The political changes in Germany between October 1918 and May 1919 lead to many revolutionary changes however I don’t believe that the events that took place amounted to a revolution. In this essay I will be discussing the ‘revolution from above’ and the ‘revolution from below’, the Spartacist challenge and the Weimar constitution. In October 1918 the ‘revolution from above’ took place. The Kaiser was told by Ludendorff that they had lost the war and simultaneously he urged the Kaiser to appoint a new government made up of representatives of the biggest parties in the Reichstag. The Kaiser agreed and Germany went from being an autocracy, where all the political power had lied in the hands of the Kaiser, to a parliamentary democracy, where the supreme power lied in the hands of the people and the Kaiser became simply nothing more than a ceremonial head of state.
Ferdinand planned to make some major changes once he had become Emperor, some of these prospective changes made him very unpopular. The Austro-Hungarian Empire currently had control over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The terrorist group decided that Ferdinand should be assassinated before he gained enough power to create further oppression for the two countries. When Franz Ferdinand visited Sarajevo for an inspection of the Austro-Hungarian troops, The Black Hand made their move. The assassination had a violent and turbulent aftermath.
These reforms made a significant change to the government as a weakened sense of autocracy replaced the traditional span of control the Tsar ruled over, due to freedom of serfs which ultimately creates opposition. Further consequences of war faced by the government can be illustrated in the assassination of Alexander 2nd and the severe social unrest following the Russo-Japanese war. These protests are suggested to be the beginning point of the 1905 revolution. This caused extreme damage to the government as it questioned the strength of leadership and citizens became more and more critical, eventually leading to further reforms and the initiation of changing the way Russian government was formatted. However, it can be argued that
This is interesting though as President Adams ruined his chance of re-election by deciding to keep the USA out of the Napoleonic Wars. President Jefferson had the same problem when he decided to cut trade with Europe in order to keep the country out of the very same war. Finally, under President Madison, the United States entered the war with catastrophic consequences. After World War I and the disastrous number of dead Americans, there was a very strong isolationist feeling within the United States. This was intensified with the Depression of the 1930s and the focus on domestic issues.
During this time the British pushed up through the Arabian Peninsula with T.E Lawrence helping to organise the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire. Russia withdrew from the war after signing a treaty with Germany. This originally caused problems for the allies and the central powers were believed to win before the arrival of the Americans resulted in Germany being overpowered. This causing the call for an armistice in which the central powers signed the treaty of Versailles and agreed to pay for the damages that they had caused. The war left an entire generation of people physically and mentally disabled and damaged.
Austria-Hungary made the Serbs fear annexation while the Slavs inside the country wanted a Great Serbia. he assassination of the Archduke occurred due to the Serbs nationalism, to warn Austria-Hungary to stay away from Serbia. However, it had the completely opposite effect because Austria-Hungary now had a valid reason to give Serbia an Ultimatum that would allow them to attack the country. Austrians did not only do this because they wanted Serbia but also because they realised that the Slavic nationalism could cause another loss of their land as they had experienced in the Second Balkan War in 1913. There was also a significant number of Slave living inside the borders of Austria-Hungary who’s wish for a Great Serbia could not be ignored and so they needed to be shown their limits.
Why did the Weimar Republic face political challenges in the years 1919-1923? The title ‘The Weimar Republic’ was the name given to the Parliamentary Representative Democracy set up in Germany after WW1. Even though Frederick Ebert had good intentions, the Weimar Republic faced many political challenges between the years 1919 and 1923. There were 5 main reasons why the Weimar Republic struggled, including: The Treaty of Versailles; The Stab in the Back myth; hyperinflation with the collapse of economy; political violence from extremists on the right and left wing Parliament and the voting system of Proportional Representative. I will argue that although the Treaty of Versailles was the most important cause, it is the way these were connected which explains the crisis.
The treaty of Versailles in 1919 placed full blame on Germany. Germany was forced to pay reparations for the whole cost of the war. Also included in the treaty were limitations of arms building, the return of Alsace Lorraine and much of the map of Europe was redrawn. Germany felt that they had not lost the war, that it was only a cease fire and the conditions were too harsh on them. At the same time the governments in Russia, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire had collapsed.
This assassination was the first in a chain of events that ultimately led to war for all countries. Even after the assassination, Austria-Hungary gave Serbia a chance for the war to maintain local by an Ultimatum. The Ultimatum required those responsible for the assassination to be turned in. Also, the murder was to be investigated by Austria-Hungary officials. Serbia new that refusing to meet the demands of the ultimatum would mean war, but Serbia was not ready to give up her pride, even at such a high cost.
Both Germany and Russia mobilized their armies in haste, because each one feared defeat by powerful enemies if they delayed. Germany and Russia also rashly committed themselves to support Balkan clients - Austria-Hungary and Serbia, respectively - because Berlin and St. Petersburg feared that failure to do so would cost them the trust of important allies and leave them isolated. This view treats Balkan matters largely as influences on policy