Category: Weimar Republic

By 1918, four years into World War 1 it was becoming increasingly evident that Germany would be defeated. Adding to the impending defeat, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, the growing resentment of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, and the establishment of the new Weimar Republic Government were all vital factors that contributed to Germany experiencing political, economic, and social instability between 1918-1923.

Germany would have been defeated in 1917 if it had not been for Russia’s surrender and the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which gained Germany annexed territories and 3 billion roubles in reparations (Layton, 2009, pg.85). However, after the failure of the last German offensive on the western front it became increasingly evident to General Ludendorff and Hindenburg that Germany would lose the war. When the Generals realized the extent of the crisis, they advised the Kaiser on 29th September to speak with the Allies regarding an armistice (Layton, 2009, pg. 86). Layton (2009, pg.87) also states that there were four main factors for Germany losing the war, which were the failure of the Schlieffen plan, fighting the war on two fronts, the strength of the allies, and the limitation of the German war economy.

Ludendorff had wanted to change the German government from an authoritarian government to that of a constitutional government, believing that a democratic government would be better placed to enter peace negotiations and obtain a more favorable peace settlement. He also wanted the best peace deal for Germany. However, he was not only thinking of Germany at this point but of himself as well. Layton (2009, pg. 100) stated Ludendorff had a more “cynical ulterior motive” in the hope that if a more constitutional government was formed this would shift the blame for Germany’s defeat away from the military leadership and himself. Herein lay the foundations of the “stab in the back” myth, a myth that would be used by sympathizers of the political right-wing.

Following the appointment of Prince Max of Baden in October 1918 as Germany’s new Chancellor, he brought reforms to the German government in the hope of turning Germany into a parliamentary democracy. These changes included the Kaiser relinquishing all his powers over the armed forces to the Reichstag, the Chancellor and his government being now accountable to the Reichstag instead of the Kaiser, and opening up the dialogue with the allies in terms of an armistice.

As news spread of peace negotiations with the allies spread across Germany, civil unrest broke out with workers going on strike. Not only did it create unrest amongst the civilian population, but also created discontentment amongst the armed forces, who in turn refused to obey orders in the port city of Kiel. The German admiralty wanted one last sea battle with the French and British. As Admiral Reinhard Scheer stated “it would be an honorable battle, even if it becomes a death struggle (Llewellyn et al, 2019) . However, Layton (2009, pg. 102) noted “real fear among the sailors that their officers were planning a suicide attack on the British fleet.” Kolbin suggests that the change of heart in military leaders coincided with pressure from the Reichstag.

By the start of November, it was evident that the above parliamentary reforms had failed to quell, the ever-rising tension within the German people, and the thought of a revolutionary movement prompted Prince Max on November 9th that he announced Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated eventually fleeing to Holland. Upon his abdication, a power vacuum was created, which was to be filled by a left-wing coalition government led by SPD leader Fredrich Ebert. As Ebert reported that “the abdication of the Kaiser was absolutely necessary if the desertion of the masses into revolutionist camps and thus the revolution itself were to be avoided (Brecht, 1970, pg. 108-110).

Not only did Chancellor Ebert have to face the allies to negotiate a peace agreement but he also had to deal with trouble at home in Germany from the extreme left-wing groups who refused to accept a new democratic government, as they wished for a communist revolution similar to that which had just occurred in Russia. In January the Spartacist uprising occurred, which was led by Karl Liebkneckt and Rosa Luxemburg who had spilled from the SPD and formed the Independent Socialist Party (USPD), they took inspiration from the recent Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. They wanted to establish a communist regime and then form an alliance with Lenin’s Soviet Russia, all powers to be transferred to the Soldiers and Workers council, all coal, iron, and steel industries to be run by the state and finally, the police and the army disarmed, being replaced by workers militias (Collier & Pedley, 2000, pg. 7). After elections were held and Social democrats formed the first government, creating the constitution of the Weimar Republic establishing it as a “presidential republic” (Weiz, 2007, pg.17).

When the first congress of workers & soldiers council in Berlin was being helped Liebknecht & Luxemburg were denied access to speak at the meeting, which resulted in the Spartacists publicly demonstrating. Chancellor Ebert frightened by these demonstrations met with General Groner who promised to provide loyalty and support to the Government in return for Chancellor Ebert’s promise to supply the army against the left (Collier & Pedley, 2000, pg.8). By January 1919 the Spartacists had garnered support and formed the German Communist Party (KPD) with other extreme left-wing groups. On January 5th, 1919, a revolt in Berlin began led by Liebknecht & Luxemburg, but due to the uprising being poorly organized they were defeated brutally by the Government using the Freikorps. On January 15th Liebknecht & Luxemburg were murdered by members of the Horse Guard Division. These murders proved to have huge consequences for the new Republic.

