Full set of notes on the German Depth Study KQ1 - Was the Weimar Government doomed from the start. Includes fully evaluation of their failures and successes. In depth analysis of the crisis' they faced and their opposition. This document helped me achieve a Grade 9 at GCSE.
DSKQ1 Was the Weimar Government Doomed from
the Start
Kaiser Wilhelm II
- During WW1 of 1914-18, Germany was run by the Kaiser (king)
- The Kaiser was in charge of the Government and the army
- The Government decisions were made by the Chancellor
o But the Chancellor was chosen by the Kaiser – so he could always pick
who he wanted
- The people could vote, but the MP’s didn’t really have any power
- The Kaiser was obsessed with the military – he spent millions on building up a
strong army for the war, and borrowed millions trying to win it
- The German people liked this form of Government
- They loved their military tradition, and felt that being told what to do was a
sign that the Government was strong
- The Kaiser ran away into exile 2 days before the war ended
Links
- The Kaiser links to the German people being obsessed with their military past
- One of the reasons no one supported the Weimar Republic was because they
were used to being told what to do
Effects of World War 1 on Germany
Political Effects
- With the Kaiser running away, all that was left of the Government were the
Reichstag parties
- These parties previously had no real power or experience in running a
government
- The Kaiser had even put many of the best opposition leaders in prison during
the war
- Meaning there were even fewer able men to take the power
, Psychological Effects
- Germany had been a proud ambitious country and had worked extremely
hard and made many sacrifices to win the war
- Throughout the war they were assured by their leaders that Germany would
win
- Losing was devastating to the pride of most Germans
- They automatically looked for someone to blame
- They felt that the weak politicians in the New Weimar Republic had cost them
the war
Physical and Financial Effects
- Farming had been disrupted during the war
- This mean but 1918 Germany was producing only half the milk and 60% of the
mean it needed
- The British Navy was blockading German ports
- This meant they could not get food from other countries
- Around 750,000 Germans died from hunger and disease
- Also, Germany had borrowed money to pay for the war
- They were not effectively bankrupt
“The Stab in the Back” Myth
- It was actually the army that signed the surrender – but people started saying
it was the new Government - the Weimar Republic – that was to blame
- People couldn’t understand why they had lost the war when Germany had not
been invaded
- They assumed the politicians had “stabbed the army in the back” by
surrendering when they could have won
- The army were happy to pretend this was true
Conclusion
- All of these factors meant that the new German Government started off very
weak
- Germany was in a mess and people were blaming the government from the
beginning
- They saw it as weak and (wrongly) blamed it for Germany losing the war
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