1-WWI+Germany+in+Chaos

=The Spartakus Revolt=

//How did Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht come to prominence in the// //German political scene by 1919, and what was the motivation and objective of the// //Spartacus movement?//
 * Dedicated Marxists:
 * o Both Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht opposed militarism. For example, when Karl Liebknecht was elected to the Reichstag (German Parliament), he was the only member to vote against Germany’s involvement in the War.
 * Spartacus League:
 * o Named themselves after a leader of a Roman Slave who up rose and revolted against the Roman Republic.
 * § Symbolized Luxemburg and Liebknecht’s struggle, weak against the strong, and the oppressed against the oppressions.
 * § Suggested as workers they were “Slaves” of the capitalists.
 * o Purpose/Objective:
 * § Peace in Germany:
 * Published anti-war articles around the world. They oppose the war, and did not support it.
 * o Socialist Future:
 * § Both Luxemburg and Liebknecht, who were very strong socialist, thought that converting Germany into a socialist country would bring benefit to the citizens of Germany, and also thought it would improve Germany economically.
 * Spartacus Revolt:
 * o When the “peace” finally came, and the war was over, Germany was in ruins, and rife with social unrest.
 * o Both Luxemburg and Liebknecht were dissatisfied with the Social Democratic Party’s actions after the war.
 * § Social Democratic Party had compromised with the conservative military, promising reform rather than revolution in return for their support and aid in returning the country to the semblance of order.
 * Supported Germany’s involvement for the War.
 * o Luxemburg and Liebknecht revolted to overthrow the government.

//Why did the// //Spartakus revolt fail? What factors might have been altered to bring it greater success?//
 * Luxemburg and Liebknecht’s death
 * o Murdered by Freikorps (German Free Corps)
 * § Soldiers who had returned from the war fronts massively disillusioned with the German government and hugely suspicious
 * § Battle-hardened men who had been subjected to military discipline.
 * § Ebert ordered the Freikorps to attack the workers. The former soldiers still had weapons and military equipment from World War I, which gave them a formidable advantage. They quickly re-conquered the blocked streets and buildings; many of the workers surrendered. The Freikorps was better organized and armed - they also had a military background. The majority of the Spartacists were civilians.
 * Disagreement
 * o Between Luxemburg and Liebknecht, there was a dispute
 * § Liebknecht, unlike Rosa Luxemburg, supported a militant coup over Ebert's government, else the KPD (Communist Party of Germany) would be alienated from worker elements planning the coup
 * o If Luxemburg and Liebknecht would have come to an agreement, the party would have been more organized and much more effective.
 * Members of the Party
 * o Most of the members consisted of young and inexperienced people
 * § Weren’t educated

//To what extent were the German reactions to the// //Spartakus movement a reaction to the events in Russia at//  //the same time?// Work Cited: "History in an Hour." //History in an Hour//. WordPress, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. .
 * Bolshevik Revolution
 * Like the Spartacus Uprising just over a year later, was the continuation of an incomplete revolution. Both sought to bring about a new socialist state, one that could initiate the spread of socialism to the rest of Europe
 * o Luxemburg called the Russian Revolution ―the mightiest event of the World War
 * Luxemburg‘s critique of the Germans
 * o Harsher than that which she made of the Bolsheviks
 * § Although the Bolsheviks were using violent means to seize power and to attempt to consolidate it, the Germans had stopped at the announcement of elections to a national assembly. If she abhorred the violence, she saw it as better than inaction
 * While the Russian Revolution offered Luxemburg hope and appeared to be the beginning of future for socialism, for the time being, it would remain contained to Russia.

Riddell, John. "Germany 1919 The Spartacist Uprising." //Socialist Party :://. Socialist Party.UK, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. .

"Traces of Evil: Was Rosa Luxemburg in Support of the Spartacist Uprising in January 1919?" //Traces of Evil: Was Rosa Luxemburg in Support of the Spartacist Uprising in January 1919?// N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2013. 

