The Creation of the Weimar republic 1918-1923 Post WW1 Germany The Creation of the Weimar republic 1918-1923

Defeated in War By the end of WW1, German generals were forced to admit they had lost the war in Europe. Germany was forced to accept the consequences of the lost war. In order to do so, they had enacted a new constitution that was to make them (for the first time in their history) a republic. Their country was now going to be run by a government that included a modern, liberal democratic political structure. Their parliament (called REICHSTAG) was to be elected through universal suffrage.

This period in history has been known as the ‘Weimar republic’, because this constitution was signed in the city of Weimar. This government had to now act to rebuild a country that had been completely destroyed by the first world war. To make matters worse, the government was forced to accept the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles. It should be noted that during the signing of this treaty, Germany was not allowed to negotiate any of the post-war stipulations. Please copy down all the stipulations on page 172 in your textbook.

Weimar Republic 1918-1923 The first five years of the W.R proved to be very difficult. One reason was the shock of defeat: Wartime propaganda had created a feeling that Germany was no doubt going to be victorious during the war. The surrender of Germany proved to shock the entire country.

Ruhr Situation In response to the invasion, the German government called the workers to use “passive resistance”, meaning to slow production. The workers also used general strikes to slow production. The problem here was that this area of Germany had been essential to the German Economy. As a result, Germany faced terrible consequences. By April 1923, the government was spending seven times more than it was receiving.

Ex. Price of a Loaf of Bread: Dec. 1918: 0.54 marks The solution was to print off more money. This created the serious problem known as Hyperinflation. Hyperinflation is described by a situation in which the value of money falls extremely quickly until it becomes worthless. In these situations, it is common for people to resort to bartering (exchanging) of goods and services. Ex. Price of a Loaf of Bread: Dec. 1918: 0.54 marks Nov. 1923: 201,000,000,000 (201 Billion) marks

Opposition to the Government It is important to note that many people did not support the government, but had no other real alternative. The nationalists were the main critics of the republic, but other groups such as the army, the civil service, industrialists, judges, universities all favoured a return to the old government. By the late 1920’s support began to grow for alternatives to democracy. Not to mention, the Great Depression played a large role in the discontent of the population.

Germany : Pre Nazi Consolidation Rise of Nazi Ideals Germany : Pre Nazi Consolidation

A legacy of authoritarian rule in Germany Since the creation of the German Empire in 1871 the government was authoritarian in many ways The Kaiser and the Chancellor held power and created a welfare state with health, accident, old-age, and disability insurance. Hence, many Germans saw authoritarian system as benevolent.

Nationalism, militarism, and law & order When the Weimar Republic failed to provide Germans with any hope in hard times they looked back to authoritarian rule Hitler capitalized on their fears Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party: promoted absolute nationalism, which called for the unification of all German-speakers Used paramilitary organizations to stifle dissent and to terrorize the opposition Centralized decision making in a single leader to whom everyone owed loyalty

I. Hitler’s Rise to Power i. Hitler’s rise to power in Germany is seen as a direct result of how Germany was treated after they lost WWI. - Germany must give land, money, and military to France - The new German Weimar Republic (Democratic Gov’t) is unable to help German people. They don’t like this new gov’t. - Hitler in Munich, “ I can do better, the condition of our great nation is all b/c of the cowardly W. Rep SS 30 How Hitler Establishes Fascism November 15, 2018November 15, 2018

The Nazis’ advocacy of law and order appealed to many Germans who were tired of years of instability

Hitler’s Rise to Power ii. Beer Hall/Munich Putsch (1923): Hitler becomes very popular among the working class Germans. Hitler, in fact, tries to overthrow the government, but when the fighting starts, his thugs all ran away. Hitler was captured and thrown in jail. iii. While in jail, Hitler writes Mien Kampf (My Struggle). This was his master plan for Germany. iv. Hitler realizes, if he is going to rise to power, he would have to do so legitimately - he would have to win an election. SS 30 How Hitler Establishes Fascism November 15, 2018November 15, 2018

Mein Kampf outlined Hitler’s plans for the creation of a new empire, The Third Reich. In his book he writes on subjects ranging from the identification of Jewish people and why they are to blame for the misfortunes of humanity. As well as the complete rejection of the Treaty of Versailles.

Read the GET TO THE SOURCE section on page 176 of your text entitled The Program of the Nazi Party and answer questions 1-3 at the bottom of the page