Weimar Government (WJEC Eduqas GCSE History): Revision Note
Exam code: C100
Summary & Timeline
The First World War was a disaster for Germany. Over 2 million of its soldiers were killed, rebellions broke out all across the nation and the Kaiser had been forced to abdicate.
The new Weimar Republic was formed on the 9th November 1918 and just two days later, the armistice was signed with Britain and France. This finally brought the four years of fighting to an end. The leaders of the Weimar Republic hoped for a just and fair peace to allow Germany to recover from the war.
Instead, they were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The terms of the treaty were incredibly harsh and caused many Germans to feel angry and humiliated. The Weimar leaders were given no choice by Britain and France but, by signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany’s new leaders were widely seen as traitors by their own people.
As well as problems caused by the Treaty of Versailles, the Weimar leaders faced other struggles caused by the new Constitution.
Impact of Versailles
The armistice signed in November 1918 only ensured temporary peace
The terms of the permanent peace still needed to be decided
Discussions began in January 1919 at the Palace of Versailles, Paris
This is where the treaty gets its name from
No German representatives were allowed to attend the peace talks
Many Germans referred to the Treaty as a ‘diktat’
This means the losing side has the terms of peace imposed upon them
The Allies eventually agreed on the terms for peace and signed the treaty on 28th June 1919
Germany had 15 days to ask the Allies to change sections of the treaty
The Allies denied every change the Germans requested
The impacts of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were enormous and wide-ranging
The Military Terms
Article Number | Description of Term | Impact on Germany |
42 | The Rhineland (an area in Western Germany that bordered France) became demilitarised. Allied troops were stationed there until 1930 | Without any soldiers in the Rhineland, Germany would be helpless to prevent an invasion from France |
160 | Germany’s army was restricted to 100,000 men | Hundreds of thousands of men became unemployed and angry |
181 | Germany’s navy was restricted to six battleships and no submarines | Germany could not defend itself from an attack from the sea |
198 | Germany could not have an airforce | Germany could not defend itself from an attack from the air |
The Territorial Terms
Article Number | Description of Term | Impact on Germany |
45 | France was given control of the area of the coal-rich area of the Saar for 15 years | Germany lost 15% of their coal resources. This affected their economy |
51 | Alsace-Lorraine became a part of France again | Many German people considered this border region to be part of Germany |
80 | Anschluss (a union between Germany and Austria) was forbidden | Austria was a part of Germany’s cultural identity. Many Austrians considered themselves to be German |
87 | Germany lost Posen and West Prussia, which allowed the Allies to create a ‘Polish Corridor’. This gave Poland access to the sea | The ‘Polish Corridor’ sliced Germany into two and meant that around a million Germans became Polish citizens overnight |
199 | France and Britain ruled all 11 of Germany’s colonies in Africa and the Far East as mandates | Germany’s reputation as a global power was destroyed and it lost both wealth and prestige |
Territorial Changes After the Treaty of Versailles
The Political and Economic Terms
Article Number | Description of Term | Impact on Germany |
1-26 | Germany was forbidden from joining the League of Nations | Germany was excluded from world politics and felt like it was being treated like a second-class nation |
231 | The ‘War Guilt’ Clause. Germany had to agree that it started the First World War. The clause made Germany accept responsibility for the deaths and destruction during wartime | This clause created the most anger among the German population. They felt the causes of the war were complicated and that it was unfair to place all of the blame on Germany |
232 | Germany would have to pay the Allies enormous reparations. The amount was set at 132 billion gold marks (£6.6 billion) | This was enough to bankrupt Germany and prevent it from recovering from the horrors of the First World War |
German Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles
Many Germans argued that the Weimar government should not have signed the treaty
They believed that German politicians committed a ‘dolchstoss’ - or a ‘stab in the back’
Some Germans felt that the Weimar government had lied to them about the reality of surrendering to the Allies
They believed Weimar's acceptance of the treaty was a betrayal and that those who had signed it had committed treason
They called the Weimar politicians who signed the treaty 'November Criminals'
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles destroyed Germany’s economy
The Allies believed that, by imposing large reparations, Germany would be unable to finance another war
Germany had already been financially ruined by the First World War
The economic impacts of the treaty made the Weimar government seem weak
Many Germans felt humiliated and weaker than the rest of Europe
Many extremist political groups gained wider support because, in their campaigns, they said that they would ignore the Treaty of Versailles if electedHitler made the destruction of the Treaty of Versailles one of the main points in the Nazi Party’s manifesto
Weakness of the Weimar government
The Weimar Constitution had many strengths
Germans had more voting rights than most other countries of the time (women could not vote in Britain, France or America in 1919)
Proportional representation meant that no votes were wasted and smaller parties were represented at the Reichstag
Checks were in place to stop any one person from taking too much power
However, the Weimar Constitution also made it very difficult to govern Germany, especially during a crisis
Proportional representation made it hard for a political party to win a majority of votes and often led to coalition governments
There were nine coalition governments between 1919 and 1923
Changes were often stopped or slowed down by disagreements and they lacked a clear vision
Article 48 of the constitution allowed the President and the Chancellor to pass laws without the support of the Reichstag
This was open to abuse and meant that democracy could be side-stepped
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Students sometimes struggle to remember the key agreements made in the Treaty of Versailles. In your revision, use the acronym LAMB.
Land
Army
Money
Blame
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