The Weimar Republic: A Concise History (1918-1933)
The Weimar Republic (1918-1933)
The Weimar Republic governed the German Empire between the November Revolution in 1918 and the beginning of the Nazi dictatorship in January 1933, encompassing the greater part of the interwar period.
It was a mixed presidential and parliamentary system of government. The name comes from the city of Weimar, where the Constituent Assembly took place.
The Weimar Republic can be divided into three phases:
Phase 1: The Crisis Years (1919-1923)
This phase dealt with the immediate consequences of World War I, hyperinflation, and several uprisings.
Reasons for the emergence of the Weimar Republic:
- Anti-democratic thinking of the rulers
- Consequences of the Versailles Treaty, particularly the article regulating reparations
- Weakness of the political order and the government
On November 9, 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II abdicated, and Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed the German Democratic Republic. From the beginning, there was resistance from both right and left-wing parties.
The Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch in 1920 was a key test for the new political system. Simultaneously, there was a communist attempt to establish a Soviet Republic and the dictatorship of the proletariat.
In March 1920, the Kapp Putsch showed the government’s weaknesses. The government had to flee to Dresden and Stuttgart, but this coup failed quickly after the government called a general strike.
In 1922, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Rapallo, which aimed to end Germany’s economic isolation and facilitate the normalization of relations with the Western powers.
Reparation payments led to an economic crisis, and the exchange rate of the Reichsmark against the U.S. dollar plummeted. Inflation became hyperinflation, which ended with the introduction of the Rentenmark, where the initial value of one trillion paper marks was set.
Phase 2: The Golden Twenties (1924-1929)
The reorganization of elections and U.S.-led credits, as a consequence of the Dawes Plan, ushered in a time of economic and political stabilization.
Gustav Stresemann attempted a revision of the Versailles Treaty and achieved Germany’s inclusion in the League of Nations.
In 1923, Adolf Hitler tried to overthrow the government, but his revolt was quickly crushed, and he was sentenced to five years in prison, although he was released after nine months.
In 1925, Germany signed the Treaty of Locarno with the Western powers, recognizing Germany’s western borders but not the Polish border. This improved international relations.
In 1927, several economic agreements were concluded with Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria, which increased the Weimar Republic’s standing abroad.
Phase 3: The Decline (1929-1933)
The death of Stresemann in 1929 marked the beginning of the end of the Weimar Republic. The failure of a coalition in 1930 was also a significant factor.
The global economic crisis, which began on Black Thursday in New York, hit Germany harder than other European countries.
After the collapse of the grand coalition, Heinrich Brüning was appointed chancellor. He ruled without Parliament.
Brüning used the difficult economic situation to try to end the reparations from World War I but could not stop mass unemployment and misery. He had to resign and call new elections for September 1930.
During the election campaign, the Nazis took advantage of the rising poverty and crime to spread their anti-Semitic slogans.
After the elections, it was challenging to achieve a majority in parliament, and power shifted from the Parliament to the government and bureaucracy.
The National Socialists used the situation to present themselves as a party of order and gained many voters, especially among the young.
Brüning sought their support for Paul von Hindenburg’s re-election, but the NSDAP (Nazis) presented their own candidate. Nevertheless, Hindenburg was re-elected.
After the election, Brüning banned the paramilitary combat troops of the National Socialists (SA), facing resistance from General Kurt von Schleicher, who wanted to attract these groups to the army.
When Brüning tried to reduce agricultural unemployment by purchasing large estates, he lost Hindenburg’s confidence and had to resign.
General von Schleicher, the strong man in Germany, replaced Brüning with Franz von Papen, who formed a right-wing cabinet of seven nobles and Schleicher as defense minister. This was the so-called “Cabinet of Barons.”
The Reichstag was dissolved, the SA was readmitted, and new elections were scheduled for July 1932. These elections were a great victory for the Communist Party.
Hitler demanded the Chancellorship from Hindenburg, but the president refused. The SA increased its terror on the streets.
Papen had to dissolve the Reichstag again, after which new elections were held on November 6th. In these elections, Hitler lost votes.
The majority of Nazis and Communists in the Reichstag made it ineffective. Papen wanted to bypass parliament and ban all political parties, but Schleicher did not support this.
Hindenburg dismissed Papen and appointed Schleicher as his successor. Schleicher tried to stimulate the economy with some social and job-creation measures, but industry and large landowners opposed them.
Schleicher also tried to win the support of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), but they refused. He tried to win over Gregor Strasser, one of the most important men in the Nazi party, for his policies, but he also failed because Strasser did not want any confrontation with Hitler.
In January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor, which is considered by most historians as the end of the Weimar Republic.