History 4,6,10 Questions

Describe the problems facing Germany 1919-1921

After the war there were many problems facing Germany; the idea of a democracy, the threat from the left and the threat from the right. One left wing group was a communist party known as the sparticists. They were led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. They argued strongly against the views the Weimar Republic leader Ebert policies. Early in 1919 the Sparticists launched their bid for power, joined by ex-soldiers and sailors they seized control of many towns. The Kaiser had been exiled and the allies made Germany have a democracy therefore the birth of the Weimar Republic. Many Germans though were against this as they were used to the old German ways; this caused much civil unrest and led to many acts of violence. The treaty of Versailles was created this was very outrageous for many Germans for example Germany had to accept responsibility for the war. The Germans thought that the Weimar Republic had stabbed Germany in the back. Finally the threat from the right these people liked the Kaisers way of rule and did not like the idea of democracy this caused even more unrest and caused riots in the future. These people were called the Freikorps. The leader Dr Wolfgang Kapp.

Explain why the trench occupation of the ruhr causes problems for Germany in 1923

In January in 1923 French and Belgium troops entered the Ruhr to try and take resources for Germany to pay back their debt. The results of the occupations were a disaster for the Germans for example, over 100 workers were killed due to the governments order to not help the French and Belgium get any goods. The Weimar Republic was forced to enter passive resistance until the French and Belgium left yet, the stopping of the economy was disastrous. Because Germany had no goods to trade the government printed off money. For the government this was the only solution. With so much money in circulation prices were raised massively anyone who had any savings instantly lost everything and had to start from square one. This caused hate towards the Weimar Republic. Unsurprisingly, the hardships created by hyperinflation led to many uprisings as groups struggled to take power from Weimar. The prices got worse by the minute in some cases as the French would not leave and the Weimar would not accept defeat. When Gustav Stressman took over he tried to fix this by introducing short term loans from the Americans yet they could be called in at any time so when America needed the money Germany was unable to pay leading to another crisis.

How far did the Weimar Republic achieve Stability between 1924 and 1930?

In this period the Weimar prospered economically, politically and in its foreign policy, is seemingly fine yet for the intervention of the Great Depression of the 1930s Germany would have developed into a stable parliamentary democracy. However a closer examination of the situation reveals otherwise, as this student believes: The Weimar Republic was seen to be in a period of stability between 1924 and 1929. It was not only Germans that noticed that this was a high point for the Weimar Republic.

Economic stability?
The link between the health of the Republic and its economy is striking. It is no surprise that the Republic faced its most serious difficulties in times of economic hardship. The stabilisation of German currency and the introduction of the Dawes plan in 1924 brought economic growth and restoration. The plan rescheduled German reparations according to her ability to pay them. She was also granted a large American loan, and the plan also led to the evacuation of the Ruhr by French troops. Germany seemed to make a remarkable economic recovery in this period. With regards to industry, Germany experienced boom conditions in this period. Iron, steel, coal the heavy industries managed to equal and sometimes even exceed export and out-put levels of 1913. This occurred through greater efficiency and improved technology, which brought about higher levels of productivity. This economic progress in Germany also led to increased wages. A social welfare scheme was introduced including pensions and sick benefits, which gave support to the feeling that the economy was recovering and the Republic was becoming more stable. |
Political stability?
The Weimar Republic's greatest weakness throughout its history was its failure to establish lasting political stability. From the disastrous association with Versailles, the 'stab in the back' and the 'November Criminals' at its creation, to the turmoil of its last years, the period 1924-9 stands out as a time when a stable political system seemed to be developing. However, not only was this stability unable to resist the effects of depression in the 1930s, its very existence was something of an illusion, as this student points out: On the other hand many would say that Germany had not actually come all that far in terms of her recovery many small businesses and farmers were suffering and all the economic boom was more of an illusion due to the fact that the money available was only there to be loaned and could be called back at any time which would inevitably cripple Germany. Socially Germany was not recovering that much as there were still many who did not agree with the new social movements occurring. Politically the Weimar were recovering but they still needed to pay back the allies who were getting very restless and needed their money with an increasing need.To conclude Germany had not really recovered much and it was more of an illusion due to the fact that people were only making some kind of recovery due to the short term loans from America. | |