The Origins of the Weimar Republic

In November 1918 Germany was defeated in war by the allied powers and the Kaiser (King of Germany) left his throne. He was replaced by a democratic government called the Weimar Republic.

How did the new Weimar Republic work?

  • Germany from 1919 to 1933 is usually referred to as the Weimar Republic or Weimar Germany.
  • The new Weimar Constitution gave the vote to all people over the age of 20. A system of Proportional Representation (PR) was used for elections to the Reichstag (parliament).
  • Elections were to take place every four years and the government would be run by the Chancellor (Prime Minister). He was responsible to the Reichstag.
  • Germany became a federal system, with power shared between central government and state (regional) governments.

What were the problems with the constitution?

  • Article 48 of the constitution gave the President emergency powers to rule by decree without the Reichstag and even to suspend the constitution. The President was directly elected every seven years.
  • Owing to PR, there were many small parties in the Reichstag, so most Weimar governments were short-lived coalitions (this is when parties decide to try to work together). From 1919 to 1923 there were nine coalition governments- they could not seem to agree on how to sort out Germany’s problems.
  • PR also allowed extreme parties to gain representation. This is how the Nazis eventually managed to get into parliament.

Why did many Germans dislike the Treaty of Versailles?

  • One of the first things that the new government did was to sign the Treaty of Versailles. Many Germans hated the new government for signing the Treaty of Versailles.
  • The Treaty of Versailles was very unpopular because Germany had to pay reparations to the Allies. This meant that Germany could not rebuild its own economy after the war. Germany also had to limit their armed forces. This made them feel weak. Germany also lost land. This denied them of resources. This also meant that some Germany speaking people no longer lived in Germany. The Germans were also forced to admit sole responsibility for starting the war. This seemed unfair to many Germans.
  • The politicians that signed the treaty were called the November Criminals.
  • The army felt that they had been “stabbed in the back” (Dolchstoss).
  • Many preferred the authoritarian rule of the Kaiser- they saw democracy as a foreign idea imposed on the Germans.

What were the early political problems faced by the Weimar Republic?

  • Most of the political parties of the Weimar Republic were opposed to democracy.
  • The Weimar Republic faced threats from the Left. The left wanted a revolution like the one that had happened in Russia and they also wanted more power for the workers. The new Communist Party (KPD) organised marches and strikes in Berlin during the winter of 1918-1919. They took hold of government buildings in what was called the Spartacist Rebellion. Eventually it had to be put down by the Freikorps who were demobilised soldiers from World War 1. This showed that the Weimar Republic as incapable of dealing with its own problems without calling upon the army.
  • There were also threats from the Right. They did not want a left wing revolution and wanted a return to authoritarian (non-democractic) rule. In March 1920 Dr Wolfgang Kapp marched on Berlin to overthrow the Weimar Government and bring back the Kaiser. This was called the Kapp Putsch. For a while this seemed as though it might succeed as the government fled and the army did little to stop the takeover of the city. However, eventually many workers did not co-operate and the putsch was defeated.
  • Unrest continued until 1923 and there was another failed right-wing uprising led by the Nazis in the Munich Putsch (see later section on the Munich Putsch).

What were the early economic problems that faced by the Weimar Republic?

  • In 1922, Germany said that it could not afford to pay its second reparations instalment.
  • So, in 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr, Germany’s riches industrial area, in order to take food coal, iron ore and steel as payment.
  • Germany replied with passive resistance (strikes and non-cooperation).
  • The German economy collapsed, leading to hyperinflation (massive, rapid price increases). The German currency became worthless.Many middle class people lost their savings. There were shortages of food and other goods. Also, people found it difficult to buy what they needed. You had to go to the market with a wheelbarrow to buy a loaf of bread because the money was so worthless.
  • A new German government led by Stresemann, ended passive resistance, and the French finally withdrew.

Weimar Republic (1924-1929)

What role did Stresemann play in the economic recovery of the Weimar Republic?

  • Stresemann was appointed chancellor in 1923.
  • Stresemann negotiated with the French to end the occupation of the Ruhr.
  • He introduced a new currency called the Retenmark to end inflation. He set up a new independent national bank to control the currency. This restored confidence.
  • Stresemann negotiated the Dawes Plan with the USA. This reduced the size of the reparations instalments and provided Germany with US loans that were used to modernise factories and build new ones.
  • In 1929, the Young Plan brought new loans, while reparations were reduced and spread over 60 years.
  • All these measures helped to boost the German economy and restore confidence. Between 1924 and 1929, Germany received over 25 billion gold marks in loans- three times more than reparation payments. By 1929, Germany was only second to the USA in advanced industrial production.

How did Stresemann help Germany restore relations abroad?

  • In 1924 Stresemann became foreign secretary. He did this job until his death in 1929.
  • In the Lacarno Treaty of 1925, Germany accepted its 1919 western frontiers, and agreed that changes in the east would be by negotiation only.
  • Germany joined the League of Nations in 1926.The Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 saw Germany along with 44 other countries, renounce (reject) war.

What did Stresemann achieve?

  • He restored economic stability.
  • He had regained a place for Germany on the international stage.
  • He kept the support of the moderate parties on the left and the right.
  • He steered Germany out of the difficult early period.
  • However, he died in 1929 at a time when the world was plunged into the economic darkness of the Great Depression.

Comprehension questions – answer in full sentences in your exercise book:

  1. What is Germany usually referred to ask during the years 1919-1933?
  2. Why was the Treaty of Versailles unpopular?
  3. How did the communist party threaten the stability of the Weimar Republic in 1919?
  4. What was the Kapp Putsch?
  5. What did France do when Germany could not afford to pay reparations in 1923?
  6. What did Stresemann do to improve the Germany economy? Was this successful?
  7. What did Stresemann do to restore Germany’s prestige abroad? Was this successful?

Exam style question – complete in your exercise book:

‘The Weimar government from 191-1929 was weak’

  • Explain whether you agree or disagree with this statement.
  • Write 2 x PEEL paragraphs
  • Use PEEL paragraph structure in your exercise book to help you

PEEL 1 – agree with statement

PEEL 2 – disagree with statement

Websites for additional reading:

Due date for all above tasks: Your first History lesson back – your teacher will collect your homework at the beginning of the lesson