“the Main Threat to the Stability of the Weimar Republic in the Period of 1919 to 1923 Came from the Political Violence of the Extreme Right.” How Far Do You Agree with This Judgement?
“The main threat to the stability of the Weimar Republic in the period of 1919 to 1923 came from the political violence of the extreme right.” How far do you agree with this judgement?
The period of 1919 to 1923 saw numerous factors threaten the stability of the Weimar Republic. The political violence from both the left and right wing parties, the weakness of the Weimar Constituion itself and the economic issues such as hyperinflation all posed as threats to the stability of the Republic. However, although the statement above claims that the political violence from the right was the main threat to the stability of the republic, the Treaty of Versailles resulted in the republic itself been built upon resentment and failure. In turn, this saw the ‘stab in the back’ myth take its toll on the army and saw the public reel in humiliation and anger. This was a bigger and more significant threat to the stability of the republic than any political violence could possibly be.
The extreme right wing was not slow in letting people know of their disapproval of the Treaty of Versailles. To the right, the peace settlement was a Schmachfrieden and persistently referred to the politicians who agreed to the armistice as the ‘November Criminals’. The Freikorps themselves posed a real threat to the republic. The government used them several times in attempted revolutions to put them down in which they did do quite easily. This alone demonstrated the power of the Freikorps and their methods of violence which perceived they were a brutal and skilled organisation. The extreme right also had the support of Germany’s elities such as the judiciary. This was proved in the statistics of the political assassinations in Germany between 1919 - 1923. 354 right wing people committed murders, with 326 going unpunished and only 1 been convicted and sentenced to a severe punishment. However, only 22 left wing people committed murders, with 10 been sentenced to death. Although Article 54 stated
The period of 1919 to 1923 saw numerous factors threaten the stability of the Weimar Republic. The political violence from both the left and right wing parties, the weakness of the Weimar Constituion itself and the economic issues such as hyperinflation all posed as threats to the stability of the Republic. However, although the statement above claims that the political violence from the right was the main threat to the stability of the republic, the Treaty of Versailles resulted in the republic itself been built upon resentment and failure. In turn, this saw the ‘stab in the back’ myth take its toll on the army and saw the public reel in humiliation and anger. This was a bigger and more significant threat to the stability of the republic than any political violence could possibly be.
The extreme right wing was not slow in letting people know of their disapproval of the Treaty of Versailles. To the right, the peace settlement was a Schmachfrieden and persistently referred to the politicians who agreed to the armistice as the ‘November Criminals’. The Freikorps themselves posed a real threat to the republic. The government used them several times in attempted revolutions to put them down in which they did do quite easily. This alone demonstrated the power of the Freikorps and their methods of violence which perceived they were a brutal and skilled organisation. The extreme right also had the support of Germany’s elities such as the judiciary. This was proved in the statistics of the political assassinations in Germany between 1919 - 1923. 354 right wing people committed murders, with 326 going unpunished and only 1 been convicted and sentenced to a severe punishment. However, only 22 left wing people committed murders, with 10 been sentenced to death. Although Article 54 stated