Year 10 Homework Question - Weimar Republic.

9/11/2015

Your homework is to comment at least twice on this forum post about the Weimar Republic, and comment to another student. I would also like you to ask a question in the History Forum (found at the top of the page). Your Question is...

Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

Remember to present both sides of the argument.

Use http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/germany/ to help.

53 Comments

9/11/2015 05:35:14 am

Sir, you are talking rubbish the Weimar republic was not doomed from start because ..

Pyrah MT

9/11/2015 08:23:29 am

From the very start, the Weimar republic faced opposition from both sides of the political spectrum. It was inevitable that the Weimar Republic would have faced difficulties from the start, but to say doomed is unfair. The republic was beginning to overcome its difficulties during the mid-1920’s as economic, political, and cultural improvements were occurring, and if it hadn’t been for the economic circumstances, the republic may have prospered for many years.

Ola

9/16/2015 01:21:01 pm

The Weimar republic was doomed from the start because Germany lost the war and they lost all their food. The Weimar was doomed because of the money and their food supplies this lead it to being a unfair war.

ME!

9/17/2015 11:50:30 am

I think it is safe to say doomed from the start because post war Germany was in such a state that any government, even one as good as the Weimar republic, was doomed to fail

megan oxley

9/11/2015 10:55:04 am

l think that the Weimar republic was doomed from the start because when Germany lost the war against France they lost all of there food supplies Weimar republic would have faced difficulties from the start but to say doomed it is unfair

Pyrah MT

9/11/2015 11:27:46 am

I totally agree (I don't know if we can agree?)

Megan oxley

9/11/2015 01:08:13 pm

Thanks pyrah who are you I also agree with u if we can agree☺

Mr Watkins

9/14/2015 11:54:30 am

You can agree but I would like you to post why you agree.

Jess penfold

9/12/2015 02:20:54 pm

The Weimar Republic was doomed from the start because due to the democratic voting it meant that too many parties were in government, and it made the Reichstag too weak and divided to get anything done. It also faced many revolts like the Spartacist & Kapp Putsch uprisings. Also, when Germany was forced to pay France for reparations it led to hyperinflation, food shortages and more rebellions.

Megan oxley

9/13/2015 03:23:03 am

I agree with you jess penfold and pyrah mt

Lily Demetriou

9/13/2015 06:00:10 am

The Weimar Republic was doomed from the start, in my opinion, as many Germans found the Treaty of Versailles to be too unfair and felt stabbed in the back from the government for signing it. There were also many uprisings for example the Kapp Putsch and Sparticists. Also, instead of voting for a MP, they would vote for a party, this meant there were too many parties, so no one could get a majority and pass any laws.

Mya.

9/13/2015 06:06:16 am

The Weimar Republic was doomed from the start because they failed to pay there reparations which caused a French invasion, also they were forced to sign the treaty of Versailles which the rest of Germany wasn't happy about so that led to more uprisings like the Spartacist. due to all of this Germany lost 13% of land, food shortages and depended on money from the USA.

renee link

9/13/2015 07:54:15 am

The Weimar Republic was doomed from the start because they were the new government body that signed the Treaty of Versailles, and to many, that was a betrayal. The consequences of Versailles were severe to Germany, and many were looking for someone to blame, the government was the ideal scape goat.

leanne

9/14/2015 09:41:46 am

In my opinion the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start as when Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles they lost a lot of land, a lot of money and their army. When the government was formed they chose a party and not an MP, this means that none of the major laws were passed.

Mr Watkins

9/14/2015 11:54:09 am

Some excellent comments so far. To those that haven't posted yet. Does article 48 undermine the purpose of the Weimar Government? Does their failure to consider the future mean it was doomed from the start?

Mr Watkins

9/15/2015 02:32:42 am

Also, surely the reaction to the spartacist and kapp putsch show that they were effective in repelling opposition. Does this mean that they were doomed or were there other effects?

Leanne

9/17/2015 12:10:39 pm

Yes because artical 48 meant that Hitler would later be able to come to power legally

Kasib

9/15/2015 10:36:47 am

The Weimar Republic was doomed from the start because Germany weren't able to pay their reparations to France which then led to a war then that led to hyperinflations and shortage of amounts of food that were required for people in Germany. Then later on, Germany considered on signing the Treaty Of Versaille. During the signing of the Treaty they lost a lot of values to their country as they lost members of their army, 13% of land and high amounts of money. The Germans eventually had to depened on the USA for money. During that time there was a lot of uprisings from the sparticists and only parties were able to campaign and there were quite a few parties.

