1. How successful was the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1923?
Learning objectives:
LO1: To analyse what happened in Germany between 1918 and 1923.
LO2: To assess how successful 1918 to 1923 was for the Weimar Government.

2. Success?
Consider each point and then we will discuss whether it was a success of the government’s or not at the end!
LET’S NOT FORGET:
Weimar Republic= 1st ever democracy in Germany's history

3. Unification Bismarck Chancellor of Prussia Happening for long time
War between Austria and Prussia
Prussia’s Kaiser Wilhelm I became Kaiser of Germany
Officially set up 1870 then French war

5. Effects of WW1 Naval blockade Spanish flu
Kaiser abdicates- power vacuum
Armistice signed
Ex soldiers returning armed from war
Kiel Mutiny- failure to put down

6. Can stop laws proposed by the Government but can not make laws
German Constitution 1914
Kaiser Wilhelm II
(hereditary monarch)
Government
Chancellor
Ministers
Reichstag
(elected)
Can stop laws proposed by the Government but can not make laws
Electors
Men over 25 can vote
The Army
Appoints
Calls/Dismisses
Controls

7. Weimar constitution 1918 The President The Chancellor
The Parliament (Reichstag)
The German People
Elect
Chooses
Article 48
In an
emergency the President can rule on their own.

8. In an emergency the President can bypass Reichstag.
Article 48
In an emergency the President can bypass Reichstag.
(used 136 times by Ebert!!)

9. Weimar constitution Strengths: Everyone equal rights PR- proportional
Strong president keep control in emergency
States keep some traditions
Weaknesses:
1919 many enemies of state
PR- lots of small, extreme parties
President easily dictator (Article 48 vague)
States hostile

10. Spartascists uprising
Communists- wanted Russian style revolution
Led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Lieberknecht
January 1919
Freikorps put down uprising
Showed weakness of government because Freikorps keep control

11. Kapp putsch Led by Wolfgang Kapp- Freikorps
Government put down by general strike
March 1920
Army not stop
Very worrying

12. Treaty of Versailles Article 231- war guilt. Hated by Germans
100,000 soldiers in army, no air force, 15,000 sailors.
Compensation- £6600 million
13% of land taken
Politicians betrayed Germany- stab in back theory

14. The three crisis of 1923
Arguably the worst year for The Weimar Government
Started with the invasion of the Ruhr
Which caused hyperinflation
The Nazi Party organised the Munich Putsch

15. The invasion of the Ruhr
Germany can’t afford to pay reparations
France and Belgium take over industrial heartland
Government starts passive resistance- workers strike
Gov not able to pay bills so prints more money.
Means...

16. Money loses its value and goods become wildly more expensive.
Hyperinflation
A period of rapidly accelerating inflation where the price of goods rises continuously and dramatically.
Money loses its value and goods become wildly more expensive.

17. Hyperinflation Gov not able to pay bills- prints more money
Notes worthless
Middle class worst hit- saving lost!
Kaiser borrowed to pay for war- exchange rate fell
T of V accelerated decline
Stresemann stopped passive resistance
Also introduced new currency

18. July 1914
£1 = 20 marks
January 1919
£1 = 35 marks
January 1920
£1 = 256 marks
January 1921
January1922
£1 = 764 marks
January 1923
£1 = 71,888 marks
September 1923
£1 = 1,413,648 marks
October 1923
£1 = 3,954,408,000,000 marks
November 1923
£1 = 1,680,800,000,000,000 marks

19. The Munich putsch
In November Hitler decided to overthrow Weimar government
Took over beer hall meeting
Kahr told government
Next day 3000 Nazis stopped by armed police, Hitler ran
Put on trial for treason- given 5 years served 9 months
Wrote Mein Kampf in prison

20. By 1923, the Nazi party had 55,000 members
Situation in Germany
Hyperinflation and occupation of Ruhr
Growth of Nazis
By 1923, the Nazi party had 55,000 members
The SA
Hitler had a huge army of storm troopers
Help
Hitler thought he would be helped by important nationalist politicians in Bavaria.
Causes of the
Munich Putsch
Stresemann’s government
Stresemann getting on top of problems
Crackdown on extremist groups
The army had recently put down a left-wing revolt in Saxony. Hitler could see a crackdown on right-wing groups coming next.

21. After 1923! Stresemann introduced new currency- stabilisation
Golden Twenties
Nazis try to win power democratically, fall in support
1929- Wall Street Crash, The Great Depression
Hitler becomes Chancellor

22. So what was a success? Weimar constitution? Spartiscist uprising?
Kapp Putsch?
Treaty of Versailles?
Invasion of the Ruhr?
Hyperinflation?
Munich Putsch?

23. The Question
How could the Nazis come to power in one of the world leaders at the time, could this happen in this day and age? Maybe in Britain?