There are many reasons for the collapse of the Weimar Republic, these include the economic problems, rise in extreme political parties, the failure of the Weimar Constitution and key individuals, and the loss of the First World War. Although the economic problems were intrinsic to the collapse, without the loss of World War One, the economic and political problems faced by Germany wouldn’t have been as severe and therfore wouldn’t have led to the collapse of the Weimar.
The Wall Street crash in 1929 played a main role in Germany’s economic problems. This is because the Great Depression led to the US wanting their loans which had fixed hyperinflation previously, to be paid back. Unemployment rose from 927 thousand in 1924 to 4804 thousand in …show more content…
For example, the KPD rose from 2.1% of the Reichstag in 1920, to 16.9% in November 1932. Furthermore, the Nazi party rose from 18.3% in 1930 to 33.1% in November 1932. Without this rise of radical political parties, the Weimar Republic wouldn’t have collapsed because if the Nazi’s had never gained support, they wouldn’t have been able to consolidate power in the same way. This suggests that polarisation occurred and it can be argued that it was triggered by the economic problems and the loss of faith of democracy at that time. However, without the loss of the First World War, the government wouldn’t have been weakened in the first place; this is because from the beginning they were called the November Criminals for signing the Treaty of Versailles and therefore, from that moment the people had started losing faith in the democracy and all they needed was something to trigger them to do something about it. Furthermore, from the beginning of the period and even in the ‘golden years’ the KPD still had a strong following which suggests that the loss of the war was the most important factor because it meant that radicalisation had started to happen …show more content…
For example of the Treaty of Versailles consequently led to hyperinflation in 1923 due to the fact that the reparations not being able to be paid led to the invasion of the Ruhr. This made the middle classes angry about the Weimar Republic, and despite recovering from this, it would be easier for them to blame the government for the problems in the future. Furthermore, without the loss of the First World War, Germany would have most likely been in a stronger position to tackle the problems that came with the Great Depression, and polarisation wouldn’t have occurred. Consequently this suggests that World War One was the root cause for the problems Germany faced. Therefore, there is an obvious link between the loss of the First World War and the collapse of the Weimar Republic due to the fact that the Treaty of Versailles and lack of morale undermined the Weimar Government from the very
The Wall Street crash in 1929 played a main role in Germany’s economic problems. This is because the Great Depression led to the US wanting their loans which had fixed hyperinflation previously, to be paid back. Unemployment rose from 927 thousand in 1924 to 4804 thousand in …show more content…
For example, the KPD rose from 2.1% of the Reichstag in 1920, to 16.9% in November 1932. Furthermore, the Nazi party rose from 18.3% in 1930 to 33.1% in November 1932. Without this rise of radical political parties, the Weimar Republic wouldn’t have collapsed because if the Nazi’s had never gained support, they wouldn’t have been able to consolidate power in the same way. This suggests that polarisation occurred and it can be argued that it was triggered by the economic problems and the loss of faith of democracy at that time. However, without the loss of the First World War, the government wouldn’t have been weakened in the first place; this is because from the beginning they were called the November Criminals for signing the Treaty of Versailles and therefore, from that moment the people had started losing faith in the democracy and all they needed was something to trigger them to do something about it. Furthermore, from the beginning of the period and even in the ‘golden years’ the KPD still had a strong following which suggests that the loss of the war was the most important factor because it meant that radicalisation had started to happen …show more content…
For example of the Treaty of Versailles consequently led to hyperinflation in 1923 due to the fact that the reparations not being able to be paid led to the invasion of the Ruhr. This made the middle classes angry about the Weimar Republic, and despite recovering from this, it would be easier for them to blame the government for the problems in the future. Furthermore, without the loss of the First World War, Germany would have most likely been in a stronger position to tackle the problems that came with the Great Depression, and polarisation wouldn’t have occurred. Consequently this suggests that World War One was the root cause for the problems Germany faced. Therefore, there is an obvious link between the loss of the First World War and the collapse of the Weimar Republic due to the fact that the Treaty of Versailles and lack of morale undermined the Weimar Government from the very