Describe the problems faced by the Weimer Republic.

After the defeat of the imperial Germany at the end of the First World War, King Kaiser William II fled to Holland to save his life. Taking this opportunity, the Parliamentary Parties met at Weimer and established a Republic on November 1918 popularly known as Weimer Republic. This Republic was not received well by the Germans mainly because of the terms which the Republic was forced to accept by the Allied Forces after German’s defeat in the First World War. The Republic had to face many problems, some of which are given below:
• The Republic was forced to sign a peace treaty at Versailles in June 1919. The terms and conditions of this peace treaty were too harsh and humiliating. According to this treaty Germany lost its overseas colonies, 13 percent of its territories, 75 percent of its iron and 26 percent of its coal reserves. Also the Allied Powers demilitarized Germany to weaken its powers. So, this Republic was defamed and became unpopular among its own people from the very beginning.
• Germany had to agree to pay huge war compensation to 6 billion pounds to the Allied Countries. With all its resources, the Republic could never pay such a huge amount and so, many Germans held the new Weimer Republic responsible for agreeing to these conditions.
• Because of its weak position, those who supported the republic like – Socialists, Catholics, Democrats became easy targets of attack in the Conservative Nationalist Circles.
• Because of the opposition of the Allied Powers, Germans could not become a member of the League of Nations till 1925. Such a thing created most resentment in Germany and particularly for the Weimer Republic.
• Germany had fought the war largely on loans and had to pay war reparations in gold. With the depleted gold reserves, scarce resources and crippled economic conditions the Republic was no more able to pay war compensations. Under this situation the new Republic had to face a tough opposition from the neighbouring countries as they occupied its leading industrial area, Ruhr to claim the coal reserves.
• All in all there was devastation, starvation, unemployment, total despair among the youth and humiliation everywhere. The country was passing through a situation of hyperinflation and the Republic failed to solve the economic problems of the people. Last but not the least; the German economy was the worst hit by the world-wide economic crisis of 1929 – 1933.
So, the Weimer Republic had to face too many difficulties since its inception. Indeed the Republic was too young and vulnerable to survive so many problems within and outside the country and ultimately, it failed when Hitler sealed its fate in 1933.

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