=Weimar Republic=


 * 1. What were the founding principles of the Weimar Republic, and how did those parallel or depart from the organizing principles of the preceding Second Reich?**

Weimar Republic 1919 [|Weimar Republic Flag]
 * Germany's first democracy and elected representatives, giving them power for the first time. The constitution wanted to blend the European parliamentary system with the American presidential system
 * Pre-World War I period, only men twenty-five years of age and older had the right to vote, and their representatives had very limited power
 * The Weimar constitution gave all men and women twenty years of age the right to vote and ultimately women made up more than 52% of the potential electorate
 * Germans chose legislators who would make the policies that shaped their lives by using a ballot with around 30 parties (from democratic to communist)
 * The Chancellor and the Cabinet needed to be approved by the Reichstag (legislature) and needed the Reichstag's continued support to stay in power he Chancellor was intended to be the head of government, but they included emergency provisions (had the potential to undermine the Republic)
 * The constitution gave emergency powers to the directly elected President and made him the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces
 * Weimar Chancellors formed legislative majorities based on coalitions primarily of the Social Democrats, the Democratic Party, and the Catholic Center Party, all parties that supported the Republic
 * as the economic situation worsened 1930 (due to the Great Depression) and many disillusioned voters turned to extremist parties, the Republic's supporters could no longer command a majority
 * Adolf Hitler, a dedicated foe of the Weimar Republic, was the only political leader capable of commanding a legislative majority
 * On January 30, 1933, President von Hindenburg reluctantly named Hitler Chancellor of the Republic; then, Hitler proceeded to destroy the Weimar Republic

Second Reich 1871 [|The Second Reich]
 * The German empire was an authoritarian state, the parliament was elected but had limited powers.
 * The nobility remained a strongly privileged elite, and the monarchy retained its powers, including complete control over the military
 * the most advanced social legislation of any country and granted extensive civil rights to maintain the sovereignty of the traditional elite.
 * firmly rejected all claims for the democratic
 * most Germans supported the Second Reich and even identified strongly with the emperor
 * Because of the war production, the economy was booming and German businessmen were enjoying a new found wealth
 * Their patriotism was aroused by the series of German victories
 * The stock market crash of 1873 temporarily reversed this rapid growth and curbed the rampant optimism
 * theories appeared that denigrated the Jews and accused them of being a cancer on the German nation
 * Anti-Semitic groups sprang up whose nationalistic ideologies would feed directly into the violent hatred of the Jews in the Nazi period

The Weimar Republic gave the population more of a voice and opened up representation to a higher population. It left room for new ideas and less of a focus on the elite class. The Weimer Republic was almost an opposite to the previous government of the Second Reich. The only similarity between these two governments was the elected parliament, but the powers of this parliament were very different. The deterioration of both goverments was a result of a failing economy that ultimately made the Germans unhappy with their government.


 * 2. To what extent could the Weimar Republic be viewed as instituting a legitimate liberalism democracy in Germany for the first time? What groups tend to support and oppose it?**

Liberalism democracy in Germany [|Weimar Republic Image]
 * elected representatives had real power
 * blended the European parliamentary system with the American presidential system
 * before only men over 25 years old had the right to vote, but after women and men over 20 had the right to vote
 * the Chancellor and Cabinet were approved by the Reichstag (legislature)
 * the Chancellor was given emergency provisions for in the chance of crisis

Political Parties/Groups [|Start of the Republic]
 * German National People's Party (opposed): Campaigned against the democratic system and the international order established by the Treaty of Versailles. The DNVP engaged in limited cooperation and became more radical under Hugenberg (anti-republican and anti-Semitic tendencies). When Hitler took office in January 1933, it marked the end of multi-party democracy and beginning of National Socialist tyranny.
 * German Democratic Party (supported): The DDP supported democratic order and contributed greatly to the Weimar Constitution. Most of the support came from the middle class and small traders. The DDP also supported the creation of the League of Nations, but their willingness to make unpopular compromises lost it support.
 * German People’s Party (supported and opposed): The politics of the DVP were heavily rooted in authoritarianism and desired a strong central government. This represented the views of the upper and merchant classes and wanted a revision of the Treaty of Versailles. Stresemann (chairmanship) eventually came to terms with the democratic system, but after his death there was a rise of anti-parliamentary forces within the party and caused a steady decline in appeal.
 * Centre Party (supported): The Centre Party represented the Catholic population and gave allegiance to the republican constitution to establish the democracy. It often defended the rights of the Catholic Church and preserving federal states.
 * Communist Party of Germany (opposed): The KPD was founded by the Spartacus League, but had weak roots in the population in the beginning. They wanted to establish a Bolshevik dictatorship based on the Russian soviets, rejecting the parliamentary system. They often had massive strikes and demonstrations in order to defeat the democracy.

