation and a number of rebellions (particularly Hitler's Munich Putsch).

Germany 1919-1923

• 1919

  • Spartacist revolt (Jan) and other Communist rebellions.

  • Communist 'People's Government seizes power in Bavaria.

• 1920

  • Kapp Putsch (Mar)

  • 'Red Army' (communist) rebellion in the Ruhr

• 1921

  • assassination of Matthias Erzberger

• 1922

  • assassination of Walter Rathenau

• 1923

  • (Jan) France invades the Ruhr

  • General Strike and hyperinflation

  • (Oct) Black Reichswehr rebellion

  • The Rhineland declared independence (Oct) and Communists take power in Saxony and Thuringia

  • (Nov) Hitler's Munich Putsch

What problems faced the Weimar Government 1919-1923?1. Ineffective Constitution

The Weimar Constitution did not create a strong government:

• Article 48 of the constitution gave the President sole power in 'times of emergency' - something he took often.

• The system of proportional voting led to 28 parties. This made it virtually impossible to establish a majority in the Reichstag, and led to frequent changes in the government. During 1919-33, there were twenty separate coalition governments and the longest government lasted only two years. This political chaos caused many to lose faith in the new democratic system.

• The German states had too much power and often ignored the government.

• The Army, led by the right-wing General Hans von Seeckt, was not fully under the government's control. It failed to support government during the Kapp Putsch or the crisis of 1923.

• Many government officials - especially judges - were right-wing and wanted to destroy the government. After the Kapp Putsch, 700 rebels were tried for treason; only 1 went to prison. After the Munich Putsch, Hitler went to prison for only 9 months.

2. Left-wing Rebellions

The Communist KPD hated the new government:

• In Jan 1919, 50,000 Spartacist rebelled in Berlin, led by Ros luxembourf and Karl Leivknecht.

• In 1919, Communist Workers' Councils seized power all over Germany, and a Communist 'People's Government' took power in Bavaria.

• In 1920, after the failure of the Kapp Putsch, a paramilitary group called the Red Army rebelled in the Ruhr.

3. Right-wing terrorism

Many right-wing groups hated the new government for signing the Versailles Treaty (June 1919):

• The Kapp putsch: in March 1920, a Freikorps brigade rebelled against the Treaty, led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp. It took over Berlin and tried to bring back the Kaiser.

• Nationalist terrorist groups murdered 356 politicians. In August 1921 Matthias Erzberger, the man who signed the armistice (and therefore a 'November criminal'), was shot. In 1922, they assassinated Walter Rathenau, the SPD foreign minister, because he made a treaty with Russia.

4. Invasion-Infalstion: crisis of 1923

The cause of the trouble was Reparations - the government paid them by printing more money, causing inflation. In January 1923, Germany failed to make a payment, and France invaded the Ruhr. This humiliated the government, which ordered a general strike, and paid the strikers by printing more money, causing Hyperinfation:

• In Berlin on 1 October 1923, soldiers calling themselves Black Reichswehr rebelled, led by Bruno Buchrucker.

• TheRhineland declared independence (21-22 October).

• In Saxony and Thuringia the Communists took power.

5. Munich Putsch

On 8-9 November 1923, Hitler's Nazis tried to take control of Bavaria (the Munich Putsch).