The reason why so many people joined these extremists was that in the Treaty of Versailles the Germans would have to accept ‘the War guilt clause’. Everyone found this an outrage as the Germans eventually signed the Treaty. The Govterment system that was put in through the Weimar was democracy. This new system was new to Germany and looked to be crumbling after the first few years. The country had a militaristic past as which had gave the President some concerns that the old elite may try and overturn the Weimar with much support.
In 1919 Germany was handed a diktat by the ‘Big Four’, a treaty that they had no option but to sign. Germany originally signed the Treaty of Versailles with the belief that it would be based around President Wilson’s fourteen points, however it soon became clear to them that this was not in fact the case. Germany felt that the Treaty had cheated them and there was much outrage across Germany. The principle complaint Germany had was that they felt the War Guilt Clause, referring to article 231 of the Treaty, was totally unjust. Germany was forced to take all the blame for damages received by the allies.
The new Weimar Republic was born in 1918, its construction was against Germany’s defeat and humiliation at Versailles. The legitimacy of the state’s existence was questioned by many and as a result the new democracy was experiencing threats. Threats to the Republic from the political right were clear in the early 1920’s. The demand for reduction of the German army from 650,000 to 200,000, and 100,000 in 1919 was seemingly too much of a strain for a large number of right wing parties, who began to demand that the Versailles Treaty and the new Weimar Republic be rejected. The leaders of this movement were General Ludendorff, Wolfgang Kapp from the Patriotic Party and General von Luttwitz of the Freikorps.
In this question I am going to answer the question, ‘explain why each of the ‘big 3’ was dissatisfied with the treaty of Versailles’. The treaty was a formal compromise. It was written by David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and Woodrow Wilson to punish Germany for the damage to Versailles in France. David Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau and woodrow wilson was called the big three because they’re the main people in charge of creating the treaty of Versailles. Italy is part of the big three but was not that important because Italy's experience in World War One was disastrous and ended with the insult of her 'reward' at the Versailles Settlement in 1919.
This resulted in risings such as the Spartacist rising where communists fuelled by the success of the Russian revolution almost occupied nearly every major city in Germany. However, the Reichstag led by the SPD had stepped into a power that was left by the Kaiser, and as a result of this it had no real option but to accept the Versailles Treaty. The most irritating part for the German people was the to pay reparations to Britain and France. Germany's failure to pay her debt led to the invasion of the Ruhr, resulted in very little success for France but did succeed in the complete collapse of the German economy. This led to the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923 Hitler aided by General Lundendorff and a few hundred supporters marched on the Munich town hall as a pretext to a national revolution, unfortunately for Hitler this attempt failed and he was sent to prison.
He was quite satisfied with the treaty. In front of his people, as a member of parliament, he needed the support of the public to succeed in elections and if he came across as being soft on Germany, he would have been voted out. The British people wanted revenge and Lloyd George's public image reflected this mood. "Hang the Kaiser" and "Make Germany Pay" were two very common calls in the era immediately after the end of the war. However, in private Lloyd George thought that the treaty was probably too harsh and he predicted that history would repeat itself, saying ‘‘We shall have to fight another war again in 25 years’ time.’’ the economist John Maynard Keynes prophesied that reparations would ruin the economy of Europe.
With Germany in both political and economic turmoil, the introduction of a democracy could not have come at a worse time. In the years that the Weimar Republic was in power there was separation in between classes due to the humiliating Treaty of Versailles, political revolution, economic tragedy, consequences of rushed constitution, cultural expression, the great depression, and in between a frenzy of politics. The Weimar Republic was quite inevitably doomed from the start. When the Weimar Republic formed in the aftermath of World War 1, Germany was suffering with the burden of defeat, and now to add to their trouble a Treaty imposed by their enemies that the newly formed Weimar Republic accepts, would effectively strip the German people and nation of all dignity. One thing that the German people did not cope well with was the loss of the war.
Despite protest by majority of the country the German government agreed to sign the treaty on 28 June 1919. This has really been the worst possible start for the Weimar Republic. The country had already been demoralized due to the war loss and the country is thrown into even more disarray by the signing of this treaty. There was a hatred of the treaty and it cut across all classes in Germany. The treaty created a history of bitterness in German Society.
Did Germany face a bigger threat from the Left or Right wing between 1919-1923? From its start, the Weimar Republic experienced problems from both the Left and Right wing. The hatred for the government of those on the Left was encouraged by the successful Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 whilst the Right wing felt betrayed by a government who had allegedly stabbed them in the back by agreeing to the armistice and signing the Treaty of Versailles. However both threats from the Left and the Right had underlying problems, which made them easier to put down by the government. After the unsuccessful attempt at a revolution, which was easily repressed, the Left never fully recovered its momentum and did not have enough support to overthrow the government whereas although the Right attempts quickly fell short, the threat from the Right wing continued to grow.
Homework Past Question Explain how the Nazis increased their control over Germany from 1933-4. Hitler had become Chancellor of the Weimar Republic on 30th January 1933 but this was still a weak position and was under threat from the Reichstag, President Hindenburg and the army. All of them could prevent his rise to power. Each of these would have to be dealt with in turn if he was to set up a successful dictatorship. He was also under threat from other groups especially the Communist Party.