Weimar Problems 1919-1923

Summary

The Weimar Republic faced many problems. Perhaps the greatest danger was 'the weakness within' - the constitution gave the President, the states and the army too much power, whilst proportional voting meant that the Reichstag was divided and weak. In 1919–23, extremists on both the Left (especially the Spartacist revolt) and the Right (especially the Kapp Putsch) tried to overthrow the government.

The worst crisis occurred in 1923, when the French invaded to try to force Germany to pay reparations. This led to hyperinflation and a number of rebellions (particularly Hitler's Munich Putsch)..

Links

Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

Basic notes

Good notes

HistoryLearning on the early problems - excellent

Weimar threats - A-level essay

Hyperinflation

Munich Putsch

YouTube

Germany 1918-21: the beginning - very clear

Munich Putsch

Mr Portman's great video

German attitudes 1918-21

Germany 1919–1923

1919

	Spartacist revolt (Jan) and other Communist rebellions.
	Communist 'People's Government seizes power in Bavaria.

1920

	Kapp Putsch (Mar)
	'Red Army' (communist) rebellion in the Ruhr

1921

assassination of Matthias Erzberger

1922

assassination of Walter Rathenau

1923

(Jan) France invades the Ruhr

General Strike and hyperinflation

(Oct) Black Reichswehr rebellion

The Rhineland declared independence (Oct) and Communists take power in Saxony and Thuringia

(Nov) Hitler's Munich Putsch

New words

Freikorps: ‘Free Companies’ – bands of right-wing ex-soldiers

Putsch: rebellion

What problems faced the Weimar Government 1919–1923?

(ILRIM)

1. Ineffective Constitution

The Weimar Constitution did not create a strong government:

	Article 48 of the constitution gave the President sole power in ‘times of emergency’ – something he took often.
	The system of proportional voting led to 28 parties. This made it virtually impossible to establish a majority in the Reichstag, and led to frequent changes in the government. During 1919-33, there were twenty separate coalition governments and the longest government lasted only two years. This political chaos caused many to lose faith in the new democratic system.
	The German states had too much power and often ignored the government.
	The Army, led by the right-wing General Hans von Seeckt, was not fully under the government’s control. It failed to support government during the Kapp Putsch or the crisis of 1923.
	Many government officials – especially judges – were right-wing and wanted to destroy the government. After the Kapp Putsch, 700 rebels were tried for treason; only 1 went to prison. After the Munich Putsch, Hitler went to prison for only 9 months.

2. Left-wing Rebellions

The Communist KPD hated the new government:

	In Jan 1919, 50,000 Spartacists rebelled in Berlin, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Leibknecht.
	In 1919, Communist Workers’ Councils seized power all over Germany, and a Communist ‘People’s Government’ took power in Bavaria.
	In 1920, after the failure of the Kapp Putsch, a paramilitary group called the Red Army rebelled in the Ruhr.

3. Right-wing terrorism

Many right-wing groups hated the new government for signing the Versailles Treaty (June 1919):

	The Kapp Putsch: in March 1920, a Freikorps brigade rebelled against the Treaty, led by Dr Wolfgang Kapp. It took over Berlin and tried to bring back the Kaiser.
	Nationalist terrorist groups murdered 356 politicians. In August 1921 Matthias Erzberger, the man who signed the armistice (and therefore a 'November criminal'), was shot. In 1922, they assassinated Walter Rathenau, the SPD foreign minister, because he made a treaty with Russia.

4. Invasion-Inflation: the crisis of 1923

The cause of the trouble was Reparations – the government paid them by printing more money, causing inflation. In January 1923, Germany failed to make a payment, and France invaded the Ruhr. This humiliated the government, which ordered a general strike, and paid the strikers by printing more money, causing hyperinflation:

	In Berlin on 1 October 1923, soldiers calling themselves Black Reichswehr rebelled, led by Bruno Buchrucker.
	The Rhineland declared independence (21–22 October).
	In Saxony and Thuringia the Communists took power.

5. Munich Putsch

On 8–9 November 1923, Hitler’s Nazis tried to take control of Bavaria (the Munich Putsch).

Historical Parallel

This discussion investigates the parallels between the setting up of Weimar Germany and the present-day situation in Iraq.

Source A

The new republic faced problems mainly as a result of signing the Treaty of Versailles

A modern textbook.

One of the main problems for the Weimar government was the right-wing Dolchstosslegende - the claim that the Army had been 'stabbed in the back' by the government (whom the right called 'the November criminals').

Extra:

1. List all the problems facing the Weimar republic in its early years in order of date. For each problem, decide how big a problem it was.

2. Here is a list of the factors which helped to cause the Weimar government’s problems:

Communists

Right-wing parties

Officials - the judges wanted to destroy it

Army

Proportional voting

Occupation of the Ruhr

Printing money.

For each factor:

a. find the times when it caused problems for the government.

b. think how it created instability in Germany.

3. Do you agree with Source A?

4. Looking at all the information on this page, what do you think: was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?