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 way that Ebert used to take control lead damaged the prospects of democracy from the outset. Historians have criticised Ebert’s use of force to crush radical groups such as the Spartacists and his use of the Freikorps. Together with the crushing Spartacists in 1919 caused these left wing radicals to become divided and were therefore unwilling to compromise on reforms in the Reichstag. This made it far more difficult for coalitions to form and for democracy to function in the designed fashion.
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
The Weimar republic was created in 1919 with the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm ll, it was created at a time of confusion and chaos after Germany had lost the First World War. Between 1919 and 1923 it had to deal with many problems such as extremists’ attacks, the treaty of Versailles and the reparations crisis. Firstly Germany had no tradition of democracy and had always had strong leaders; Germans weren't ready for democracy and did not agree to it. With Germany suffering very badly because of the war it added onto the hatred the democracy had made. 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 spartacists despised the new republic and did their utmost to revolt against it and create a Bolshevik style revolution in Germany. The USPD weren’t as extreme but were more lukewarm towards the new republic. They were disappointed that the revolution was never completed but did not support violence; instead they sought the less extreme industrial strike action route. Finally there was the SPD. They were the opposite from the Spartacists and supported the new republic, entering numerous coalition Governments.
The Weimar Constitution was the first problem they encountered. The treaty of Versailles also caused several problems for Germany, and its pride and economy. The way which the Republic dealt with this caused problems. Lastly, left and right wing opposition of the Weimar republic were causing problems due to neither side wanting democracy, so left and right wing parties wanted to overthrow toe democratic coalition government. The Weimar Constitution posed some problems for the Weimar Republic, it had features which caused difficulties for the Republic, but was not the biggest problem that it faced.
Explain why the Weimar Republic faced problems between 1919 and 1923 The Weimar Republic faced problems between 1919 and 1923 for many reasons, including several uprisings, hyperinflation and the French occupation of the Ruhr. At the beginning of 1919 the new German government were already very unpopular because they signed the armistice at the end of 1918. Many Germans were appalled by this decision, as they believed that they could have won the war because they were so near Paris. The soldiers felt as if they had been betrayed. Stabbed in the back.
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.
As a result of the Russian revolution, communist Germans also had support from Soviet Russia and Vladimir Lenin, the lead Russian communist revolutionary. In retrospect, the extreme left posed a much lesser commination to the Weimar Republic than it was thought at the time. One of the main reasons for this is the bad co-ordination of the extreme left: they were incapable of mounting a unified attack on Weimar democracy and after 1919 when Liebknecht and Luxemburg were assassinated by the Friekorps, their leadership and representation suffered greatly as their successors often had disagreements on tactics which lead to a lack of strategy and internal divisions. Repression was another factor that meant the extreme lefts opposition was not serious.
The USSR and the United States were friends during World War II only because both countries did not approve of Nazi Germany's ideology. While they were friends, both the USSR and the United States still did not agree with each other in terms of government, but both thought that it was more important to work together fighting against Germany. However, after World War 2, the USA adopted Capitalism and became and became a democracy, whereas Russia adopted Communism. This again created an inevitable clash between the governments of these two countries. When President Roosevelt died, Truman was installed as the new President of the USA.
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.