What were the weaknesses and difficulties of the Weimer Republic?

There were many weaknesses in wiener Republic. Some of them are:

1. Ineffective Constitution:

The Weimar Constitution did not create a strong government. Article 48 of the constitution gave the President sole power in ‘times of emergency’, something he took often. The system of proportional voting led to 28 parties. This made it virtually impossible to establish a majority in the Reichstag, and led to frequent changes in the government.

During 1919-33, there were twenty separate coalition governments and the longest government lasted only two years. This political chaos caused many to lose faith in the new democratic system.

2. Left-wing Rebellions:

The Communist KPD hated the new government. In Jan 1919, 50,000 Sparta cists rebelled in Berlin, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. In 1919, Communist Workers’ Councils seized power all over Germany, and a Communist ‘People’s Government’ took power in Bavaria.

3. Right-wing terrorism:

Many right-wing groups hated the new government for signing the Versailles Treaty (June 1919)

4. Invasion-Inflation:

The crisis of 1923:

The cause of the trouble was Reparations; the government paid them by printing more money, causing inflation. In January 1923, Germany failed to make a payment, and France invaded the Ruhr. This humiliated the government, which ordered a general strike, and paid the strikers by printing more money, causing hyperinflation.

The weak Weimar government was a major factor in Hitler rise to power, however it was not the only reason. Hitler’s use of aggressive propaganda and his use of fear in terror in the people was also a tactic that strongly helped his cause.

Weaknesses in the Weimar that particularly helped Hitler’s rise were the weak foundations that the republic was built on. The roles of the conservative elite’s in German society were a strong influence on the downfall of the Weimar and the rise of the Nazis. The final and most influential factor was the great depression, this further added to the republic’s problems and the Nazis blamed all of Germany’s economic and social problems on the Weimar governments.

The Weimar republic started in chaos, spent much of its short life in chaos, and dissolved without putting up much resistance.” The treat of communism that had taken over large parts of Europe of the people were scared that it would happen in their hometown, so their solution was to sign the agreement of democracy.

The fact that Germany had never experienced a democracy was major reasons in its downfall, histories have often said, “Germany is used to ruling itself, rather than being ruled by a democracy”. Diving the late 20’s and early 30’s the hostility of the German people were growing at an exponential rate. Living in a constant state of depression and poverty made these people search for an answer to these problems.

People linked all these problems with the Weimar government “They were tired of misery, tired of suffering, tired of weakness. These were desperate times and they were willing to listen to anyone, even Adolf Hitler.” One historian said. Hitler promised these people the solutions they wanted. Once he gained he exploited all the flaws of the constitution such as Article 48 and proportional representation which helped him strive towards his ultimate goal, chancellor of Germany.

The role of the German Army played a crucial role in the way that Germany was being run and controlled. They mostly only acted against the left wing communist and they would turn a blind eye to the right winged attacks. The reason for this was the signing of the Ebert-Groner pact, which stated the elimination of the communists.

With this selective protection it allowed groups such as Hitler’s Nazis to grow and prosper without the influence of the army to stop them. In the end the Weimar governments allowed the old ruling class to retain the position of power and influence the new Germany. Army leaders kept their independent positions, which was a fatal mistake as it allowed Hitler the opportunities to gain power without anyone there to stop him.

Big business, Junket class, civil service and the judicial system are all examples of conservative elite’s; they were key figures in the biased way that the Weimar republic was run and controlled. All these systems were constantly undermining the Weimar and its constitution.

An example of this was shown in the judicial system, the judges that ran the courts were anti-Weimar and it showed greatly in the sentences that were handed down to certain people. Hundreds of Weimar politicians were assassinated by right- winged protestors, but ‘when these people came before the courts the sentences handed down compared to left wing crimes was astronomical.

One of these right winged criminals was Adolf Hitler himself with his attempt to over throw the government with the Munich Putsch. He was given just nine months prison which he didn’t even finish serving, where left winged people who committed the same crime could have been sentenced to death. This lenient system allowed Hitler to cheat the system and contributed to his rise, as his wrong doings were not seen.

The Great Depression was the final downfall of the 14-year existence of the Weimar republic and ultimately led to the rise of the Nazi party. No government could stop the troubles that the depression had cause and it created further chaos in the Reichstag where people started turning on each other to try and settle the troubled times.

The sudden popularity was shown in the elections held at these times. In the lead up to the depression the Nazis had 12 seats and just two years later in the peak of the economic crisis the Nazis had 107 seats. This reflects the dissatisfaction that was shown in the present government and the fact that Hitler was the only person who promised the solutions that they people wanted. Many historians have stated that if Stress man had not died in 1929 then Germany may have recovered to its former strength and Hitler may never had the chance at gaining power.

From 1930 onwards the country is being ruled by presidential decree through the use of Article 48, so therefore no party could gain a majority for the German economy to get back on its feet. Hitler took advantage of these times of hardship and promised these desperate people what they wanted, employment and a way out of these poverty times. Hitler was the only option left, and is desperate time people look for desperate politics to solve these problems.

However, the weak Weimar was not the only reason for Hitler’s rise to power. His use of aggressive propaganda, Kurt Lidice, who personally knew Hitler, stated that “Only one thing was managed marvelously from the beginning – the propaganda, Hitler’s personal hobby and perhaps his strongest point”.

His use of fear and terror in the German population through groups such as SS, SA and Gestapo’s all lead to the ultimate goal. He changed the direction of the party by drifting to the right to maintain the power of the party. So Hitler’s rise had a number of factors other than the weak Weimar, his ability to captures peoples support and keep it was another major factor leading to his rise and this support was show in the 1932 elections where the Nazis gained 107 seats in the Reichstag.

Papen then appointed Hitler Chancellor of Germany as he was seen as less of a threat than the social Democrats, another critical mistake in the Weimar government. Hitler was single- minded in his actions and would accept nothing but the role of chancellor at any cost.