1. What challenges did the Weimar Republic face?
Starter: Explain one thing we can learn from this source about people’s attitudes towards the Weimar Republic.
In this lesson, we will:
Describe the political challenges faced by the Weimar Republic.
Explain why the Ebert’s government were struggling to keep power by 1929.

2. How did the left and right challenge the Republic?
In the National Assembly created in 1918, moderate political parties were in the majority. Parties like the SDP worked with other moderate parties like the DDP and Centre Party to create the Weimar Republic. Between them they held about 80% of the seats.
However, there were some extreme left and right wing parties which openly challenged the Republic.
On the extreme left, the KDP wanted Germany to have a communist government.
On the extreme right, parties like the NSDAP (Nazis) wanted a return to one single, strong ruler like the Kaiser.

3. Moderate Far left Far Right Example parties: Example parties:
What did they want?
What did they want?
What did they want?
Percentage of vote in Reichstag
Percentage of vote in Reichstag
Percentage of vote in Reichstag

4. Checkpoint: Can you describe the political challenges faced by the Weimar Republic?

5. How did the Spatacists threaten the Republic?
The KPD had grown substantially since 1918 – it was funded by the Soviet Union so had 33 newspapers and over 400,000 members. They were also supported by the Spartacist League.
The SL were extreme socialists and named themselves after the slave who led a revolt in Ancient Rome (Spartacus). They were led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht
In January 1919, Ebert sacked Emil Eichhorn, the police chief in Berlin. IN protest, thousands of workers began to protest on the streets.
The Spartacists saw this as their chance to seize power and called for an uprising and general strike. On 6th January they seizes the governments newspaper and telegraph offices across Berlin.
Ebert used ex soldiers, known as the Freikorps (Free Corps) to crush the rebellion. Over 250,000 helped crushed the rioters by the 13th. On 16th Luxemburg and Liebknecht were shot and killed.

6. What other threats were there?
Freikorps quickly became a threat – in March 1920 they feared disbanding so turned on the government. 5,000 of them marched on Berlin to seize power.
When Ebert ordered General Seeckt, the head of the army, to resist them he refused as they were fellow soldiers who had served their country in the Great War.
The Freikorp took control of Berlin and invited the Kaiser to come back from Holland. They chose Wolfgang Kapp as a figurehead.
Members of the government fled Berlin to Stuttgart. They urged people not to co-operate and go on strike. Soon essential services such as gas and electricity stopped.
After four days, Kapp fled and was arrested. The rebellion collapsed and the Weimar politicians returned to Berlin.

7. Learning Task
9-7
For each threat, explain (A02) how it was a threat to the Weimar Republic.
All targets
In the middle of your page draw a small box with “Weimar Republic” inside.
For each threat below, expand with precise A01:
Political assassinations
Political armies
The Spartacist Revolt
The Kapp Putsch
Right wing bias in the courts.
6-4
For each threat, explain (A02) how it was a threat to the Weimar Republic.
3-1
Below your ‘attack chart’, identify which one was the biggest threat to Ebert’s government. Explain why you think this.

8. Walther Rathenau – Shot by right-wing assassins, 24th June 1922
Mathias Erzberger - Shot in the Black Forest, 26th August 1918.
Hugo Haasse - Shot outside the Reichstag, 8 October 1919

9. Checkpoint: Can you explain why the Ebert’s government were struggling to keep power?