The French army are then put on war-footing so they are ready for when Germany attack. Once Britain hears that Germany has declared war on Belgium and France it orders Germany to withdraw its army from Belgium. Germany doesn’t listen to Britain’s command so Britain declares war on Germany. Then Austria finally declares war on Russia. Long-term causes of WW1: Imperialism is a big cause of WW1 because many countries were building up their empires; there were disagreements over who would control which areas of the World and countries were becoming jealous of other countries, this caused arguments between the countries.
All threats of revolution were taken seriously. The authorities hastily assembled an extensive spy network. The most famous threat of a revolution was in August 1819 when a large crowd assembled at St Peter’s Fields in central Manchester to hear a pro-reform speech from Henry ‘Orator’ Hunt. Fearing uncontainable disorder, and perhaps even revolution, the Manchester authorities over-reacted and sent in troops to disperse the crowd by force. Eleven people were killed and the radicals were given a huge propaganda boost by referring to the event as ‘Peterloo’, in a grim analogy with the Duke of Wellington's famous victory over Napoleon at Waterloo four years earlier.
The Weimar Republic was faced with such hardship when it came into power that it seemed as though it was almost destined to fail. It had inherited a political situation that seemed weak due to the abdication of the Kaiser, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the economy and the "Stab in the Back" theory affected by the old elites of German society. The new government faced violent opposition from both sides of the political spectrum, although with differing levels of success, and an economy that was spiraling out of control. However, it was the violence of the extreme right which of could been seen as the largest risk to the stability of the Weimar Republic due to its effectiveness and its closeness. Firstly, it is clear to see that the violence of the extreme right was certainly a clear threat to the Weimar republic as it in fact managed to succeed in briefly overthrowing the government.
The Treaty caused humiliation and shock amongst the citizens of the country, much of the political backlash was due to the fact that the Allies were dictating to Germany the harsh terms of the war reparations, which was seen as absurd by many citizens as they did not feel as if they were responsible for starting the war nor did they feel as though they had lost. As Germany had to pay reparations, they were told to issue a blank cheque which allies would cash when it suited them; the figure that was demanded was well
The problems began after the 1st World War, and after the German government signed the papers at the Treaty of Versailles, agreeing to its conditions and punishments, the government was very much resented by the people. The first political event that marked the beginning of the collapse of the German democracy was the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty took place in Paris in 1919. After Germany was held responsible for starting the war, the government faced numerous problems: both economical and political. Although the conditions of the agreement seemed extremely severe, the allied countries had no sympathy for the Germans.
The Parisian people proceeded to attack the fortress to possess military supplies and weapons in defense. The common people completely destroyed the Bastille. To the people of Paris, the Bastille was a symbol of the Absolute Monarchy, and the destruction of it, the end of the Absolute Monarchy. The destruction of the Bastille was seen as the beginning of the French Revolution for it was the first successful attack against the Absolute Monarchy. Many successful revolts and movements would accumulate following Bastille Day.
In Prussia he established a secret police or Gestapo to further intimidate people with violent actions against anyone who spoke up against the state - which they interpreted to be the Nazi Party. These policemen launched their own 'reign of terror' in February 1933, disrupting and breaking up meetings of political parties; making arrests and interrogating suspects. All this was aimed at anyone seen to be a threat to Hitler's aim of winning a majority. These police forces were ordered by Goring to use their firearms on anyone they suspected of being an enemy of the state - or face punishment themselves. More than 50 political murders took place in the month before the elections.
The Anschluss (union of Germany and Austria) in March 1938 unleashed a wave of attacks against Jewish property in Austria. This sparked Goering into issueing a Decree for Registration of Jewish Property in April 1938. Himmler became involved in Jewish police, stating that Germany should be a
Years later, on Joseph Stalin's orders, Trotsky was assassinated. No one could take action against the Bolsheviks who were subverting the army, passing out fire-arms, and appointing their supporters as commissars of military units. On the night of November 6-7 the Bolsheviks attacked, and gained control of the capitol after several days of fighting. Meanwhile, Lenin had to deal with the war. Peace negotiations failed, so Lenin dealt
Hitler started by ordering the Austrian Nazi Party to make as much trouble as possible. The Austrian Nazis held parades, set buildings on fire, and let bombs go off. When the Austrian government banned them, Hitler held a meeting with the Austrian leader: Kurt Schuschnigg. Hitler threatened to invade Austria unless Schuschnigg gave all important jobs in his government to the Nazi. Schuschnigg compromised by appointing the Nazi Seyss-Inquart as Minister of the Interior.