10/24/2015Germany after the First World War1 Consequences of the First World War for Germany Germany

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War2 Goal of Today Today we will be looking at the conditions in Germany after WWI. We will see how the conditions allowed for someone like Hitler to seize power. Terms Stabbed in the Back Theory

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War3 The Situation 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

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War4 The Treaty of Versailles Terms of the Peace treaty Massively reduced military capability ‘War guilt’ clause imposed Reparations fixed at a very high level Which leads to…

Weimar before 1924 The Weimar Republic was born out of the German defeat in World War One. Many Germans associated the Weimar Republic with the defeat and with the hated Treaty of Versailles. Germany struggled to accept democracy and both left-wing and right- wing extremists attempted to undermine Weimar democracy.

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War6 Problems Anger directed at the government for signing the Treaty of Versailles 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.)

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War7 Maimed German WW I Veteran

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War8 What does this mean in reality? Political instability. There are uprisings against the fledging republic even before it is 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.

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War9 The “Stabbed-in-the-Back” Theory Disgruntled German WWI veterans

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War10 From the German Point of View  Lost—but not forgotten country.  Into the heart You are to dig yourself these words as into stone: Which we have lost may not be truly lost!

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War11 The German Mark

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War12 The German Mark

Communism 10/24/2015Germany after the First World War13

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War14 Other factors… Government established in difficult circumstances Mistrust of government and animosity towards it from it’s inception Refusal of the rest of the World to accept Germany

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War15 Friedrich Ebert: First President of the Weimar Republic

Treaty of Versailles Black Tuesday stock market crashes Great Depression during 1930s Increasing influence of new political parties that emphasize state control - For example: Communism, Nazism, Fascism Total Control of State by a Dictator

10/24/2015Germany after the First World War17 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.