The Germans founded the Weimar Republic towards the close of World War I; the Social Democratic Party played the leading role in the creation. The period between 1918 and 1923 in the history of Weimar Republic, was a phase of economical and political and instability (Merriman & Winter, pp. 553-556). Similarly it is during this period that Adolf Hitler operated, as Lehman and Phelps, describes “Adolf Hitler ruled Germany as a dictator from 1933 to 1945. Hitler's National Socialist (Nazi) German Workers' party was based on the idea of German racial supremacy and a virulent anti-Semitism” (pp. 263-264). This paper will analyze the Weimar Republic and the Rise of Hitler during this period.
The thesis of this paper is though there were many factors which contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic and consequently the rise of Hitler, economic instability, lack of government structure and changes in society were the most damaging.
The Factors that Contributed to the Instability of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic developed a great instability, which was brought out by the greatest economic difficulties, the primary factors that caused this instability were: enormous unemployment, widespread hyperinflation, and a big fall in the country’s living standard. As Troeltsch describes
“Overnight we have become the most radical democracy in Europe, yet we must consider it the relatively moderate solution to the problem of our political life. Democracy did not happen overnight. It is the natural consequence of modern population density, combined with education, industrialization, war mobilization, and politicization. It fell solely to the terrible world war to deliver democracy to victory. But this introduced the danger that the development will not stop at democracy, and a “dictatorship of the proletariat” will assume the form of terrorist domination by a minority” (Troeltsch pp. 89 – 91).
This indicates that this democracy was neglecting the consequence or the expectations of the growing modern population, which are already mentioned as employment, higher living standards and low inflation this caused its instability. It also supports the thesis in that this higher expectation made Weimar Republic politically instable.
Other causes of instability were: the Ineffective Constitution, as Carl von Ossietzky describes:
“Our republic is not yet an object of mass consciousness. It is merely a constitutional document and a governmental administration. Nothing is there to make the heart beat faster. Around this state, lacking any ideas and with an eternally guilty conscience, there are grouped a couple of so-called constitutional parties, likewise lacking an idea and with no better conscience, which do not lead but administer” (Carl von Ossietzky).
Since the Weimar Republic Constitution could not manage to create a resilient government and army, the German states passed greater power and frequently disregarded this Republic, causing the Right-wing terrorism, Left-wing Rebellions, the 1923 crisis called the “Invasion-Inflation” , and lastly the taking over of the Munich Putsch by Hitler. Just as Clara Zetkin expressed:
“The Weimar regime is really the bloody class terror of the bourgeoisie under the mask of democracy. Industrialists are striving for the class dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, under which the Junkers and the representatives of the larger industry might play the leading role, and which would be realized in the form of a monarchist power by means of the military apparatus. The only reliable guarantee of victory over monarchist militarism is the absolutely necessary development of the proletarian revolution—the arming of the workers, the disarmament of the well-to-do classes, and consequently, a radical extermination of the newly reviving militarism” (Zetkin p. 87-95).
In support of the thesis Carl von Ossietzky says that:
“Whoever has learned from the events of the past five years knows that it is not the nationalists and the monarchists who represent the real danger but the absence of substantive content and ideas in the concept of the German republic, and that no one seems able to succeed in vitalizing that concept” (Carl von Ossietzky).
Meaning that these are other concerns that sound constitution that contributes to the stability of a nation or a democracy.
The Factors that Contributed to Rise of Hitler in the Period 1918-1933
Hitler was mainly aided by his rise and placement in in prominence position in the Nazi Party. As one of the best speakers of the Nazi Party, Hitler managed to convince other party members to make him the party leader, since if they had not done so he vowed never return to the party again. After, that Hitler was assisted by willingness of his party members to apply violence to help him rise to power and achieve his political objectives (Hitler p. 152). At the same time the same party members had to continue recruiting other party members and people who were willing to apply this violence, just as Ernst von Salomon puts it:
”Where is Germany? In Weimar? In Berlin? Once it had been on the front line, but then the front fell apart. Then Germany was supposed to be at home, but home deceived. . . . What do we now believe in? Nothing besides the possibility of action. Nothing besides the feasibility of action. We were a band of fighters drunk with all the passions of the world; full of lust, exultant in action. What we wanted we did not know. And what we knew we did not want!” (Ernst von Salomon).
The instability of the Weimar Republic highly contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler as already explained this instability due to the highlighted reasons, made the Hitler to rise to power, through using doctorial tactics like violence, curfews and many others this mainly because there was no major opposition, he had managed to rule with an iron fist. Some of Hitler’s dictatorial actions that made him rise are expressed by Heinrich Mann as:
“Hitler’s instructions for National Socialist speakers include the provision that gatherings are to be held exclusively in the evenings. It is easier to work the crowd and stupefy it then than during the day. People are already worn down by the struggle of daily life then, more ready to submit.
It is already evening in Germany, if not midnight. The majority are losing a bit of their courage because the enemy no longer appears to have any doubts. Most people would like to be democratic and peaceful; they are that even now and would like to remain so. It is just that they do not find enough resistance in themselves against someone who employs the methods of war.
The condition of Germany is above all a psychological fact. The economy is collapsing more or less everywhere, but only in Germany does the process achieve its maximum effect on people’s spirits” (Heinrich Mann).
Work Cited
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