Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?
The End to War
An Allied counter-offensive began on 8 August 1918, near Amiens, with hundreds of tanks attacking in short sharp jabs at different points instead of on a narrow front, forcing the Germans to withdraw their entire line. Slowly but surely, the Germans were forced back until by the end of September, the Allies were through the Hindenburg Line. Though Germany itself had not been yet invaded, General Ludendorff was convinced that they would be defeated in the spring of 1919. On 2nd October 1918, Ludendorff, a leading general, said this to shocked politicians in the Reichstag (Parliament):
Ludendorff insisted that the German government ask President Wilson for an armistice (3 October), hoping to get less severe terms based on Wilson’s ‘Fourteen Points’. So there was the choice: to fight on and risk total defeat in the end; or to make peace now on reasonable terms. By asking for peace in 1918, he would save Germany from invasion and preserve the army’s reputation. Fighting continued for another five weeks, but eventually an armistice was signed on 11 November 1918. ‘The enemy’ – the French, British and American allies – was prepared to make peace with Germany, but there were strings attached.
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1.) Weaknesses at the start:
When Germany’s new parliament met in the peaceful city of Weimar in January 1919, it seemed that the revolution was over. Germany was now a republic, the Weimar Republic, run by a democratically elected government. However, the Weimar Republic was established with a number of disadvantages which hampered it right from the start.
i. Lack of Democratic Experience
The political parties had very little experience of how to operate a democratic parliamentary system, because before 1919, the Reichstag had not actually controlled policy: the Chancellor had the final authority. Under the Weimar Constitution, the Chancellor was responsible to the Reichstag, but it usually failed to give a clear lead because the parties refused to compromise. The communists and conservatives/nationalists did not believe in the republic anyway and refused to support the Social Democrats. Disagreements became so bitter that almost every party organized its own private army, increasing the threat of civil war.
ii. Proportional Representation
The parliamentary system laid down in the new Weimar constitution had weaknesses, the most serious of which was that it was organized on a system of proportional representation so that all political groups would have a fair representation. A political party received the same percentage of places in the parliament as they had received of the votes. For example, if a party received 15% of the votes in the election, it would receive 15% of the places in the parliament.
For example, in 1928, the Reichstag (the lower house of parliament) contained at least eight groups of which the largest was the Social Democrats (153), conservatives or nationalists (78), and the Catholic Centre Party (62). The communists had 54 seats, while the smallest groups were the Bavarian People’s Party (16) and the National Socialists (12). A succession of coalition governments was inevitable, with the Social Democrats having to rely on co-operation from left-wing liberals and Catholic Centre; no party was able to carry out its programme.(See table below)
Such a system had disadvantages. It encouraged a lot of small parties to be formed. Unfortunately, there were so many different groups that no party could ever form an overall majority. Because there were so many parties, no single party was ever to win a majority of the places. Most governments of the Weimar Republic, therefore, were made up of politicians from a number of parties. Some of these coalition governments were weak and did not last long. This helped the people who were trying to replace the Weimar Republic with a completely different kind of government.
iii. Lack of Respect for Democratic Governments
Moreover, there was a traditional lack of respect for democratic governments and a great admiration for the army and the ‘officer class’ as the rightful leaders of Germany. In 1919, the view was widespread that the army had not been defeated: it had been betrayed – ‘stabbed in the back’ – by the democrats who had needlessly agreed to the Versailles Treaty. What most Germans did not realize was that it was Ludendorff who had asked for an armistice while the Kaiser was still in power. However, the ‘stab in the back’ legend was eagerly fostered by all enemies of the republic.
iv. Negative Association with the Versailles Peace Treaty
The Weimar Republic had accepted the humiliating and unpopular Versailles Treaty with its arms limitation, reparations and war guilt clause, and was thus always associated with defeat and dishonour. German nationalists could never forgive it for that.
