However these were compounded by other factors such as fundamental flaws in the democratic system, hyperinflation, the occupation of the Ruhr and the onset of the great depression. All of these factors in combination provided the situations where civil unrest, violence and revolution could place intolerable strain on the already struggling democratic Weimar republic. It is possible to trace the factors that led to the collapse of the Republic back the conditions of the TOV and its impact on the German economy. Therefore it can be said that the TOV was paramount in the fall of the Weimar Republic.
To what extent was the Great Depression responsible for the collapse of the Weimar Republic? While the Great Depression had a huge impact on Germany, it is too simplistic to say that the Depression alone led to the collapse of the Weimar Republic. The Depression had a great impact both economically, socially, politically and psychologically, but its main significance was the opportunity it provided radical politicians such as Hitler. The collapse of the Republic itself can almost be described as inevitable, having being built on unstable and weak foundations. As well as the Depression, the collapse of the Republic can be linked to a large number of factors, including the influence of the army, political instability and constitutional weaknesses.
Eleven people were killed and the radicals were given a huge propaganda boost by referring to the event as ‘Peterloo’, in a grim analogy with the Duke of Wellington's famous victory over Napoleon at Waterloo four years earlier. This shows that the government did think Britain was on the verge of a revolution if they had to have authorities to disperse the crowd by force. This also shows the unrest Britain had as a whole, to the way Britain was governed. In response to the Duke of Wellington’s return to government, reform leaders made plans to bring the country to a halt by having their supporters withdraw funds from the banks, using the slogan: ‘To stop the Duke, go for Gold’. The crisis was averted.
Many historians have said Alexander II was considering the formation of a parliament in Russia. Furthermore, the assassination caused Alexander III to rule in reactionary nature in which many counter-reforms were created to limit the impact of the Great Reforms done by his father. This supports the view that the People’s Will were highly unsuccessful, even in the taking out of Alexander II. It can be said that the only example in this period of effective political opposition was the October 1917 revolution, where, unquestionably, the Bolsheviks took power and let their political vision be known. They were extremely successful in both the short term and the long term.
The Weimar Republic was faced with such hardship when it came into power that it seemed as though it was almost destined to fail. It had inherited a political situation that seemed weak due to the abdication of the Kaiser, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the economy and the "Stab in the Back" theory affected by the old elites of German society. The new government faced violent opposition from both sides of the political spectrum, although with differing levels of success, and an economy that was spiraling out of control. However, it was the violence of the extreme right which of could been seen as the largest risk to the stability of the Weimar Republic due to its effectiveness and its closeness. Firstly, it is clear to see that the violence of the extreme right was certainly a clear threat to the Weimar republic as it in fact managed to succeed in briefly overthrowing the government.
Additionally there were developments that occurred without war, which illustrates that involvement in war was not the only cause for change. Therefore war was an important catalyst and factor to significant changes but was not the sole cause of change. The war that caused most change was Word War One due to its role in the February revolution in 1917 and the fall of the provisional government in the October revolution. The defeats of the war dwindled support from liberals and Octobrists for the Tsarist regime, which was further worsened by criticism from organisations including the Central War Industries committee and the union of Zemstva. This formed support and reason for the Progressive Bloc.
With this he was arrested, exiled finally escaped to London in 1902 under the pseudonym of Trotsky, he met with Lenin and began working at Iskra. 1903 saw the split of the party where Trotsky sided against Lenin and joined the Mensheviks, because he believed Lenin’s ideals would lead to a dictatorship. The events of the 1905 revolution and Bloody Sunday were significant in Trotsky's career. He secretly returned to Russia where he used his political and organisational skills as well as being elected chairman on the St Petersburg Soviet. In December 1905 he was again arrested after showing his public support of the Bolsheviks during his imprisonment Trotsky developed the idea of Permanent revolution – he argued that a revolution could not survive in one country for long it would need an ally.
Why did widespread protests and rebellions occur across Russia in 1905? There are several reasons as to why widespread protests and rebellions occurred in Russia. The most important reason, which sparked Russia into a time filled with protests, was the Political problems that brewed in Russia; the Tsar aggravated many people, and caused many demonstrations across Russia, as he was not listening to the population. The main reason, which caused a widespread rebellion across Russia in 1905, was due to the political problems in Russia. In 1905, Russia was still an autocracy, with the Tsar possessing complete political power, unlike other countries in Europe, Russia did not have a national elected parliament therefore people were unable to have a say in how their country was run.
Labour lost power in 1924 because of events it could not control rather than its record in Government. Ninety years ago today, the British political landscape was shattered by the election of the first Labour government, the Annual Register called it ‘A revolution in British politics as profound as that associated with the Reform Act of 1832’. After an inconclusive election on 6 December 1923 resulting in a hung parliament resulted in Ramsay MacDonald taking office as both Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary leading a minority government on 22 January 1924. However labour’s time in the lime light was cut short; on the 8th of October that same year the Macdonald administration was voted out of parliament. The nature of the labour’s downfall is fickle as it is arguable whether or not labour’s downfall is owed to
‘The main threat to the stability of the Weimar Republic in the period 1919 to 1923 came from the political violence of the extreme right.’ How far do you agree with this statement? There is a large debate regarding whether or not the main threat to the stability of the Weimar Republic in the period 1919-23 came from the extreme right. The end of World War I saw the abdication of the Kaiser (August 28th 1918) and the implementation of the Weimar Republic under Friedrich Ebert, leader of the SPD. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles left Germany crippled financially which led to hyperinflation and a lot of civil unrest to combat. During this time, there were numerous coups from both the right and the left, which threatened the stability of the Weimar Republic.