The Weimar republic

The Weimar republic

The origins of the republic
1. The setting up of the Weimar Republic
  1. The Weimar Constitution
    1. finalised in August 1919
    2. first time Germany experienced democracy
  2. meeting for the constituent assembly in Berlin was too dangerous, so they met in Weimar(hence the name of the republic)
    1. no single party had a majority of votes
      1. coalition government
    2. chose Ebert(Social democratic party(SPD)) as new president
      1. he asked Philipp Echeidemann of same party to be chancellor
      2. formed coalition with the catholic centre party(ZP)
    3. two key tasks before them:
      1. 1. drawing up of a new constitution
      2. 2. formulation of a peace treaty with the allies
2. The legacy of the first world war
  1. The revolution of 1918 - 19
    1. Max approached pres. Woodrow Wilson about ending the war(USA)
      1. he would not go to peace with Germany as long as there was a Kaiser in charge
    2. end of 1918 German navy mutinied
    3. Nov 9 1918; Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated
    4. Chancellor Friedrich Ebert of the German republic accepted the armistice of Wilson's Fourteen points
      1. elections for a constituent assembly Jan 19 1919
  2. WW1 started in 1914
  3. Britain, France and Russia + USA from 1917(allies) vs Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey(central powers)
  4. 1918 - new gov. in Germany lead by prince Max of Baden
    1. Germany's first parliamentary cabinet
      1. meaning they were accountable to Reichstag rather than the Kaiser
The early challenges to the republic
1. The early unpopularity of the republic
  1. The treaty of Versailles
    1. Germans signed armistice 11 November 1918
      1. treaty ending WW1 signed 28 June 1919
    2. Expected peace settlement to be based on Wilson's Fourteen Points
      1. his idea of self-determination as a safeguard of Germany's sovereignty
    3. severe terms on Germany
      1. lost 13% of land
      2. lost 48% of iron production
      3. 6million+ citizens were absorbed into other countries
      4. Article 231 - the War Guilt Clause
        had to accept blame for starting the war
      5. denial of entry to the League of Nations
  2. The stab in the back theory
    1. scapegoat
      1. The November Criminals
    2. 19 June 1919
      1. Scheidemann resigned as chancellor (in disgust)
    3. the Allies had informed the German leaders that refusal to accept the terms would lead to a renewal of hostilites and immediate invasion of G
    4. the politicians had stabbed the army in the back
  3. main reason = the Treaty of Versailles
2. Challenges to the republic from the left and right
  1. Threat from the left
    1. The Spartacist uprising
      1. based on communist ideals
      2. lead by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
        killed
      3. formed the German Communist Party (KPD)
      4. 6 Jan 1919
        egan their attempt to overthrow Ebert and the gov to create a communist state
      5. o match for the freikorps and army
    2. many Germans hoped German could become socialist
    3. Soldiers, workers and sailors set up 'soviets' (Oct and Nov 1918)
    4. Ebert made a deal with Groener because of the fear of revolution
    5. Examples
      1. Communist rising (Oct 1923)
      2. communist rising in the Ruhr (March-April 1920)
  2. The Kapp Putsch
    1. right-wing
    2. trade unionists and civil servants supported the Gov
      1. Putsch collapsed because it had little support
    3. 1920
    4. Berlin
    5. leaders were Erhart and Kapp
  3. Further uprisings
    1. left-wing and right-wing groups involved
      1. iolence continued for the nect two years
    2. 1919 -22: 376 murders (354 by the right)
    3. Matthias Erzberger and Walther Rathenau were both assassinated (1921 and 1922)
  4. political turmoil across the country
    1. uprisings and threats
    2. some Germans felt democracy had been imposed on them
  5. radical changes in Germany (late October and early November 1918) came about because those in power in G saw there was no alternative
  6. British naval blockage - shortages of food
  7. inflation
  8. Bolshevik Revolution (Russia) - October 1917
    1. Provisional Gov was removed by Lenin and Trotsky
3. The challenges of 1923
  1. The French occupation of the Ruhr, 1923
    1. German resistance
      1. passive
      2. industrial sabbotage
        factories were set on fire
        mines were sabotaged and flooded
      3. strike and protests
    2. The result of the occupation
      1. the strikers became heroes
      2. German gov. backed the strikers and printed more money to pay them a wage
        inflation
    3. Hyperinflation
      1. benefited certain ppl
        businessmen who were in too great debts
        farmers
        foreigners
    4. French and Belgium troops, January
      1. Germany failed to pay reparations for both countries
