Communism: The Rise And Fall Of The Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic was established in 1919 and was a democratic state to replace imperialism because the Treaty of Versailles stated that Germany had to become a democratic country. The Weimar Republic was significantly weak due to hyperinflation, the economic collapse, the Treaty of Versailles, and other issues that were present during that time.

The Weimar Republic faced chaos and violence with the Communist uprising and the Kapp Putsch. The Kapp Putsch, which took place in March 1920, was a threat to the new government and was assisted by General Luttwitz who led a group of Freikorps men (Kapp Putsch). They were against Friedrich Ebert’s beliefs about the humiliation of the Treaty of Versailles. In the end, the putsch failed due to actions by Ebert, and they fled to Berlin. Most of the people who fought for Kapp became supporters of the Nazi Party in the future (Kapp Putsch). In 1915, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht left the Social Democratic Party and formed the Spartacists League (Spartacists). In 1918, some of the spartacists formed the German Communist Party (Spartacists). The Germans were afraid of Communism and the Red Plague which was death by government. The USSR was communist and they had the Red Plague, which was probably why Germany was afraid of communism. In January 1919, the communists rebelled in Berlin, so Ebert allowed the Freikorps to bring stability back (Spartacists). Most of the the Spartacists were civilians, and most of the Freikorps had a military background, so the Freikorps won. The Freikorps assassinated the Spartacist leaders after arresting them, which were Luxemburg and Liebknecht. The chaos was a difficult start for Weimar Germany.

Hitler promised the public to solve the problems that the Weimar Republic was facing such as hyper inflation, unemployment, etc., and that appealed to the people. Hitler claimed that he would abolish the Treaty of Versailles because it punished Germany, and that also appealed to the people. Hitler also gained support from the Germans with his personality and his ability to make strong speeches that persuaded the people. The Nazi Party grew stronger with Germany’s support. Hitler’s hatred for Jews was spread among the Germans. Now they all believed that the Jews were the blame of all of Germany’s problems. Hitler used the problems of the Weimar Republic to gain leadership and to become the dictator of Germany that he is known for