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04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 1
Consequences of the First World War for Germany
Germany 1918-1933
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 2
Goal of Today
• Today we will be looking at the conditions in Germany after WWI. We will see how the conditions allowed for someone like Hitler to seize power.
• Terms
• Stabbed in the Back Theory
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 3
The Situation• The Kaiser has abdicated and left Germany• A power vacuum has been created as there is no established
form of government• Millions of German workers have been killed or seriously
injured during the war• Germany has become an international pariah (outcast)• Germany is subject to an imposed peace settlement
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 4
The Treaty of Versailles
• Terms of the Peace treaty
• Massively reduced military capability
• ‘War guilt’ clause imposed
• Reparations fixed at a very high level
• Which leads to…
Weimar before 1924• The Weimar
Republic was born out of the German defeat in World War One. Many Germans associated the Weimar Republic with the defeat and with the hated Treaty of Versailles.
• Germany struggled to accept democracy and both left-wing and right-wing extremists attempted to undermine Weimar democracy.
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 6
Problems 1919-1924• Anger directed at the government for signing the Treaty of
Versailles• Economic problems as all profit is sent directly to the Allies
as reparations pay-outs• Valueless currency as economic crisis leads to hyper-
inflation • Rise of extremist groups attempting to wrestle power from
the de-stabilised government (Freikorps, Spartacists etc.)
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 7
Maimed German WW I VeteranMaimed German WW I Veteran
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 8
What does this mean in reality?• Political instability. There are uprisings against the fledging
republic even before it is properly formed.• Economic ruin. The war has devastated the economy and
further problems occur as a result of the Peace settlement.• Unemployment. Millions of soldiers have returned home to
find no jobs available.
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 9
The “Stabbed-in-the-Back” TheoryThe “Stabbed-in-the-Back” Theory
Disgruntled German WWI veteransDisgruntled German WWI veterans
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 10
From the German Point of View
From the German Point of View Lost—but not forgotten country.
Into the heart You are to dig yourself these words as into stone: Which we have lost may not be truly lost!
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 11
The GermanMark
The GermanMark
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 12
The German MarkThe German Mark
Communism
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 13
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 14
Other factors…• Government established in difficult circumstances
• Mistrust of government and animosity towards it from it’s inception
• Refusal of the rest of the World to accept Germany
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 15
Friedrich Ebert:First President of the Weimar
Republic
Friedrich Ebert:First President of the Weimar
Republic
Treaty of Versailles
Black Tuesday 1929- stock market crashes
Great Depressionduring 1930s
Increasing influence of new political parties that emphasize
state control-For example: Communism,
Nazism, Fascism
Total Controlof State by a
Dictator
04/20/23 Germany after the First World War 17
Summary• Germany in a desperate situation. The terms of the
Treaty of Versailles cripple the economy and prevent German recovery after the war. This in turn leads to the new, Weimar, government being unable to restore pre-war conditions. Animosity towards those who signed the treaty grows and many German people look for people to blame for the crisis, leading to theories of ‘the stab in the back’. The new government, already under fire, is likely to fail in it’s duty to provide security, prosperity and comfort given the conditions that it has inherited.
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