Jan 22 - Political and economic turmoil: the Weimar Republic

January 22, 2009 The Fragile Weimar Republic: Germany before the Third Reich The German Defeat in WWI The ?Stab in the Back? ? right-wings loss of the war through revolutionary activity back at home Navy mutiny at Kiel ? navy was ordered by officers at end of the war to steam up engines to pursue a ?suicide attempt? Revolution: Workers? and Soldiers? Councils Broke into police headquarters and destroyed all criminal records The Weimar Republic Freikorps (independent fighting troops ? thought to be communists) fight back Social Democrats (largest party in parliament) do a deal with the Army Army needed a stable non-revolutionary party; SD needed Army to stop murderous Freikorps Violence Continues Kapp Putsch 1920 ? Kapp (civil servant) and his socialists marched on Berlin; soldiers should not shoot on veterans; general strike by unions Assassination of politicians: August 1921: Matthias Erzberger June 1922: Philipp Schneidemann, Weimar?s 1st Chancellor (prussic acid attack) June 1922: Walter Rathenau, foreign minister 1919-1922: 376 political murders ? fully democratic society General Discontentment Loss of empire and ?place in the sun? Versailles Treaty ?War Guilt? clause Surrender of Kaiser as war criminal ? was suppose to go on trial but was exiled to Holland Surrender of colonies Reparations in money and material ? huge but not impossible Allied countries in Europe needed money to pay back the US Unfamiliar with democracy ? had been ruled in very authoritarian society with Kaiser having power to overrule the parliament Most striking feature of the early 1920s was the superinflation Inflation Before WWI ? 4 Marks = $1 An upper Silesian coal miner earned about 1,000 Marks/year ($250, or $5/wk) September 15, 1922: 1,000 Marks = 72? February 20, 1923: 20,000 Marks = 86? August 21, 1923: 5mill Marks = 91? ? value of money changed multiple times a day so workers demanded to be paid at lunchtime so they could go buy food before the rate changed September 2, 1923: 10mill Marks = 97? October 22, 1923: 20bill Marks = 50? ? 4 days later worth 30? The Reichsmark Bottoms Out Low point is reached on November 20, 1923 $1 = 4.21bill Marks Effects of Hyperinflation The employee generally solvent because wages went up too Those on fixed income see savings wiped out (mainly the elderly) Selling the family silver was little help when cash value plummeted daily The wealthy bought land, factories ? took out mortgage and could easily pay it off, and therefore, got wealthier in the end The Beer Hall Putsch ? November 8-9, 1923 Hitler chose this moment for a coup d?état Kidnapped the governor of Bavaria during a speech at the Burgerbrau Cellar on the evening of the 8th Persuaded General Ludendorff to join as figurehead November 9, 1923: Hitler marches to the Feldherrnhalle Stopped by police rifle fire and he/they run away ? Hitler went into hiding for a few days at a friends house but then was arrested Poor attempt because the night before he allowed the police chief and Ludendorff to go home saying he wasn?t up to anything; the first thing they did when they got home was call backup from Berlin Trial, Prison, Doldrums Hitler uses trial as political forum Sympathetic judge allowed Hitler to give long speeches from the witness stand (two hours in length) portraying himself as a great patriot; this was then front page news in every paper of Germany (very long articles) ? making Hitler as a national figure ~ not for treason, but as a hero April 1, 1924: Hitler not sentenced to death (for treason) but a mere 5 years in prison ?Landsberg {prison} was a university paid for by the state.? Dictates Mein Kampf to Rudolf Hess Had visitors and was treated differently than other prisoners Release coincides with ?golden years? of Weimar Republic Currency has been stabilized Things are settling down; less murder Good times for country ? bad times for radical movements (Nazi) Reconstituted Nazi Party flops Only when the economy begins to go sour again (agricultural depression), Nazis begin to gain success After the Beer Hall Putsch Nazi Party banned 1925: first presidential election of the Republic Two rival successor groups squabble Hitler seizes control on release from jail NSDAP backs Ludendorff for presidency Ludendorff obtains 1% of votes April 1925: Hindenberg becomes president of Germany (until death in 1934) Summary German generals denied military defeat ? allowing Hindenberg to become president (right-wing remains strong) Lackluster support for a republic ? want to get back to a monarchy ~ single leader Hindenberg represents that Violence marred first years of regime Hyperinflation Nazi coup in 1923 (Beer Hall Putsch) Prison allows Hitler chance to strategize 1931: German banks begin to fail ? unstable situation and radical parties gain support