When Germany’s new parliament met in the peaceful city of Weimar in January 1919, it seemed that the revolution was over. Germany was now a republic, the Weimar Republic, run by a democratically elected government. However, the Weimar Republic was established with a number of disadvantages which hampered it right from the start.
i. Lack of Democratic Experience
The political parties had very little experience of how to operate a democratic parliamentary system, because before 1919, the Reichstag had not actually controlled policy: the Chancellor had the final authority. Under the Weimar Constitution, the Chancellor was responsible to the Reichstag, but it usually failed to give a clear lead because the parties refused to compromise. The communists and conservatives/nationalists did not believe in the republic anyway and refused to support the Social Democrats. Disagreements became so bitter that almost every party organized its own private army, increasing the threat of civil war.
ii. Proportional Representation
The parliamentary system laid down in the new Weimar constitution had weaknesses, the most serious of which was that it was organized on a system of proportional representation so that all political groups would have a fair representation. A political party received the same percentage of places in the parliament as they had received of the votes. For example, if a party received 15% of the votes in the election, it would receive 15% of the places in the parliament.
For example, in 1928, the Reichstag (the lower house of parliament) contained at least eight groups of which the largest was the Social Democrats (153), conservatives or nationalists (78), and the Catholic Centre Party (62). The communists had 54 seats, while the smallest groups were the Bavarian People’s Party (16) and the National Socialists (12). A succession of coalition governments was inevitable, with the Social Democrats having to rely on co-operation from left-wing liberals and Catholic Centre; no party was able to carry out its programme.(See table below)
Such a system had disadvantages. It encouraged a lot of small parties to be formed. Unfortunately, there were so many different groups that no party could ever form an overall majority. Because there were so many parties, no single party was ever to win a majority of the places. Most governments of the Weimar Republic, therefore, were made up of politicians from a number of parties. Some of these coalition governments were weak and did not last long. This helped the people who were trying to replace the Weimar Republic with a completely different kind of government.
iii. Lack of Respect for Democratic Governments
Moreover, there was a traditional lack of respect for democratic governments and a great admiration for the army and the ‘officer class’ as the rightful leaders of Germany. In 1919, the view was widespread that the army had not been defeated: it had been betrayed – ‘stabbed in the back’ – by the democrats who had needlessly agreed to the Versailles Treaty. What most Germans did not realize was that it was Ludendorff who had asked for an armistice while the Kaiser was still in power. However, the ‘stab in the back’ legend was eagerly fostered by all enemies of the republic.
iv. Negative Association with the Versailles Peace Treaty
The Weimar Republic had accepted the humiliating and unpopular Versailles Treaty with its arms limitation, reparations and war guilt clause, and was thus always associated with defeat and dishonour. German nationalists could never forgive it for that.
2.) Threats to the Republic
There were many attempts to overthrow the Republic during its early years. Many Germans blamed the Republic for Germany’s losses at the Treaty of Versailles. They also blamed it for the economic problems that the country was experiencing during these years. Throughout Europe, times were bad immediately after the war. Fewer goods were produced and, as a result, people lost their jobs. Many soldiers came home to find that there were jobs for them. The government became the scapegoat, someone whom you blame, for all these problems.
Threats to the Weimar Republic came both from the left wing and the right wing. The left wing wanted more power to be given to the ordinary people and were usually very sympathetic to socialism and communism. The right wing were people who did not greatly like democracy and wanted to return to the kind of strong government Germany had before the war.
The left wing wanted the kind of communist government that had been created in Russia after 1917. Attempts by them to overthrow the government included an uprising in Berlin in 1919, led by a group known as the Spartacists, and an attempt to form a communist government in Munich, a major city in southern Germany. Both were unsuccessful.
There were many attempts to overthrow the Republic during its early years. Many Germans blamed the Republic for Germany’s losses at the Treaty of Versailles. They also blamed it for the economic problems that the country was experiencing during these years. Throughout Europe, times were bad immediately after the war. Fewer goods were produced and, as a result, people lost their jobs. Many soldiers came home to find that there were jobs for them. The government became the scapegoat, someone whom you blame, for all these problems.
