Weimar Republic Explaining the Successes

Weimar Republic

Explaining the Successes and Failures of the Weimar Republic

The years which saw the conclusion of World War I and the war's peace process were met with tremendous political, economic and social instability in Germany. As the German state struggled to find leadership that had the support of a majority of the countrymen, Germany dissolved into a state of revolution throughout November 1918 and into early 1919. As a result, the regime that emerged, the Weimar Republic, faced a long list of challenges and obstacles that would shape its future in the next fifteen years. Specifically, Weimar experienced a period of initial instability, followed by a period of relative success and prosperity, and ultimately a period of utter decline and failure which lead to the rise of fascism and the Nazi Party under Adolph Hitler.

The period of which immediately preceded the installation of the Weimar requires analysis in order to best understand the creation of Weimar and the difficulties it faced in its first few years. After being devastated by war in all respects, and in fact before the war ended and the Treaty of Versailles was signed, the German government collapsed in revolution in November 1918. In response to the German government's effort to establish a British style of parliament, German sailors and soldiers revolted. The Social Democrats modeled the revolution around the Russian Revolution of a year earlier.

Throughout the remainder of 1919, while the Treaty of Versailles was being negotiated and before it was presented for ratification, the Weimar Constitution came into effect. The German public became extremely fragmented and supported a number of different political regimes, some mildly different in ideology, like the DNVP and DVP (114) parties and some radically different, like the Center Party and any of the three Marxist parties (115). Under this backdrop, it is not surprising that Weimar struggled early to win the confidence or support of the people.

Instability and Inflation

This mix of political ideologies created what seemed to be widespread support for the Weimar constitution, three out of four German voters voted in favor of it (117), however, those that were opposed to it proved to be a volatile mix of dissenters. From the start, the factions could not agree on the significant issues, or symbolic ones like the colors of the new national flag (117). The flag crisis was followed immediately by the Treaty question: Would Germans ratify a treaty that was militarily, geographically, diplomatically, and economically oppressive to this 'new' German state (119)? Germany did ratify the Treaty and thus owed tremendous reparations to the Allied countries as the aggressor of the war.

Domestically, the economy was another source of early instability. Although, workers were eager to jumpstart Germany's industrial machine, a demand for high wages led to labor strife and exacerbated already high inflation rates. Compounding the trouble, Germany acquired massive foreign debt during the war which was now payable at a high rate of interest (123). Furthermore, in an effort to establish stability among the working class by creating price and rent controls, the new government alienated the large farmer and landlord classes. The return of soldiers and officers to civilian life created additional competition for jobs and wages (124) As all of these forces converged and developed, the German economy continued to struggle through 1923.

In 1923, in an effort to thwart the allies punitive measures aimed at enforcing the reparations, the German government began to print money to finance its own domestic economy. The result was an inflation rate that brought the value of the German mark down to virtually zero and for nine long months the country languished in a state of economic starvation, hoping for leniency from the Allies. With none forthcoming, the present regime resigned and the new "Reich" coalition party assumed control of the government under the helm of Gustav Stresemann (127).

Germany's Return to Prominence?

The rise of Stresemann was evidence of the failure of the 1918 German Revolution. The effort lacked popular support, economic acumen or diplomatic ability. Germany in 1923 was perhaps worse off than it was in 1918. In order to begin a true rebuilding process, the new coalition first set out to stabilize the German mark.

The period of the Weimar from 1924 through 1930 is seen as the "golden years" (139). In 1924 the mark had stabilized and the communist and Nazi parties struggled the elections, marking an apparent victory for German democracy (140) which continued through 1928 as Bavaria returned a parliamentary party into party (143). Political and economic stability appeared to be grabbing a foothold in German soil. A revival German culture confirmed that the people were feeling good again (149).

While there was increased prosperity and stability, this era is more accurately seen as a respite between eras of instability and crisis. Undermining the success of Stresemann was continued factionalism. In particular, Hitler had risen to the forefront of the fascist Nazi party, where he ardently attempted to discredit the patriotism and effectiveness of the present government (134). Both at Hitler's instigation and on their own volition, many leaders, both civil and military, became quite weary of continued democracy in Germany.

There were other warning signs as well. While the economy did slowly recover from the affects of the inflation crisis, skilled labor was being replaced by machines and unskilled cheaper fill-ins (147). Also, the high rate of change created social upheaval which led to a general feeling of malcontent among many would-be upper and middle class Germans (148). This was also portrayed in the German cultural revival (152).

Death, Depression and Decline

The death knell for Weimar was tolled by the passing of Stresemann and with the onset of the Great Depression. The Depression stopped the flow of credit heading into Germany (158) and the death of Stresemann stopped the parliamentary democracy. The vacuum of power left by Stresemann's death paved the way for the New Conservatives to rise to power in 1930 (162). The Depression steadily drove unemployment up and wages and the value of the mark down, leading again to financial distress for Germany (167).