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Weimar Germany

Weimar Germany. Aim: To revise key details about the first half of the German depth study. A revision presentation from http://www.mrallsophistory.com/. The situation after World War 1. The Kaiser has abdicated and left Germany

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Weimar Germany

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  1. Weimar Germany Aim: To revise key details about the first half of the German depth study A revision presentation from http://www.mrallsophistory.com/

  2. The situation after World War 1 • The Kaiser has abdicated and left Germany • A power vacuum has been created as there is no established form of government • Millions of German workers have been killed or seriously injured during the war • Germany has become an international pariah (outcast) • Germany is subject to an imposed peace settlement

  3. The situation after World War 1 • In reality, this meant: • Political instability • There were uprisings against the fledging republic even before it was properly formed. • Economic ruin • The war has devastated the economy and further problems occur as a result of the Peace settlement. • Unemployment • Millions of soldiers have returned home to find no jobs available.

  4. The Treaty of Versailles • Terms of the Peace treaty • Massively reduced military capability • ‘War guilt’ clause imposed • Reparations fixed at a very high level • All of this led to BIG problems from 1919

  5. Problems 1919-1924 • Anger directed at the government for signing the Treaty of Versailles • The new constitution reliant on coalition governments, which weakens its power • Economic problems as all profit is sent directly to the Allies as reparations pay-outs • Valueless currency as economic crisis leads to hyper-inflation • Rise of extremist groups attempting to wrestle power from the de-stabilised government (Freikorps, Spartacists etc.)

  6. Opposition Uprisings • The Communist Spartacists in 1919, defeated by the right-wing militia of the Freikorps • The right-wing Kapp Putsch, defeated by a general strike

  7. Summary • Germany in a desperate situation. • The terms of the Treaty of Versailles cripple the economy and prevent German recovery after the war. • This in turn leads to the new, Weimar, government being unable to restore pre-war conditions. • Animosity towards those who signed the treaty grows and many German people look for people to blame for the crisis, leading to theories of ‘the stab in the back’. • The new government, already under fire, is likely to fail in it’s duty to provide security, prosperity and comfort given the conditions that it has inherited.

  8. Practice question • Describe the problems faced by the governments of the Weimar Republic in the years 1919-22 [4]

  9. The Weimar Republic Under Gustav Stresemann • Stresemann was Chancellor in 1923 only. • His main role was as Foreign Minister from 1924 • He was a right-winger and more able than Ebert • He built up Germany’s prosperity again although all of Europe was recovering

  10. Rep’s loans USA Germany GB & FRANCE War debts The Dawes Plan - 1924 • Germany’s reparations paid over a longer period • America lent money to German industry and also to the Government to pay reparations • German currency reorganised

  11. The Weimar Republic Under Gustav Stresemann • Stresemann showed real skill in foreign policy • Locarno Treaties – 1925 • 1926 – Germany joined the League of Nations • Young plan - 1929 • After a number of years in the wilderness Germany was accepted back into the international community

  12. The Locarno Treaties • Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland met at Locarno in Switzerland. • Signed a number of treaties to settle disputes between themselves • France, Belgium and Germany agreed to accept borders as drawn up by Treaty of Versailles • Rhineland stayed demilitarised • France would protect Poland and Czechoslovakia if attacked by Germany • Germany would not use force to settle disputes with neighbours

  13. BUT! • Unemployment and poverty still high • The growing prosperity was based on USA loans – what would happen if USA wanted the money back?

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