Threats to the Weimar Republic came both from the left wing and the right wing. The left wing wanted more power to be given to the ordinary people and were usually very sympathetic to socialism and communism. The right wing were people who did not greatly like democracy and wanted to return to the kind of strong government Germany had before the war.
The left wing wanted the kind of communist government that had been created in Russia after 1917. Attempts by them to overthrow the government included an uprising in Berlin in 1919, led by a group known as the Spartacists, and an attempt to form a communist government in Munich, a major city in southern Germany. Both were unsuccessful.
i. The Spartacist Uprising
The Socialists were split into groups which disagreed about Germany’s future. The Spartacists wanted Germany to be run by the councils which the sailors and workers had set up the previous week. The Social Democrats supported Friedrich Ebert and wanted an elected parliament to make decisions about the country’s future. The two groups clashed. The Spartacists held a demonstration in December but Ebert’s government troops shot into the crowd, killing sixteen people. Ebert seemed to have the whip hand among the Socialists. But two days before Christmas 1918, a thousand hungry and underpaid sailors broke into the government headquarters and held Ebert prisoner at gunpoint, demanding more pay. This time Ebert’s troops did not shoot. Many joined the sailors’ revolt and so Ebert had to give in to them. The next sign of trouble came on New Year’s Eve. The Spartacists renamed themselves the German Communist Party and decided to work for a communist revolution. Inspired by the success of the Russian Revolution, led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, the Spartacists began their revolution a week later, on 6 January 1919. They occupied almost every city in Germany. In Berlin, President Ebert found himself besieged in the Chancellery. But in the fortnight since Christmas, Ebert had gained the support of the Freikorps (or Free Corps). These were ex-soldiers who had recently come home from the war. They were independent volunteer regiments raised by anti-communist ex-army officers. They were hard men who hated communism and loved brutality, so they were only too pleased to help Ebert fight off the Spartacists. On 10 January, 2000 of them attacked the Spartacists in Berlin. There was bitter street fighting for the next three days. On 15 January, they arrested Luxemburg and Liebknecht. After beating and clubbing them savagely, the Free Corps murdered them both and dumped Rosa’s body in a canal. The government managed to defeat the communist only because it accepted the help of the Free Corps. It was a sign of the government’s weakness that it had to depend on forces which it did not itself control. |
So the Spartacist or communist revolution had failed. Ebert was now able to hold an election for a parliament. His Social Democrats won more seats in parliament than any other party so, for the moment, Ebert’s position was safe. The new parliament went to Weimar, a town in southern Germany, far away from the violence in Berlin, and on 11 February 1919, elected Ebert President of the new German Republic – the Weimar Republic.
ii. Another communist uprising
But there was more violence to come. In March 1919, the Communists organized riots and strikes in Berlin in another attempt to seize power. The government ordered anyone seen carrying weapons to be shot on sight. Again, it called the Free Corps to do this dirty work. Over the next few days, the Free Corps shot over a thousand people dead; among them were thirty sailors who were doing nothing more dangerous than collecting their wages.
ii. Another communist uprising
But there was more violence to come. In March 1919, the Communists organized riots and strikes in Berlin in another attempt to seize power. The government ordered anyone seen carrying weapons to be shot on sight. Again, it called the Free Corps to do this dirty work. Over the next few days, the Free Corps shot over a thousand people dead; among them were thirty sailors who were doing nothing more dangerous than collecting their wages.