On 6th February 1919, the National Assembly met in the town of Weimar. Within a week the National Assembly had formed a coalition government made up of SPD and other left-wing/liberal parties with Ebert elected as the first president of the Weimar Republic with Phillip Scheidemann as his Chancellor. During their tenure of eighteen months, they completed two major tasks that would change not only the political scene of Germany but every aspect of German life. Firstly, was the drafting of the Weimar Constitution, and secondly was the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles. Both of which caused major tensions throughout the German population.

Hugo Preuss was a liberal lawyer that was invited by President Ebert to draft the Weimar Constitution, where he would draw influences from other democratic institutions such as the USA’s concept of checks and balances. The new constitution created the Reich, which would be made up of eighteen states (Lander). The Chancellor (who was appointed by the President) and his cabinet members needed majority support from the Reichstag, which members would be elected from the eighteen states in a four-year election cycle by all German citizens aged 20 and above using the voting system of Proportional Representation.

The decision to use Proportional Representation Voting System caused a vast amount of controversy. Whilst Proportional Representation has the advantage of ensuring everyone has political representation no matter how small the political party is, the disadvantage is that a majority government cannot be formed resulting in coalitions of three or four parties forming a government. Having to account for three or four political parties’ views, having to make compromises creates instability for example the longest office was held by Joseph Wirth lasted eighteen months. Collier & Pedley (2000, pg. 21) believe that a majority system of voting may have been more effective in guaranteeing Weimar’s stability and survival.

The President would be elected every seven years with no restrictions in place for how many times one person can hold the office of President. Having no restriction on this created a vacuum for abuse of power to turn the office of democratic president into one of a dictatorship. Article 48 of the constitution allowed the president to dissolve the Reichstag and have an absolute rule in a “national emergency”.

Article 48 in the view of the authors of the constitution was to provide a strong executive branch to create political continuity. The term “national emergency” was not defined within the constitution, therefore leaving this open to individual interpretation. For example, President Ebert used Article 48 to quash the Munich Putsch in 1923.

Before the establishment of the Weimar Republic, the SPD was considered a left-wing political party and supportive of progressive taxation, government social welfare programs, labor unions, and equality. They were less nationalistic, militaristic, and antisemitic than political parties on the right.

Whilst the Weimar Constitution was a vast improvement on an undemocratic nation, it had many flaws. Eric Weitz stated the “flaws in the constitution had less to do with the political system it established than with the fact that the German society was so fragmented. A less divided society and one with a more expansive commitment to democratic principles could have made it work”. Even Hugo Preuss who drafted the constitution pondered “whether a progressive system should be given to a people who resisted it with every sinew of its body.”

In June 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed and the conditions of the treaty were to be implemented, including losing 13% of its territories, six million in populations, valuable resources, war reparations totaling £60 million, “war guilt” clause, and limitations imposed on their armed forces (Weiz, 2007, pg. 19). The ramifications of the signing of the treaty had both national morale and German economic growth as it forced the German government to accept the blame for the war and placed a huge economic burden on Germany. The agreement of these conditions proved extremely unpopular with many of the elite and army. The idea of the “stab in back” myth increased the resolve of the right. It was not only threats from the left that the government had to be fearful about. The far-right also wanted to overthrow the government. They laid the blame for the acceptance of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1919, Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lutlwitz marched on Berlin to overthrow the Government and install a new government in a coup named Kapp Putsch. It was unsuccessful as the government called for a strike that paralyzed the uprising. Whilst the defeat of the Kapp Putsch could be viewed as a success, Layton (2009, pg. 133), stated that the Kapp Putsch had even taken place highlighted weaknesses of the Weimar Republic and Collier & Pedley (2000, pg.26) states the Kapp Putsch worsened the division between right-wing groups and the Republic.

In October 1923 another Putsch was being planned by Hitler and his Nazi supporters. In Bavaria, which was under the control of Gustav von Kahr and the Bavarian army led by Commander von Lossow. Both of them plotted with Hitler and the Nazis to ‘march on berlin’, but by the start of November, both Kahr and the Commander had backed out of the plan. Hitler, as determined as ever, decided to carry on with the plan and on November 8th he stormed into a rally in a Munich Beer Hall and declared a ‘national revolution’. Under pressure from Hitler, Kahr and Lussow agreed to participate in the uprising. On November 9th the Nazis attempted to take Munich but due to insufficient support and the actions of the Bavarian police, their Putsch was easily quashed. The result of the failed uprising was fourteen Nazis were killed and Hitler was arrested on the charge of treason. Whilst the failed uprising was an advantage for the Weimar Government after a hard year, it was the result of the judiciary that caused concerns. Ludendorff was committed to all charges and Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison, for which he only served ten months. Even though the Putsch failed Hitler turned his defeat into triumph as it served as a propaganda coup and gave him and his comrades a national platform to voice their beliefs (Collier & Pedley, 2000, pg. 71). The treatment of Hitler and his comrades following the right-wing led Munich Putsch was in stark contrast to that of the Spartacist uprising, which saw the brutal murder of Liebkneckt and Luxemburg following their arrest by the Freikorps, highlighting that the establishment was working against the interests of the republic.

