As a new era dawned for Germany when the German people had their first attempt at parliamentary democracy with the Weimar Republic. Born in the ashes of defeat, the Weimar Republic was troubled with the disasters of the past. It dealt with the military defeat and domestic revolution. Though the Weimar era was an unambiguous difference to the Wilhelmine era, the Weimar Republic was inevitably overshadowed by its demise. Various historians argue that it was in fact foreseen to fail due to the various complications that the Republic encountered, such as opposition from both sides of the political spectrum, the implications of the Treaty of Versailles and the impact of the Great Depression.
Gareth Parker. A Written Report Of A Discussion On The Rise Of Hitler and the Nazi Party 1918-1933. Identify and comment upon the key weaknesses of the Weimar system of government. The Weimar Republic was born in a time of great turmoil and struggle, encountering many problems throughout its sixteen year history. Possibly the greatest vulnerability was 'the weakness within' - the constitution gave the President, the states and the military too much control, whilst proportional voting meant that the Reichstag was separated and weak.
On the 30th of January 1933. Adolf Hitler was appointed as Chancellor of Germany. Prior to this event, there were several causes of significant relevance; this included the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, Hitler’s political activities as leader of the Nazi Party, the Great Depression, and the growing popularity of the Nazi Party. As well as this, some very significant consequences came from this event, including; Hitler’s assumption of dictatorial powers, the improvements he made to the German economy, his persecution of Jews and other minorities, as well his aggressive acts towards opposing and surrounding countries. These consequences were significant for many reasons, particularly due to their impact on society, allies and the opposition, as well as inducing the beginning of WWII.
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.
“It is more accurate to talk of a potential revolution which ran away into the sand than the genuine article” Before we can assess whether a ‘genuine’ revolution took place in 1918, or if held many promises and yet failed to deliver, we must look at the term ‘Revolution’. This often refers to a substantial change in power/structure that takes place within a short time span. Germany was in a vulnerable position, susceptible to change as the defeat in the war had shaken people’s faith in the government. There was undoubtedly political changes undergone in Germany but whether they fundamentally shook the German foundations of society can be seriously questioned. It can be argued that the ’Weimar Republic’ , the outcome of the revolution was a facade of the old authoritarian regime, carrying out change under false pretences of a democratic institution, with the Right Wing Conservatives still in control.
Hitler used propaganda, elimination of the opposition, and a cult of personality to gain the support and trust of the German people in a time of economic crisis to his benefit and the rest of the world's loss. Single party states arise from a crisis, and Germany was suffering from a very large one at that time. The end of World War I in 1918 had left the economic state in shambles, and the loss struck the German people hard. Furthermore, the Treaty of Versailles the following year resulted in the demilitarisation and many cuts from German land and territory. Hitler criticized the carving up of Europe by the "Big Four" (the US, UK, France and Italy), stating that the Germans were the "master race".
Hitler’s strategy incompetence, the Allied bombings and losing the Battle of The Atlantic were all also important factors in the defeat of Germany. This essay will aim to judge to what extent the failings of the economy contributed to Germany’s defeat in conjunction with various other factors that led to the downfall of Germany. The Nazi’s economic policy did nevertheless, have significant contribution to the defeat and fall of Germany during the war. The Four-Year Plan of 1936, which was major part of their economic policy, was meant to make Germany ‘fit for war within four years’. However, the German economy was not really ready for a long war and was struggling by 1939; its capacity was only strong enough to sustain a couple of short campaigns.
With Germany in both political and economic turmoil, the introduction of a democracy could not have come at a worse time. In the years that the Weimar Republic was in power there was separation in between classes due to the humiliating Treaty of Versailles, political revolution, economic tragedy, consequences of rushed constitution, cultural expression, the great depression, and in between a frenzy of politics. The Weimar Republic was quite inevitably doomed from the start. When the Weimar Republic formed in the aftermath of World War 1, Germany was suffering with the burden of defeat, and now to add to their trouble a Treaty imposed by their enemies that the newly formed Weimar Republic accepts, would effectively strip the German people and nation of all dignity. One thing that the German people did not cope well with was the loss of the war.
These terms included Germany having to pay reparations to the Allies, Germany having to accept the war guilt, the seizure of German territories and colonies to the allies, limits on German armed forces, and the establishment of the League of Nations. The following essay will discuss the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and analyse how fair the treaty really was. The first term of the Treaty of Versailles was the huge sum of money that Germany had to pay to the Allies - £6600 million to pay for the damage done to the infrastructure of both countries by the war. This amount of money was well beyond Germany’s ability to pay and Germany was hugely affected as a result. A huge sum of money was being taken out of the German economy, which made it extremely difficult for Germany to compete in the trade market.
Another major cause that resulted in Hitlers rise to power was the Weimar democracy. The Weimar democracy had failings, one of these were article 48. This allowed the president (who was Hidenburg) to take control of the government in emergencies, this essentially meant that the president could become a dictator. Between 1930-1933 when Hidenburg enacted article 48 and continually changed chancellors, Bruening in 1930, Schleicher in 1932, Von Papen in 1932, Hitler in 1930, this resulted in him looking alot like a dictator and the old veigm which is not what most of the working class people in Germany wanted. Hitler used these