Bethany

9/15/2015 01:14:31 pm

I agree that the Weimer Government was doomed from the start as the German public were unaware of their failings in the war; the treaty and armistice came as a suprise. They were stripped of an army and left defenceless, they were forced to accept blame for a war they didn't start and made to pay all full debts. Reasons which would have made strong resentment towards the government residing, Germany was poor and harshly hit by the treaty; riots, muntinies and forgien invasion (by the french) showed the Governmet was weak. German was in grave peril and the government suffered.

Oliver Coates

9/15/2015 03:17:07 pm

The weimar republic was doomed from the start as not only did Germany lose world war one but were blamed for it. Not only were they suffering from hyperinflation which lead to high economy losses but was also losing land, lost most of their army and on top of this caused many uprisings, riots and in some places the military even refused to help the situation. The Weimar republic even had to meet in a small town because Berlin was too dangerous and was pretty much being kicked out of their own land

Nonye

9/17/2015 11:33:44 am

I agree as lack of communication was also a key factor.

Maati

9/20/2015 11:48:55 am

Dope

Megan.W

9/16/2015 09:08:45 am

In my opinion I think that the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start as hardly anyone supported it. With no one supporting them they were only their own. Since Germany lost WW1 and were blamed for it, then they weren't able to pay back France for the damages, they started to lose land and there were food shortages. Also since no one was for it, there were riots and rebellions which made it very unsafe for them to meet which made them have to meet in a smaller town since Berlin was too dangerous.

Toyin

9/16/2015 10:33:46 am

The Weimar Republic was doomed from the start due to Article 48. This is because Article 48 states that any chancellor/MP is allowed to take control in an emergency without permission from the President. Due to this article Hitler took control when there was a fire in the Reichstag and then he got praised... Because Germany's Fuhrer and led World War 2 which caused mass of deaths

TheBossMan

9/16/2015 01:13:51 pm

Doomed because they Germany lost the war guysss... -_- :/ :/ -_-

Rahul Bissessur link

9/16/2015 03:20:50 pm

The weimar republic was doomed from the start because the Germans was unaware that they were not doing it right from the start. The Germans lost WW1 and they were blamed for it, They had no one to support them and they weren't able to pay for the damages they did to France. They signed the Treaty of Versailles which led to losing of lot of money and land.

seva

9/20/2015 02:45:41 pm

Yeah, the treaty of Versailles cornered Germany into a loss/loss situation, where if they sighed it, Germany's population would fall into starvation and poverty but if they did not sign it then Germany would have got taken over by France and disappeared from existence. I agree it was not a good time for the Weimar Republic to me formed.

Aaron Cathrew

9/17/2015 07:59:33 am

The wiemar Republic were doomed from the start because before they took control of Germany they had already lost the war which meant it was very hard for them to rebuild Germany

Aaron Cathrew

9/17/2015 08:01:57 am

Another reason why they were doomed from the start is because they were forced to sign the treaty of Versailles many Germans didn't want them two so this put pressure on the wiemar Republic straight away even though they had no choice.

Toyin

9/17/2015 08:44:07 am

Also the weakness of the Reichstag governments because of proportional representation continued right to the very end, and lay behind the Hindenburg/Papen deal with Hitler in January 1933.
Hitler used Article 48 to destroy the Republic after January 1933.

connor Durham-murray :)

9/17/2015 10:41:07 am

the Weimar republic was doomed from the start because they signed the treaty of Versailles as most Germans did not agree with this as it was to harsh on them. but you could argue that they where not doomed as they mad the perfect democracy of having voting for women and men over 20 and for having the bill of rights.

Nonye

9/17/2015 11:35:59 am

I believe that the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start simply because of 2 major factors and other contributing factors.
1. The loop hole (article 48)
This was a law that was passed by the Weimar Republic authorising the president to take drastic measures, in an emergency without consulting the Reichstag(government) . The problem with this, is that the definition of what they thought an emergency was , wasn't specified meaning that anyone could take drastic measures in the name of an "emergency"

2. The past
I think that what ever had happened previously, would have had a huge impact even if the next leaders, were not the Weimar Republic as the war had created a huge problem for the Germans. All of this happening wasn't the Weimar Republic's fault. It was inevitable. I think even if the next leader was a dictator the only valid options were to either sign the treaty of Versailles or have another war and seeing how distressed Germany was, a war was most definitely not an option. So Yes I do think that the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start.

