Ellen Rodríguez Pedesren.

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Ellen Rodríguez Pedersen. 1W
The Weimar Republic could have survived, had Germany
been treated more reasonably by the great powers of Europe.”
To what extent is this statement

The Weimar Republic was established in 1919, after the end of World War I, and met its
demise in 1933, when the Nazis rose to power. This essay will evaluate whether the Weimar
Republic could have survived if the powers of Europe had treated them more reasonably.
Firstly, the effects of the great depression on the Weimar Republic’s economy will be
discussed. Secondly, the resistance from the German people. For example, the far-right
individuals in the Kapp Putsch in 1920 and their threatening presence to the survival of the
Weimar Republic. Lastly, the severe impact of the Treaty of Versailles and its significant
prejudice against Germany, and how this may have instigated the republic’s downfall. As a
result of these factors, this essay concludes that the Weimar Republic would have failed
regardless of the great powers’ actions.

The great depression started in late 1929 in America and lasted for several years and ended
up spreading to Europe. As a result of the Weimar Republic’s loss in World War I, they were
obligated to pay other countries, which was called war reparations. The state also
experienced large expenses during the war. To finance any further expenditure, The Weimar
Republic was forced to get loans from the United States, but when the grand depression hit
them They firstly had to pay back the loans that they borrowed because the United States
required their money back to survive the struggles of the Great Depression. The effects of
the great depression settled when the Republic experienced a spike in unemployment. In
September 1932 there were 5,102,00 unemployed, most of them were males, and the
majority of them had a family to take care of. They needed money for food and clothes etc.
Because they did not have another option, most of them turned to the most extreme
political parties. This describes how bad and how much the great depression affected The
Weimar Republic, which means this might also be a reason why they did not end up
surviving.

In addition, the Republic could not have survived either way because of the people’s
disagreement with the government. This can be seen in the Kapp Putsch, in March 1920,
where a right-wing German man called Wolfgang Kapp decided to plan a coup in Berlin with
two other officers, Luddite and Ludendorff. His motivations arose from his disagreement
with the government’s opinions. The army in Berlin supported the uprising, therefore the
president had to leave Berlin as he lost trust in his troops. For example, the Freikorps, who
had helped him stop uprisings in the past, also turned their backs on him. This weakened
the perception of the republic, depicting them as weaker because many people and some of

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Ellen Rodríguez Pedesren.

the militaries were against it. This paragraph shows that the internal resistance in the
country could be one of the reasons the Weimar republic did not last.

On the other hand, there was the Treaty of Versailles, which was a treaty against the
Weimar republic that all of Europe signed in 1919 after world war I. The Germans were
unhappy with the terms of the treaty, saying that this was being a dictated peace and that it
would destroy their economy. Some of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were that the
Weimar Republic had to take all the blame and responsibility for starting world war I, which
was very embarrassing for them to admit. This was called the war guilt clause. Another of
the terms was that they had to pay the major war reparations to the allied countries, which
was the main reason why the Weimar Republic collapsed economically. Those were the two
most important rules that affected the Republic the most, but it was followed by other rules
like having a limited German army, forbidden maintaining an air force, and many other
severe rules. This shows how harsh the other countries were against the Germans with the
contract of the treaty of Versailles. And that might be the main cause why the Weimar
Republic did not survive.

To conclude, this explained that the great powers of Europe greatly affected the Weimar
Republic, and if they would not have been that strict against the Germans, they would have
had a higher chance of surviving, but there were still many other reasons why they did not
survive apart from the European powers. This essay is explaining that they would have still
not survived no matter what, with the examples of the great depression, which made them
lose a lot of money, and also because of the Kapp Putsch, which made many Germans turn
against the government or the president so they would not be able to trust anyone at that
moment. Therefore, the Weimar Republic would have still not survived even if they would
have been treated more reasonably by the great powers of Europe.
Ellen Rodríguez Pedesren.

Sources

“End of the Weimar Republic”, BBC Bitesize,

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zp34srd/revision/1, (03/05/22)
“The Weimar Republic And The Great Depression"
https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/weimar-
germany/weimar-republic-and-the-great-depression/ (05/05/22)
“The great depression in Germany”
https://alphahistory.com/weimarrepublic/great-depression/ (03/05/22)
“The tears of the Versailles treaty”
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles-1#section_3 ( 03/05/22)
“What was the treaty of Versailles”
https://www.britannica.com/summary/Treaty-of-Versailles-1919 (03/05/22)
Ellen Rodríguez Pedesren.