iii. Bavaria
The next threat to the Weimar Republic came from the southern province of Bavaria. Independent Socialists in Bavaria had set up a republic in November 1918. Their leader, Kurt Eisner took power. But in February 1919, a right-wing student shot Eisner dead in the street. Over 100, 000 people attended his funeral and the city of Munich went into mourning. With Eisner dead, the moderate Socialists and the Communists argued about which of them should take his place. The Communists soon got their way and, in March 1919, made Bavaria into a Soviet Republic on Russian lines. They took houses from the middle-class of Munich and gave them to the workers. They took food, cars and clothing from the rich. They formed a Bavarian Red Army to protect themselves. The government in Weimar put Munich under siege. By the end of April, food was so short in Munich that to give milk to anyone but the dying was a crime punishable by death. On 1 May, the siege suddenly ended. Government soldiers, aided by the Free Corps, smashed into the starving city. No Communist was spared – man, woman and child. At least 600 people were killed. |
iv. ‘Red Uprising’ in the Ruhr, 21 March 1920
The workers stayed on strike and in the Ruhr Valley, Germany’s richest industrial area, the Communist formed a Red Army, 50,000 strong.
Government troops managed to defeat the Red Army after hard fighting but new uprisings broke up in other areas. Yet again, the Free Corps was sent in to put them down. They shot over 2000 workers before restoring order.
The workers stayed on strike and in the Ruhr Valley, Germany’s richest industrial area, the Communist formed a Red Army, 50,000 strong.
Government troops managed to defeat the Red Army after hard fighting but new uprisings broke up in other areas. Yet again, the Free Corps was sent in to put them down. They shot over 2000 workers before restoring order.
2.) Putsches and Murders, 1920-22
A putsch is an attempt to take power by force. It is used to refer to the various attempts to overthrow the Weimar Republic.
The right wing was even more of a threat to the Republic. Supporters of the right wing often had friends in high places, for example in the law courts, government departments and the armed forces. This often explained why little or no action was taken against them. For example, there were many politically motivated murders during this time; most of which were obviously committed by right-wingers, but virtually none of them were punished.
The government also had to face right wing armed gangs which roamed the streets and made life unpleasant for people from other political parties. These groups were behind the attempt by an army officer, Kapp, to seize control of Berlin in 1920. As with left wing ‘uprisings’, this was unsuccessful. There was a further unsuccessful attempt by right-wing forces in Munich in 1923. This was staged by the new National Socialist Party, headed by their leader Adolf Hitler.
A putsch is an attempt to take power by force. It is used to refer to the various attempts to overthrow the Weimar Republic.
The right wing was even more of a threat to the Republic. Supporters of the right wing often had friends in high places, for example in the law courts, government departments and the armed forces. This often explained why little or no action was taken against them. For example, there were many politically motivated murders during this time; most of which were obviously committed by right-wingers, but virtually none of them were punished.
The government also had to face right wing armed gangs which roamed the streets and made life unpleasant for people from other political parties. These groups were behind the attempt by an army officer, Kapp, to seize control of Berlin in 1920. As with left wing ‘uprisings’, this was unsuccessful. There was a further unsuccessful attempt by right-wing forces in Munich in 1923. This was staged by the new National Socialist Party, headed by their leader Adolf Hitler.
i. The Kapp Putsch, 13 March 1920
The Kapp Putsch was an attempt to seize power by right-wing elements, sparked off when the government tried to disband the Free Corps. They refused to disband and declared Wolfgang Kapp as Chancellor. The rebels who took power that day were led by Wolfgang Kapp, an extreme nationalist who hated the government for signing the Treaty of Versailles. His aim was to make the German army stronger, to give Germans back their pride and, one day, to take back the land given to Poland by the treaty. Berlin was occupied by a Free Corps regiment and the cabinet fled to Dresden. The German Army (Reichswehr) took no action against the Putsch. Kapp was supported by the Berlin police, the Free Corps and some of the army. But he did not have the workers on his side. They came to the aid of the Social Democrats by organizing a general strike in support of Ebert and the government and within a day, Berlin was paralysed. There was water, gas or coal. No train or buses ran. Government officials refused to provide Kapp with money. |
After just 100 hours as Germany’s new ruler, Kapp resigned, gave in and fled to Sweden. Ebert and the government were able to return to Berlin to regain control, as if nothing had happened. However, the government was so weak that nobody was punished except Kapp himself who was imprisoned, and it took months to get the Free Corps disbanded. Even then, their members remained hostile to the republic and many later joined Hitler’s private armies.
