Issues

1 Weimar Republic


 * political, economic and social issues in the Weimar Republic to 1929


 * 2.1 The Threat from the Right**


 * Kapp Putsch – March 1920**
 * The government ordered the Ehrhardt Freikorps Brigade to dissolve. General Luttwitz (commander of army in Berlin) refused: ordered two brigades of 12,000 men to march on Berlin.
 * General von Seeckt, head of army, prevented the army from intervening – sympathised with the rebels.
 * Ebert, Bauer and government were forced to flee Berlin.
 * Rebels took key buildings and declared a new government under Wolfgang Kapp.
 * Left/workers began a strike which paralysed Berlin. Middle class supported the strike. The putsch failed and Luttwitz and Kapp fled Berlin.

Significance
 * Showed the weakness of the government when confronted with threats from the right.
 * The left recognised the threats from the extreme right.
 * The army could not be relied upon to support the government against a threat from the right.
 * There were few repercussions for the leaders of the putsch.


 * Political Assassinations: “The enemy stands on the right.”**

Opponents of the republic:
 * landowning class: junkers
 * former ruling class: esp. industrialists, civil service, judiciary
 * army
 * nationalists

1919-1922 over 370 political murders, mostly committed by the right. After Rathenau’s assassination, Article 48 was used to restore order. Most who went before the courts were treated leniently. NB: the government had changed but many of the old imperial structures were still in place, esp. the civil service and the judiciary. (See points on p.32 “Factors which encouraged right-wing nationalism” and “Expressions of right-wing nationalism”)
 * Aug 1921: Matthias Erzberger – “November criminal”
 * June 1922: Walter Rathenau – supported policy of fulfilment


 * 2.2 Militarism: the Army and the Weimar Republic**

The German army and the Weimar Republic
 * Germany army was right wing. It tolerated the republic, preferring stability to disorder and communism.
 * Skilfully manipulated the end of the war so that the new civilian government would be blamed for the defeat and the treaty.

Hans von Seeckt and the German army
 * Von Seeckt, commander of German army 1920-1926.
 * Worked with the republic and supported the policy of fulfilment to ensure the army had influence within the government.
 * Sought to ultimately restore the might and honour of the German army.
 * Maintained general staff under a different name (Troop Office - Truppenamt).
 * More officers that were allowed by giving them civilian titles.
 * Soldiers were put into police forces.
 * The limited size of the army meant a better trained force ready for leadership roles in an expanded army when the time came.
 * After Treaty of Rapallo with Russia (1922) officers and men were secretly trained in Russia.
 * Germany companies, eg Krupp, could open factories outside of Germany and build arms and other war material not allowed by the treaty.


 * 2.3 1923 - a difficult year**

The problem of reparations
 * Reparations Commission 1921: 132 billion gold marks, paid in instalments in cash and resources.
 * Joseph Wirth (ZP) new chancellor. With Rathenau believed in policy of fulfilment, which could then lead to review of the reparations.

The occupation of the Ruhr, January 1923
 * In 1922 Germany could not pay the second reparations payment. In January 1923, France occupied the Ruhr with 60,000 troops.
 * Germans in the Ruhr began passive resistance, refusing to cooperate with the French. France used force and its own labour to achieve its aims of exploiting the Ruhr resources.

The problem of hyperinflation, 1923
 * Germany had poor economic prospects after the war - reparations, lost of land and resources, little foreign investment, political instability.
 * In order to pay reparations, wages, war pensions, the German government printed more money, instead of raising taxes. This led to inflation which by 1923, with the French occupation of the Ruhr, became hyperinflation (see exchange rates p.36 and cost of loaf of bread p.37). This caused great suffering for many, especially those on fixed incomes or lived off savings. Some profited - landowners, farmers and industrialists.

The fall of the government, August 1923
 * Under the economic pressure of the hyperinflation, the government collapsed in August 1923. Ebert asked Stresemann (DVP) to form a coalition - the ‘Great Coalition’ of moderate parties, which lasted from 13 August to 23 November 1923.

The end of passive resistance
 * Stresemann ended the passive resistance in the Ruhr.
 * An Enabling Act was passed which gave Stresemann emergency powers. this required two-thirds of the Reichstag - it passed by 316 to 24.

The Rentenmark
 * Hjalmar Schacht was appointed to reform the currency. The mark was recalled and a new currency, the rentenmark, was installed. Provisions were made to prevent devaluation - its value was tied to land not gold, it had a fixed value of 4.2 to the US dollar and limited amounts were printed.
 * The government brought in economic reforms to restore the economy: cut expenditure and introduced new taxes.

New political unrest and the threat of separatism
 * The economic turmoil and end of passive resistance in the Ruhr brought separatist movements in Bavaria (right wing, Gustav von Kahr), Thuringia and Saxony (left wing).
 * Article 48 was used by Ebert and the army restored order in Thuringia and Saxony (NB the army willing to act quickly against a left wing threat).
 * 8 November, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party staged the Munich Beerhall Putsch, attempting to take control of the Bavarian government, before marching on Berlin. It had little support and was quickly suppressed. 16 Nazis were killed; Hitler was arrested.


 * Chapter 3 The Years of Stability 1924-1929**

3.1 Economic and Political Stability
 * How real was this stability in the period 1924-1929?
 * Economy prospered; political stability
 * Explosion of culture (Section 3.3)
 * Germany accepted back into European diplomatic community

The Dawes Plan 1924 Aim: to allow Germany to recover economically so that it could meet its reparations payments. April 1924
 * Pay 1,000 million marks in 1925 with annual increases over five years to 2,400 million marks.
 * Germany would receive foreign loans.
 * France would leave the Ruhr.