The Republic was able to resist any attempts to seize power, but at the same time, another problem was arising Hyperinflation. This was due to a mixture of poor economic decisions on the part of the government and also the financial burden of having to pay war reparations. In 1919, the Weimar Republic had inherited a national debt totaling 144,000 million marks.

Germany’s economic problems started during the war thanks to the British set up a blockade. Due to the size of the British Navy and its geographical position Great Britain was able to control most of the world’s commercial shipping. The Ministry of Blockade issued a list of items that neutral commercial ships were not allowed to deliver to Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. These items included food and weapons. Not only did the blockade last throughout the war but lasted nine months afterward to force the Germans into signing the Treaty of Versailles. The signing of the Treaty of Versailles only fed into the right-wing political parties propaganda, fuelled more by General Hindenburg evidence into the investigation of the signing of the treaty blaming the so-called ‘November Criminals’ for the ‘stab in the back’ of the armed forces in 1918 that led to their collapse.

Many Germans believed that this was the result of the Treaty of Versailles reparations but also due to the poor decisions made by the government. However, Layton (2009, pg.139) believes the fundamental cause of inflation was the government’s decision to print more money to pay off the interest on the national debt. In the midst of the economic crisis, the German asked the Allies for suspension on reparations payment, this was however denied. As a result of being unable to make the payment, the French occupied the Ruhr, which was a German region with highly valuable resources. Germany ceased all reparation payments at this stage.

With hyperinflation the cost of essential goods skyrocketed, leaving many Germans starving as they watched their savings and pensions wiped out. For example, in 1922, a loaf of bread cost 163 marks. By September 1923, during hyperinflation, the price crawled up to 1,500,000 marks and at the peak of hyperinflation, in November 1923, a loaf of bread costs 200,000,000,000 marks.

Hyperinflation was most advantageous for people like homeowners, businessmen, and loan holders who were able to pay off their debts with inflated and worthless money (Collier & Pedley, 2009, pg. 143). With starvation amongst the lower class also left to health problems with increasing prevalence in edema, stomach disorders, and scurvy, this ultimately resulted in the weakening people and leaving them to die from hunger. The repercussions of hyperinflation sparked anger and despair amongst the German people, who began to associate the Weimar Republic’s system of democracy with poverty, unemployment, and shortages.

In conclusion, from the outset, the Weimar Republic was always going to experience political, economic, and social instability as a result of a plurality of factors. The Weimar Republic inherited major problems when they formed a new government. The factors included a heavy burden of the national debt, the failure to create institutions loyal to the new regime, the creation of a new constitution that the German people possibly were not ready for, the signing of the Treaty of Versailles that fuelled right-winged political parties and left many German people blaming this signing as the cause for all their problems, pacts made by the SPD government that created further division on the left. All these factors that came together and the Republic’s failure to resolve these issues ultimately led to their demise and the growing popularity of Hitler and his right-winged comrades.

The Interwar Period saw the rise of Adolf Hitler, conceivably the most narcissistic tyrant of the twentieth century. Not only did his incredible addresses grow Nazism and his domineering authority, but also his manipulating uses of propaganda and inducement, enforcing his convictions amongst the German public. 1918-1939 was an era of significant changes, which turned from a prosperous ‘Golden 1920s’ to an economic depression in the ’30s. This ruinous downturn was widely blamed on the Weimar Republic government, due to its problematic principles. As the Weimar Republic left Germany in such disparity and distraught, this created a base for Hitler and the Nazi’s to accumulate the public’s support, through economic, social and foreign policies, allowing him to obtain and hold power over Germany. Hitler undertook this by comforting workers lifestyles, using psychological projection and repossessing purloined land.

