Jenny Hughes

Germany was left in a political vacuum after World War 1 because the Kaiser had abdicated and the Weimar Republic was being led by Friedrich Ebert who came to power during a complex period when all other groups failed. From the beginning the Weimar republic was not a strong government because it was made up of to many political parties. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles did not help them overcome this but instead led to more problems. Between 1919 and 1923 it was an incredibly difficult time for the people of Germany, their economy, culture and government were descending into chaos. During this period the Weimar Republic was faced with multiple difficulties.

Not long after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, it was obvious that the violence and unrest continued. A right wing group led by Wolfgang Kapp attempted a revolution because they completely disagreed with what the Weimar Republic had signed. The group had several supporters from army officers and consisted of members from the Freikorps. This revolution did not last long due to the general strike led by the German civilians. Although Kapp did not have Berlin under his control for a long time, it showed that not everyone supported the Weimar Republic. Germany was having trouble paying off her reparations therefore Ebert attempted to negotiate with the allies to reduce the reparation payment however in 1923 France was starting to grow impatient. France also had a large number amount of money that she owed to America, this lead to her and Belgium invading the Ruhr, which was technically not illegal as it followed the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Ruhr was Germany’s main source of production but France occupied it and took everything available. This absolutely humiliated the government so they ordered the workers to stop production and use passive resistance. This tactic didn’t work as France acted severely by killing over 100 innocent workers and expelling over 100,000 protesters.

With the halt of production and being unable to pay off the reparations, the German government saw printing more money as the best solution at the time and paid off her debt with worthless Marks. Since so much money was being printed, there was too much money in circulation and Germany was struck with hyperinflation. Prices kept going higher and higher which meant wages had to go higher and higher. People were being paid more once a week and had to quickly buy things before the prices rose again. The Mark was completely worthless. This created a problem which was very difficult to solve.

Late 1923 Hitler attempted a rebellion called the Munich Putsch which ultimately failed. but He believed that he was now strong enough to over throw the government since it was as he thought at its low point. Most civilians were not in support of this rebellion as they were fed up of wars and fighting and didn’t want this to happen again in front of their homes. Nazi storm troopers took over official buildings in Munich but the civil police fought off the storm troopers killing 16 Nazis in the process. Hitler was charged with high treason and was supposed to carry out serve a life sentence but the judge was so impressed by Hitler that he sentenced him to 5 years imprisonment, but in the end Hitler only served 9 months of the sentence.

In conclusion 1923 was a difficult year in Germany’s post 1st war history but with Gustav Stresemann becoming chancellor from October. The country started the stabilisation process beginning after money was borrowed from USA to help pay the reparations to France, Belgium and Britain.