The Failure Of The Weimar Republic

The Weimar republic founded after the Kaisers abdication in 1918 (LINK) is believed by many to have been doomed to fail from its inception on the 9th November 1918. It is believed to have been doomed due to the economic, social, political factors present during its inception and reign as well as the very constitution it was hastily founded upon after the Kaisers abdication. These factors include the increased gaps between the classes, the budget constraints brought on by the war, the failing industry, conservative judges, political unrest as well as the Weimar’s constitution. These factors combined would doom the Weimar republic and allow men attached to right or left wing ideologies to try and seize power from the instable Weimar republic

Germany relied heavily on its industry as it was its primary source of income besides tax. Along with the allied blockade the war caused the German industry to crumble. Before the war Germany had the world’s leading chemical industry and one of the world’s leading steal producers. However during the war the allied blockade stopped Germany from exporting to any countries not reachable though land. This absence of German products on the market caused many countries to produce these materials themselves or buy from other countries. This even started the chemical industry in America which has been dubbed “America’s second industrial revolution” by many (LINK). This not only damaged Germany’s war time industry but destroyed its post war industry as there was little to no need for German products after the war as most countries had found new suppliers or developed the industry themselves during the war. With the absence of the strong German industry, Germany had no economy to bear the burden of the expensive war and the political and social unrest of the Weimar

Although the parliament was mostly unused it was transferred over for the Weimar republic. Problems arose as judges and other political and legislative appointed during the Kaiser Reich were conservatives. With the new social government lead by Ebert the conservative judges would give lesser sentences to right wing criminals as they emphasized with their causes. The frequent political turmoil of the Weimar republic was not properly punished as right wing revolts would result in short sentences for the perpetrators. This lack of support by the right and prevalence of right wing politician’s n the government made the country instable as the government claimed to be socialist yet the right controlled the judicial systems and the army as well as many other government sectors. This discrepancy between the two political sides caused a struggle for power that resulted in constant elections and plebiscites that strained the countries weak and fragile economy unnecessarily