Millions of Germans fell into Hitler’s traps, fooled by his support of workers and economic promises. The Weimar Republic left Germany in financial misery. Hitler saw the Trade Union as a threat, holding more power than he did amongst labour workers, therefore, on 2nd May 1933, the Sturmabteilung arrested all German Trade Unions under Hitler’s order (Trueman, 2019b). He supplanted them with the German Labour Front and brought the public in like sheep, by proposing the Kraft Durch Freude movement. This organization lured Germans to believe Hitler’s way was the right way, with subsidised holidays, theatre tickets and sporting facilities offered to keep them out of mischief (Trueman, 2019a). The KdF can be best visualized through Source 1, a propaganda poster reading, ‘Now the theatre is open to you too.’ This print advertises an opening theatre, intended for KdF workers at bargained prices. Unbeknownst to the Germans, their traditional rights were being deprived, slowly but immensely. Furthermore, Hitler passed the Unemployment Relief Act in 1933, which succeeded by implementing new occupations in the industry. He commenced projects like the Autobahn and plummeted labour-saving machinery in lieu of people (BBC, 2019). During the Weimar Republic, the Germans felt enclosed by strict rules set in the Treaty of Versailles. Hitler then opposed these, expanding his army to 1.4 million, inducing further defensive industry occupations (Simkin, 1997). Despite this causing a pay freeze, Germans still received income. Notwithstanding Hitler’s sage economic strategies, his social policies further increased his absolutism.

Hitler’s utilization of indoctrination allowed his social policies to be introduced in Nazi Germany. On September 13th, 1935, Hitler’s Nuremberg Laws were passed by the Reichstag for the Nazi’s belief in the protection of German blood and honour (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2018). This precluded Germans from any relations with Jews, as they were Untermensch. Despite Hitler’s detestation towards Jews, he needed a justified reason to share his anti-Semitic beliefs with his people. Hitler’s prophecy speech to the Reichstag stated, “If the international Jewish financiers… succeed in plunging the nations once more into a world war, then the result will not be the Bolshevisation of the earth…but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe!” (1939). His words referred directly to the Jews, blaming the loss of World War One and Germany’s economic decay on them, as the majority of financial institutions were Jewish owned (HistoryontheNet, 2016b). As the Germans suffered from hyperinflation and economic matters during the Weimar Republic, anyone allegedly responsible was considered abhorrent. Whilst Hitler’s social policies alienated the Jews, his foreign policies allowed Germany to show exceeding predominance over its neighbours.

Germany’s regrowth emerged after they repossessed their land, confiscated in the Treaty of Versailles. Beforehand, the Weimar Republic complied with all rules set in the Treaty of Versailles, such as demilitarizing zones and surrendering territory (Alpha History, 2018). The Germans saw this as Dolchstosslegende. Germany’s extreme weakness due to the Versailles Treaty and the Weimar Republic meant that if one undermined the enforced principles, they would be endorsed by the German public. The 1935 Saar Plebiscite vote was actioned to reunify the lebensraum Saar region with Germany (Cocco, 2014). Source 2 exhibits a Saar status referendum featured in a newspaper in 1935. It stated that 80% of all voters in the petition were supportive of the Nazi’s repossessing the Saar Basin. Hitler was able to convince the public in his favour, as the reclamation would open up industries and occupations, allowing the exportation of resources and production of goods (BBC, 2019). Moreover, the 1936 remilitarization of the Rhineland was a standout amongst Hitler’s perilous plans. With support from his people, Hitler marched 32,000 armed troops into the Rhineland, which was ordered to be permanently demilitarized in the Treaty of Versailles. The Germans favoured this idea as they felt more secure in the event of an attack. Hitler stated, “The forty-eight hours after the march into the Rhineland were the most nerve-racking in my life. If the French had then marched into the Rhineland we would have had to withdraw…” (1937). Unanticipatedly, the French and British had no objections to this as they dreaded another war and were managing other crises’ (HistoryontheNet, 2016a). Both these movements allowed Hitler’s pursuit of becoming a tyrannical leader one step closer.

The repercussions of the Weimar Republic cemented a national leadership position, in redeveloping Germany into a superior nation. Hitler knew he was the one, implementing his economic, social and foreign policies to outshine other nations, retribute from World War One and chiefly, please the German public. His ingenious actions left him with an unforgettable mark in world history.

The sheer torment and carnage in WWI brought home a ‘frontline generation’ of men ultimately scarred from personal and national loss. For many veterans, their fundamental beliefs and thoughts had been forever changed. Born out of political and social anguish and culture of the missing identity of Germany, Dada is a clear reflection of a protest movement with an anti-establishment manifesto. The liberal experiment in Weimar Germany was at the forefront of this experimentation of new ideas and movements, providing a foreground to allow Dadaism to thrive. Indictments of capitalism such as Dix’s ‘Prostitute and Disabled War Veteran, Two Victims of Capitalism’ were common amongst Dada artists due to their underlying support of communist and socialist movements. Dix’s savage distortions indicted the state’s brutal mistreatment and abandonment of ex-soldier amputees and portrayed working-class deprivation. Dix’s painting shows that his focus was clearly not to create aesthetically pleasing artworks, but instead generate works that upended bourgeois sensibilities and made lower-middle-class Germans question their deteriorating society. German Dada author Hugo Ball states ‘What we call Dada is foolery, foolery extracted from the emptiness in which all higher problems are wrapped ‘. Dada was seen as an anarchic stance against conservatism but sparked strong controversies of treason and disgust among upper-class Germans. Weimar Germany at this time was experiencing a ‘monsoon’ of technological, social, and cultural changes which promoted ideas of freedom and equality among sexes and classes due to the experimentation of liberalism and as a consequence, this is the reason why Dada is so momentous.

