In source 3, Watkins develops this point further by commenting that ‘Britain would not survive the peace with the kind of government it has possessed before the war’. This clearly shows how people realised the Conservatives were not a suitable government maintaining peace in Britain after the war. The view of the Conservatives unpopularity is further supported by Source 1 as despite it being written by an up-and-coming Conservative, his account of the election was witnessed first-hand so may have some weight to historians. Similarly with Source 2, Attlee was
When Keynes rejected the scale of reparations placed on Germany and resigned from his post at the Treasury, he lead the way for what many leading politicians were to understand later on. Keynes supported the approach of Lloyd George that for economic and political reasons, Europe needed a successful Germany, which would be seriously difficult to achieve whilst the excessive reparations were placed on them. Furthermore, his book The Economic Consequences of the Peace (1919), was successful in influencing the view of Britain that a weak Germany would only make the recovery of Europe after the war, a lot more difficult. On the other hand, from taking this view, politicians were criticised for being 'too lenient' towards Germany. Even Lloyd George, who took a much tougher political approach towards the reparations, received criticism.
To what extent was the Great Depression responsible for the collapse of the Weimar Republic? While the Great Depression had a huge impact on Germany, it is too simplistic to say that the Depression alone led to the collapse of the Weimar Republic. The Depression had a great impact both economically, socially, politically and psychologically, but its main significance was the opportunity it provided radical politicians such as Hitler. The collapse of the Republic itself can almost be described as inevitable, having being built on unstable and weak foundations. As well as the Depression, the collapse of the Republic can be linked to a large number of factors, including the influence of the army, political instability and constitutional weaknesses.
However, other reasons also played a part. Concern over national security also played a part in persuading the Government that reforms were needed. It could be argued that British politics almost revolved around national efficiency and responding to the industrial and economical threat of Germany and America consequently leading to the reforms. The new Labour party promised social reforms and the Liberals were worried about losing votes. The Liberals knew they had to find a way of keeping the working class votes.
The Weimar Government, whilst built in opposition to the wartime ideologies, was unable to detach itself from the power of the German military between the years of 1919 and 1934. The Weimar Republic was formed in 1919 after the abdication and exile of Kaiser Wilhelm II left the country leaderless and the Reichstag switched from imperial politics to democratic politics, a form which the German army famously did not support. As such the impact of the German Army upon the Weimar Republic was largely to support their own political – generally right-wing – agendas. This can be directly linked to the interference of military groups and military groups in the political sphere of Weimar Germany. The involvement of the German Army and other military groups in Weimar politics served to strengthen the Republic in the early years but later lead to its downfall.
“Complacent and ultimately harmful to British Interests” How far do you agree with this opinion of GB foreign policy in years 1925-1929? Between the years 1925-1929 British concerns on foreign policy were primarily on the basis of preserving peace and easing the Franco-Germany tensions, defence of Britain, maintaining the status quo, and healing the economy. The terrible losses of the First World War made both politicians and public recoil from the prospect of another war. Thus, Britain seemed to have everything to lose and nothing to gain from a major war, therefore the emphasis on preserving peace were made quite clearly throughout foreign policy as well as compromise, conciliation and concession to prevent any aggression. However some historians would say that Britain was too complacent when it came to foreign policy, and as soon as they believed they had reached satisfactory targets, they wouldn’t go any further, and so risk harming British interests.
Source A is about removing opposition and the use of propaganda to control what the population thought and did this is challenging the question as the consent is not given but actually forced out of the none Arian people of Germany. The source suggests that the Nazis removed the peoples basic rights like freedom of speech because they feared that the people would speak out against the laws that had been created to keep them under control. This is a strong argument against the Germans giving support towards the regime because it suggests that the Germans. Source A also suggests that after the war Germany still wasn’t ready politically so Hitler had an easy task in taking power the
Economists view the economic conditions as the major reason for the downfall of the Weimar republic and the rise of the Nazis but political scientists like to point out the constitutional structure of the Weimar constitution. According to some it is one of the great ironies of history that Hitler came to power through legal means. One way Hitler managed his dictatorship was through the appointment as Chancellor in 1933. This helped establish a dictatorship because it helped Hitler and the Nazis gain support. I know from my background knowledge that once Hitler was named Chancellor big bankers and industrialists, including Krupp and I. G. Farben, had lobbied Hindenburg and schemed behind the scenes on behalf of Hitler because they were convinced he would be good for business.
Communism and capitalism was not really a big issue, the big issue was the Axis Powers. Conflicts started escalate when Germany was defeated. Germany was unified among the allies after the war but there were two distinct groups. Russia wanted control over Germany because they suffered the most out of anyone and they were the main reason the Nazis were defeated. They feared of a future German invasion.
As a leader, he had pulled Germany out of the economic depression they were in. Most other countries had not accomplished that yet which is partly why they were not able to hold their defenses against the German army. America made the decision to aid in the war before it was a part of the war. First they sent supplies and material overseas to Britain and Russia. The axis powers that consisted of Italy, German, and Japan, were spreading.