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The Weimar Republic Essay

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The Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic was set-up in January 1919. It seemed like a new start for Germany after the revolution, this new republic was a democracy, chosen by the people. However, the Weimar Republic, like many new parliaments, was having teething troubles.

The main trouble came from the communists. In March they organised strikes, demonstrations, riots, etc. in Berlin. Their one aim, to win power. They wanted to model Germany on Bolshevik Russia.

The Weimar Republic's solution to this problem was to send in the Freikorps. They were ordered to shoot anyone carrying a gun. During just a few days …show more content…

The Weimar Republic did not like this system and thus Munich was put under siege. Food was not allowed in and at one time giving milk to a person who wasn't dying was a criminal offence with death being the punishment. On 1 May, the democratic socialists invaded, not sparing a single communist. 600 men, women and children were killed. Of course again the main brunt of the attack had been supplied by the Freikorps.

The politically unstable infancy of the Weimar Republic is marked by violent street demonstrations by paramilitary organisations bitterly opposed to the new Weimar constitution. This political unrest in Germany and the immediate aftermath of the war was as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, where the victorious Allies imposed the terms of peace on Germany. Apart from the territorial loses (Germany lost 6 million subjects, 13% of her territory, plus her colonies) imposed on her and the massive, economically-crippling, sums of reparations that she was forced to pay to the Allies (notably France), Germany, by Article 231 of the treaty, also had to accept the blame for all the loss and damage inflicted on the Allies "as a consequence of the war imposed on them by the aggression of Germany and her allies". This was deeply humiliating for Germany, and was the cause of much right-wing resentment of the treaty and of the victorious Allies. The new Weimar government

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