The economy of the Weimar Republic was founded in the shadow of WWI. The Ally’s strong and punitive shadow over Germany acted as a constant reminder to all social classes of Germany’s losses from the war. Due to the lack of a stable economy and government, the Republic could not win the loyalty of the majority of the public. With war reparations as a constant economic drain, the government sought the option of printing more money, therefore leading to the German mark falling lower than pre-war levels. By November 1923, the government had produced a 100 trillion Mark note. Eric Weitz argues that ‘hyperinflation destroyed any kind of economic or even personal predictability’. The overall effect of the hyperinflation had disastrous effects on the general living standards of the Mittelstand (middle class) of Germany, as seen in the image, the German Mark was worth so little that Mittlestand women used it to burn a fire to keep warm. This not only affected living standards but also caused severe disruption between social groups. The loss of status of the upper-middle class was diminished and Weimar Chancellor, Gustav Stresemann commented that the ‘intellectual and commercial middle class which was traditionally the pillar of loyalty to the state had become proletarianized and completely uprooted’. This uprooting would sear into the political consciousness of Germans, and polarize the electorate to far-Left and far-Right.

The role and significance of women in the workforce ‘beyond the kitchen’ had evolved tremendously since the end of the war and during the liberal experiment. The New Woman emerged from this awakening and the characteristics of her compared to another average ‘working woman’ was her focus on self and new independence rejecting current systems of power and influence. In 1929 German feminist writer Elsa Herrmann described the features and worldview of the New Woman describing how she “refuses to lead the life of a lady and a housewife” and instead of hoping to go her own way in life. The Weimar Republic represented modernity, cultural expression, and social and political changes of that time which thrived in major urban centers. Historian Paul Johnson suggests that ‘this sudden outpouring of cultural expression had been building up since the nineteenth century (KJ Mason). As seen in Dix’s dreary painting, Sylvia Von Harden was depicted with little traditional feminine features and in an androgynous light whilst smoking and drinking in public. Historian Ute Frevert suggests that ‘this representation of a masculine New Woman were used by conservative parts of society as a scapegoat for the many problems the Weimar Republic were facing, which overall added to the stress and division of the German society. The image of Herrmann undoubtedly captions the social and liberalistic change of Weimar Germany but also illuminates social division.

In a time of public expression and economic and political distrust, it wasn’t uncommon for Germans to turn to political fringes that offered the stability that the Weimar’s government lacked. This triggered the use of political propaganda to either encourage or steer people away from joining left or right-winged political groups. Such right-winged propagandist newspapers included Dr. Joseph Goebbels Berlin-based newspaper Der Agriff (The Attack). It was used by the NSDAP as a manipulative instrument to arouse and grow support for Nazi ideology. Goebbels used the newspaper to criticize the ‘Diktat of Versailles’, “The German people are enslaved people. Under international law, it is lower than the worst Negro colony in the Congo. Have we deserved it? No, and no again!”. Political groups like the NSDAP targeted different socio-economic groups and addressed different problems and circumstances to attract members. Historian Hagan Schulze states that “the unwillingness of most intellectuals to lend their support to the republic became evident in the press” amongst many of the highly literate bourgeois, written publications such as Der Agriff with their nationalist and racial views gained traction. The ideas of nationalism propagated in newspapers such as Der Agriff through new technologies of radio and film during the liberal experiment would become ingrained in the minds of the German, especially when acute financial distress would occur once again.

The 1900s was a decade of great complications and obstacles for Germany. During the 1900s, World war 1 and World war 2 commenced, harming the German economy and social life to a great extent. Millions lost their lives and the mayhem witnessed was awful and unappealing. Well, that’s not all the mass destruction of cities and the inadequate public provisions were appalling. However, in order to get a clear understanding of this topic let’s separate the 1900’s into 2 parts- Weimar Germany and Nazi Germany. During the rule of the National Socialist Party/Nazi Party, there were several atrocities committed at the height of their power. The Nazi Party came into power after World war 1, they took advantage of the unstable conditions throughout Germany at the end of the war, who knew what the Nazis had actually planned for the German people. On the other hand, the Weimar Republic faced several problems during its reign. They were forced to sign The Treaty of Versailles causing several problems for the German economy and military forces. However, during the rule of the Weimar Government freedom of speech and freedom to practice religion was influenced. Germany was now also the leading country in terms of cultural activities taking place within a country.