ME!

9/17/2015 11:46:40 am

I think all in all the Wiemar republic was doomed from the start which really is a shame because on paper it made complete sense and was fair but it faced a number of problems. One of these problems was that Germany was in a pretty sorry state after the first world war and it would've taken a miracle to left them out of the trap they had got themselves into. Another problem was that they had no choice but to sign the treaty of Versailles which German people felt betrayed about and so they did not even their own people on their side, the treaty of Versailles' policies were far too tough with severe taxing and reduction of land and army making it impossible to build a strong economy in Germany again. However these were just boundaries that the Weimar republic faced and actually a few problems lay in the Weimar republic itself, one of these being the fact that lots of small parties got seats thanks to it having a constituency built on fairness and equality which made it extremely difficult for the government to agree and vote on new laws. With all that in mind I believe it is safe to say that they were definitely doomed from the start

Natisha

9/17/2015 11:57:31 am

I think that the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start because the Treaty of Versailles made them bankrupt and almost defenseless. The new government left loopholes out so that's why is was so easy for Hitler to find his way though.

Natisha

9/17/2015 11:59:45 am

Another reason that Weimar didn't work out is that it was left help less with hyperinflation and food shortages.

Eleanor

9/17/2015 03:17:08 pm

Yeah, the Weimar Republic would of needed help from the League of Nations to restablise.

Eleanor

9/17/2015 03:13:19 pm

..I'm kinda late but I think that the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start because it didn't have the enough of the public backing up what it had to say. Also the meeting where thy signed the contract was in a Weimar, a small place that probably not many people knew of, so no one would of known much about the Republic. Although if they signed the contract in a more popular, we'll know place like Berlin, people would have know about it and maybe even supported it more.

Yeah.

Kasib

9/17/2015 11:26:39 pm

I think the Weimar Republic just needed a lot of help from the League of Nations to support their needs at get them back on their feet

Kayode Adewale

9/17/2015 11:55:45 pm

I think that the Weimer Republic was doomed from the begining because they had no food.

Kayode

9/18/2015 12:00:55 am

Another reason why they were doomed was because they didn't have enough money to actually build up their army, this was because of the treaty of Versailles which made them bankrupt.
Lastly another reason why they were doomed from the begining was because they didn't get enough support from their own people. If your own people( that including the soldiers) don't have faith in you then theirs know chance of actually being able to win a war.

Amy

9/18/2015 12:46:02 am

I think that the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start, because when they had too pay back france and then that means they had many food shortages and hyperinflation.
Also they had no choice too sign the TOV so that caused lots of problems for Germany

Larissa

9/18/2015 12:49:46 am

I think the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start because they were relying on other people for money, which they then had to pay back anyway and they had food shortages so many many people weren't getting enough to eat.

Grace

9/20/2015 02:38:56 am

I think The Weimar Republic was doomed from the beginning as they had lost the war and was in deep debt to those whom they had hurt. So they knew they was going to have to repay the countries they started war with (France, USA, GB et.). Once the Treaty of Versailles was put in place it put even more pressure on Germany which caused starvation and riots.

Tia Hamilton

9/20/2015 11:31:50 am

I think that the Wiemar Republic was doomed from the start because of multiple factors but one of the most important reasons was Artical 42 which stated that in a state of emergency the president could make choices without consulting the government. The rule did not however state what an emergency was so this allowed Hitler to take complete control.
Also, The Weimar Republic had not informed any of the German citizens that they were loosing the war. This meant that when Germany signed the Treaty Of Versailles that the public would be angry and not support them because they had not known the condition the army was in. The treaty meant that even more pressure was put on Germany and this did not help prevent the massive food shortages and how poor Germany had become.

