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Community: The Rise Of The Weimar Republic

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Introduction A theme that is characterized in the phrase “good society” is “community”. As nations around the world expanded and grew, people and nations banded together creating communities (can also be noted as cities, urban living, towns, and such). With the growing nations, there also rose the need to facilitate or control the outcome of living. This concern posed a question: “What is a good society?” There are numerous marks that represent “good society”: rule of law, economic expansion, reciprocity, ethical standards, good citizenship, nationalism, justice, and so forth. It is noted that throughout history, people have attempted to create an improved lifestyle, fair living and a governmental system that protected and represented the …show more content…

In the wake of WWI, Germans were feeling bitter and uncertain due to the war reparations they were forced to pay and the shifts in the government that rose out of the revolutions. In essence, the Germans “felt betrayed by the government they had helped put into power” (i.e. the Weimar Republic) (Week 7 Content, n.d., p. 15). During this period, Nazism, spearheaded by Adolf Hitler, slowly spread throughout the German nation (a political and economic ideology). This ideology encompassed both a totalitarian and nationalistic nature and further took root with the support of the National Socialist German Workers’ party (NAZI). The Weimar Republic thought that if they gave Hitler a position of leadership, the NAZI party would be “forced to appeal to a wider mass of people and tone down their racist, antidemocratic sentiments” (Week 7 Content, n.d., p. 15). Little did they know that this seat to power would both revolutionize the German nation and further electrify the view of …show more content…

Consider this passage: “He suspended civil liberties. He called for new elections and the Nazi Party took the majority and gave Hitler dictatorial power for 4 years. He immediately outlawed all other parties… Freedom of speech, assembly and press were eliminated. A secret police force, the Gestapo, rooted out any opposition. Schools, professional associations and leisure organizations were forced to conform to Nazi directives… [and the NAZI] party encouraged large families and attempted to stop birth control, abortion and homosexuality in order to expand the German race” (Week 7 Content, n.d., p. 15). By removing the threat to his power and further securing his position in Germany, Hitler answered to nobody but

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The Nazi party saw this opportunity and met their community with an alternative, strong leadership. Hitler and the Nazi party used eloquent speeches that used the people’s fear and God given entitlement to persuade people that the Nazi way of life was the only way of life. The Nazi way of life encouraged strong German principles and blamed all their obstacles on the Jewish race. According to the Nazi party, it was the Jewish people who were impure and responsible for all the German people’s hardships.

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The major cause of Hitler’s political success was due to the tremendous amount of fear that people associated with him. The fear of Hitler is what forced the government to grant him the enabling act, which then lead to the rise of Natsism. President Paul Von Hindenburg thought of Hitler as a threat to their power, so as a tactic to suppress his authority, they thought by electing him into office and appointing him chancellor was enough for him to feel some sort of power and settle down. It gave Hitler a voice in the government and a say what goes on in decision making,so they assumed this would satisfied Hitler and keep him contained. They were wrong.

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On November 11, 1918 at 11am Germany signed an armistice with the Allied forces effectively ending the bloodiest war in human history. What followed would be the rise and fall of the Weimar Republic which would ultimately establish the Third German Reich. This is the backdrop for Eric Weitz’s Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy, where he describes the achievements and the devastating failures which spurred on the rise and fall of a republic and the eventual creation of a dictator. The first chapter of Weitz’s book titled “A Troubled Beginning” describes the social and political landscapes of Germany following the war. All of which coalesces into the primary theme of the chapter, that the Weimer Republic was built on a foundation that was doomed

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After joining, Hitler began his quick ascent to the chancellor position in 1933, he soon was able to control all aspects of German life. Hitler’s easy rise to power, being the greatest factor in the formation of the holocaust, makes it important to understand how he was able to slip through the cracks of the German Democratic system in order for future governments to protect themselves. It is generally believed that Hitler used the emotions of the people, by appealing to their frustrations, to input his anti-semitic and minority-hating ideals with no one noticing. A good way that a government can prevent an overthrow like Hitler’s would be to not make decisions using emotion, “[t]hey figure that by piling on the data and using reason to explain their side of the situation, they can construct a solution that is simply irrefutable—and get the other party to say yes” (Jim Camp).

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Along with that, the country had little knowledge and experience with a democracy or constitutional governance. One scholar then concluded, “[I]t was doubtful whether such a democratic constitution could work in the hands of a people that was neither psychologically nor historically prepared for self-government.” (Klaus Fischer, Nazi Germany: A New History, 59). In the early 1930s German political parties, the major groups including the Nazis and the communists, organized paramilitary forces and killed one another off. Civil War was in questioning and the only other option the country had was authoritarian.

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Under the decree, the Reichstag restricted all constitutional protection of political, personal and property rights. With the decree in place, the regime was able to abolish their political opposition, suppress publications and gave central government the authority to overrule state and local laws. Kershaw affirms this as he conveys, “The Emergency decree that took away all personal liberties and established the platform for dictatorship was warmly welcomed”. They were further able to gain the majority of votes when voting took place on March 5th 1933. The Reichstag Fire was a favourable circumstance that allowed Hitler to exploit communists and their weaknesses.

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The weaknesses faced by the Weimar Republic was known which also enabled Hitler to exploit the weaknesses of the left and the moderates. Appearing to be the strong leader and withholding the communication skills needed to lead a country, he was able to gain the votes he needed (Orlow 'Modern Germany ' p.185). There were violent strikes in the streets, back and forth fighting, rioting. People were killed and the people of Germany, who feared Communism and despise chaos, sided with the “volkishe” parties, who promised to establish law and order. The people of Germany thought rather than having thousands die it would be better to have law and order and break a few heads than to live with that chaos.

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