Sunday, February 24, 2019
However, the German people who were hungry and bitter wanted new faces, they wanted to see change
The war was now lost,1 a quote from planetary Ludendorffs exhibit to a post war assembly. It was 1918 and Germ both had been defeated. Kaiser Wilhelm had fled to Holland on the advice of General Ludendorff, who had also urged an armistice.To celebrate the re congealation of the forces forces of Germany, Ludendorff wanted the creation of a civilian g every commitnment, in the hope that a civilian g everywherenment could take the blame for Germanys defeat, a revolution from above, to maintain the vision of a still, strong, military force. The land of Germany had to compensate itself to survive.The old brass had to change, not that it could be classed as old. Germany was a comparatively upstart country, unified in 1871, but because of gro university extension popular agitation and economic discontent, the hierarchy of Germany had to be seen as making changes for the benefit of the population.The years of monarchy was dissolved and replaced by a advanced civilian establishment . The new piece of music would be known as the Weimar Constitution. The new constitution would embrace nation, it would be an elected government, headed by a death chair, and elections were to be every seven years. The parliament was known as the Reichstag. All men and women over the age of twenty dollar bill were entitled to vote.All Germans were deemed stir under the law. In consequence of this, original wad such as doctors, lawyers and teachers did not want to be equal to proletarians or the lumper proletarians, professional, middle class plenty believed they were better, why should the whole of society be effrontery an education and opportunities.In growth, social rights were given to the heap, such as, guiltless speech, a country free of censorship, education for all, spectral freedom, and the entitlement to negotiate for better workings conditions as swell up as having surety from the state. Unfortunately, Germany was a conservative, traditional country, too a good deal freedom all at once could be too much to cope with, progressive free liberties, introduced on a slower scale might perk up worked better.Fredrich Ebert was the dra fender card of the social parliamentary party, who had the following of the majority of the good deal and in November 1918, was do the first chancellor of the new constitution.Included within the constitution was term 48, this article gave permission for the president to dissolve the Reichstag, and act on his own, with the up have of, if necessary, military force. Consequently it could be argued about who was actually in guide of the constitution, was it the representative assembly or the elected head of state. The elected president had the right to interfere with legislation it seemed a contradiction of a classless commonwealth.This immediately throws into disarray the whole idea of a democracy, as well as according to a USPD de gear upy if some henchmen of the Hohenzollerns (the royal family), a ge neral perhaps were to be at the head of the Reich,2 article 48 could be a weakness exploited by military men to use to their advantage as a military coup. Ebert postulate the army on side, particularly to cease uprisings by the left(a)field wing. Ebert was a socialist but not a communist, neither to his favour was General Groener, who Ebert forged a deal with to win his support, Ebert would keep the leave of any existing officers, thus, the army would defend the new government so uprisings from the left were easily suppressed.This went against the constitution. The Left Wing unified with the innate reclaim over this, because they saw it as a supression to prevent revolution from the middle classes. The KPD co-operated with the extreme Right in efforts to destroy the constitution.Further much, Ebert kept existing civil servants and members of the judicatory in their positions, retentivity the people he needed to rely on in favourable positions. In addition to this, Ebert need ed experienced people to try and keep the infa-structure of Germany on a stable footing.However, the German people who were hungry and bitter wanted new faces, they wanted to see change. To keep things as they were was not a democracy, according to an anonymous exiled SPD member, the German working class should have taken over the old state, to leave things unvarying was a grave historical error and not a favorable start to a new antiauthoritarian, republican state. Many of he German people refused to accept the new constitution as being trustworthy these people were not used to as much freedom as was being promised. They were battered from the war and not ready for such a change. If the new constitution was going to be part of their lives, maybe initiating it on board a monarchy would have been much successful in winning them over traditionalists and nationalists cannot be changed overnight.The first real threat for Weimar was The conformity of Versailles in 1919 dying rather than slavery,3 quoted the nationalist newspaper, Duetsche Zeitung. The whole of Germany rejected the Treaty, but the constitution had no choice but to accept it,There is no preference to accepting the armistice terms. It is however, already apparent that these conditions will not build a just peace. The sacrifices on us are tremendous they must(prenominal) lead to our peoples doom,3Germany was brought to its knees by reparations, loss of territory, war guilt and the limitations of a reduced military force, which country would survive, historian A.Nicholls,4 (1979) sums up the Treaty and the jolt on the Weimar republic, Germanys economy was ruined by reparations and her security undermined. Much more serious was the semipolitical demoralisation which the treaty caused with in the Reich itself The real detriment the treaty did to Germany was to disillusion the more moderate men who might opposite have supported their new republicThe peace settlement move to poison the polit ical atmosphere in Germany for many years.4The Treaty helped the radical right wing political partys gain support and gainsay the new Weimar republican