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The Weimar Republic: Burden from World War I and the Treaty of Versailles

The Weimar republic is the democratic government in Germany created shortly after the first Great War (1919). In 1919, the Weimar Republic was set up in Germany. From its birth it faced numerous political problems, for which the causes were many and varied. The Weimar’s republic at that time was ruled by elected representatives whose main aims were to create a prefect democratic country and fair Germany and also replaced the cruel autocratic system present in Germany at that time. This new democratic government was supposed to be the best solution for Germany, but in contrast failed because of the inefficiency of the constitution, the political instability, the deep divisions, the various rebellions, World War I, sanctions from World War I and economic crisis. Indeed, Germany participated in World War I to the side of the Central Powers with Austria-Hungary and lost the war and therefore was sanctioned according to the Treaty of Versailles and had to pay. In 1919, the German Workers’ Party was founded and became later the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or Nazi Party controlled by Adolf Hitler (1889-1945). According to an article published on history.com, “The Nazi Party promoted German pride and anti-Semitism, and expressed dissatisfaction with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, the 1919 peace settlement that ended World War I (1914-1918) and required Germany to make numerous concessions and reparations.” All of these factors contributed to the decline of the Weimar Republic after World War I. Weimar Republic problems at birth

The first problem faced by the Weimar republic was its government that had an inefficient constitution. Indeed, Article 48 of the constitution stated that in an emergency, the president did not need the agreement of the Reichstag, but could issue decrees. Some chancellor like Hitler, for example, abused this power to gain more authority. Also, at that time in Germany, there was the proportional representation rule that meant the number of seats won has to be proportional to the number of votes received. The proportional representation rule created disputes between parties and led to the creation of multiples and tiny parties, with no party strong enough to get a majority as it was required, and, therefore, no amendments or new government laws could have passed in the Reichstag. This was a major weakness and disaster for the republic. Another major problem was the various rebellions occurring in Germany at the time.

World War I World War I also contributed to the decline of the Weimar Republic. World War I also known as the First World War was a global war centered in Europe that began on 28 July, 1914 and lasted until 11 November, 1918. The causes of the war are multiples and according an article entitled “Germany during World War One”, "though Germany turned out to be the Central Power most involved in the war, there is little or no evidence that the Germans had planned for war. There are several fundamental causes that had brought the world to the brink of war: nationalism, imperialist competition, militarism, and the buildup of pre-war alliances." The war opposed the Allies (United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire) to the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary). Hillgruber in her book Germany and the Two Worlds Wars mentioned that “the world war of 1914-1918 proved the British estimate of Russian vulnerability correct. The Reich suffered from the nightmarish fear of being crushed by Russia, or of being pulverized between the millstones of France, and Russia, or even without war, of being paralyzed and ultimately checkmated in its strategic and foreign policies.” This quote estimated the degree of fear felt by Germany toward France and Russia which were powerful countries too. World War I had left Europe devastated. According to an article on history learning, “World War I had mobilized around 11 million people, had killed about 1.7 million people, and wounded about 4.2 million people in Germany.” Also, after more than four years of war and famine, many Germans workers were exhausted, physically impaired and discouraged. Some people lost their life, their homes, their job and also their family. Still other individuals were so damaged by psychological trauma that they ceased being productive for the members of the community. Millions were disenchanted with capitalism and hoping for a new era. Meanwhile, the currency depreciated and the economic resources were running out. Finally, Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) accepted and signed the Treaty of Versailles after months of arguments and negotiations as to what the treaty should contain. Indeed, according to an article entitled “German Police: from Weimar Republic to Nazi Dictatorship”, “the greatest weaknesses of the Weimar Republic stemmed from its origins. Germany lost World War I, which seriously weakened the monarchy and led to the declaration of the Weimar Republic in 1918. In spite of the responsibility of the monarchy for World War I, many Germans blamed democratic parties for both the defeat and the humiliating peace treaty that followed it." The crippling aftermath of World War I had a devastating impact on the German economy, society, and political system. The cause of the trouble was the heavy reparations from World War I. Meanwhile, the Nazi Party was founded as the pan-German nationalist and the anti-Semitic German Workers' Party in January 1919. By the early 1920s, Adolf Hitler had become its leader and assumed control of the organization, and now renamed it the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and therefore, after the war, Germany was governed by the Nazi Party.

The Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties signed at the end of World War I formally ending the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers and holding Germany particular liable for the war and its consequences. Many Germans, especially the Nazi Party perceived Article 231 from the treaty, which declared Germany responsible for the war, as a humiliation. They also repeatedly blamed the republic and its democracy for accepting the oppressive terms of the treaty. After agreeing to the Armistice in November 1918, the Germans had been convinced that they would be consulted by the Allies on the contents of the Treaty. This did not happen and they signed the Treaty on June 28 of 1919 without knowing the content of the treaty. When the terms were made public, many Germans including Hitler and his supporters were anger about the situation. The Treaty became known as a Diktat, as it was being forced on them and the Germans had no choice to change what they already signed. Many in Germany did not want the Treaty sign, but the representatives there knew that they had no choice as German was incapable of restarting the war again. That is why author Louis L. Snyder in his book The Weimar Republic mentioned that “the Weimar Republic was to suffer from the controversy, because its representatives had signed the document which contained “that tolerable lie””. Also, the Treaty of Versailles stipulated that Germany must relinquish several of its territories and demilitarize the Rhineland. The treaty also imposed economic sanctions and levied heavy reparations on Germany. Allies Rhineland occupation

The Rhineland is the part of Germany between the River Rhine and France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The treaties of Versailles allowed the allied to occupy the Rhineland, which took place following the Armistice with Germany of 11 November 1918. The occupying armies consisted of American, Belgian, British and French forces. The terms of the armistice claimed the immediate evacuation of German troops from Belgium, France, and Luxembourg as well as Alsace-Lorraine within 15 days.

