Due to the lack of morale, war weariness and economic crisis the unrest was beginning to form a dangerous revolution. (J Hite & C Hinton. 2000) Fearing for his life and under the advice of his Supreme Commander General Ludendorff William II the Kaiser of Germany handed over his power to a civilian government thereby abdicating his throne. He then left Germany and went into exile in Holland, where he lived until 1941. The new regime headed by Prince Max, attempted some reforms but ultimately this was ineffective due to the discontent and anger within the population of the failed war.
The months before and during the Bolshevik revolution, as well as the signing of the peace treaty at Brest-Litovsk cause turmoil among the socialists and brought Russia into civil war. The Provisional Government of Russia treated the middle and lower class citizens of Russia very poorly, ignoring their needs, as well as dragging them into World War I and two civil wars in a little over two decades. The workers of Russia wanted a democratic republic, or any government that would have allowed them to make a difference, and one that would help them as much as their current government was against them (Wade 27). In 1917, Russia was at war in World War I and was suffering economically because of it, as well as loosing the lives of many of their young men in battle. The people of Russia desired to leave World War I as smoothly and as quickly as possible (Wade 29).
The Weimar Republic looked to be collapsing from the beginning. All the events that finally led to the ending of democracy in Germany were seemed to be caused by the Treaty of Versailles. The loss of the war for the Germans was a huge turning point as it was seem that the Allies wanted to crush Germany. They were unable to pay the reparations, as extremists from both the right and left wing found the war guilt clause unacceptable. When the Germans had lost World War I, had a huge impact back in Germany.
To understand and identify the aspects of the totalitarian system in both countries it's important to consider both countries history. On November the 11th 1918 Germany agreed to signed the Armistice. After Germany was forced to accept Versailles agreement by accepting guilt for WW 1. As a consequence the German people were demotivated and had no confidence in the new liberal democratic Weimar government and international forces. 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.
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.
The Treaty of Versailles left the Germans feeling guilty, humiliated, and resentful. The German people have a strong sense of national pride and now they were humiliated, they were in ruins. The treaty destroyed their military and made them pay war reparation therefore causing inflation and loss of jobs. Many Germans were bitterly disappointed by the treaty and this disappointment sparked the lasting bitterness that would
Hitler then took away the “Power of the People” by replacing parliament with a self proclaimed dictatorship, which most Germans welcomed. Hitler was often described as a “Leader that got mad with power” as he lead a war that lead to many, many people dying. This so called “madness” leads to him taking over Poland and starting the war, consequently meaning Germany broke the “Treaty of Versailles”. After Germany took over Poland, Britain declared war on Germany as they refused to leave from Germany and the fact that they broke the “Treaty of Versailles”. After Britain declared war on Germany, France joined in with Britain as they felt threatened that Germany was going to take over them.
They were also in a country plagued by a financial crisis with the majority of the population automatically having hatred for the government. The treaty of Versailles also posed a serious threat to the government with the country left embarrassed by its ruling and the war guilt that Germany faced. The extreme right in particular were a threat to the republic. The actions of the Spartacists in particular concerned the leaders of the SPD as they knew that they could not rely on the support of the army in the face of a revolt. Thus a deal was done with the right wing (the pre 1918 military, judiciary and civil service).
Having signed this treaty the Social Democrats gained the immediate dislike of German nationalists who quickly spread the myth of Germany being “stabbed in the back” by social democrats and Jews, hence creating great unpopularity for this new attempt at democracy. Therefore, emerging from a disastrous war, the newly formed Weimar Republic was forced to place its foundations on pillars of chaos. The general discontent
It deprived Germany of wealth-earning areas, such as the coalfields in Silesia. As well as this the treaty also imposed harsh reparations on Germany (£6,600 billion). Germany asked for reductions however the victors, especially France were not forgiving and needed money to pay debts to the US. With no gold reserves and a failing income Germany could no longer afford to pay and declared itself bankrupt. Why was the Ruhr occupied and what were the consequences?