1) LAND Germany lost over 12% of its land and population

- It lost important areas like the POLISH CORRIDOR- It lost ALSACE LORRAINE to France

- It lost ALL its COLONIES- The RHINELAND WAS DEMILITARISED

2) ECONOMICThe Economic impact on Germany was devastating:

- It lost 19% of COAL production- It lost 50% of IRON production- It lost over 15% of agriculture

3) GUILT Germany was made to sign a WAR GUILT clause

claiming SOLE RESPONSIBILITY for starting the war.Germans were outraged about this

1) RUHR INVASION

WHAT IS THE RUHR?The RUHR is a very important INDUSTRIAL REGION of western Germany.

WHY WAS IT INVADED?1) The Germans found it very difficult to pay their huge reparations bill of £6.6 billion. They paid the first instalment but they claimed they could not pay the second2) The FRENCH and BELGIANS felt the Germans were lying.3) France and Belgian soldiers invaded the Ruhr in January 1923.4) They began to ship home goods and materials in payment of reparations 5) The Weimar government called people in the Ruhr out on PASSIVE RESISTANCE (strike) They did not want the workers working for the French invaders.6) The French response to this was brutal with hundreds being killed and over 150,000 moved from their homes.

5) MILITARY

4) VERSAILLES

2) HYPERINFLATION

1) Workers in the RUHR still had to be paid.2) The Weimar government aimed to pay them BUT they had less tax revenue due to the Ruhr being invaded and occupied3) INSTEAD they decided to PRINT MORE MONEY4) HOWEVER, this had the effect of devaluing the supply of money and creating HYPERINFLATION where money quickly loses all its value

EFFECTS OF HYPERINFLATION1) Soon money becomes worthless2) Middle class people lose all their savings3) Pensioners pensions become worthless as they are a fixed value4) People are paid twice a day in wages5) Banks and businesses struggle to operate6) People begin to BARTER goods instead of using cash7) Some people benefit from fixed rents or paying back loans cheaply

4) REPARATIONS

Germany was forced to pay REPARATIONS of £6.6 BILLION to pay for damages in the war.

Again Germans were outraged

A CONSTITUTION is a set of rules on which a country is run.

Germany's New Democratic politicians agreed to a new constitution in 1919. It was one of the most free and democratic in the world.. However it had major weaknesses:

PR ELECTORAL SYSTEMThe PR electoral system allows for a lot of choice BUT this leads to problems too:

a) Too many parties at election timeb) Smaller extreme parties could have a big say in this systemc) It takes a long time for a COALITION GOVERNMENT (government of more than 1 party) to form and remain stable

ARTICLE 48These are EMERGENCY POWERS granted to the PRESIDENT to govern in a state of emergency

This allows them to make LAWS without consulting the REICHSTAG ( German Parliament) This is undemocratic and quite dangerous in the wrong hands

1) CONSTITUTIONAL WEAKNESSES

HOW DID HITLER TURN THIS FAILURE INTO A SUCCESS?

Hitler and Ludendorff were both put on trial for TREASON.. Punishable by death. However he transformed the proceedings to his advantage

1) He used the trial to make speeches. These were widely reported across Germany making him very well known. His ideas were also popular with the German public

2) He won sympathy from the judges, who actually let him speak and gave him a light sentence of 5 years of which he served only 9 months

3) He used his time in LANDSBERG JAIL ( a comfortable prison) to reorganised the Nazi party and to write his best selling book ' MEIN KAMPF' which included all his political ideas.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

1) HITLER got VON KAHR to pledge his support to the Putsch. However, once VON KAHR did this he was allowed to LEAVE!

2) Not surprisingly, VON KAHR informed the army of the putsch

3) The army confronted Hitler and up to 2,000 supporters as they marched from the beer hall into Munich.

4) As Hitler and his supporters approached the army opened fire. 16 Nazis died. Hitler and Ludendorff were arrested.

7) MUNICH PUTSCH 1923The Munich Putsch was the attempt by Hitler and his fledgling National Socialists (Nazis) to take over power in Munich. It was a FAILURE and ended in a fiasco. HOWEVER Hitler transformed this failure into a SUCCESS through the TRIAL that followed

WHAT HAPPENED?Germany in 1923 was in chaos . Hyperinflation, anger at Weimar over Versailles and political weaknesses regarding the RUHR invasion made the country vulnerable. Hitler thought this was his perfect time to seize power.

a) Hitler aimed to seize power with the help of GENERAL LUDENDORFF ( famous WW1 General) and VON KAHR ( head of Bavarian government)b) HOWEVER, Hitler soon discovered that Von KAHR was tricking him.c) Hitler and his SA stormtroopers stormed into a MUNICH BEERHALL where VON KAHR was making a speech. He declared ' THE GERMAN REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN!'d) VON KAHR And several others were held HOSTAGE. Hitler aimed to win them over to his plans and then MARCH ON BERLIN where he would seize power

4) RED RUHR RISING 1920 LW

The Red Rising was a COMMUNIST reaction to the KAPP PUTSCH.