Consequences and Reparations Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles required "Germany [to] accept the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage" and also imposed economic sanctions and levied heavy reparations on Germany. Germany owed reparations chiefly to France, Britain, Italy, Belgium, and the US Treasury. The actual amount of reparations that Germany was obliged to pay was fixed in 1921 on the basis of a German capacity to pay, not on the basis of Allied claims amounts. According to an article of Allan Hall, “The initial sum agreed upon for war damages in 1919 was 226 billion Reichsmarks, a sum later reduced to 132 billion. In sterling at the time this was the equivalent of some £22 billion. Most of the money was intended to go to Belgium and France, whose land, towns and villages were devastated by the war, and to pay the Allies some of the costs of waging it.” Also, as reparation, Germany has to return the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine to France; gave up its overseas colonies; reduced its army to 100,000 soldiers; was forbidden to buy or make weapons; was forbidden to have submarines and no air forces. Germany must pay the Allies $33 billion in war time reparations. Germany has to accept the "War Guilt Clause" and pay reparations. The German government during the Weimar Republic era did not respect the Treaty of Versailles that it had been pressured to sign. However, Germany did try and pay reparations when it could do so. Germany did not refuse to pay in 1922. It simply could not produce what was needed that year and this led to the French invasion of the Ruhr. In the 1920’s it was the Allies who took the decision to reduce reparations and eased Germany’s plight in so doing. Therefore, throughout the 1920’s, in nearly all parts of the Treaty, the terms were carried out. Hitler was appointed German chancellor and his Nazi Government soon came to control every aspect of German life. There was a great time of instability, both politic and financial. According to author Herzstein in his book Adolph Hitler and the German Trauma, mentioned that “there were uprisings and putsches of both the left and right. Politic assassinations occurred. 1924 to 1929 was a period of deceptive stability. The republic was firm in dealing with its more outrageous enemies." The first instance of refusal to pay reparations came in 1933 when Hitler announced that Germany would not pay. Also, the remilitarization of the Rhineland by the German Army took place on 7 March, 1936 when German military forces entered the Rhineland. This was significant because it violated the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, marking the first time since the end of World War I that German troops had been in this region. There was a systematic breaking of the terms when the Nazis came to power and that were the beginning of War World II

In conclusion, as Europe's largest economy and second most populous nation (after Russia), Germany is a key member of the continent's economic, political, and defense organizations. European power struggles immersed Germany in two devastating World Wars in the first half of the 20th century and left the country occupied by the victorious Allied powers of the US, UK, France, and the Soviet Union in 1945. During World War I, the German Empire was one of the Central Powers that lost the war. It was burdened with the blame for the much resented Treaty of Versailles. The nationalist right also blamed the government for the defeat in World War I and frequently referred to it as a “Jewish republic” and many of its leaders as “November criminals” meaning that they had signed the armistice in November 1918. Although it had a new, democratic constitution creating parliamentary government, key structures in Germany were not changed in the 1918 and 1919 and German Revolution was very limited. Between 1919 and 1923 the Republic faced a series of revolts from the extreme Left and Right and a major inflationary crisis, but managed to somehow survive. However, the Weimar Republic successfully reformed the currency, unified tax policies and the railway system and it did eliminate most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, in that Germany never completely met the disarmament requirements, and eventually only paid a small portion of the total reparations required by the treaty, which were reduced twice by restructuring Germany's debt through the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan. Some people also accused the Nazi Party that was created in 1919 and grew into a mass movement and ruled Germany through totalitarian means from 1933 to 1945 that led to World War II.

Bibliography

1. Louis L. Snyder. The Weimar Republic: A History of Germany from Ebert to Hitler. D Van Nostrand Company, Inc. New York, March 1966. Page 14. 2. Andreas Hillgruber. Germany and the Two World Wars. Harvard University. Press Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England 1981. Page 14 3. Robert Edwin Herzstein. Adolph Hitler and the German Trauma. Capricorn Books, New York. G.P.Putnam’s Sons, New York. August 1973. Page 52 4. "German Police: from Weimar Republic to Nazi Dictatorship." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Washington, D.C. Encyclopedia. Updated: June 10, 2013. 5. Joseph Korsmo & Owen Giddings. "Germany during World War One". firstworldwar.com. Saturday, 22 August, 2009. Raffael Scheck 6. History.comstaff. “Nazi Party”. History.com. A+E Networks, 2009. 7. “First World War Casualties.” HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. Online College and University Degree Guide. 2000-2013. 8. Allan Hall. “Germany ends World War One reparations after 92 years with £59m final payment”. dailymail.co.uk. 28 September, 2010

Your contributed article, Weimar Republic: Burden from World War I and the Treaty of Versailles


Hello, I noticed that you recently created a new page, Weimar Republic: Burden from World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. First, thank you for your contribution; Wikipedia relies solely on the efforts of volunteers such as you. Unfortunately, the page you created covers a topic on which we already have a page – Weimar Republic. Because of the duplication, your article has been tagged for speedy deletion. Please note that this is not a comment on you personally and we hope you will continue helping to improve Wikipedia. If the topic of the article you created is one that interests you, then perhaps you would like to help out at Weimar Republic – you might like to discuss new information at the article's talk page.

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Perhaps it will help to point out that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia; it is not an academic journal or a collection of essays. Please see the articles at those two links for more information about the distinction, and why, even if we did not already have an article on Weimar Republic, your article probably wouldn't be appropriate for inclusion in its present form. Thanks.  Dwpaul  Talk   21:49, 23 May 2014 (UTC)