The Weimar Republic was set up in Germany at the end of the First World War. It was a dramatic transformation from the highly undemocratic, authoritarian Kaiser Reich of the war, and pre war years. It was made up of an extremely democratic voting system, universal suffrage for the over 21s, and had a very proportionately representative Reichstag. With hindsight, we know that the system collapsed and gave way to Hitler's dictatorship in 1933. But it also inherited a broken, divided and demoralised Germany after WWI, and seemed to, at least partially, restore it to success. It is therefore arguable how weak or stable Weimar was.

At the end of the Great War, Germany had lost much territory; it had lost 13% of its productivity, 24% of its coal, and 74% of its iron ore. It was paying L6.6 billion in reparations under the Treaty of Versailles. On top of this, Germany had 600,000 war widows and 1.2 million orphans, the government were spending 1/3 of its disposable funds on pensions. The hyperinflation of 1923and the subsequent re-establishment of the currency had brought great misery amongst most Germans,

The economic situation following the war was dire. The massive loss of territory and L6.6 billion reparations, in the Treaty of Versailles, undermined any chance of a healthy recovery. By 1924 the economy was substantially weaker than it seemed or should have been. The economic effect of the War on domestic Germany was painful. With 600,000 widows and 1.2 million orphans, huge amounts had to be spent on welfare. 1/3 of the Government's disposable fund went on pensions alone. In this kind of climate it was almost impossible for Weimar to hope to make an economic recovery. The Dawes plan, which seemed to be a breakthrough at the time, in fact was disastrous for Germany. Along with the effect of economic collapse in 1923 and hyperinflation, Germany became perilously reliant on foreign loans. In 1929 The Wall Street Crash meant that almost all foreign investment and loans were reclaimed, leaving Germany under serious threat.

"These times long for authority, they are tired of Liberal ideas."

Gustav Stresemann, Foreign Minister until his death in October 1929, spearheaded the development of relations with other countries. A series of agreements in the 1920s established Germany as "an equal and friendly partner with Great Britain and France in world affairs and seemed to promise peace in the future". His many successes include the 1925 Locarno Treaties - which heralded internal peace and national stability - joining the League of Nations in 1926, the Kellog-Briand Pact and the Young Plan. The latter did cause problems in the future for Germany's economy, but at the time was a breakthrough and very promising for Germany. Improved relations were demonstrated in 1927, when the Allies agreed to reduce their forces in the Rhineland by 100,000 men.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Trade Unions, Treaty Versailles, Weimar Germany, Constitution President, Street Crash, Rise Hitler, Derrick Murphy, Streseman's Locarno, EJ Feuchtwanger, Dawes Plan, treaty versailles, weimar successful, l66 reparations treaty, wall street crash, weimar constitution, street crash, wall street, aj nicholls, foreign investment, dawes plan, widows 12 orphans, reparations treaty versailles, 12 orphans, widows 12,
Approximate Word count = 1941
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)