Weimar+Germany



Areas of Study: emergence of the Democratic Republic and the impact of the Treaty of Versailles political, economic and social issues in the Weimar Republic to 1929 collapse of the Weimar Republic 1929–1933 impact of the Great Depression on Germany

Germany 1919–1933 The history of Weimar Germany 1919–1933 falls into three phases:

1919–1923 At first the Weimar Republic had great difficulties: a. Left wing rebellions b. All people were angry with it c. Right-wing rebellions and terrorism (Kapp Putsch 1920) d. Invasion and inflation e. Munich Putsch

1923–1929 But the Republic survived and (after Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor in 1923) did well: a. Economic Prosperity (Dawes and Young Plans) b. Foreign Policy successes (Locarno Pact, League of Nations 1926) c. Cultural flowering (Berlin was a centre of progressive art, theatre, filmmaking and literature)

1929–1933 After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 (and Stresemann's death), however, the Republic collapsed economically and politically: a. Unemployment (6 million by 1932) b. Hyperinflation returns b. Political instability: Proportional system of democracy led to numerous "coalition" governments and leaders b. Nazi Party grew more powerful c. In 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor

Chart: Party representation in the Reichstag 1920-33. From Sefton Delmer, Weimar Germany: Democracy on Trial, p. 97.

Was the Weimar Republic doomed?