German Army example essay topic

From the Second Reich to the Weimar Republic The Second Reich The constitution of the second Reich: The Kaiser was hereditary for life and he was the Supreme Commander of the army The Chancellor was chosen by the Kaiser and was also usually the chairman of the Bundesrat. The Bundesrat was the upper house of parliament. Members were chosen by the State Government. The 17 Prussian representatives could veto any law. The Reichstag was less important than the Bundesrat in making laws. They could only approve the laws proposed by the Chancellor and the Bundesrat.

The Reichstag was the lower house of parliament, with members elected by all men over the age of 25, fewer could vote in Prussia This was very undemocratic as people had little say over the passing of laws. The Reichstag, the house of parliament that the people voted for, had very little power over the creation of laws. The Kaiser was almost a dictator. Ludendorff realised that Germany was going to be defeated in 1918. He told the Kaiser that the war must end.

In October, the Germans asked President Woodrow Wilson to organise an end to the fighting. He agreed but demanded that the Kaiser must go. Starvation and riots spread though Germany and on 30th October, the German Navy refused to launch a desperate attack on the British Navy. The Kaiser finally agreed to abdicate and on the 11th November an armistice was signed. This was the end of the Second Reich. The Weimar Republic The new government wanted to introduce a parliamentary democracy.

This was because President Wilson refused to offer peace to the Germans until it had a government which wanted democracy. However, this meant that some Germans felt that democracy was being forced upon them by their enemies. The constitution of the Weimar Republic: The President was in power for 7 years and was elected by all adults over the age of 21. He was the Supreme Commander of the army and he chose the Chancellor. The Chancellor had the support of a majority of the Reichstag. The Reichstag was the lower house of parliament, elected by all adults over the age of 21.

It was more important than the Reichsrat and could make laws. The Reichsrat was the upper house of parliament and could only approve laws proposed by the Chancellor and the Reichstag. Weaknesses of the new constitution: o Proportional Representation - this meant that if a party received 5% of the votes, they would also receive 5% of the seats in the Reichstag. This encourages a lot of parties to be formed as it means that they all stand the chance of winning a few seats. However, this makes it nearly impossible for any one party to win the 51% of the seats needed to form a government on their own. This meant that German governments tended to be coalition.

This meant that the different parties found it difficult to agree with issues such as the depression. o Article 48 - This meant that in an emergency, the President rule by decree, abandoning democracy. This happened in the 1930's when the socialists left the government. o The Army - The Reichswehr, the new army, was only allowed 100,000 men. The generals in charge had fought the war for the Kaiser and did not believe in democracy. They wanted the return of the Kaiser so that they could be a large and powerful army. o The Courts - The judges had also been judges in the Second Reich and had sympathy for people who wanted to end democracy e.g. Hitler The Treaty Of Versailles On 11th November 1918, the armistice was signed. In June 1919, the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced. In total, Germany lost 30% of its territory containing 48% of its iron production and 15% of its agricultural production as well as 6 million people and 16% of its coal production.

There was also a lb 6600 million reparation fee. The army was limited to 100000 men and none could be kept in the Rhineland. They were not allowed an airforce, and the navy was not allowed any battle ships. Reparations Worst of all was the 'war guilt' clause. This blamed the war entirely on Germany and in 1921 Germany was given a bill of lb 6600 m to repair the damage. However, France and Britain probably did as much damage as the Germans.

The Stab in the Back The treaty left Germans feeling humiliated - they wanted revenge for the way the Allies had treated their country. The size of the reparations threatened to ruin the German economy. Many blamed the new government for signing the armistice that led to the treaty. They were called the 'November Criminals', a reference to the fact that armistice was signed on the 11th November 1918. The government was accused of having stabbed the German Army in the back - they believed the German Army would have won if the armistice hadn't been signed, although this is not true.

However, this theory was still believed by many Germans, so the new democratic system was blamed for the humiliation. It may have been more accurate to blame the Kaiser for leading Germany into the war, or the army leaders for losing the war.