Successes and Failures of Weimar

“By 1928, the year before the onset of the Great Depression, the Weimar Republic had achieved success and a measure of stability and the long term outlook for its continued survival was positive”

To what extent is this statement true?

The statement to a great extent is false as the period of 1919-1924 in Germany evidenced the weaknesses of the Weimar Republic, and the seemingly prosperous years of 1924-1928 was built on shaky foundations and that Weimar Germany was “doomed from the start” (Kershaw). The fundamental flaws of the Weimar constitution allowed it to be exploited and constantly undermined by its enemies, such as the extreme right and left wings, in many ways, the longevity Weimar Republic was tainted from its genesis. The fragility of the Weimar Republic was highlighted by its economic instability, the ongoing impacts caused by the Treaty of Versailles and the complexity of the Weimar system of Government.

The Treaty of Versailles doomed the Weimar Republic from the start as it provided many structural weaknesses. The Treaty of Versailles forcibly established democracy in Germany, which many people rejected as Germany had a long history of authoritarian leadership and the absence of any real societal power change ensured that those who held influence and power remained in such positions. This bred resentment against the notion of democracy, as it was forever associated as a “product of defeat”. Furthermore, the humiliating terms of the Treaty ensured that there would always be an absence of support from the people. The social discontent towards the new democratic system was reinforced by the War Guilt Clause, which humiliated the German people and would forever associate the founders of democracy in Germany, such as Walter Rathenau, as ‘November Criminals’, advocating the ‘stab in the back’ theory. The Treaty had created strong nationalist emotions about the way Germany had been treated after the First World War and these emotions were later capitalized by political parties, such as the Nazis, to undermine democracy in Germany. The detachment felt by the German people towards a democratic system of government in Germany and the creation of strong nationalist movements created by the Treaty of Versailles meant “for true Germans, loyalty to the Fatherland meant disloyalty to the republic” (Meinecke). Also, the societal and political implications that the Treaty had would prove to be catastrophic to the continuance of the Weimar Republic.

In addition, the economic stability of the early years of the Weimar Republic reaffirmed that it would struggle to survive, despite the few successes it achieved. The harsh reparation payments of the Treaty of Versailles, which amounted to $32 billion US, in conjunction with the hyperinflation caused by the Ruhr Invasion of 1923, meant that the Germany economy would always struggle.