Volume 5: Four Months in 1933
Springtime for Hitler
“The composition of the Cabinet leaves Herr Hitler no scope for gratification of any dictatorial ambition.” –The New York Times, January 31, 1933
The Weimar Republic has gotten a bad rap. Created following a sudden defeat, replacing the 400-year-old Hohenzollern dynasty, and attached to the crushing reparations debt of Versailles, the leaders of the first representative government of the Germanic people faced obstacles that would crush any new nation. It made mistakes and had failures, but it also achieved a golden era of economic stability and burgeoning culture. It was no more destined to fail than any other new state.
Adolf Hilter rose to become führer und Reichskanzler through (mostly) legal means. The majority of the German people – at least in 1933 – were not blind followers of a murderous dictator. They were frustrated with crushing unemployment, austerity and deflation; in modern parlance, they felt “economic anxiety”. Yet despite never receiving more than 44% of the vote in a contested election, Hitler was able to utilize the legal machinery of the Republic to poison and destroy it.
What was the Weimar Republic?
How did Hitler become Chancellor?
What did he do then?
What was the Weimar Republic?
On November 11, 1918, the German people suffered a shock. Just four months earlier, in a great offensive, they pierced the trench line at the joint between the French Army and British Expeditionary Force. They overran the defenses and stood on the doorsteps of Paris, nearing the breakthrough denied to them four years prior. It nearly struck a fatal blow to the Triple Alliance.
But by September, the German Supreme Army Command decided that the position was hopeless(1). On October 3rd, a new Prime Minister was installed, tasked with negotiating a cease fire. By the end of October, German sailors at the Kiel naval base mutinied against preparations to leave port. Their revolt soon controlled the city of Kiel and began to spread. The two weeks following were a whirlwind: revolution spread across Germany; the Kaiser abdicated and fled; the Republic was declared; a cease fire was signed with the Allies in the forest of Compiègne. In January, a National Assembly was elected. They met in Weimar and created a Republic(2).
Viewed contemporaneously, the Weimar Constitution appeared well crafted. It was a liberal document(3), establishing the equality of citizens and rule of law. The basic structure included:
Separation of Powers: The states of the German Empire had always maintained significant autonomy in various matters and this was preserved.
Parliament: The Reichstag would be elected proportionally across Germany with no threshold for membership. It would select a Chancellor, who would act as Head of Government via a cabinet of ministers.
President: As Head of State, the President was elected to a seven-year term and eligible to be re-elected once. Critically, Article 48 permitted the President to suspend portions of the Constitution in an emergency, ruling by decree(4).
The document also created many basic freedoms which Germans had never previously possessed. They now had the right of habeas corpus, freedom of speech, privacy in their homes and communications, freedom of the press and of assembly, and a right to property. Religious and national minorities were full citizens and received specific protection.
Given its eventual end, it is understandable that the Weimar Republic is considered a failure today. But this is only known in hindsight. So before looking into its demise, it is important to consider the history of Weimar, which conveniently splits into 3 eras.
1919-1923: Crisis and Inflation
The Weimar Republic generally had a centrist Chancellor and cabinet, which was opposed by both left-wing and right-wing radicals. As a new system, in a country with little democratic history, the earliest years involved several attempts to overthrow the government.
Spartacist Uprising: Left-wing, 1919. A splinter group of radical Communists erects barricades in Berlin. Center-left government reacts violently, deploying the army to restore order. Leading “moderate Communists” were killed in police custody (despite being opposed to the uprising).
Kapp Putsch: Right-wing, 1920. Paramilitary groups revolted against the government, who they viewed responsible for the humiliating Versailles Treaty. Significant portions of the army, including General Erich Ludendorff(5), were sympathetic. Without army support, the government was forced to flee Berlin. The President of the Republic(6) called for a general strike, crippling the country and ending the coup. The eponymous leader was permitted to reach exile in Sweden before returning to Germany to continue political work(7).
