Crisis in Weimar Germany 1919-1923

Bad Start
1. Kaiser Abdicates
  1. Removal of strong leader
    1. Germany had no tradition of Democracy
2. Starvation and Economic collapse after war
3. Treaty Of Versailles
  1. "Stab in the back"
  2. 'November Criminals'
Weak Government
1. Weimar Republic used Proportional Representation
  1. No one political party got majority
    1. Lead to weak coalisions
Extremist Groups
1. Communists
  1. Extreme Left
  2. German Communist Party (KPD)
  3. Wanted communist state - everything shared/owned by workers equally
2. Nationalists
  1. Extreme Right
  2. Nazis in later years
  3. Wanted to bring back Kaiser
Revolts and Uprisings
1. Spartacist Uprising (1919)
  1. Extreme Left
    1. Communist
  2. Rosa Luxembourg & Karl Leibnecht
    1. Were murdered
  3. Tried to start Revolution in Berlin
    1. Look control of newspaper and telegraph bureau
      1. Failed to capture anything else
    2. Government used Freikorps to defeat Spartacists
2. Kapp Putsch (1920)
  1. Extreme Right
    1. Freikorps
      1. Not punished
        Sympathetic judges
  2. Marched on Berlin
    1. Government forced to run away
      1. Appealed to ordinary workers
        They went on strike
    2. Pulled out of Berlin within days because of the strike
1923
1. French invasion of the Rhur
  1. Government called for workers strike
    1. Printed more Dutch Marks to pay striking workers
      1. Dutch Marks becomes worthless
        Hyperinflation
  2. Germany couldn't keep up with reparation payments

Resource summary

	Created by KateMoriarty over 10 years ago