ii. Increasing Violence
The ‘Red Uprising’ and the general strike scared many people and the authorities thought up tough new methods of dealing with the Communists. Most right wingers simply talked tough. Some took the law into their own hands and did kill their opponents. Between 1919 and 1922, there were 356 political murders in Germany, most done by right-wing extremists. iii. Murder of Matthias Erberger, August 1921 Matthias Erberger, leader of the armistice delegation, was assassinated. When the government sought strong measures against such acts of terrorism, there was great opposition from the right-wing parties, which sympathized with the criminals. |
iv. Murder of Walther Rathenau, 24 June 1922
Walther Rathenau, a Jew, was Germany’s Foreign Minister. On Saturday, 24 June 1922, four members of a killer group called Organisation Consul pumped bullets into him with an automatic pistol as he drove to work in an open top car. A hand grenade followed the bullets to make sure the job was finished. One of the killers later revealed why he had done it: ‘We must make an end to the policy of accepting the Versailles Treaty and cooperating with the west…The only course open was to ‘eliminate’ every politician who accepted the Versailles Treaty. To eliminate in that context, is of course, to kill…’ Rathenau had been a popular minister. The day after his killing, a million people marched through Berlin in mourning. The killers and their accomplices were later sentenced to an average of four years in prison. Whereas the communist leaders had been brutally murdered, the courts allowed right-wing off lightly and the government was unable to intervene. In fact, throughout Germany, the legal and teaching professions and the civil service, as well as the Reichswehr, tended to be anti-Weimar, which was a crippling handicap for the republic. |
v. The Munich (Beer Hall) Putsch, November 1923
Another threat to the government occurred in November 1923 in Bavaria, at the time when there was much public annoyance at the French occupation of the Ruhr and the disastrous fall in the value of the mark. Hitler, helped by General Ludenforff, aimed to take control of the Bavarian state government in Munich and then lead a national revolution to overthrow the government in Berlin. However, police easily broke up Hitler’s march and the Beer Hall Putsch (the march was set out from the Munich beer hall in which Hitler had announced his ‘national revolution’ the previous evening) fizzled out. Hitler was sentence to five years’ imprisonment but served only nine months (which shows how sympathetic the Bavarian authorities were to him).
The government was shown to be incapable of keeping law and order, and respect for it dwindled. An increasing number of people began to favour a return to strong, authoritarian government, which would maintain strict public order.
Economic Deterioration, 1919-23
The Weimar Republic was constantly plagued by economic problems which the government failed to solve permanently. In 1919, Germany was close to bankruptcy because of the enormous expense of the war which had lasted for longer than most people had expected.
Another threat to the government occurred in November 1923 in Bavaria, at the time when there was much public annoyance at the French occupation of the Ruhr and the disastrous fall in the value of the mark. Hitler, helped by General Ludenforff, aimed to take control of the Bavarian state government in Munich and then lead a national revolution to overthrow the government in Berlin. However, police easily broke up Hitler’s march and the Beer Hall Putsch (the march was set out from the Munich beer hall in which Hitler had announced his ‘national revolution’ the previous evening) fizzled out. Hitler was sentence to five years’ imprisonment but served only nine months (which shows how sympathetic the Bavarian authorities were to him).
The government was shown to be incapable of keeping law and order, and respect for it dwindled. An increasing number of people began to favour a return to strong, authoritarian government, which would maintain strict public order.
Economic Deterioration, 1919-23
The Weimar Republic was constantly plagued by economic problems which the government failed to solve permanently. In 1919, Germany was close to bankruptcy because of the enormous expense of the war which had lasted for longer than most people had expected.
What was the impact of the Treaty of Versailles on the Republic?
