What was the aftermath of the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles in Germany?
By November, 1918, Germany was on the brink of collapse. Kaiser William II resigned under the threat of an imminent socialist revolution. The new temperate leaders were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
In 1919, the new German Republic enacted a constitution in the city of Weimar. They created a democratic government known as the Weimar Republic. The constitution established a parliamentary form of government headed by a chancellor or prime minister. It also included their bill of rights. Men and women were both given suffrage.
From the very beginning, the Weimar Government faced many problems. Politically, Germany was weak; there were too many small political parties. Like the French premier, the German chancellor was forced to form a coalition that dissolved and collapsed easily. As a result, the government was constantly criticized by the communist Germans. They demanded for changes like what Lenin did for Russia.
Conservatives — including the former nobility, military officials, wealthy businessmen, and ordinary citizens — criticized the government for being too liberal. For them, democracy was weak. They wanted a leader like Bismarck or the Kaiser. Almost all of the Germans vented their fury on the government because, the Treaty of Versailles imposed heavy reparations on them. But they shifted the blame on the Marxists and the Jews who they thought were the ones who betrayed their country.
The Germans became resentful when they could no longer afford war reparations for France. Then, the French occupied the coal-rich Ruhr Valley. The Ruhr Germans showed defiance by quitting their jobs. To support the Germans of the Ruhr Valley, the government printed excessive bills of money. This step by the government resulted to a very high inflation which was beyond control.
Due to the inflation, German Marks had almost lost their value. A commodity that costed 100 Marks in July 1922 costed 944,000 Marks in August 1923. A copy of newspaper was worth more than 10,000 Marks. Inflation had inflicted tremendous poverty and hopelessness among the people. Wages reached billion Marks but still would not suffice due to the rise in the cost of living.
The German government was forced to turn to the Western Powers for help in controlling the inflation. In 1924, the United States convinced Britain and France to lower the reparation payments of Germany. Under the Dawes Plan, France withdrew their occupation of Ruhr Valley. Through the loans granted by the United States, Germany’s economy slowly recovered.
As Germany was beginning to flourish, memories of their hardships in 1923 haunted them and gave them great anxiety when the “Great Depression” hit them. As a result, the Germans sought a strong leader which they found in Adolf Hitler. He promised to solve the economic crisis and to restore Germany’s greatness.
Adolf Hitler was born on 1889 in Austria. When he was 18, he went to Vienna with the hopes of attending an art school, but he was not accepted. Back then, Vienna was the capital of the Multinational Habsburg Empire. Although the Austrian-Germans were a minority, they thought they were superior to the Jews, Serbs, Poles and other human race. While Hitler was in Vienna, he nurtured anti-Semitic sentiments that would eventually have a significant connection with his rise to power.
Hitler later went back to Germany and fought alongside the German soldiers in WWI. Like other veterans, Hitler criticized the Weimar Government. And in 1919, Hitler joined a small group of right-wing extremists. Within a year, Hitler was recognized as the leader of the National Socialist German Workers (Nazi). Like Mussolini, Hitler organized his supporters into a fighting squad, the Nazi “Storm Troopers”, to fight communists and their perceived opponents.
In 1923, Hitler attempted to seize power in Munich but failed and was imprisoned. While in prison, Hitler wrote “Mein Kampf” (My Struggles), the Nazi’s holy book. Mein Kampf expressed Hitler’s obsession — extreme nationalism, racism, and anti-Semitism. Hitler said:
“Germans belonged to a superior “master race” of Aryans, or light skinned Europeans, whose greatest enemy were the Jews. Germany had not lost the war but had been betrayed by Marxist, Jews, corrupt politicians, and business leaders.”
After his release from prison, Hitler resumed his table-thumping speeches. He attracted enthusiastic followers from veterans and the middle class who were already losing hope for their future. The Great Depression played into Hitler’s hands. The rise and increase of unemployment led to the increase of Nazi membership. Hitler’s program drew in many workers and entrepreneurs. Hitler promised in his fiery speeches that he would end the reparations, create jobs, and rearm Germany.
Because the government was paralyzed with dissensions, the Nazis and the Communists won many seats in the Reichstag (lower legislature). Eventually, other conservative politicians decided to make Hitler their chancellor. Although they criticized Hitler for being vulgar and loquacious, they would use him later on for their own interests. Thus, Hitler (like Mussolini) became the head of State through legal proceedings.
Note carefully — the accession to power by both Mussolini and Hitler seemingly have the same format and orchestrator behind them. We will look at it more deeply in our next discussion.
Within a year, Hitler became the master of Germany. He suspended civil rights, destroyed the communists, and dissolved political parties. Germany had become a single political party state. Nazi flags, with dark swastikas, were flown throughout the country. Like Stalin of Russia, Hitler purged his party by killing any Nazi affiliate who was not loyal to him. The Fuhrer required unconditional obedience and loyalty from the Nazi members.
After gaining power, Hitler began building the new Germany. Like Mussolini, Hitler called for nationalism in commemorating the country’s prior greatness.
The First Reich was the medieval Holy Roman Empire (Take note that Germany was related to the Holy Roman Empire.) The second Reich was the German Empire founded by Bismarck in 1871. And the Third Reich was the New Empire under Hitler. He boasted that the German race would dominate Europe for a thousand years.
The Last Chronicles 