However, was this new constitution bound to fail as it had been born from the humiliating defeat of the war? Previously Germany had been extremely authoritarian dominated and were therefore not suited to this to the new democratic constitution which was another aspect to its weakened prospects. The new constitution itself posed certain problems such as continued political uncertainty and instability. Moreover, did the limited nature of the German revolution cause political problems for the government and damage the new democracy. The first key issue I would like to discuss is the limited nature of the German revolution and how this damaged the prospects of German democracy.
The new government was the body that signed the treaty of Versailles, and to many it was a betrayal and most Germans referred to it as the ‘stab in the back theory’. The consequences of Versailles, such as reparations and land loss, were severe to Germany. Many people were looking for someone to blame and the government was the perfect choice. Communists and the right wing saw an opportunity to create a state that they wanted and were prepared to challenge the new republic. Many richer Germans had lived well under the Kaiser and distrusted the new government.
The Republic was weak from the beginning. Treaty of Versailles The Weimar republic was associated with failure in WWI since it had signed the Treaty of Versailles that had ended the war. Many nationalists believed the republic had sold Germany out to its enemies by ending the war too early. The treaty took territory from Germany and left the country facing crippling compensation claims. The limitations it placed on Germany's armed forces, and especially the War Guilt Clause that blamed Germany and her allies for starting the war, left many Germans feeling humiliated.
Later in 1919 the Weimar government signed the treaty of Versailles. The treaty had some appalling things in it such as the war guilt Claus, which meant that Germany had to accept that the war was all their fault and huge reparations also had to be paid. The German people hated the Weimar Republic even more after this because they were disgusted that their government accepted the awful terms of the treaty. They especially did not like the bit that said
Hatred for this document was still rife in Germany and so Hitler, who openly detested the Treaty, became the obvious choice. As well as this, the problems of 1923 were still fresh in people’s minds and no one wanted a repeat. Hitler’s opponents failed to cooperate and so failed to deal with the depression and this only made the Nazi party seem like a more attractive option. Although the Weimar constitution definitely had its weaknesses, these were only emphasised and so utilised by Hitler due to the great depression and might not have seemed so severe in a different political
It also severely restricted Germany’s military power. The treaty, to Germany, was something that was not only unfair, but also humiliating. This caused Germany to bear resentment against the winning powers and caused some to thirst for revenge. America’s policy of isolationism also played a major part in starting World War II. Their refusal to join the League of Nations severely weakened it, and effectively destroyed the League of Nation’s ability to follow through with its threats and stop wars.
Hitler even being allowed to come into power is a scary thought itself. The situations that facilitated Hitler's rise to power were the Germans' unhappiness with the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Totalitarian leadership, and the inaction of the League of Nations. The Treaty of Versailles, which was a peace settlement in which the Germans had no choice and were forced to sign after WWI, was an important reason why the Nazis came to power. The German general public were so angry over the Treaty and found it hard to accept the terms of it because it became a symbol of Germany's humiliation and defeat. This made the new Weimar government, who signed the treaty, extremely unpopular and there was a lot of opposition to the government.
“How important were weaknesses and divisons among his opponents in explaining Hilters’s rise to power by 1933?” After their defeat in the first world war, Germany was given an extremely harsh peace treaty, the Treaty of Versailles, which they were forced to sign in 1919. The treaty was a crippling blow to the newly formed Weimar Republic, which caused many problems for them and led to the eventual rise of Hilter and the Nazi party into power. The Nazis faced tough opposition from parties such as the Communists and Socialists, who didn’t believe in a democratic government, however these parties were relatively weak and divided, so were therefore defeated easily. There were many other factors which contributed to Hitlers rise to power such as weaknesses of the Weimar Republic, resentment over the Treaty of Versailles, economic crises in 1923 and 1929, the popular appeal of the Nazi’s and their effective use of propaganda and Hitler as a speaker. Historians disagree to an extent as to what the main reasons for Hitlers rise to power was.
What was the War Guilt Clause? The War Guilt Clause was a main term of the Treaty of Versailles. It was clause number 231 and it blamed only Germany for the outbreak of war. This was one of the main terms that Germany was very unhappy about, as imperialism from many other countries had contributed to war. Germany had to accept this clause and couldn’t discuss it, as it was not invited to this conference.
In fact the groups within the right such as the Freikorps and consul organisation showed an increasing amount of violence because of their lack of support on democracy, which of course created a tremendous threat to the Weimar Republic. To an extent one could argue that the economy was a major threat to the stability of the Weimar Republic in the period 1919-1923 due to the severe reparation payments. The Treaty of Versailles stipulated that Germany had to pay reparations for the damage which was caused in WW1. The poor leadership and economic problems consequently led to a German defeat. In 1921, the total amount of reparations was set at 269 billion gold marks.