The National Socialist Party, The Nazi party, or Third Reich were propagandists who took control of Germany from 1933-1945. Hitler put Josef Goebells in charge of Nazi propaganda. They used several methods of advertising their ideologies- radio, rallies, and newspapers were a few of them. The use of simple and eye-catching slogans was appealing to several during that time. They used sophisticated advertising techniques and recent and well-developed technology to spread their propaganda throughout Germany. They adopted policies that could be adopted by several different groups, a few of these policies included improving public facilities, giving land to farmers, promising unity, promising a strong central government, Increase in employment, promising remilitarisation, making sure no Jew was accepted as a German citizen, etc…. Nazi propaganda played an integral role in the demolition of European Jews. This provoked a sense of hatred and promoted a climate to their fate. The Nazi ideology gained significance after World war 1. Well, if the war had never taken place Nazism would never spread throughout Germany at such a rapid pace. It was due to World war 1 the middle class felt defeated and began to lose faith in the government and the people of Germany began to support Hitler’s ideology. His ideology on Antisemitism and orating skills influenced tons of people to vote for him making him the President of Germany. However, once Hitler came into power people began to figure out that he wasn’t the person who they thought he would actually turn out to be. This so-called devil began influencing the ideology of Fascism, he showed the citizens of Germany how inhumane he was. This totalitarian party was the reason the ideology of antisemitism spread at such a viral pace and this party was also the reason World War 2 commenced. On the other hand, Weimar Republic, German Republic, or the German Reich was Germany’s government from 1919- 1933. It was named after the town of Weimar where Germany’s new authorities were formed via a national meeting after Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated. During the rule of the Weimar Republic, representative democracy was established which aimed to give genuine power to adults. However, it did contribute to major flaws in the year 1933-1934. The treaty of Versailles which was introduced after World War 1 harmed Germany’s economy to a great extent as Germany had certain restrictions and had to pay a huge sum of money to the victors. Well, during this time the Weimar Government was in power so this created a rather bad impression on the Weimar Government. The leader of the Nazi Party was Adolf Hitler and the leader of the Weimar Republic was Friedrich Ebert. Each of them had their own ideologies and propaganda they wished to carry out. However, in regards to the fact that Hitler was born an influential orator his ideologies on the transformation of Germany influenced people to vote for him, making him the leader of Germany. Although each of the ideologies had its differences, the Nazi ideology sounded a lot more efficient at the end of the war provoking people to vote for them. Although eventually, people did figure out that Nazi ideology was not presented the way it was explained, Jews were now terrorized and blamed for World war 1 and the ideology of antisemitism spread throughout Germany. While, during this time people began to realize that getting the Nazi Party into power was no less than a sin, a decision they would have to bear the brunt of for years.

Until the year of 1933, The National Socialist Party lacked support amongst the workers. During this period of time workers usually voted for the Social Democratic Party of Communists. Looking at this Nazis set up 3 organizations to manage German workers. The Labour Front, The Strength Through Joy and The Beauty of Labour. Each of these organizations was created for the benefit of laborers. Within these organizations, they made sure that employers were given more importance than employees. Although these organizations were implemented the living standards for workers did not improve. Wages fell, the working hours rose by 15% and the number of accidents taking place increased. In addition to this Hitler began to promote the importance of a traditional family. He believed that women were inferior compared to men. Women were forced to serve and nurture their families during that period of time. He believed that women’s lives should revolve around Kinder, Küche, Kirche (Children, Kitchen, and Church). The Nazi Party expected women to work at home and produce a pure Aryan race. While women were considered inferior and expected to do their job, the Nazis took it upon them to teach the children what is right and what is wrong. The Nazis directed their propaganda at children between the years of 1920-1945. They targeted children by creating youth clubs and antisemitic books influencing children to hate the Jews even more. The traits the youth clubs were forced to possess were resilience, dynamic, and being hopeful. They were trained in such a manner that if they heard anyone complaining about the Nazi Party or Hitler they were forced to report this to an official. In contrast to Nazi Germany, Weimar Germany was a lot different. Analytically speaking this was a period of great economic collapse for Germany. While Germany not only had to pay reparations they also had to go through hyperinflation cause of which the lower middle class and upper-middle class suffered major losses. Although it wasn’t the best time for laborers it was surely a great time for women and children. Living in democracy made women feel rather secure and openly express their views in an efficient manner. In addition to this women were given similar fundamental rights as men, each of them was allowed to vote and preserve office.