1.) The Versailles Peace Treaty – a Dictated Peace, 1919
With the help of the Free Corps, the Weimar government had put down the communists in both Berlin and Bavaria. But it was now faced with an even worse crisis. For the past four months, in Paris, the Allies had been working out a peace treaty with Germany. The German people were expecting it to be a fair treaty. After all, they had done what the Allies had demanded: the Kaiser had given up his throne and they had elected a democratic government to rule Germany in his place.
i. Losses
On 7 May 1919, the Allies finalized/announced the terms of the peace treaty. Germany was to lose one-tenth of its land, all its overseas colonies and most of its armed forces. It was blamed for starting the war and told that it must pay for the damage done in the fighting. The Germans were horrified. This was not the fair peace treaty they had expected. They had been betrayed, not just by the Allies but also by their own politicians who had signed the armistice in November. These politicians were known as ‘November Criminals’ and they had ‘stabbed Germany in the back’ by making peace with the Allies.
The German government protested angrily against the peace terms but the Allies would not change them. They ordered the Germans to sign within five days, or else they would invade. After considering the situation, the government not to sign the treaty and the ministers then signed. On the same day, the captains of the German fleet, which was being held by the British in the port of Scapa Flow, sank their ships in protest. The German army drew up plans to defend the country against invasion. Ebert got ready to stand down as President. It seemed that the Great War was about to start all over again.
Many Germans would have preferred to fight again rather than sign the peace treaty being drawn up in Paris by the Allies. Field Marshall Hindenburg gave this advice to President Ebert:
In the event of a resumption of hostilities, we can…defend our frontiers in the east. In the west, however, we can scarcely count on being able to withstand a serious offensive…The success of the operation as a whole is very doubtful, but as a soldier, I cannot help feeling that it were better to die honourably than accept a disgraceful peace.
The other senior generals took the same view. To fight would be suicide. There was no way out but to sign the treaty. So Ebert stayed on as President and formed a new government which was prepared to do so. With only ninety minutes to spare before the deadline for signing ran out, they sent a message to Paris saying that Germany accepted the treaty. Two ministers traveled to the palace of Versailles, near Paris, and on 28 June 1919, put their signatures to the document.
The Treaty of Versailles crippled Germany by taking away land, money and arms. The Germans had not been consulted about any of this, but they were simply ordered to sign it without discussion. They called it a ‘Diktat’ – a dictated peace. Without exception, all Germans found the treaty unjust and unacceptable because it was dictated to them.
ii. Who was to blame?
Who was to blame for it all? At an enquiry, Field Marshall Hindenburg was called to give evidence. His explanation was simple: ‘The German army was stabbed in the back. No blame is to be attached to the sound core of the army…It is perfectly clear on whom the blame rests.’
He did not name them but Hindenburg’s meaning was clear: the army could have won the war but it had been betrayed by the Socialist politicians who signed the armistice in November 1918. The ‘November Criminals’ were to pay dearly for it.
With the help of the Free Corps, the Weimar government had put down the communists in both Berlin and Bavaria. But it was now faced with an even worse crisis. For the past four months, in Paris, the Allies had been working out a peace treaty with Germany. The German people were expecting it to be a fair treaty. After all, they had done what the Allies had demanded: the Kaiser had given up his throne and they had elected a democratic government to rule Germany in his place.
i. Losses
On 7 May 1919, the Allies finalized/announced the terms of the peace treaty. Germany was to lose one-tenth of its land, all its overseas colonies and most of its armed forces. It was blamed for starting the war and told that it must pay for the damage done in the fighting. The Germans were horrified. This was not the fair peace treaty they had expected. They had been betrayed, not just by the Allies but also by their own politicians who had signed the armistice in November. These politicians were known as ‘November Criminals’ and they had ‘stabbed Germany in the back’ by making peace with the Allies.
The German government protested angrily against the peace terms but the Allies would not change them. They ordered the Germans to sign within five days, or else they would invade. After considering the situation, the government not to sign the treaty and the ministers then signed. On the same day, the captains of the German fleet, which was being held by the British in the port of Scapa Flow, sank their ships in protest. The German army drew up plans to defend the country against invasion. Ebert got ready to stand down as President. It seemed that the Great War was about to start all over again.