WHAT HAPPENED?When Berlin was seized in the KAPP PUTSCH workers in the RUHR industrial region went out on STRIKE too

HOWEVER, 50,000 did not return to work when the strike ended, hoping that the government would reward them for their help with concessions.

The WEIMAR government was not prepared to negotiate and instead sent in the army AND Free Corps ( who had just tried to take over in the KAPP PUTSCH!)

The free corps brutally ended the RED RISING with many deaths

THIS IS IMPORTANT AS IT SHOWS THE RELIANCE OF THE WEIMAR DEMOCRATS ON RIGHT WING ARMY SUPPORT

2) BAVARIAN SOVIET RATEREPUBLIK, 1919, LW

There were other attempted risings in BERLIN and BAVARIA.

The left wing BAVARIAN RATEREPUBLIK lasted for only a short time.This was also Communist inspired and was also brutally put down by the FREE CORPS with over 600 killed.

The moderate left wing government in Germany was again forced to dangerously rely on right wing elements.

1) SPARTACIST REVOLT, 1919 LW

a) At the start of JAN 1919 a group of COMMUNISTS known as the SPARTACISTS decided to try and take over Germany.

b) They wanted to make GERMANY a COMMUNIST country like RUSSIA had become in 1917. They did not like democracy and they wanted to overthrow the capitalist system. They Wanted better conditions for Germany’s workers and a Soviet style government set up

c) They were led by EVA LUXEMBURG and KARL LIEBKNECHT

WHAT HAPPENED? a) The Spartacist rising was the first violent challenge to the new Weimar democracy. It's leader EBERT had to be seen to be strong. He only maintained the support of key elements like the army because they also opposed communism (Ebery Groener agreement) b) The Spartacist revolt was quickly and brutally crushed by a mixture of the army and the FREE CORPS: a group of blood thirsty, right wing, ex soldiers who hated Communism. c) The rising had little chance of success. It was poorly supported and organised. It's leaders ( LUXEMBURG and LIEBKNECHT) were both murdered. Leaving the left wing without able leaders d) This showed the willingness of the government to use violence to maintain order. It also creates major division and suspicions between the left wing for years to come. Throughout the crucial 1920’s the moderate left wing (SPD) are deeply opposed by the more extreme Communist KPD) creating a threat from the left that leads many to overlook the real threat - on the right wing e) It exposes the real weakness of the Weimar government. Although the rising was easily put down the Weimar democrats left Berlin for Weimar (hence the name) their over reliance on the army (and its right wing elements) was clear for all to see)

3) KAPP PUTSCH 1920, RW

This was an unsuccessful but important RIGHT WING PUTSCH (rising)

WHAT HAPPENED?a) It was led by a nationalist, monarchist right wing politician, WOLFGANG KAPP and many of the FREE CORPS.b) They were deeply ANGRY about the Treaty of Versailles and especially the reductions demanded in the army and especially the FreeCorpsc) Led by General Von Luttwitz, They seized key buildings in BERLIN, forcing the Weimar government to again humiliatingly leave the city.d) The greatest humiliation was that PRESIDENT EBERT called in the ARMY to deal with the rising. HOWEVER, the army GENERAL VON SEECKT REFUSED to attack saying 'The army does not fire on the army' This was an important decision which really showed that the loyalties of the army could not be trusted.

HOW DID THE RISING END?In the end the people of BERLIN and indeed Germany went out on a four day STRIKE. This shut down essential supplies and transport and forced KAPP to call off the putsch and go on the run to Sweden, where he died.

IMPLICATIONS.- Weimar democracy was yet again proved weak and incapable of challenge- It proved the over. Reliance on the Free Corps/ army and the lack of control over that army. It shows the army was not in full support of democracy but had its own motives- It demonstrated that the German public on the whole did not support the right wing- It demonstrates the complicity of the judges too. Only one person is convicted.

5) ASSASSINATIONS L&RW 1919-23The period 1919-23 was extremely violent. RIVAL LEFT and RIGHT WING GROUPS opposed each other about how to rule Germany. This led to a range of shootings and assassinations. Many were killed including the famous German politician WALTER RATHENAU.

THE TREATMENT OF THESE ASSASSINATIONS VARIED WIDELYLeft wing assassins tended to be given harsh sentences.Right wing assassins tended to be given very light punishmentsThis demonstrated the BIAS of the JUDGES towards the right wing

6) GERMAN OCTOBER, 1923 (LW)This was a short lived left wing attempt to seize power in Saxony, an important region in Germany. The Social Democrats and Communists had an uneasy coalition there and the Communists threatened to use their paramilitary wing to seize power completely in a German October (remember Russian Revolution was October)

The social Democrats reacted by sending the army into Saxony and used Artcle 48 to enforce an all Social Democrat government.

This is a small event in the full context of the period. However, it is another milestone of mistrust between the left wing - SPD and Communists.

3) 1923

KEY POINT

While the LEFT WING were the most feared element in Germany.. their power was

vastly overestimated!

However, the power of the right wing was the key

threat to Weimar and was woefully underestimated. It would ultimately destroy

Weimar Germany.

2) VIOLENT CHALLENGES FROM LEFT AND RIGHT WINGS

PROBLEMS FACING THE

WEIMAR REPUBLIC 1919-23