After World War 1 Germany went into major financial losses. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was required to make monetary payments to the Allies, called reparations. The heavy reparations, combined with the devastating economic infrastructure throughout Germany and political tension under the Weimar Republic, led to an economic depression. By 1918, Germany was no longer a strong confident country, but one on the brink of ruin. The war had destroyed Germany’s economy. The country spent around one-third of its income on war pensions to all those widows and families who had lost someone during the conflict. However, in 1924 the Dawes plan was introduced. The plan was to reduce Germany’s war debt and successfully pay the reparations. They used a round-robin method where money was borrowed and eventually lent when the time arrived. Well, although certain financial problems were faced, Germany did manage to revive the economy until World war 2 commenced and problems began to get heated up once more. Well, although the economic loss was massive and appalling, it was not late until the Weimar Government managed to revive the German economy, in the case of the Nazi’s it was a lot different. After the financial crisis faced due to World war 1, this was something else Germany had to go through After the Wall Street Crash of 1929 there was mayhem witnessed throughout the financial market. Between 1933 and 1939 the entire revenue of the German Government (Nazi) amounted to 62 billion reichsmarks whereas German expenditure exceeded 101 billion hence causing an enormous deficit and rising debt.

Before the Third Reich in Germany, the general population was on the brink of acceptance of cultural diversity within the entire country of Germany. The governing body of Germany at the time known as the Weimar republic allowed the expansion of creative expression throughout the country that was not expressed under the monarchy that had governed the country before. In 1933 the possibility of this occurring began to vanish with the new rise of Adolf Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany. In 1934 Adolf Hitler named himself Fuhrer and the reign of Nazi Germany begins, leading to several laws and sanctions placed on the German community, including that of moderating and reviewing the art produced in the country. (Weitz, 2007) In Detlev J. K Peukerts’ book Inside Nazi Germany Conformity, Opposition and Racism in Everyday Life, Detlev describes the situation present in Nazi Germany. Several laws, regulations, and policies specifically targeted groups of the population in hopes to create the ideal and functioning general population, however, the citizens more often than not either continued to evade the rules and regulations, or accepted the Nazi policies of repression, terrorism, and racism. Throughout the entire book, the use of media and artistic representation was well demonstrated in controlling the socially accepted norms found in Germany. The artistic community was governed by Adolf Hitler and the members of the National Socialist Society for German Culture. Much like all other aspects of Germany, Hitler made a criterion for an art based on what he considered to promote the Aryan race. Most of the productions were based on the ideas he established when he attempted to be an artist back in Vienna Austria. This control of the media allowed the influence of the German culture simply by only allowing the figures displayed to be in alignment with those of the leaders of the Nazi party. In the book, Deltev describes aspects to which the media in a country is controlled by the population’s opinions. “’ Grumbling’ and the rumor system were thus indicator, not of an extensive ‘popular opinion’, but of the deep fragmentation of public opinion into district spheres: the controlled (and increasingly discredited) sphere of the Reich Ministry of Public Information and Propaganda; citizens’ outward attestations of loyalty within the public domain; the internal opinion-gathering processes of the authorities and Nazi organizations, and uncensored private conversations” (Deltev, 1987) Deep political fragmentation occurred inside the country that influenced the production of opinions and cultures in a society where opposition was eradicated and a totalitarianism standpoint taken by the leadership.

It may be easy to take a historical standpoint on the views of propaganda and artistic material inside of Nazi Germany, however, the influences of art on modern society are not simply limited to that of the Nazi regime. Media today is rigged full of ideas and concepts that challenge the thinking of those caught unaware of its grasp. A politically influenced message that exists in the visual, audial, and other sensory information can be easily forgotten and simply accepted as a society to be the required thinking method of the country. Much like Nazi Germany, artistic pieces continue to play an essential role in how we perceive the world, shaping and guiding how we operate simply by existing. Either positively accepted or culturally rejected, it continues to be what binds a nation together. In beauty or in destruction, it makes us unique.

At the end of the First World War, after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm, Germany’s Social Democrat Party (SPD) set up a new democratic government in the town of Weimar, which soon became known as the Weimar Republic. Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD, was elected president of the new republic. The history of Germany from 1919 to 1933 can be divided into three phases. During the first period (1919-1923), the Weimar Republic faced great difficulties, including left-wing and right-wing rebellions and terrorism, invasion and inflation, and the Munich Putsch. In the second phase (1923-1929), after Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor, the Republic did well and bloomed in its economic prosperity, foreign policy successes, and cultural flowering. However, in the last period (1929-1933), after the Wall Street Crash, the Republic collapsed and the Nazi party grew more powerful, clearing the way for Hitler’s rise to power in 1933 when he became chancellor. The question to be discussed is why the Weimar Republic collapsed, if the Weimar Republic collapsed due to the abandonment of democracy by right wing-conservatives such as Hindenburg and Bruning and the Nazi Party or if the Weimar Constitution was doomed from the beginning due to its internal weakness and due to the Treaty of Versailles.

