What problems did the Weimar government face in 1919-1923?

From the onset of it’s creation, the Weimar Republic already suffered from a host of problems. The very admittance of a Republic angered a lot of Germans who were still loyal to the the previous rule of the Kaiserreich - seeing Ebert’s new government as illegitimate. Ebert, as the President of the Weimar Republic represented the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) - a party of the left that was often attributed to the failures of WWI, according to the ‘stab in the back’ policy created by conservative parties such as the National People’s Party (DNVP), blaming socialists and Jews for German defeat. What Germany faced was a large proportion of resentful, nationalist German people, with the DNVP winning 10.3% of the election vote in January 1919. Much of the angry disillusioned population that Ebert faced were ex-army men and soldiers too young to serve in the army: an infamous group that became known as the Freikorps. Where the government faced resentment from the right, this was also present on the left as seen in the January 1919 Spartacus Uprising. This uprising started as a protest against the removal of left-wing government officials but became seized by the Communist Party (KPD) who began occupying buildings in Berlin, imitating the 1918 Russian Revolution. To quell the liberal threat, the government used the Freikorps to restore order, brutally crushing the revolution and arresting, torturing and murdering Luxemburg and Liebknecht, leaders of the KPD. Yet in temporarily shutting down the left the government was faced with a new problem - the growing violence of militarily styled right wing associations. During 13-17 of March 1920, Dr Wolfgang Kapp led a Freikorps takeover in Berlin. The regular army refused to attack the Freikorps, and the takeover was only defeated when workers of Berlin went on strike. Despite their disbandment, conservative resentment only grew, and particularly towards the end of Weimar and rise of the Nazis can we see this to truly topple the German government. In addition, economically Weimar Germany was in decline. In 1923 the German government was unable to pay the reparations required by the Treaty of Versailles. In response the French and Belgian governments sent troops to the Ruhr (the heart of Germany’s coal, iron and steel production) and cut it off from Germany, expelling trade union leaders, civil servants and government officials. As an incredibly industrial based economy this was a huge blow to German employment, leading to massive unemployment and increased striking workers. In attempt to combat this the government printed more money but this resulted in a hyperinflation crisis that crippled the middle classes, ex-soldiers and elderly who had savings and were dependent on pensions.

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