Why was the Weimar Republic in a state of crisis by 1923?

One of the reasons why the Weimar Republic was in a state of crisis was because of its poor reaction to the French and Belgian occupation of the Ruhr in 1922, namely paying their workers to go on strike leading to hyperinflation. By 1923, the Weimar Republic lacked an effective currency- the price of a loaf of bread rose from 250 marks in January 1923 to 200,000 million marks in November of the same year. Furthermore, it cost more to print a bank note than the note was actually worth. The crisis was so bad that in 1924 a new currency had to be invented, the Rentenmark, to resolve the crisis. Not only this but during this period, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr which was the industrial heartland of Germany, thus depriving Germany of a large proportion of its industry. Thus it is indubitable that by 1923 the Weimar Republic was in a state of crisis, lacking both an effective currency and being occupied by a foreign power. Another reason why the Weimar Republic was in crisis by 1923 was because it did not control the army. The army's leader Groener disliked the Republic due to the fact they were moderate socialists and so, the government lacked the full support of the army. This made it extremely difficult to enforce law and order in Germany as shown by the fact that the Kapp Putsch of 1920 was unopposed by the army and it was necessary for the army to call in the paramilitary group the Freikorps to enforce law and order. Without the support of the army, the Republic were not in full control of the citizenry, forced to use alternative organisations to maintain the law and this is clear evidence of the Weimar Republic being in a state of crisis by 1923.

Answered by Joshua B. History tutor

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