The war had not been successful. Russia's departure from the war had had no effect on the strength of the allies and Germany was in an imminent position, it was going to lose the war. At the time of the First World War Germany was run by the Kaiser who was a semi-absolutist, he could appoint who he wished, but also had to consult the Reichstag, an assembly of members elected by universal male suffrage. During the war two other people joined in running the country with the Kaiser, General Ludendorff and Field Marshal Hindenburg. These two men plus the Kaiser exercised a virtual military dictatorship over Germany. The war in 1916 looked good for the Germans, they were winning and Hindenburg and Ludendorff blocked several opportunities for peace. In 1918 it was a different story, the Germans were fighting a war on two fronts and the naval blockade imposed on Germany meant that food and other essential goods were not being brought in. The USA had got involved at that point and poured in a further 2 million troops to support the war effort. Ludendorff and Hindenburg clearly saw that the end o

Above is just one of many anti-republican propaganda posters used to rally support for groups like the Nazi party. The Treaty was used in a very unfair way towards the government, directly the treaty didn't have a significant effect on Germany, but indirectly it was used to put down the government and cause national hatred for there leaders. J. Hiden said 'The pernicious effects of the Treaty of Versailles lie….in the way it created added dimensions to existing internal conflicts and contradictions'. The government was weak, and with the treaty causing so many problems the government wasn't decisive enough to deal with those problems.

In conclusion I think that the constitution was a problem on its own for Germany. The written constitution wasn't properly thought through, and although the ideas and concepts are good and fair I don't believe that Germany was ready for something quite so radical and democratic. In relation to the treaty I think it did pose as a threat to the government, not because of the economic repercussions, but because of the way in which it was used to rally support against the government. Germany was going through very precarious times and a decisive strong government was needed, which is exactly what the Weimar constitution didn't offer.

On the other hand there is evidence which does show that the treaty of Versailles didn't actually effect the government directly. The reparations were too high for Germany to pay and so it didn't actually cause a constant economic depression, in fact in November 1923 a new currency, the Rentenmark, ends inflation crisis and economic recovery begins. Germany, in 1924 receives foreign help in the form of loans, which literally marks the end of Germany's punishment. Pacts between Germany and France and Germany and the USSR were formed in 1926-1927. Germany even joins the League of Nations, which gave them an important chance to help make decisions on European matters; it also marked the fact that Germany's European counterparts were recognising Germany again. A quote from a book called 'Weimar and the Rise of Hitler' written by A. Nicholls in 1979 states 'The real damage the treaty did to Germany was to disillusion more moderate men who might otherwise have supported their new republic.' I believe this confirms the fact that it wasn't the treaty its self that was the problem, it was the way it was used as propaganda against the government that caused the biggest problems. J.Hiden, The Weimar Republic, 1974 says that 'It is no longer acceptable to blame the ultimate failure of the Republic on the treaty of Versailles, and even its economic effects are disputed'. These two sources seem to be reliable as both have hindsight also they clearly illustrate the fact that the treaty was hardly at all to blame for the collapse of the Republic. These three main factors potentially put Germany in a strong position:

The opposition to the government reviled in the opportunity to ruin its reputation and cause the German public to be ashamed and disillusioned in their government. Riots were a common occurrence for the government to deal with, and towards the end revolutionary take-overs were also quite common. In four years 376 political murders took place in Germany. If the killers were communists they were caught and put to death. If not they were given light sent

Some topics in this essay:
Treaty Versailles, National President, Hugo Preuss, Worse German, Austro-Hungarian Turkish, Republic Bavaria, Federation' President, Versailles Diktat, USA European, Weimar Republic, treaty versailles, weimar republic, weimar constitution, sign treaty, national president, proportional representation, prince max baden, german public, running country, germany government, constitution written, 'the national president,