The Collapse Of The Weimar Republic

The economy within Germany after the First World War was not functioning well. Germany was in massive debt due to the stipulations in the Treaty of Versailles. While no monetary value was put on the damages that Germany had to pay for during the proceeding to the Paris Peace Conference, it was later determined that they owed over six billion euros . That was, and still is a lot of money, which Germany did not have. Their money had been funneled into their own war efforts. Germany began printing their currency to pay their debts, but doing that decreases the value of currency. After a few years of failed payments, France and Belgium ended up occupying the Ruhr valley in Germany as an attempt to get the money they were owed. Workers began striking …show more content…
There was a lot going on in the world in those years, and Germany was taking a large part of it. The people of the country were reeling from the war, and the undesirable outcome. Nearly everybody in the country was suffering in some way or another, and of course, they were not happy about it. Germany faced many social issues because of the armistice that ended the war and the treaty of Versailles. One outcome of those things was mass unemployment. Second, German politics were chaotic in a time where other issues needed to be focused on. The Weimar Republic had risen after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Democracy was brand new to Germany, and it was still being figured out. They did not have a grasp on what level of freedom there needed to be in the country. Germany chose a high level of freedom. Mark Chou explains that “…radical openness that emanates from 'too much democracy' can descend into something that is akin to the tyranny of the majority.” Essentially, their democracy was not good for all of Germany’s citizens. Lastly, Germany’s economy was in ruins by the end of the twenties. Their attempts to pay for the damages of the war had led to the devaluing of their currency. Money was worthless, so they were in a debt that they could not pay back. The Great Depression had hit Germany particularly hard because they were already in economic crisis before it happened. Germany’s people suffered as a result. Overall, the population was angry and frustrated with the government. They desperately wanted and needed change. That change came in the form of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Over the years, the Nazi party gained support from people all over the country. Claus-Christian W. Szejnmann explains it like this: “Nazis, like communists and other extremists, expressed a critique of the contemporary world they lived in, and promised to create something that functioned better than the existing liberal system