Many Germans would have preferred to fight again rather than sign the peace treaty being drawn up in Paris by the Allies. Field Marshall Hindenburg gave this advice to President Ebert:
In the event of a resumption of hostilities, we can…defend our frontiers in the east. In the west, however, we can scarcely count on being able to withstand a serious offensive…The success of the operation as a whole is very doubtful, but as a soldier, I cannot help feeling that it were better to die honourably than accept a disgraceful peace.
The other senior generals took the same view. To fight would be suicide. There was no way out but to sign the treaty. So Ebert stayed on as President and formed a new government which was prepared to do so. With only ninety minutes to spare before the deadline for signing ran out, they sent a message to Paris saying that Germany accepted the treaty. Two ministers traveled to the palace of Versailles, near Paris, and on 28 June 1919, put their signatures to the document.
The Treaty of Versailles crippled Germany by taking away land, money and arms. The Germans had not been consulted about any of this, but they were simply ordered to sign it without discussion. They called it a ‘Diktat’ – a dictated peace. Without exception, all Germans found the treaty unjust and unacceptable because it was dictated to them.
ii. Who was to blame?
Who was to blame for it all? At an enquiry, Field Marshall Hindenburg was called to give evidence. His explanation was simple: ‘The German army was stabbed in the back. No blame is to be attached to the sound core of the army…It is perfectly clear on whom the blame rests.’
He did not name them but Hindenburg’s meaning was clear: the army could have won the war but it had been betrayed by the Socialist politicians who signed the armistice in November 1918. The ‘November Criminals’ were to pay dearly for it.
3. Invasion of the Ruhr Valley (A direct link to the Treaty of Versailles?)
The Ruhr Valley was then the richest part of Germany. One-tenth of the German population lived there and they produced four-fifths of all the country’s coal, iron and steel, as well as many other goods. To have even part of this taken away would be a shattering blow to the country’s well-being. In January 1923, there were five French divisions and one Belgian division in the Ruhr. They took over coal mines, railways, factories, steel works. They set up machine-gun posts overlooking town squares. They took food and supplies and put anyone who did not cooperate into prison. Just five years after the end of the Great War, the old hatred between France and Germany had flared up into violence and economic disaster. The Paris Peace Settlement was beginning to look very shaky. The action of the French government in the Ruhr was a gross violation of international law and of the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans were outraged by the invasion and the government ordered the workers in the Ruhr not to take orders from the French and Belgian forces nor work for them. This is known as ‘passive resistance’ but in effect, the government was offering a general strike. The French responded with tough measures. When workers in the Krupp steelworks refused to take orders, the French opened fire, killing thirteen and wounding many more. They also expelled people from the Ruhr when they refused to cooperate. Over the next eight months, they killed 132 people and expelled an estimated 150 000 from their homes. One result was a campaign of hatred against the French. Restaurants stuck up notices readings ‘Dogs and Frenchmen forbidden’. Some people formed sabotage organizations which blew up the railway lines between France and the Ruhr, so that the French could not get the coal out of Germany. |
