What were the reasons the Weimar Republic was unstable in 1919?
It's hard to point out one particular reason why the Weimar Republic was so unstable. Here are some of the main ones:The Treaty of Versailles limited Germany in many ways in requiring the country to pay reparations to the winning parties of World War I. This made the German economy weak and contributed to the high inflation and unemployment during the twenties.The Weimar Republic was the outcome of a newly democratic Germany. When the economy went bad, the Germans blamed the government. Any republic that doesn't have the confidence of its citizens has a hard time keeping peace and order.There was no election threshold in the constitution, which resulted in a lot small parties being elected to parliament. The coalition government was constantly unstable and couldn't effectively react to social problems.The atmosphere after the war was very militaristic and a lot of paramilitary groups were formed, especially out of political parties. This contributed to general instability and the ultimate rise of the Third Reich.
What were the main reasons why the Weimar Republic failed?
The Weimar Republic was in many ways doomed from the start. Before there was the Kaiser with the empire with prestige and power that other nations backed down to then, the war came and then it ended. Germany was humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles, and this new government agreed to its terms. To many, this was insulting as they saw how far Germany had fallen. It was impossible to shack off that way of thinking.The Weimar Republic was democratic, but Germany had never actually experienced democracy before. The president had strong emergency powers that allowed him to bypass the Reichstag and Reichstag itself was a mixture of all kinds of the movements that had trouble working together, no one ever had a majority. The old days were remembered fondly when Germany was strong, and several parties that ran for office were undemocratic for that reason. It was seen Germany had not been defeated in battle but by those now in running the Weimar Republic. The stab in the back or Dolchstosselegende myth.The reparations Germany had to pay could not be met, and this slowed their recovery. The Ruhr region was occupied after payments could not be made. Inflation devastated the nation. Nearly two-fifths of the workforce was out of work in 1932. The Nazi Party gained support, but Hitler’s appointment as chancellor was unexpected, and even then those who sought believed they could control him. This was not the case.
Why did Hitler gain public support in Germany during the 1930's?
Lots of answers being thrown out and most are relatively good. Everyone though, fails to grasp the scope of the situation that allowed him to come into power. As insulting as this may seem, as you read this response, think about our own country and the current situation and new President. Around the world, national economies were tanking out, the U.S., Germany, England, France and Italy all were in the same boat. Regardless of where you looked, the story line was basically the same. People were unemployed, people were losing their homes to bank foreclosures, the cost of living was constantly going up and there seemed to be no end in sight. Most everyone blamed the previous administration for their troubles. In the U.S., it was Hoover. In Germany, it was von Hindenburg and the Weimar Republic. A new political party had started to take hold (socialism/communism) and people began taking sides. Like most politicians, Hitler used fear as a tool to persuade people to vote for him. He convinced the industrialists that he could increase consumerism and in turn, production. All of which would restore national pride and standing both at home and in world standing. He was a man who'd never been heavily involved in politics, yet, he offered hope and a promise of change. The people were desperate and he played on it. They listened and voted for him and his new party. At first, it wasn't so great, he'd only won a foot hold in the German version of parliament. Given and inch, he took a mile. It wasn't long, and he had the whole world agreeing that he was the man of change. Even Time Magazine in the U.S. voted him "Man of the Year." He promised hope, change, national greatness and he made good on those promises. He ignored the treaty that ended the first world war, he promised everyone a new car in their garage and gave them "the People's car" aka the Volkswagon "Beetle" (bug). The economy turned around and began to grow. People were working again.
How did the great depression affect the rise of dictators in Europe?
In Turkey, Italy, the Soviet Union , Hungary, Portugal and Poland they had already come to power in the aftermath of WW1 and the immediate postwar depression that had followed in the ealry 1920s. All these gentlemen achieved such a firm grip on power that they retained it all through the Depression of the 1930s, and theirs were indeed the only governments not to fall as a result of that Depression. Their very (and unique) survival encouraged people to see Fascism (or Communism) as the only way to react to the Depression. In any case, the Depression was so terrible that people everywhere wanted no more of the governments that had allowed it to happen, and even in those few countries where democratic regimes survived--(the UK, the USA, Argentina (until 1934), Spain (until 1936), Brazil (until 1937), Czechoslovakiia (unitl 1938) and France (until 1940), ---the party in power in each country was ousted in favour of its rival. It is also worth mentioning that most traditional governments reacted to the Depression with economic orthodoxy (i.e. debt reduction, budget balancing, unemployment and deflation) and by and large, only dictators offered a different solution (mostly Keansean inflation).
Was Hitler a great man?
No, Hitler was not a great man. This question is asked on Yahoo! Answers nearly everyday. One would think by now the leader of the so-called "Thousand-Year Reich," which only lasted 12 years, and which left the Bolsheviks in command of much of eastern Europe in 1945, and who finally snuffed himself by taking taking cyanide and putting a bullet into his brain for good measure, should be recognised as a failure leadership and public speaking for his non-German audiences alike.
How did hitler become the ruler of germany?
At the time that Hitler came to power, Germany was governed under rules set out in the Constitution of the Weimar Republic. In the late 1920's and early 1930's, the National Socialist (Nazi) party started gaining more seats in the Bundestag (similar to House of Representatives). They had enough seats that they could force a new election any time they wanted it. Each time they did this, they gained more seats. In 1932, the Nazi party was the largest party in the Bundestag. President Hindenburg was pressured into appointing Hitler as Chancellor of Germany, the second highest office in the country. Hindenburg died in 1933. The normal procedure at the time would have been a new election. Instead, Hitler convinced the Bundestag to pass a motion making him ruler for life. The Bundestag then voted itself out of existance, leaving Hitler as a dictator with no oversight.