The Collapse of the Weimar Republic

By: Lauren Pezzella Germanys instability both economically and politically started well before the Weimar Republic was formed. The end of world war one left a tangle of politics, ideologys, economics and forever changed the German way of life. The Weimar Republics unstable and unreliable government coupled with their poor economic standing and the anger from the conditions of the treaty of Versailles eventually lead to its collapse and the Nazis rise to power. The Germans declared the armistice for world war one with the idea that they were not admitting defeat but calling an end to the war for both sides; the allies did not take it as such and so when the treaty was formed the Germans were treated as the losing party. This went against every piece of German propaganda and new they had heard about the war; the Germans were always told they were on the verge of winning the war. For the allies to then split apart their country removing the most profitable countries and then force them to pay reparations that the war torn Germany would almost never be able to afford even with their whole county still intact was devastating to the economics of the country. The war also killed over 2.5 million Germans; the majority of these deaths were of the young men who often did the hard labor, therefore taking away most of the able bodied men of the generation. The allied countries also placed caps on the German military causing millions of men to be out of work causing a never seen before rise in the unemployment levels. The distain for what the Germans saw as an unjust treaty was wide spread and quite popular and gained the name Diktat. The loss of their former way of life weighed heavily upon the Germans many of who greatly resented the allies for the treaty of Versailles unjust regulations. The end of WW1 and the creation of the treaty of Versailles created many problems for the Germans that would grow over time leading to some of the issues that lead to the collapse of the Weimar Republic. When the Weimar government created by the allies the German population did not consider it a truly legitimate government. The actions of the Weimar government along with its instability inevitably lead to the governments collapse. One of the major problems of this proportional democratic government was that Germany was spit on so many different issues that the parties had a very difficult time deciding how the country should be run. This stall created an even bigger gap to recuperate from. The government backtracked government as it could not accomplish tasks leading to the conclusion that democracy is not an effective form of government grew. This stall in the Reichstag created an even further decline in the countrys already poor standard of living. Another huge problem within the government was a clause in the constitution that stated that the president had the power to overrule the rest of the government if he thought it was needed to protect public order and security. This clause allowed Heinrich Bruning to reduce government spending, increase taxes, decrease salaries and

reduce unemployment insurance without the governments consent. These changes proved devastating to Germanys already declining economy. With these unconsulted changes Bruning popularity and peoples trust in democracy sharply declined. The distrust in the democratic and the current political system played a large role in the collapse of the Weimar Republic. The Weimar republics failing economy did not help the countrys political stability. After ww1 in order to repay their debts the German government printed off large sums of money; this however lead to hyperinflation and instability in their currency. When it became clear that with Germanys current economic standing they would not be able to pay the reparations required by the treaty of Versailles, the United States stepped up and offered loans to both the Government and businesses. This deal worked well for both sides until in 1932 the great depression hit the U.S. and the high interest loans had to be repaid. This caused many companies who relied on the money to go bankrupt or to cut back spending alongside the government who was almost bankrupt. Taxation grew as the government tried to compensate for the money that they had lost. This lead to over 6 million people being unemployed this was almost a third of the German population. The governments economic standing did not fare any better and the president cut back spending on social welfare programs like unemployment insurance at a time when the German population needed it the most. This economic downfall of the democratic government drove the German people to extreme political views in which they found stability and not necessarily freedom. The instability in the German democratic system along with the still deep rooted resentment against the treaty of Versailles and the economic instability of the time lead for a perfect platform on which the fascists could gain a majority vote in the next elections. When a country becomes this unstable people often flock to much more extreme political parties; this was proven true in the 1930s elections.