One thing the Germans were not happy in the treaty of Versailles is the War Guilt Clause, take blame for the war. Because of this they had to the reparation to the big three. The German government didn’t have the money to pay for the reparation as the country just lost a war and the factory are destroy and the environment is in a poor state. So then the USA banks lend Germany government loans. Its was all going well as Germany was getting in a better state and they are paying their reparation until 1929.
George Clemenceau aimed to cripple the German economy with the high reparations figure. During this period, Germany had received between 27 and 38 billion marks in loans and by 1931, the German foreign debt stood at 21.514 billion marks therefore led to economic instability in Germany. Moreover, the treaty caused hyperinflation. This was linked with reparations figures Germany had to pay in the treaty of Versailles. In 1923, Germany had failed to make a reparations payment resulting in France occupying the Ruhr.
Finally, it is necessary to consider the role which Hitler himself played in the Nazi regime, and the underlying debate as to whether or not the development of the nature of Nazi government was planned or accidental. Having considered these factors it is then necessary to see how this affected the nature of Nazi rule. The nature of Nazi government was profoundly influenced by Hitler’s leadership of the Party prior to the seizure of power in 1933. This was characterised by what Max Weber called the concept of ‘charismatic leadership’. Hitler’s authority was derived from his personal qualities as opposed to being vested in the office which he held.
Also, events such as the Hottentot election of 1907 and the Daily Telegraph affair were examples of when the Kaiser had to work and deal with the democratic sides of the constitution. Taking these examples into account, the Kaiser acted as an autocrat in areas where the Reichstag had no constitutional authority. The Second Reich with its new constitution gave near-autocratic powers to the Kaiser. It recognised the sovereign leader of the Reichstag as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the army. One of the factors that possibly made Germany seem very much like an autocracy is the power the Kaiser had to dissolve the Reichstag ant to appoint a Chancellor of his choice.
The Tariff placed high taxes on imports leading to a decline in international trade. The United States held many loans with European countries that began to default. Reduction in international market spending in the US, coupled with the high tariffs placed on foreign countries led to unemployment abroad and foreign countries were forced to impose their own tariffs on other countries (Kelly, n.d.). The Great Depression was perhaps most devastating to the individual and family. The Depression was recorded to have decreased the marriage rate which helped lead to a decline in the birth rate.
Another thing was there was the weakness of the Weimar government, which played its part. The Weimar government was failing miserably, what with a failed economy, no power, a great depression, unemployment, a weak president, and the rise of terrorism and extremism. The Social Democrats were losing their touch. During the Stresemann years of the 1920s the Nazis couldn’t even get into double figures when it came to seats in the Reichstag. Germany, it looked, was on the rise while Stresemann was Chancellor but the Nazis and their appealing polices were al too good for the people of Germany to refuse and so while the votes for the Social Democrats only increased ever so slightly the Nazi votes were plumiting and with every election they grew and grew.
On the other hand, the anguished effects of WWI were still enduring in the Germanic collective memory. Many Germans perceived The Versailles Treaty, signed by the Allies in 1919, as a humiliation. The treaty contained a number of heavy impositions to Germany which were socio-economically unbearable to a once great and powerfu l nation. The amount that had to be paid to the Allies as war damage 2 made the Mark lost all its value, causing a hyperinflation so severe that the prices increased by over 100 times in just one year (Bresciani -Turroni, 1968.). The hyperinflation crisis, which was only solved in 1924, lasted enough time to ruin thousands of Germanic families, thus worsening the general feeling of rage against the treaty.
Wages in the industrial sector were not keeping up with huge increase in manufacture and profits. Stocks lost a huge amount of money in a single day. Investors who had borrowed money to buy stocks were particularly hard hit, as were the banks that had lent the money (Canadian History 1201). Therefore the stock market crash was a very big event that caused The Great Depression. There were many factors that caused the Great Depression.
However, structuralists have argued that towards the end of this period, and the start of the War in 1914, the Kaisers power was being slowly degraded from mass political movements (particularly socialist,) which would suggest that the authoritarian nature of Germany was not entrenched and subject to change from below. The constitution of the 2nd Reich gave key powers to the Kaiser, allowing him the de jure right to rule in an autocratic nature. The Kaiser was also the King of Prussia. He could also appoint or dismiss the chancellor whenever he pleased, dissolve the Reichstag with consent from the Bundesrat, and had control over foreign and military policies. Weltpolitik or “world policy” was the Kaisers attempt at dominating the political scene worldwide, a policy which is often cited as one of the reasons behind WWI.
The unpopular economic policies, presidential rule and the rise of extremism. The Weimar government didn’t know what to do about all of the problems including the rise of unemployment and growing poverty. Although the other countries also affected by the Depression didn’t recover immediately, the Weimar government faced particular problems. One way out of the Depression was to print money and increase government expenditure. This shortly led to an outburst of inflation.