Maati

9/20/2015 11:47:49 am

There was to much inflation. And people had to pay to much for there money

Seva link

9/20/2015 02:36:42 pm

In my opinion, the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start due to it emerging after the end of the first world war(when the treaty of Versailles was signed), which meant that the country was in financial ruin, people were starving and living in poverty. So, there were protests going on all the time while the Weimar Republic needed time to stabilise. Also, it had a flawed constitution; article 42 allowed the President, under certain circumstances, to take emergency measures without the prior consent of the Reichstag. The article did not say in which circumstances the President was allowed to take emergency measures. Therefore, people like Hitler could abuse that system and lead the country to another war. These are the two main reasons why the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start and was bound to collapse.

Kgalema

9/20/2015 03:17:24 pm

Um, yeah I guess the Weimar was diving into a deep pool of turmoil and failure from the beginning since they had far too many parties, so many that they couldn't even agree on decisions since they all had different views and opinions. This meant they're democratic structure was useless and abysmal.

Tayla :)

9/21/2015 11:21:56 am

I don’t think the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start because all they wanted was the perfect democracy. Using the bill of rights, giving people over 20 the right to vote which would put a president and parliament in power they could’ve had that, although this ‘perfect democracy’ had two great flaws: proportional representation, which meant that instead of voting for an MP they voted for a party, which resulted in dozens of tiny parties and not one strong enough to get their laws passed in the Reichstag, and article 48; which was the loophole that gave Hitler all of his power. However bad they ruled in the end they were in power for 13 years and they were very successful in 1923-29, which proves they couldn’t have been doomed from the start. (adding emphasis on the word doomed in the last sentence)

Connie

9/21/2015 12:07:29 pm

Yes, the democracy was a good idea and it was fair to everyone, but what about the fact that they didn't tell the German citizens that they were losing the war? They did have a good few years but it's because they were with-holding the truth from everyone. It made it a lot worse in the end, having the fact that everyone found out they lost, when they thought they were losing. This means that it in fact, the Weimar Republic *was* doomed from the start.

Connie

9/21/2015 11:59:27 am

I think the Weimar Republic was and wasn't doomed from the start. This is because there are reasons to suggest they were and reasons to suggest they weren't.

The Weimar Republic were doomed from the start because part of the constitution was article 48. Article 48 caused chaos. This was because if in emergency, the president was able to make their own choices and do what they wanted to do, without having to consult the rest of the government. This meant they were doomed because it wasn't specific enough. It didn't state what an emergency actually was. The president could decide that themselves. Bad idea. This is how Hitler rose to power. Another reason why they were doomed from the start is because they didn't inform he German citizens on how they were doing in the war. This ended up in the German army losing, and the citizens at home thinking they're winning. The Weimar constitution signed the Treaty of Versailles and when the Germans found out, they would've been outraged. How would you feel if you thought your country was winning the war, later to find out that they'd lost and had to sign a peace treaty. Not just any peace treaty. A treaty where the country had to pay 6.6 *million* pounds back in reparation, lost lots of their land, had their army stripped to 100,000 men that they could only use internally, *and* have to take full blame for the war. Outrageous.

On the other hand, the Weimar Republic weren't doomed from the start because they had good intentions and wanted a really good democracy. They set up a really good system which allowed everyone over 20, even women, to vote. This was amazing! Article 48 was supposed to help them make decisions, and although we know it didn't work out due to the slight mistakes, they thought it would've then. They thought everything out really carefully to make sure everyone would be happy and Germany could have a fair democracy.

Overall, I think that the Weimar Republic was doomed from the start. Although there are some reasons to suggest that it wasn't, there are a lot more reasons to suggest it was. Also these reasons had more of an impact on it's failure and it being doomed at the end.

Mr Watkins

9/22/2015 12:43:04 am

yay

Luke Hudson

9/22/2015 12:45:07 am

i think the Weimar republic was doomed from the start because they had so much to cover straight from when they went into power. first they had the perfect democracy. A Bill of Rights guaranteed every German citizen freedom of speech and religion, and equality under the law. This was only one thing the republic served on the perfect democracy. However this is what doomed the Weimar republic, Article 48, this said that, in an emergency, the president did not need the agreement of the Reichstag, but could issue decrees. The problem with this was that it did not say what an emergency was, and in the end, it turned out to be a back door that Hitler used to take power legally. then this created the next world war.

Phil Mitchell

9/24/2015 10:07:54 am

Germany wanted to go up to France and go "OI! GIT OUT MAH COUNTRY! "

Year 10 Homework Question - Weimar Republic.

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