4. Hyperinflation: the Economic Crisis of 1923 (A direct link to the Treaty of Versailles?)
The word ‘inflation’ describes a situation in which prices are rising and the value of money is falling. It is commonly said that inflation is caused by too much money chasing two few goods. Inflation occurs, in other words, when the supply of goods fails to keep up with demand. Inflation is not easy to stop once it has got started. An inflationary spiral tends to set in. Rising prices produce a demand for higher wages; higher wages mean that goods cost more to produce: prices have to go up again to pay for the wage increases. Passive resistance did the German government more harm than it did to the French. First, the richest part of Germany was no longer producing goods, so the rest of the country suffered as well. Second, the people who were expelled from their homes had to be housed and fed by the government since it had ordered the passive resistance in the first place. Yet, it had no money to do so. To solve these problems, the government began printing large amounts of paper money, by this simply caused prices in the shops to rise. Germany was soon awash with paper money. The more money the government printed, the faster prices when up, until 1923 became a year of hyperinflation. |
It is clear from these figures that the German mark was already losing its value before the French invaded the Ruhr. The effect of the invasion was to speed up the rate of inflation until money lost value every day. By November 1923, workers had to be paid twice a day: if they did not get to the shops quickly, their wages would not be enough to buy anything. By the end of the year, German money was absolutely worthless. The faster prices went up, the faster people spent their wages. Workers when they were given their wages, threw bundles of banknotes out of factory windows to waiting members of their families, who would then rush to the shops to buy food or coal before the prices went up again.
Millions of people faced starvation as a result of hyperinflation. This financial disaster had profound effects on German society. The working classes were badly hit: wages failed to keep pace with inflation and trade union funds were wiped out. People such as pensioners who were living on fixed incomes found that prices rose much faster than their earnings. So even if they could afford to buy food, they might not be able to pay for the gas to cook it. They lived in unheated houses because they could not afford coal, and they froze because they could not afford to buy clothes.
The well-to-do suffered along with the poor, especially people who had savings in the bank. The middle classes and small capitalists lost their savings: people with thousands in the bank in 1918 now found that their savings would not even buy a slice of bread or a piece of coal. The standard of living dropped dramatically. Many began to look towards the Nazis for improvement. On the other hand, landowners and industrialists came out of the crisis well, because they still owned material wealth – rich farming land, mines and factories.
All this was more that Germany could bear. The German government had resisted the French but in doing so, it had ruined the country. There was no alternative but to call off the strike. Many German people suffered as a result of this economic crisis. They were very bitter about what was happening. In their anger, many of them blamed the government for their sufferings. This led to further support for extreme political parties, both right wing and left wing, which were planning to overthrow the Weimar Republic. It was during this Ruhr crisis of 1923 that Adolf Hitler staged his attempted putsch in Munich. In the long run, these measures saved Germany from complete collapse. But the immediate effect was to cause unrest in all parts of the country and to trigger off a putsch in Bavaria.
Millions of people faced starvation as a result of hyperinflation. This financial disaster had profound effects on German society. The working classes were badly hit: wages failed to keep pace with inflation and trade union funds were wiped out. People such as pensioners who were living on fixed incomes found that prices rose much faster than their earnings. So even if they could afford to buy food, they might not be able to pay for the gas to cook it. They lived in unheated houses because they could not afford coal, and they froze because they could not afford to buy clothes.
The well-to-do suffered along with the poor, especially people who had savings in the bank. The middle classes and small capitalists lost their savings: people with thousands in the bank in 1918 now found that their savings would not even buy a slice of bread or a piece of coal. The standard of living dropped dramatically. Many began to look towards the Nazis for improvement. On the other hand, landowners and industrialists came out of the crisis well, because they still owned material wealth – rich farming land, mines and factories.
All this was more that Germany could bear. The German government had resisted the French but in doing so, it had ruined the country. There was no alternative but to call off the strike. Many German people suffered as a result of this economic crisis. They were very bitter about what was happening. In their anger, many of them blamed the government for their sufferings. This led to further support for extreme political parties, both right wing and left wing, which were planning to overthrow the Weimar Republic. It was during this Ruhr crisis of 1923 that Adolf Hitler staged his attempted putsch in Munich. In the long run, these measures saved Germany from complete collapse. But the immediate effect was to cause unrest in all parts of the country and to trigger off a putsch in Bavaria.
To what extent did the Republic recover after 1923?
As you can see the period between 1919 to 1923 was defined by one crisis after another. There was political, economic and social instability. By the end of 1923 Stresemann had managed to avert disaster in Germany. For the next six years he was able to bring about a time of peace and a return to normalcy for Germany. Or so it seemed at the time.