The Weimar Republic was certainly a huge step towards a liberalism democracy in Germany. It recognized the rights of individuals in a representative form, limiting the power of specific parts of the government. By combining the European and American styles of government, Germany sought to form a successful government. Part of this democratic form of government was the numerous political parties that represented the ideas of the people of Germany. These political parties often represented the ideas of specific social groups or regions. Although there were about 30 political groups on the ballot, the ones represented above show the most popular views of the German people.


 * 3. Why did the Weimar Republic fail to provide political and social stability for Germany? To what extent was National Socialism (the Nazi Movement) rooted in these failures?**

Failures of the Weimar Republic [|Weimar Republic Posters]
 * Treaty of Versailles: The Treaty of Versailles after WWI had given numerous harsh terms for Germany and many were opposed to the treaty, dividing the country. The NSDAP wanted a refusal to acknowledge the treaty, but the moderates disagreed because they thought that could hurt the economy more or cause war. The government took the approach of restoring foreign relations and hope to find new terms on the treaty.
 * Weimar Constitution: The drafters of the constitution tried to base it off federalism and checks and balances, similar to the United States. The president had the ability to bypass or override the elected Reichstag with a seven year presidency and large emergency powers (similar to a kaiser). This enhanced and worsened political divisions.
 * Weimar’s divisive electoral system: The Weimar government allocated Reichstag representation based on the number of votes that each political party received. This filled the Reichstag will smaller parties because many parties and policies were regional. This hindered debating and passing legislation in the government.
 * Minority government: Throughout the Republic, no political party had a majority of Reichstag seats. There were often voting blocks and coalitions were often unstable. Many parties refused to participate in coalitions and often coalitions would collapse. This made many tasks very difficult, especially for the chancellor and his cabinet.
 * The Great Depression: By 1932 two-fifths of the German workforce was without a job, resulting in them no longer supporting moderate parties, but radical groups. It is still questioned how much of this was genuine or just protest vote, but it pushed Hitler into the public eye. Without these miserable conditions, Hitler and his political group, NSDAP, would have never become such a large part of Weimar politics.

Specific events that led to the Nazi Movement [|German President Ebert]
 * Spartacist Revolution: Ebert (first German President) used the army to put down a group of radical workers in the streets of Berlin. It is argued that this split Germany and left the Republic more vulnerable.
 * Hitler's Arrest: Austrian officials declared that Adolf Hitler should not be declared an Austrian citizen, resulting in him staying in Germany after his arrest for trying to overthrow the German government force. If German bureaucrats had deported him before the trial or after his release from brief imprisonment, much of the history of the Weimar Republic would be different.
 * Alfred Hugenberg as chairman for the German Nationalist People's Party: Hugenberg controlled about 50% of newspapers and was an enemy to the Weimar Republic. He wanted to be the ruler of Germany, but he felt it necessary to make an alliance with Hitler and the Nazis. This gave Hitler positive media coverage in conservative newspapers and was a huge step in him coming to power.
 * Success of the Nazi Party: Over thirty-seven per cent of the German people voted for the National Socialist Party from a selection 30 parties, making the Nazis the most successful party the Weimar Republic had ever seen. This then made Hitler the most successful leader, promoting his hatred of the Jews and his desire for an expansionist aggressive foreign policy.

With not only the specific events that led to the Weimar Republic failure, but also the overall failures socially and politically. As the Republic got less and less stable, there was a push for a new form of radical government. Post-war Germany was impacted by so many different factors (political/economic, internal/external, structural/short-term) and the combination of all made way for the implementation of a Nazi government.


 * Works Cited**

"Choices and Consequences in Weimar Germany." The Weimar Republic. Facing History and Ourselves, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2013. .

"Lesson 1: The 1848 Revolution, the Second Reich, and the First World War." German Civilization 1850 to Present. University of Missouri, n.d. Web. 04 Oct. 2013. .

"The Political Parties in the Weimar Republic." Administration of the German Bundestag, n.d. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. .

"Weimar Germany." Weimar Germany. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2013. .