This investigation will content to answer the question “To extent did the Weimar welfare state strengthen the regime during 1924-1929?”. Firstly a conservative view believes that the overstrained welfare state schemes that caused problems in the regime especially in the economy. Another alternative view highlights the benefits of the welfare state reforms of individual members of the society such as the youth, elderly and women. This investigation is conducted through a variety of sources ranging from academic texts, websites and quotes and statistics.
The first major source is an extract from ‘A History of Modern Germany Since 1815’ by Australian Historian Frank Tipton (see appendix i). In this extract Tipton summarizes Knut Borchardt, a German economic historian’s argument that Germany was living well beyond its means and public spending was out of control. Borchardt argues that the higher contributions required from employers towards social insurance both increased productions costs and left less money for investments as well as making employers less willing to hire workers. This source is valuable based on its purpose as an academic text intended for an audience of historians and those interested in German economics, meaning it will have been researched and reviewed. Furthermore it is
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Crew (see appendix ii). This academic book shows an alternative view of the welfare state reforms. It shows the social benefits of the reforms for members of the society, which highlights the extent to which the welfare state strengthened the regime. The social atmosphere during 1924-1929 of prosperity for most members of the society is also reflected in the popularity of parties in the government as well as the loss of support of extremist parties. This source is valuable based on its origin because as an academic text it shows an expert view on the subject of welfare