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Early challenges to the republic - Coggle Diagram
Early challenges to the republic
Reasons for unpopularity
Dolchstoss (stab in the back theory)
Many Germans didn't believe Germany had lost in the war
Many blamed the politicians and the signing of the treaty for the loss of the war
They thought Germany had been stabbed in the back by it's politicians
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles damaged Germany's economy, making the Weimar Republic weak and people blamed the leaders calling them the 'November criminals'
Reparations
War guilt clause made Germany accept blame for the war
Allies said they were entitled to reparations so £6600 million was to be paid in yearly instalments to the allies
Military forces
Army limited to 100,000
Navy limited to 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats
No air force was allowed and all planes destroyed
Rhineland had to be demilitarised
Land losses
germany lost 13% of European territory
Germany lost 11 of it's colonies
Challenges from left and right
Right wing
Freikorps
Right wing
MAde of ex-soldiers who kept their weapons
250,000 men
Organised by regular army
Kapp Putsch
Freikorps troops, fearing unemployment, decided to march on berlin.
Ebert asked the head of army to resist but he refused.
Led by Wolfgang Kapp
Weimar fled to Berlin - put trade unions on strike which caused chaos and forced freikorps to flee the capital
Left wing
Spartacists
Left wing
Had backing from soviets
Led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Leibknecht
Based in Berlin
Spartacist revolt
Spartacists took over government newspaper and telegraph bureau
Tried to organise a strike in berlin but were shut down by friekorps
Political assassinations
In the early years of the republic over 376 assassinations took place
Right wing extremists used the murders to weaken the new republic
Right wing judges were sympathetic towards the right wing extremists and gave them light punishments
Challenges of 1923
Hyperinflation
Inflation is when the price of goods increases
When it increases spectacularly it is hyperinflation
Bread price:
1919 bread cost 1 mark
1922 it cost 100 marks
1923 it cost 200,000 billion marks
People had to use wheelbarrows to carry the money needed to buy bread
Why there was hyperinflation
Government printed more money to pay for WW1
Weimar government printed more money for post war shortages and to pay for reparations
French troops invaded the ruhr to take reparation payments in goods and raw materials - 80% of German coal, iron and steel were in the Ruhr so the occupation slaughtered German economy
Weimar government put workers on paid strike and printed more money to pay them and make up loss of coal, steel and iron
The German mark was now worthless
Effects of hyperinflation
Negative
Some people couldn't afford essentials like bread
Wages rose, not as quickly as prices
Businesses went bankrupt
savings became worthless
Weimar government was blamed for hyperinflation - making them even more unpopular
Positive effects
Farmers benefitted asn they were paid more for food
Some people and businesses could pay off loans and mortgages
Fixed rents became cheap
Foreign visitors could buy for more money