On one hand, the Weimar Constitution was doomed from the beginning due to the internal weakness and instability of the new government. The government was made up of a president, a chancellor, and a parliament known as the Reichstag. The term of the president lasted seven years, and all his orders had to be approved by the chancellor and a Reich minister. However, Article 48 allowed the president to set aside civil rights and pass orders and laws independently in an emergency. Moreover, two legislative bodies, the Reichstag and the Reichsrat, were formed to represent the German people. They were elected every four years by all men and women over the age of 20. The recognition of fundamental rights, such as personal freedom and freedom of speech and of assembling and forming societies or trade unions, as well as the right to private property and free state-run public education, was seen as a strength of the new Weimar Constitution. However, proportional representation, which enabled each party to obtain the same percentage of seats in parliament as the percentage of votes it received, was seen as a weakness as it meant that there were a lot of small parties and coalition governments, which were weak, unstable and short-lived governments that led to frequent elections, disorganization, and a lack of decisive action. Moreover, Article 48, allowing the abandonment of unalienable rights, was bound to be misused by future leaders and would potentially allow a dictatorship to be established, which led to the end of the Weimar Republic.

Similarly, the Treaty of Versailles destabilized the Weimar Republic, which eventually led to its downfall. The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th, 1919, at the Palace of Versailles in France. The Treaty ended World War I and outlined the conditions between Germany and the Allied Powers – Britain, France, and the USA. Germany was not invited to the conference and was later forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles when the Allies threatened to invade. Germany had to accept full responsibility for starting World War I and faced multiple terms, including territorial losses, military clauses, reparations, and the exclusion from the League of Nations, which was a general association of nations with the goal of maintaining global peace through diplomacy instead of war. Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France and Poland was restored as an independent nation, leading to Germany’s division. Furthermore, Germany surrendered its colonies, which were distributed among the Allies as ‘mandates’. The unification between Germany and Austria was also forbidden, and the Saar Basin, which was a coal-producing region in Germany, was given to the League of Nations for 15 years. Lastly, Danzig, a city in the Polish Corridor, was administered by the League of Nations and acted as a ‘free’ city where any nation could unload goods into the European market. Similarly, military clauses destabilized Germany. The Rhineland area on the French border became a permanently demilitarized zone and the Allied armies occupied the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years. In addition, there were several military restrictions where conscription was forbidden and the German army was limited to 100,000 men who had to serve for 12 years, which led to no one wanting to volunteer. Furthermore, the German navy and air force were restricted in size, and the production of submarines, planes, and tanks was forbidden. The German fleet also surrendered to Great Britain, and Germany gave up all its merchant ships to the Allies in compensation for Allied shipping losses during the war. Additionally, Germany was forced to pay the Allies 6.6 billion pounds in gold, which corresponds to 33 billion American dollars, to pay for the damage caused by the war. This proves that the Treaty of Versailles destabilized the Weimar Republic with harsh penalties that resulted in economic distress and political uprisings, which eventually caused its downfall.

On the other hand, one can argue that the Weimar Republic collapsed due to the abandonment of democracy by right-wing conservatives who favored a ‘vaguely conceived authoritarian state’. After Ebert’s death in 1925, Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg was elected the second president of Germany, which can be seen as a disaster for the democratic prospects of the Weimar Republic. The destructive influence of Weimar’s political dispersion and lack of validity made itself felt here, as the right only elected Hindenburg due to his mostly undeserved military destiny and his wish for the restoration of the old monarchy, as he believed that the old monarchical order was the only legitimate sovereign power in Germany. Furthermore, Hindenburg often made use of Article 48 and established a conservative dictatorship in his name, which was a big step away from Weimar’s democracy. In 1930, in times of economic depression, he appointed a cabinet only accountable to him and forced Chancellor Heinrich Bruning to dissolve the Reichstag, which had been fundamentally democratic and allowed a multiplicity of voices and opinions. Additionally, new elections were held and resulted in the National Socialists emerging as the second-largest party. Bruning’s deflationist policies exasperated the economic issues and unrest mounted, fueled by the Nazis. Accordingly, Hindenburg’s presidency can be seen as an unmitigated disaster for Weimar’s democracy as he felt the need for a conservative dictatorship, which led to the abandonment of the Reichstag, which had been a vital organ of the Weimar Republic.

In conclusion, the Weimar Constitution was doomed from the beginning with small parties and coalition governments, which were weak, unstable, and short-lived governments that led to frequent elections and disorganization. Similarly, Article 48, which allowed the president to set aside civil rights and pass orders and laws independently in an emergency, was bound to be misused by leaders, such as Hindenburg and Bruning, who had no faith in democratic institutions and no intention of defending them from their enemies and, therefore, established a conservative dictatorship, which paved the way for uprisings fueled by the Nazis, which led to Hitler being appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933. This proves that the Weimar Republic encountered endless problems from the start, which naturally contributed to the atmosphere of doom and led to the collapse of the Republic.