Consequences of the Treaty of Versailles: November Criminals

Consequences of the Treaty of Versailles

November Criminals The November criminals were the German politicians responsible for signing the treaty of Versailles. Hitler said this as propaganda to make the German citizens hate the Wiemar Democracy and there for turn to Nazism. He told them that the November Criminals betrayed Germany by signing the treaty.

Spartacist Revolt
The Spartacists were a group of communists named after Spartacus, who led a revolt of slaves against the Romans in 73 B.C. They were lead by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. On January 5th they rose up a revolt in Berlin that lasted for a week (January 12th) as a gesture against the government. The leaders of the Spartacists/communists were murdered after being arrested. The Freikorps (former army soldiers) were the ones to bring peace back to Berlin since they were more organized than the communists which were normal civilians. 100 Spartacists and 17 Freikorps were killed.

The Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch: In 1920 a group led by Wolfgang Kapp emerged in Berlin. The people consisted of the members of the paramilitary Freikorps; they also had the support of many army officers. Kapp was a journalist who opposed the government that he held it responsible for the humiliating Treaty of Versailles. In March the officers who supported the group organized an uprising in Berlin. Troops took control of Berlin and the Right Wing Government was proclaimed by Luddwitz. The general workers were the ones who stopped the strike.

The Munich Putsch
The Munich Putsch, also called The Beer Hall putsch was a short rebellion in Munich on November 8th 1923. It was started by Adolf Hitler. He planned to make Ludendorff a dictator. He kidnapped the leader of the Bavarian government; and after declaring a rebellion, he marched to Munich. There, the police crushed the rebellion shooting 16 of the 3000 Nazi party demonstrators dead and arresting Hitler. Hitler served nine months in prison and during this time he wrote a book called “Mein Kampf” (My Struggle). In this book Hitler wrote about his beliefs for the future Germany causing many of the German citizens to be fooled by its false promises after reading it. The consequences of this rebellion were much more important than the rebellion itself, since during his trail Hitler was allowed to make long speeches explaining his reasons. This transformed him from a little known politician into the champion of the right wing. His imprisonment gave him an opportunity to become more important.

Hyperinflation and Ruhr Crisis

Hyperinflation and Ruhr Crisis: In January 1923, French and Belgian forces took over Germany’s main industrial region, the Ruhr. They asked that Germany stopped making reparation deliveries. German workers were encouraged to strike in protest at the French and Belgian occupation. The result was a period of hyperinflation. After 1923 Germans became desperate and were ready to support radicals such as the Nazis and the Communists.