Threats to the Weimar Republic

A republic under attack

The Weimar Republic, the democracy set up in Germany after the First World War, faced serious threats from its very first years. Its constitution had weaknesses built in: proportional representation gave many small parties seats and made stable government hard, and Article 48 let the president rule by emergency decree. Many Germans also blamed the new government for signing the hated Treaty of Versailles, believing the army had been stabbed in the back. On top of this came risings from the far left and the far right. This module sorts those threats and explains the instability.

Weimar words

Learn these before you sort any threat, and keep the left-wing and right-wing dangers apart.

Threats from left and right

The republic was attacked from both political extremes. Sorting the threats by side is the key to the topic.

How to sort the threats

Do not just list the risings. First, place each threat on the left or the right: communists who wanted a workers state on one side, nationalists who wanted a strong authoritarian ruler on the other. Second, link the trouble to the weaknesses of the system, such as a voting method that produced weak coalition governments and the resentment left by the peace treaty. Explain why each threat put the republic in danger rather than simply naming when it happened.

Match the event to what it was

Which side was the Kapp Putsch?

The Kapp Putsch of 1920 tried to seize power in Berlin. Which kind of threat was it?

• A right-wing threat by nationalists opposed to the republic.
• A left-wing communist uprising.
• A foreign invasion of Germany.
• A peaceful protest with no threat.

Weaknesses of the constitution

Select the TWO built-in weaknesses of the Weimar constitution.

• Proportional representation, which produced weak coalition governments
• Article 48, which let the president rule by emergency decree
• A single strong party that always won a clear majority
• Having no head of state at all

Count the putsches left

There were 3 major armed challenges to Weimar in its early years to learn: the Spartacist uprising, the Kapp Putsch and the Munich Putsch. A student can already name 1 of them. Subtract to find how many are still to be learned. What is the answer?

Order the early threats

Put these early challenges to the Weimar Republic in order, earliest first.

• The Weimar Republic is set up after the war
• The Spartacists rise up on the left
• The Kapp Putsch attacks from the right
• Hitler leads the Munich Putsch in 1923

Complete the story

The democracy set up after the war was the _____ Republic. Its voting system, _____ representation, produced weak coalition governments. On the left, the _____ rose up in 1919. A sudden armed attempt to seize power, like the one in Munich in 1923, is called a _____.

Match the threat to its side

Spot the true Weimar facts

Tap the TWO statements that are true about the threats to Weimar.

• Weimar was threatened from both the left and the right
• Proportional representation led to weak coalition governments
• The constitution guaranteed one strong party in power
• No group ever tried to seize power by force

Sort the threat

Read each case and choose the best answer.

• Communist workers rise up in Berlin in 1919 hoping to create a workers state. Which kind of threat is this?
• A student asks why coalition governments in Weimar were so weak. Which answer is strongest?
• In 1923 a rising led by Hitler and nationalists tried to seize power in Munich. Which kind of threat was it?

Explain the threats to Weimar

Explain why the Weimar Republic was under threat in its early years, covering the weaknesses of the system and the risings from both sides.

• Explain two weaknesses built into the Weimar constitution
• Explain the left-wing threat, such as the Spartacist uprising
• Explain the right-wing threats, such as the Kapp and Munich Putsches
• Explain how the Treaty of Versailles added to the resentment
• Finish with a judgement on whether the left or the right was the greater danger