  2. French occupation of the Ruhr
  3. Hyperinflation
The recovery of the republic
1. Reasons for economic recovery
  1. Dawes plan
    1. Persuasion of the French, British and American to change the payment terms
    2. Agreed in August 1924
    3. named after US vice president Charles Dawes
    4. Main points
      1. reparation payments would begin at 1million marks and over 4 years increase to 2.5million marks per year
      2. the Ruhr area was to be evacuated by Allied occupation troops
        1925
      3. Reichsbank would be recognised under Allied supervision
      4. USA would give loans to help economic recovery
  2. US loans
    1. beginning: 800million marks
    2. next six years: $3,000 million
  3. The rentenmark
    1. hyperinflation of 1923 - destroyed the value of the German mark
    2. November 1923 - Stresemann introduced the temporary Rentenmark
      1. 1924 - Rentenmark converted to Reichsmark, backed by gold reserves
    3. based on property values
  4. The young plan
    1. 1929 - Owen Young came up with a new plan for payments
      1. reduced from 6,600 million pounds to 1,850 million.
    2. Payment length extended to 59 years
      1. 2.05 billion marks per year
    3. severely critisised by right-wing politicians
      1. Alfred Hugenberg
      2. Adolf Hitler
    4. further payment of reparations extended to 1988
  5. Political stability
    1. 1924 - 1929
    2. until 1930 - no single party won majority of seats in the Reichstag
    3. Social Democrats always got most votes
    4. Greater votes for the parties supporting the Weimar republic rather than extremist groups such as the Nazis
  6. Extent of recovery
    1. German economy flourished
    2. large businesses were able to pay off many of their debts
    3. Industrial growth
    4. wages increased
    5. work day remained at 8 hours
    6. state arbitration
    7. unemployment reached a peak in 1926
    8. worldwide depression in agriculture
    9. lower middle class - did not fully recover from the hyperinflation
2. Stresemann's policies abroad
  1. The locarno pact
    1. signed in 1925 between Germany with Britain, France, Belgium and Italy
    2. reed to keep existing borders between G, France and Belgium.
    3. 'Locarno honeymoon'
  2. The League of Nations
    1. est. 1920
    2. 1926 - G was given a permanent seat on the council
    3. regarded as the guardian of the hated TofV
    4. used his position to bring about the young plan
  3. The Kellogg-Briand pact
    1. 1928 - G signed (along with 64 other nations)
    2. kept armies for self-defence and solve all int. disputes 'by peaceful means'
    3. G was once again one of the leading nations
  4. The impact of domestic policies
    1. improved relations meant the allies were open to renegotiating he representations payment schedule
      1. reduced payment - G better off economically
      2. opposition - Alfred Hugenberg and Fritz Thyssen
    2. 1927 - Allied troops withdrew from the west bank of the Rhine
      1. (5 years before scheduled in 1933)
      2. showed relaxation of the TofV terms
      3. boosted the popularity of Stresemann
Changes in society
1. The standard of living
  1. Wages
    1. by 1928 - over 10% increase in real wages
      1. some of the best-paid workers in Europe
    2. April 1928 - 184'000 sought employment, half of them didn't qualify
  2. Housing
    1. gov employed architects and planners to device ways of reducing shortage of houses
    2. 1924 - 1931: 2'000'000+ houses built, and 200'000 renovated/expanded
    3. 1929 - gov spent 33 times more on housing than in 1913
    4. 1928 - homelessness reduced by 60 %
  3. Unemployment insurance
    1. 1880's - Otto von Bismarck introduced a series of reforms
    2. 1927 - insurance law
  4. ages, housing and unemployment insurance
2. The position of women
  1. Politics
    1. 1919 - women over 20 years were able to vote
    2. equality in education, civil service appointments and equal pay
    3. 1926 - 32 women deputies in the Reichstag
      1. higher than Britain and USA
  2. Employment
    1. growth: civil service, teaching , social work, shops and assembly line
    2. 1933 - 100'000 teachers and 3'000 doctors
  3. Leisure
    1. unescorted, drank, smoked (all in public)
3. Cultural changes
  1. Art
    1. Neue Sachlichkeit (new objectivity)
    2. George Grosz and Otto Dix
  2. Architecture
    1. Bauhaus (School of building)
      1. 'Art and technology - a new unity'
      2. Walter Gropius (founder)
  3. Cinema
    1. dir. Fritz Lang - Metropolis
    2. actress Marlene Dietrich
  4. Literature
    1. right: critical of German democracy + glorified experiences of WW1 (Arthur Moeller and Oswald Spengler)
    2. left: anti-war (Erich Remarque and Ludwig Renn
  5. Theatre
    1. new operas and plays
      1. Zeittheater and Zeitoper
      2. greater realism
    2. The Good Soldier Schweik
    3. The Salesman of Berlin

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