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Key Question 1: Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?
Describe conditions in Germany after the end of the First World War.
After the First World War, Germany was virtually bankrupt, due to spending too much on building weapons. Due to this, the country had an inflation and the food prices shot up. There were a lot of food shortages due to the British navy blocking the sea. People were virtually starving and the war had left a lot of women as widows and left children without fathers. Worse, there was a flu spreading across Europe, which killed more people than the war did; 30 million people died from the disease. Because of the inflation, medicine could not be created or be bought.
Describe the Communist threat to the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1920?
A Communist group, known as the Spartacists, wanted Germany governed like Russia after the October 1917 Revolution. The leaders were Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. They tried to seize power in January 1919 but the revolution was defeated by the Freikorps and both leaders were killed. Another outbreak occurred in Bavaria but Ebert again used the Freikorps to crush the revolt in May 1919. Over 600 Communists were killed. In 1920, there was more Communist agitation in the Ruhr industrial area. Again police, army and Freikorps clashed with Communists. There were 2000 casualties.