Foreign loans
 * 1925-1929 - Germany received $2.9 billion in loans.
 * Standard of living improved esp. for urban workers and middle class.
 * Public works, housing, transport, social security.
 * Industrial growth beat pre-war levels.

Weakness in the economy
 * Germany was living off borrowed money. If the supply stopped the economy would collapse.
 * Economic power was in the hands of industrialists who supported the republic while they prospered, but embraced the right when their power was threatened in the depression.
 * High unemployment, 10% in 1926.
 * Farmers didn’t share in the urban prosperity - low prices, high debt. Later supported NSDAP.

Welfare state.
 * First true welfare state.
 * SPD committed to protecting workers.
 * Article 161 of constitution provided for “comprehensive system of social insurance”.
 * 1927 - Unemployment Insurance Act: contributions from workers and employers would fund an unemployment insurance scheme. (later collapsed under the massive unemployment of Great Depression).
 * Provisional Work Hours Law.
 * Welfare was opposed by big business (growth of unions) and middle class (taxes).

Political stability
 * Six changes of government 1924-1929. But the government remained coalitions of the moderate parties with the DNVP for a time. The extreme parties (KPD and NSDAP) had little support during this time.

President von Hindenburg
 * February 1925 - Ebert died.
 * Elections for new President - no majority in first round.
 * In second round - Hindenburg was encouraged to stand. He won with a narrow majority.
 * Hindenburg: conservative Junker military background; very old (77). However, he worked to support the constitution and make the republic work. Also his election brought some acquiescence towards the republic from the right; and his person lent the position President prestige which many felt it lacked under Ebert.


 * 3.2 German Foreign Policy in the 1920s**

Stresemann and **German foreign policy** to 1929
 * A Nationalist but a realist who recognised that the way to restoring German to its position among the great nations of Europe was through cooperation with France, ending Germany’s isolation, and restoring the economy. This would allow Germany to negotiate changes to the Treaty of Versailles.

The **Treaty of Locarno** 1925
 * Stresemann worked with Aristide Briand to negotiate the Locarno Treaty: guaranteed the borders between Germany and France and Belgium; Germany, France and Belgium renounced war as an instrument of foreign policy.
 * Not supported by the right in Germany.
 * Germany treated as an equal in negotiations. Added to the security of both France and Germany.

Germany Joins the **League of Nations** 1926
 * Added to spirit of reconciliation. Stresemann insisted that Germany be admitted as a major power and member of the Council (with Britain, France, Italy and Japan).
 * Opposed by the right in Germany – the League was the creation of those who had imposed the Treaty of Versailles and the reparations.

Germany and **Eastern Europe**
 * 1922 – under Walter Rathenau (FM) Germany signed the Treaty of Rapallo with the Soviet Union. The SU was an international pariah just like Germany. Gave Germany trade agreements and a place to secretly train troops and rearm beyond the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
 * 1926 – Stresemann signed the Treaty of Berlin with Russia which reaffirmed Rapallo and provided for neutrality in the event of an attack by a third country.

The **Young Plan** 1929
 * Reduced total reparations to 37,000 million marks, with annual instalments until 1988.

An assessment of **Gustav Stresemann**
 * Responsible for economic recovery after 1923 and Germany’s return to international diplomacy to 1929. Awarded Nobel Peace Prize in 1926 for Locarno Treaty (with Briand).
 * Was hated by the Nazis and removed from history when they came to power.
 * Critically evaluate the historical arguments for and against Stresemann. Which is the most valid assessment?
 * Why was he so hated by the right in Germany?


 * __//Assess the impact on the cultural developments in Germany during the Weimar Republic.//__**


 * Women in Weimar Germany**
 * Full equality with men in Weimar Republic.
 * New sense of liberation: dress, behaviour, sexual freedom, right to vote (1919 cast more votes than men - working class supported SPD; middle class DDP and later the more right wing parties)
 * 1925: 35% of women were in the workforce.
 * Emancipation more appearance than reality - most women accepted traditional role.

Flourishing of creativity after removal of repressive Imperial government.
 * Cultural life in Weimar Germany**

Provocative, risqué cabaret. Go to YouTube to view "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" from the film //Cabaret// - 1972.
 * Theatre and cinema**

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 * **Erwin Piscator**: Proletarian Theatre - challenged values of middle-class society. Bertold Brecht (Marxist) - works include //The Threepenny Opera// (with Kurt Weill) 1928; //Mother Courage and her Children//; //The Caucasian Chalk Circle.//
 * Cinema: **Fritz Lang**; **Joseph von Sternberg**; **Ernst Lubitsch** - //Metropolis//, //The Cabinet of Dr Caligari//, //Nosferatu//, //The Blue Angel//.




 * Literature and architecture**
 * **Thomas Mann** - Nobel Prize for Literature 1929 (e.g. //The Magic Mountain// 1924), **Franz Kafka** (e.g. //The Trial// 1925), **Herman Hesse** (e.g. //Steppenwolf// 1927). **Erich Maria Remarque** //All Quiet on the Western Front - Im Westen Nichts Neues//
 * **//Bauhaus School of Architecture//** (Walter Gropius) - functional design in architecture and household items - modernism.


 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/59/Otto_Dix_Sy_von_Harden.jpg width="292" height="405" align="right" caption="Portrait of the Journalist Sylvia von Harden, 1926"]]Modern Art**
 * Expressionist and modernist art: Otto Dix (e.g., //The Salon// 1921); Paul Klee; Max Beckmann; Heinrich Zille; George Grosz.

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 * Science and technology**
 * Seven Nobel prizes won by **German scientists** in the 1920s. Most famous - Albert Einstein.
 * **Communication and transport**: radio system; roads and railways; motor industry (Mercedes and BMW); Zeppelins (Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg)