Weimar Germany (1)

Germany before 1918 (Imperial Germany)

Germany had only become a country in 1870. Before that it was made up of
many smaller states, dominated by Prussia.
- In 1870 a war between France and Prussia began (1870-1871: Franco-
Prussian War).
• The Prussian Chancellor Bismarck (the “Iron Chancellor”) used this to
rally support with the other German states, and used the Prussian victory to
create a new Germany! (REMEMBER: This was one of the reasons why
France was keen to fight Germany in 1914, for revanche.)
- The other states (e.g. Bavaria, Westphalia, Saxony etc.) still existed, but
foreign policy and the budget were controlled by the Government in Berlin.

Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck

“Better pointed bullets than pointed speeches”

“We Germans fear God, but nothing else in the world.”

“The great questions of the time are not decided

by speeches and majority decisions, but by iron
and blood.”

Otto von Bismarck: 1815 -1898

“The
The king reigns but does
does not govern.”:
govern.
This is an important quote, as it shows the strength of Bismarck’s
position. Bismarck dominated the old Emperor Wilhelm, but when
Wilhelm II became Emperor in 1888 he was determined to take
personal control. Bismarck was replaced in 1890 by a series of weaker
Chancellors .

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Emperor Wilhelm II: 1859 – 1941

Wilhelm was born with a withered

left arm, and a terrible sense of balance.

His father, Emperor Wilhelm, a distant

and authoritarian man, loved
the military and physical activity, so
Wilhelm had to follow in his footsteps.

He frequently fell off his horse and

could join in games due to his disability.

He grew up with a fierce desire to prove

himself and increase German power.

Wilhelm II quotes:
- “Beware of the time when I shall give the orders.”
- “There is only one person who is going to be master in this Empire, and I
am not going to tolerate any other.”
- “All of you know nothing; I alone know something… I alone decide.”

What was Imperial Germany like?

Kaiser
Society:
Rich: Industrialists (e.g. Krupp, Thyssen),
nobles & landowners (with von names).

Army officers, judges, university

professors, important Civil servants.

Middle classes.

Working classes: poor city-workers,

farm labourers. They did not own
property.

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 What did each group want?

Politics:
• While all men over 25 could vote in Germany, it was certainly not a
democracy.
- Who really ruled Imperial Germany? The Kaiser and the Upper classes.

The Reichstag:

However, there was a Reichstag (Parliament/Congreso) which was

really more like a debating chamber, as it could not
not make laws.
laws.

BUT: the Reichstag did control Government finances, which

meant it could vote not to give the Government money.

Opposition to the Government/Kaiser

The Lower classes wanted major changes in the way
Germany was organized.
- They had no share in society: they had no property, poor living and
working conditions, and no prospect of improvement.

Therefore the working classes voted for socialist candidates

in the Reichstag, like the SPD (the Social Democrats).

1912: the SPD won 36% of Reichstag votes! (rich say AARGH!)

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Results of the growth of the SPD:

• The working classes became more powerful!

• The middle classes and rich (who were content and didn’t want
change) were terrified!

• MAIN RESULT: German Government faced serious

problems.

Stalemate
Stalemate in Germany’s Government
(stalemate = ‘estancamiento’: a chess term, meaning a situation in which neither
side can win)

As the working classes became more powerful (more industry = more factories
= more workers = a stronger working class) they tried to:

a) reduce the power of the upper classes.

b) achieve better wages, less working hours etc. (the industrialists
resisted this).

There were strikes, protests and especially arguments in

the Reichstag…

Often the Government could not get the $$$ it “needed” as the
Reichstag would not vote to give it to them.

=== A crisis was developing…. change

would have to come…

The Political Spectrum

Copy the “political spectrum” from the board and don’t lose it!
“Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build
a bridge even where they is no river.” Nikita Khrushchev

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German Foreign Policy

During Bismarck’s time in office (1870-1890) Germany had made a web of

alliances, all designed to keep her safe. He had made Germany the centre
of European diplomacy:

• France was kept isolated

• but Austria, Russia, Italy and Britain were on friendly terms with
Germany.

==
==Bismarck's alliances
alliances were non-
non-aggressive and kept
Europe at peace.

• However, when Kaiser Wilhelm II began to rule personally,

Bismarck’s alliances were allowed to crumble.

== Wilhelm II call for Drang nach Osten (urge/drive to the East).
Basically attacking East into the Balkans and the Middle East (Turkey etc.)

1890-1897: Wilhelm II succeeded in threatening Britain, France and

Russia, therefore giving his enemies a reason to form the Entente
Cordiale.

- Germany felt “encircled”, and in response to this formed the Triple Alliance
(Gr, A-H, It.)

Was the First World War inevitable?

Germany had the biggest army in Europe, but Russia was modernising
quickly… many of Germany’s generals said that they should attack the
Entente Cordiale now rather than waiting for their enemies to get
stronger.

• The situation in Europe was tense, in the years before 1914 war
almost started many times… this was due to Nationalism,
Alliances, Imperialism, Militarism.

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World War I (1914-
(1914-1918) and its effects on Germany
28th June 1914: Assassination of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand, heir to Austro-
Hungarian throne.

Austria-Hungary blames Serbia, and delivers an impossible ultimatum.

The Serbians refuse it.

This seems to give the German Government a way out

of its domestic political stalemate. Why?

Was Germany to blame for starting the war?

A-H gives ultimatum to Serbia = Russia mobilizes = Gr. must

attack before Russia is ready, so uses the Schlieffen
Plan to attack France first! =

= this brings Britain into the war = the German Chancellor, Bethmann-
Hollweg, blames Russia for starting the war = the Reichstag supports
him and votes War Credits (money) to the German Government to fight the war!

• Even the Socialist SPD supported the war! Only a few extreme
Socialist/Communists were against it… (e.g. Rosa Luxembourg, Karl
Liebknecht)

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 A jubilant young Hitler among the crowd celebrating the German proclamation of
war on the Odeonplatz in Munich, Germany, August 2, 1914.

During the War:

- Gr. army fights very well, holds off Britain and France, defeats Russia!

• BUT, the British and French navies blockade Gr, slowly starving it to death:

The Gr. Gvt sent food to the soldiers, but civilians suffered (e.g. 1916-1917
“Turnip Winter” (nabo))

The Gr. economy could survive without international trade (just like any
economy, remember the Great Depression…)

March – July 1918: Gr. tries one last great attack (Ludendorff offensive)…
fails…. Gr. Army tells the Kaiser that the end is coming…

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How did the German Army & the Kaiser blame others for defeat?
October 1918: (N.B. war finished Nov. 11th 1918).
- Wilhelm II appoints some SPD deputies to the Government!

This was a revolution in German politics! It looked like the Kaiser

was finally ready to share power…

These SPD politicians (e.g. Ebert) were going to ask for

peace following Wilson’s 14 points (= no annexations, a fair
peace, no reparations etc.)

However: the Kaiser and the Generals had other plans…

“I have asked His Majesty to bring into government those who are responsible
for the state we are in. They must now make the peace that has to be made.
They are going to have to eat the soup they have cooked for us!”

General Ludendorff, explaining the situation to his officers, 1st October 1918 =
This is where the “stab in the back” myth began.

What did Ludendorff mean?

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Revolution in Germany
Early November 1918: There were mass protests against the war in
Germany:
- Navy mutinied (refused to follow orders) when it was instructed to
carry out a suicide attack vs. the British Navy.
- Workers & Soldiers took over cities! (This was how the Russian
Revolution in 1917 began!!!)

9th November 1918: Berlin taken by the protesters!

== Army generals told the Kaiser he had to abdicate (give up control).
This was exactly what had happened in Russia!

Kaiser goes to Holland for the rest of his life (until 1941). Hitler invited him back
to Germany in 1933 but he wisely stayed away.

Without the Kaiser, the German Government disappears!!!!

The Formation of the Weimar Government

The Socialists (SPD) that the Kaiser put in the Government form
their own Government.

• BUT: Because of the trouble in Berlin the SPD

politicians could not form a Gvt. there…

== So they went to WEIMAR, a town near Berlin.

(Germany between 1918-1933 was called “Weimar Germany”)

- The new Government meant that the Reichstag now had all the
power.
- The largest political party (or parties) would form the Government
and control the country.

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The SPD leader, Friedrich Ebert, became the new Chancellor.

SPD actions:
- End the war (Ebert
Ebert asked for armistice Nov 11th 1918).
- Removed censorship.
censorship
- Made Germany a real democracy.
- Workers were allowed to join Trade Unions again.

And promised:
- A fairer, more socialist Germany: the SPD wanted to remove the old
sources of power (rich, landowners, industrialists etc.)

SO IN 1918 DEMOCRACY ARRIVED IN GERMANY!!!

(and lasted until 1933).

RESULTS:
• Gr. democratic.
• The new democratic leaders had asked for peace
(thinking they would receive fair treatment,
following the 14 Points)…

= WHEN THE TREATY OF

VERSAILLES WAS ANNOUNCED IN
1919, THE WEIMAR GOVERNMENT
WAS BLAMED FOR IT!!!

This totally discredited the Weimar Government in the eyes of most

Germans. (to discredit something is make it appear useless etc.)

Even worse!!

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The SPD/democratic politicians in the Weimar Gvt. were:
1) Called the NOVEMBER CRIMINALS (as they
had signed the armistice in November 1918).
2) Accused of carrying out the “DOLCHSTOSS”, the
“stab in the back”:

The Dolchstoss basically said that

Socialists/Communists (Jews??) had
undermined / weakened Germany from
the INSIDE…
INSIDE that the German had never
really been beaten…

“Der Dolchstoß ”

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How could anyone believe this?

a) No enemy soldiers had even reached Germany, the war finished with
German armies in Belgium, France and Russia!
b) The soldiers marched home and paraded in German towns and cities,
feeding the impression that they had not been defeated.
c) It is easier to believe that someone else was responsible for your
defeat/failure etc. You find a scapegoat.

d) Important people like Hindenburg and Ludendorff believed it

and told everyone they could that the Army had not really
been beaten.

e) The Army itself obviously liked the story. Therefore ex-

soldiers, their relatives etc. also believed it.

Results?
1) The Weimar Government was blamed for i) asking for the
Armistice (November Criminals), and ii) signing the Treaty of
Versailles.

2) The politicians in the Weimar Government

(and others not in it) were seen as a
perpetrators of the Dolchstoss, STABBING
THE GERMAN ARMY IN THE BACK.

3) Right from 1918, the Weimar Government was

distrusted, weakened and even hated by many
Germans…

And things were only going to get worse….

S.M. 15/12/05

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