Beer Hall Putsch: Right-wing, 1923. Adolf Hitler(8) and a group of about 2,000 followers marched to the center of Munich with the goal of taking control of the Bavarian state. After provoking a clash with local troops, in which 20 people were killed, the crowd dispersed. Hitler was sent to Landsberg Prison for a little while, but then released to continue political activity. From then on, he vowed, he would attempt to gain power only via legal means.
Although Weimar had another 10 years to live, we can already see a pattern: left-wing groups are put down violently and excluded from the political arena while right-wing groups are given slaps on the wrist and allowed to re-establish(9).
At the same time, the Republic was to face a challenge of a different type. A combination of war reparations, a shortage of raw materials and the French occupation of the industrial Ruhr Valley caused Weimar’s most famous feature, hyper-inflation:
“The budget deficit almost doubled, to around $1.5 billion. To finance this shortfall required the printing of ever-increasing amounts of ever more worthless paper marks…
The task of keeping Germany adequately supplied with currency notes became a major logistical operation involving ‘133 printing works with 1783 machines…and more than 30 paper mills.’…
Basic necessities were now priced in the billions – a kilo of butter cost 250 billion; a kilo of bacon 180 billion; a simple ride on a Berlin street car, which had cost 1 mark before the war, was now set at 15 billion…
In the time that it took to drink a cup of coffee in one of Berlin’s many cafes the price might have doubled…Economic existence became a rat race. Workers, once paid weekly, were now paid daily with large stacks of notes. Every morning big trucks loaded with laundry baskets full of notes rolled out of the Reichsbank printing offices and drove from factory to factory, where someone would clamber aboard to pitch great bundles to the sullen crowds of workers, who would then be given half an hour to rush out and buy something before the money became worthless.”(10)
1924-1929: The Golden Age of Weimar
Somehow, they ended the inflation(11). The German people, although shocked by the episode, began to settle into a period of normalcy. Only six years after the shocking defeat and five years after the humiliation at Versailles, Weimar was secure, prosperous and happy:
Foreign Affairs: Proper action on the international stage allowed modifications to the Treaty of Versailles, helping the balance of payments. Germany signed onto several agreements to control armaments and promote collective security in Europe.
Political: Although they were short-lived, a pattern formed of shared government between center-right and center-left parties. Radicals still existed but there were no more serious coups.
Economic: With the currency stabilized, economic growth rebounded quickly and standards of life neared parity with other Western nations.
Social: Weimar took advantage of the stability to create unemployment insurance, a welfare system and worker protections. The housing stock greatly improved and there was even an attempt to achieve universal health care(12).
Arts: All types flourished, as the Cabaret culture of Berlin became a center of the visual and performing arts world. Dada, German Expressionism and New Objectivism were centered in Weimar.
Science: Einstein had already published General Relativity, but was still in residence. Heisenberg and Born were critical to the development of particle physics. Fromm and Weber headlined the Frankfurt School of Philosophy. Göttingen, although below its 19th-century heights(13), was still a top university.
1929-1933: Deflation and Suicide
One critical factor in Germany’s recovery was public and private lending from the United States. After the stock market crash in 1929, American banks tightened credit to Germany, uniquely susceptible to such a shock. The Great Depression hit Germany harder than other European countries(14):
Weimar responded by installing a so-called finance expert as Chancellor(15). He responded in the classical, conservative manner: implementing austerity to eliminate budget deficits and restore confidence. Instead, it led to massive deflation, worsening the real debt burden, which decreased demand and increased unemployment(16):
The situation again ripe for revolution. Adolf Hitler, his Nazi party steadily gaining in the polls, had been waiting patiently(17).
How did Hitler become Chancellor?
As we’ve seen, Hitler and the Nazis first came to the notice of the world during the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. During his time in Landsberg prison, he composed his treatise(18), describing in lurid detail the plan he wanted to implement in Germany. Even though virtually all of his future crimes were spelled out precisely, it would be almost twenty years before people would take his campaign promises literally.