government. The main right wing parties rejected the republic and its principles and wanted to destroy the democratic constitution and go back to a nationalist system, the signing of the Treaty all reinforced that the new government wasnt working for the people. The aim of the Right Wing was to abolish the constitution and sort of have a conservative, authoritarian regime, unlike other conservative political parties in well-established democracies.It was in March 1920 that the first major problem from the Right occurred. A right wing coup named after its leader Kapp was initiated. It only failed due to a general strike. After marching on Berlin the governments soldiers refused to fire on the freikorps, the support for a democratic republic was not where the armys loyalties lay, after all it was only because of secret talks betwee n Ebert and Groener, and the concomitant that Groener was only protecting his position that the army only HAD to support the new Republic, through orders of their commander, they did not support the republic voluntarily.The judiciary dealt with the people tangled with Kapp leniently, showing that the judiciary was not in favour of a democratic country, they were still in favour of the old nationalist Germany. The Right wing consisted of the military, financial elites, state beurocracy, the educational system and some of the press.However, the Kapp Putsch did lay down weaknesses in the New Constitution, democracy in Germany lost its way, at that place was no political control over the military, the government could not enforce its authority even in its own capital the government could not put down a challenge to its own authority and only because of mountain power was government authority re- established.It wasnt due to support of the constitution that people supported a general strike. It was due to the fact that peace was more important than political beliefs and who would want a revolution in their town.In addition to this the failure of Kapp being brought to justice led to a wad of assinations committed by the Right Wing against supporters of the Weimar Constitution. Over 350 political murders took place between 1919 and 1923. Again the perpetrators were dealt with leniently, showing support for the nationalists, and the weak decision of keeping the same people in their jobs, when the republic was created, these judges held over from the monarchy effect it impossible to transfer their allegiance to the new organisation of the stateThey created a private law and subverted (undermined) the public law of the Republic by refusing to look at justice in an equal manner to all people, 5Kurt Tucholsky, left wing satirist.Ebert was in an impossible situation, the Treaty was the major factor in undermining the democratic constitution, and money for the repara tions had to be found, promises of a welfare state and a new age for Germany and the rebuilding of great German country seemed impossible. It was no summercater for those having to live under the crippling conditions imposed by the Treaty.In addition to this, Eberts new Republican foundations were established in debt from the reign of the Kaiser and the war the country was already weak economically from the war. The only way to remedy a weak economy and pay off debts was through taxes and inflation. War cost, pretermit of confidence in the currency, reparations, trade deficit and the governments apparent solution to impress more and more money, all led to an economic crisis.People on fixed incomes and the middle class lost out to hyperinflation. Whilst people with debts, mortgages, tradesmen, industrialists and realm agents benefited through hyperinflation. In addition to this, levels of unemployment were kept down and new, international investments were encouraged. disrespect t he negative effects of hyperinflation, workers were economically better off due to increase levels of economic activity.Unfortunately, the Weimar Republic weakened with hyperinflation due to ill health suffered by the population this was the result of inflation-induced poverty, the new constitution was blamed for this, again injuring the constitution.The savings, hopes, plans and assumptions and aspirations of grand numbers of people were swept away in a whirlwind tear down when the worst material impact was over, the psychological shock of the experience was to have longer lasting effects, confirming a deep-seated dislike of democracy6In June 1920, the Weimar Constitution lost its majority. A constitution that had been campaign by coalition governments, needed that majority, other parties were dissatisfied with the constitution, and because none of the other partys gained 50% of the vote, unstable coalition governments ruled Germany. Add to this bickering and insufficiency of a greement on both domestic and foreign policies, co-operation became lax and there were too many minorities and no majorities.Elections were built around suffering and comparative representation. What could be seen, as a strength was actually a weakness.Because everybody was allowed to vote, including extremists from the left and the right. Which meant that with proportional voting, that the minor parties got seats in the Reichstag, thus, disrupting proceedings and make the atomic number 82 party and the constitution look weak.In conclusion the Weimar Republic looked on paper like a sure, fire hit but because of the interpolation of democracy and no strong patriarchal leader problems were bound to arise. The Kaiser was much loved and respected by a traditional and loyal Germany, the Germans were confused. They were being promised greatness and security but because of the Treaty and the in -fighting the German people never saw what was promised. They only saw problem after problem. Ebert was a great statesman but circumstances prevented the constitution being a success, and it does take time for new ideas to begin to work, if the Treaty had never been sign by the countries involved Germany would have been great, maybe the blame should be put upon the USA, Italy, France and Britain. The new constitution never stood a chance.
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