Weimar Germany: The Failed Republic

1919-1933

Weimar Germany: The Failed Republic

1919-1933

Questions-Part 1A

• Was the Weimar Constitution fatally flawed?

• What aspects of the treaty of the Treaty of Versailles were most difficult for Germans to accept?

• Did the Treaty of Versailles fundamentally weaken Germany?

• “Descent into Chaos” and “The Poison Kitchen” – What do these readings tell you about post-war conditions in Weimar Germany?

questions-part 1B• Assess the threats to Weimar from the

extreme left and the extreme right. Which branch of political extremism was more dangerous to Weimar Germany and why?

• To what extent do you agree with the statement that the Weimar Republic was “a republic without republicans”? Refer to your reading in your response.

• Study the political cartoons on pages 44 and 49. What messages do they convey?

a survey of weimar election results

19 January 1919

6 June 1920

4 May 1924

7 December 1924

20 may 1928

14 September 1930

31 july 1932

6 november 1932(the last free election)

5 March 1933

Political Cartoons

questions-part 1C

• What caused the Great Inflation of 1923?

• How great a threat did it pose for Weimar Germany?

• What were its main effects?

• How important a figure was Stresemann to the Weimar Republic at this time?

images from the great inflation

part 2

• Weimar Republic, 1924-1929: A false stability?

• Why did the Weimar Republic collapse in 1933 and why did it give way to Hitler and the Nazis?

Weimar Germany 1924-1929: A false Stability?

An artist’s final warning: Fritz Lang’s The Testament of

Dr. Mabuse

Formative Socratic seminar

• Why did the Weimar Republic collapse in 1933 and why did it give way to Hitler and the Nazis?

The Sources

• Layton, Weimar and the Rise of Nazi Germany, 1918-1933

• “Descent into Chaos” from R.J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich, pp. 60-76

• “The Poison Kitchen” from R. Rosenbaum, Explaining Hitler, pp. 37-59.

• “Weaknesses of Weimar” from R.J. Evans, The Coming of the Third Reich, pp. 78-102

• “Fritz Gerlich and the Trial of Hitler’s Nose” from R. Rosenbaum, Explaining Hitler, pp. 155-167.

• “The Months of Opportunity,” from Alan Bullock, Hitler: A Study in Tyranny, pp. 210-250.

Sources (cont’d)

• The fictional Ernst Janning in Judgement at Nuremburg, http://safeshare.tv/w/RmGVzEHSyK