Download The First World War and the Weimar Republic

The First World War and
the Weimar Republic
*Mary Fulbrook, A History of Germany 1918-2000: The Divided
Nation, p. 16-36
Recommended:
Jackson Spielvogel, Hitler and Nazi Germany: A History, chap. 2
(p. 10-24)
The Impact
of
the Great War
Since the 1880s – powers
compete for world
hegemony:
the arms race (imperialism
and militarism)
The
Reign of
William
II (18881918)
German Weltpolitik before WWI
Actively antagonized Britain (the Tirpitz plan )and
Russia (tariffs and southeast Europe)
Colonial politics - tension and distrust over colonial
territories (fears of being left out )
Imperialist rivalry – Germany as a latecomer nation
– querulous, demanding, and hyperactive since
1890s
The arms build up (German failure - bitterness)
Before the WWI
A growing sense of crisis
and anxiety, fed by the failing arms race.
The failed arms race caused bitterness directed
at foreigners, Jews, and German leaders who
promised much and delivered nothing.
Growing nationalism and chauvinism
Nobody in Germany expected a
defeat…
Military had spectacular wins in 1914-1916
Propaganda at home
Military battles not seen in one’s own backyard
When defeat came – nothing made sense…
Conservative, military leaders did not offer an
explanation, real causes
Widespread refusal to accept the reality of defeat
Myth building – “the stab in the back”
The Versailles Treaty (June 28, 1919)
= Seen as “Diktat”
“War guilt clause” (article 231) – Germans have to take
responsibility for all the damage (not moral but legal
statement)
Enormous reparations in goods and money - 269 billion gold
marks = $US 400 billion (never paid, adjusted downward)
Reduction of army to 100.000 men (from 800.000 pre-1914),
limit weapons and navy, and eliminate air force
Territorial losses 10% (not that harsh comparing to 30%
territorial losses imposed by Germany on Russia in 1917)
50 kilometers west of the Rhine – a demilitarized zone
“War guilt clause” – Article 231
“The Allied and Associated Governments affirm and Germany
accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for
causing all the loss and damage to which the allied and
Associated Governments and their nationals have been
subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by
the aggression of Germany and her allies.”
Was Germany Responsible for the First
World War – ?
Yes: German Weltpolitik – very aggressive,
especially arms race stirred by Germany + colonial
rivalry. Berlin aware that if there was to be a war the sooner the better. Germany made a formal
declaration of war and invaded neutral Belgium
No: the Kaiser and his ministers did not want war
and looked to mend fences with Britain. Britain
repositioned itself in response to new challenges
Shared Responsibility
WWI - Great impact on Europe
and Germany
Millions dead or crippled - lost generation of young
men
The Bolshevik revolution successful in Russia
Old empires collapsed - new nation-states
Shattered traditional society - the idea of progress
undermined
Brutalization of public life – nihilism and violence
Nostalgia for camaraderie of the war - “real men”
Summary of the week
What is Modern Antisemitism?
Ideology seeking to attribute all social modern ills to Jews –
response to modernity by those who failed in modern society
Success of emancipation and social integration – the more Jews
are integrated the more backlash (paradox)
Institutionalization of ideology – organizations, mass politics,
crowd politics
Secular (with minor religious elements) – arguments framed as
“scientific” – “race science”
Claim of Jewish conspiracy to control the world – seen as a
deadly threat
Generalization to all Jews - “Jews” an abstract concept detached
from any real experience of an individual
Why Germany ?
Late German unification – sense of injustice and insecurity
Late Jewish emancipation in 1871 - debates whether Jews should
be citizens or not maintain their relevance
By the end of the 19th century – strong antisemitic politics –
scapegoating
Discontent with modernity – frustration and anxiety of those
who failed to adjust - (lower) middle class
Post WWI humiliation – Treaty of Versailles’ reparations – “stab
in the back”
Weimar - inability of the republican system to solve economic
and social problems of the day
No wide consensus about civic equality – liberalism and party
system weak – absence of long-standing democratic tradition
Next: The Nazis’ Rise to Power
Bergen, Doris, War and Genocide, chap. 2 (p. 29-44)
*”The 25-Point Program”
*J. Goebbels, “Why do we want to join the
Reichstag?”
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/angrif06.h
tml
Recommended:
Jackson Spielvogel, Hitler and Nazi Germany: A
History, chap. 2 (p. 24-41)