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THREATS TO THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC (1918-1922 (There was opposition from many…
THREATS TO THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
1918-1922
There was opposition from many Germans (especially right-wing) who disagreed with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, naming the Weimar government
"The November Criminals"
One result of this was the
Kapp Putsch
(1920), which aimed to overthrow the government
Many people wanted the government to become more Communist following a revolution in Russia
A result of this was the
Spartacist Uprising
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Following the Naval Blockade, many Germans were starving, which antagonised the government
The
Freikorps
were a band of soldiers who refused to disband after the war and formed private armies. They were anti-socialist, anti-communist and anti-treaty of versailles
The Freikorps helped the Weimar Republic by assisting in the crushing of the Spartacist Uprising
1923
After missed reparations payments, French and Belgian troops invaded the Ruhr, an industrial area of Germany, intending to take the unpaid reparations in resources like coal, iron and steel
As a result, the government told workers in the area to go on strike rather than help the French by providing the resources
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Hyperinflation ran rampant in the country following the increased printing of banknotes, which was meant to stimulate the economy and pay striking industrial workers in the Ruhr
The results of this were catastrophic- prices ran out of control (bread was worth 200 marks in January and went to being worth 200 million in November), the standard of living plummeted and the currency became worthless
#
There were some who benefited through, like businessmen and farmers
Pensioners, savers and those on a fixed income were hit the hardest
This posed a threat to Weimar Germany as many turned to extremist parties who promised them greater things than what the Weimar government had delivered
The Beer Hall Putsch was a revolt by the Nazi SA to try and overthrow government
The revolt was foiled, however it showed Weimar's incapability to efficiently squash rebellion, as this was not the first time that a group had risen up against them
1924-1933
The Wall Street Crash was the biggest stock market crash in US history, which set off the Great Depression
The USA called in its loan from Germany, which destroyed the economy of Weimar Germany, which in turn, made unemployment rise. The German public were desperate for change, so they turned to extremist parties (like the Nazis) [#]
The Nazi party’s support rapidly increased in the two elections between 1930 and 1932, and by July 1932, they were the biggest political party in Germany. They went from 12 Reichstag seats in 1928 to 196 seats in 1932
This weakened Weimar as the Socialists/left-wing were losing power in favour of right-wing extremist parties.
The Reichstag was burnt down by a Communist, Marinus van der Lubbe
The fire gave Hitler an opportunity to turn more people against the Communists, saying that they were a danger to the country. It also allowed him to be able to imprison many communist leaders who were against him. This hurt Weimar as it was partly led by Communists and it made them scapegoats.