Germany During Weimar Republic - Essay Example

Second draft Weimar Republic 1919-1933 ID The greatest disbelief and disillusionment in humanity was experienced during the World War 1 when humans showed an evil and callous nature. The use of refined and developed machinery in the bloody war resulted in millions of death leaving the world in the state of trepidation, disdain and fear. The war led to multiple massacres and humanity yearned to cease the inhumane acts. It all started with the assassination of the archduke Frances Ferdinand and his wife by a Serbian student named Gavrilo Princip (Coster, 2005, p21). Germany was the central power against the allied countries and played an important role in the World War 1. Scheck (2009) says “Though Germany turned out to be the Central Power most involved in the war, there is little or no evidence that the Germans had planned for war”. The responsibility does not solely lie on Germany for being a part of this brutal act. However during the war, Germany showed full support for Russia. The war left the victims in a state of disbelief and the formation of Weimar for a short period failed to bring peace and with its fall Germany had to face many other problems of greater magnitude. The devalued humans yearned for peace and it was their revolt against the superiors that Germany had to end the war after facing a miserable defeat. The war ended after signing the “Treaty of Versailles”. The most controversial point in the treaty was the inclusion of “War Guilt Cause” that held Germany responsible for initiating the war and all the destruction. It states as follows: "The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies (Dill, 1970, p273)." This was considered as an act of stabbing the dagger in the back by the government. With this the revolt against the imperial rule paved its way which was led by Gustav Stresemann. It was an effort to end the imperial rule and to establish the federal republic and semi-presidential representative democracy. The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1918 led to the formation of Weimar Republic in 1919 (Saltyer, 2014, p111). The masses that were exploited and suppressed by the imperial force stood up against the atrocities of the imperial rule and dethroned Wilhelm in order to restore the dignity of the local public and to enable the working of the republic in Germany. The imperial rule with "an arrogant feeling of cultural superiority” (Kitchen, 2006, p2), led to this revolution. Kitchen (2006) retells the history of Germany through the lens of the political power that helps in presenting a vivid picture of the conditions then and its impact till today. The humility and insult felt by the Germans was not forgotten but they prepared themselves to face the changes and to cope with them under the leadership of Gustav Stresemann of Weimar Republic. Stresemann played a major role in restoring the respect of Germany in international community. His efforts and speeches filled the void that was felt during the war. He died in 1929 after a short period of holding the office but despite his short tenure he did much that proved fruitful for the Germans. Atkinson (2012) explains that the Treaty of Versailles worked as a fuel for the fire that was accumulated in the frustrated Germans. The demand for reparations was considered an unjust clause and the “war guilt” clause was the centre of conflict as Germany considered itself not blame able. This led to the vulnerable state of the Germans who were now at the mercy of the superior powers. With the Versailles treaty the burden of reparations lied on the shoulders of Germany (Lee, 1942, p422). They had to pay for all the destruction caused by the war. This left them in a state of vulnerability and they had to borrow money from countries in order to pay back. They were trying to restore the justice and equality while facing the consequences of the tribulation. The war brought economic disaster in Germany, loss of man power, disrespect for the government, the purposelessness of the shell shocked and the trauma faced by the civilians (Dwork et al, 2002, p69). So to overcome all these problems the newly formed republic faced many obstacles politically, economically, culturally and religiously. Brown (2015) explains the causes of the failure of the political system of the newly formed Weimar Republic. The exercise of power by the incompetent leaders and the failure to establish the democracy became the reason of failure of the republic. The system was based on many “least influential elements of nation” that did not let republic to survive. But there were many changes that were brought in the newly born state. Men and women of 25 years and above were given the right to vote. With this the women suffrage was relieved and women were considered equal to men in forming the legislature. The elected men had the power over the legislature. The chancellor and the cabinet needed the approval from the legislature in implementing the policies. The emergency powers were given to the President who under the crisis were considered the decisive power. The politics of the republic tried to achieve a stable position in every aspect but the political gains were gnawed at by the inflation (“Politics and Economics,” n.d.). The major role in the crisis was of the Treaty of Versailles that deprived them of the natural resources and led to hyperinflation. They were forced to borrow money and America led out the hand of help and aided Germany. With the struggle and efforts of 5 years, finally in 1924, Germany was able to manage the crisis. The years 1924- 1929 were considered the golden age that gave Germany economic stability. This condition did not last for a long period of time and with the crash in American stock market, America experienced serious setback. The demand to return the loan was made which made Germany face severe economic hardships. Massive rate of unemployment became the reason of decline of economy in Germany. "The belief that financial stabilization would make the collections of reparations easier” (Ferguson, 2001, p53), turned out to be a great disillusionment and Germany again came under the pressure of economic crisis. Osmund, in his article on the “end of the GDR”, (2001, p271) gives a detailed account of all the conditions at the political, social and economic level and its impact till 1990. The rigid class system was not eradicated completely. The working class was looked down upon by the elite class before the Weimar Republic (Storer, 2013 , p148). Weimar Republic denied the equality and stressed on asserting the power of the middle class over the working class. The gender discrimination was also the part of the republic. Many professional areas denied the inclusion of women in their work place. Despite the fact that women had got the suffrage at the political level but to their utter disappointment they were unable to come at par with men at a social level. The vivid gender discrimination aggravated the situation. The accumulation of frustration and anger among the second sex led to one of the reasons of the failure of Weimar Republic. Weimar Republic on one hand was going through financial crisis and on the other hand it failed to resolve the racial issues. The republic was formed to enable the working of the democratic structure that provided equality to all people irrespective of their religion. But this newly formed state failed to achieve this target and many religious sects began to feel difficulty in practicing their religion. Another issue was racial discrimination that had murderous consequences (Crew, 1998). The difference in the culture and the existence of different people belonging to different religions led to many unresolved issues. The lack of unity and hatred for other religious groups became one of the reasons of the fall of Republic. However with the setback in economy and other cultural and religious issues the nation witnessed the devastating consequences and people began to lose faith in the republic. The constant demand of America to pay back the loan worked as catalyst to make the situation worst. The republic that newly gained the political and economic stability began to lose its power. In 1932 elections were held and Nazis got the support of majority by winning 230 seats. The same year Hitler challenged Field Marshall von Hindenburg for presidency and his move was appreciated in the political sphere. The people began to lose faith in other political parties due to lack of leadership qualities and the only credible person left was Hitler whose confidence inspired many people and they trusted him. Reichstag supported him and his party was popular among the people. After making futile efforts to be made the chancellor, he was finally summoned in the Hindenburg’s chambers where he took an oath as the chancellor. With this Hitler was on his way to a dictatorial power. So the liability of the destruction caused in the war was given to Germany that made them feel insecure. However after managing to cope with the situation the economic, religious and cultural crisis diminished the purpose of Weimar that was considered the only hope for the Germans. So with its fall due to the aforementioned reasons, Hitler came into power and began his dictatorial rule. 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