Weimar republic in Germany
Introduction
After the First World War was called off, there were drastic changes were witnessed all over the world. The political, cultural, as well as social setups, were altered into new forms. Among the major political changes observed was the formation and establishment of new territories, countries, states, and republics, and the Weimar republic was one of them (Fulbrook, 1991).
According to Fulbrook (1991), the Weimer Republic was born on the ninth day of November, the year nineteen eighteen, in the small city of Weimar, out of social revolutions and military defeat in Germany, which consisted of nineteen federal states. Its composition included members from the German national assembly, among other parties namely the Germany’s Democratic Party, the center party, and Germany’s social democratic party. Friedrich Ebert was the first president elected for the republic. The republic received a lot of support from the coalition of parties, estimated to be around 76.2 percent as opposed to the minority anti-republican parties which accounted for 10.3 percent. The republic’s president was so strong to be perceived as the surrogate of Keiser and so was the republic’s parliamentary system.
Germany’s support of the Weimar republic
Initially, after its conception, the Weimar republic had maximum support from the government of Germany, even though the republic was experiencing destabilization in the prescribed years of stabilization, i.e. after the First World War was over in November nineteen eighteen. The republics’ political, social, and economic status had not yet achieved stabilization in the wake of the Great War. The aftermath of the war was yet to be overcome in political and economic aspects worldwide, and in particular, in the Weimar republic. Germany’s major liberal parties saw their support for the state decline, and this led to dwindling faith of the common citizens unto the major parties, with many shifting their faith to the weaker self-interest parties such as the independent social democratic party. This only inflated the political woes and destabilization in the republic (Fulbrook, 1991).
Stresemann support for the Weimar republic
Gustav Stresemann was a liberal German statesman, serving as a chancellor in the years 1878 to 1929, and it’s during his era when the Weimar Republic was formed. Stresemann’s political policies geared towards integrating Europe’s economic status lifted Stresemann to the heights of the most important leaders Germany has ever had. His expulsion from Germany’s Democratic Party was due to his indisputable support for the Weimar republic (Fulbrook, 1991).
The year 1923 was known as the year of crises, and it’s during the Ruhr crisis, Stresemann manifested his strengths by strategizing the way forward to see the calling off of the Ruhr resistances. Stresemann’s era saw Germany’s support to the Republic of Weimar, politically as well as economically. This was evidenced by the stabilization of political radicalism, a major boost to both its political and economical status. The republicans’ social wellbeing and living standards were noticed to be raised significantly in 1928. Still in this era, significant changes were observed in the labor sector, where unemployment shot down considerably. It’s still during this era, specifically in 1928, when money wages shot up by a hundred percent and the value of Germany’s currency was highly stable. Many Germans referred to this period (1923-1929) as the era of prosperity. Weimar republic got undoubtful support from Germany during this era but in the courtesy of Stresemann the pro-republican German chancellor in the 1920’s. The loans advanced to Germany during his era saw the resolution of the Ruhr crisis in 1923, among other crises evidenced in Germany during that period, a great move for the support of the republic (Fulbrook, 1991).
Stresemann’s initiative of the public infrastructural works and capital investments in Germany’s industrial rebuilding and modernization was a great boost to the economic support rendered to the Weimar republic. The economic prosperity triggered progression on fostering international understanding between Germany and other western powers. This was due to recognition of the economic gains probably to come forth as a result of cooperation between states. Weimar’s gained considerably from the settled political temperatures and that Germany could now recognize and respect the republic. Politically, Germany’s authorization of Weimar to draft its constitution which the national assembly ratified in mid-1919 was evidence of support the government gave to the republic. The democratic election of their president was a major boost for the continued support offered to the state by the government of Germany. The mid-1920s were the optimal years of economic and political prosperity in the republic domestically and internationally, due to continued support from Germany via its chancellor, Stresemann.
The fall of Germany’s support of the Weimar Republic
However, the continued support started to dwindle towards the end of the 1920s when there were increasing renewed conflicts in Germany’s political parties, as the parties revived the rift which had led to sharp divisions on German people in the past. Many Germans were held to the belief that the party’s conflict of interest was rekindling the sad and agonizing memories of the first world war in Germany( Fischer, 1995).
It was noted that even the parties which had held a unified coalition in support of the republic started to manifest their differences openly, and in the end, the republic had very few supporters on either of the German political sides (Fischer, 1995).
Germany’s support completely declined when its elite groups and institutions lost their support for the republic and publicly denounced its presence. Criticism was on the rise about the Weimar system which many stakeholders and leaders in the heavy industry sector, alleged supported the welfare of the costly state, giving the reason for it to be dismantled out of existence in Germany. The resulting counterattack on labor aiming to reduce wages and benefits for the republic was a blow for its support from the German government (Fischer, 1995).
Conclusion
Germany’s support for Weimar was great during its conception, which was reinforced in the era of Stresemann, but dwindled significantly after Stresemann was, and the main stumbling block behind this was the political division experienced in Germany in the late 1920s. The criticism from the elite groups such as judges and institutions of higher learning were also among the factors which contributed to the withdrawal of Germany’s support on Weimar. Generally, Germany failed in progressively developing the Weimar republic after the First World War.
The Nazi policies on women
Introduction
Women in any given society are given the mandate of taking care of the family and siring children as well as undertaking other household affairs and chores. During the Nazi era, the pro-Nazi policies were strict and very firm on roles to be played by women. Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazis was highly concerned with the role women had to play during this era. Hitler’s thought on women was that they were the bearer of the present and the future power of the nation. In his thoughts, increasing the population of the country meant power, hence the power and future of Germany were being held by the German women (Fischer, 1995).
The Nazi policies and ideals on women
Fischer (1995) observed that Hitler and the Nazi policies maintained that women’s social activities should be minimized entirely to biological purposes of giving birth and raising children. To reinforce this policy, Hitler provided for some privileges to women such as improved maternal health care, marriage loans among other rewards. During this era, women were required to be submissive to Hitler’s demands hence they accepted to undertake their conventional role ‘housewife’. However, it was ironic how many women supported the national socialist party where family values were entrenched in its policies.
Women support the Nazi policies
The support rendered to the Nazis by women was evidenced in 1929 when Gertrude Scholtz Klink a German woman became the leader of a Nazi organization and later the overall nationwide deputy leader of the organization in Germany. The Nazi party got the attention and role of women in place through Gertrude’s promotion to be the overall leader of all the women organizations allied to the Nazi party. However, male dominance in the overall leadership was evident as she was supposed to be under all the top-level leaders in the Nazi leadership. The Nazi successfully utilized Gertrude in mobilizing all the German women in performing their roles as demanded and expected by the Nazi party. The party demanded that women were only supposed to breed more than four children as well as providing for the families and their husbands. Her great support for the party’s policies and ideals was a great boost for the party’s demand for the role women were supposed to play during their reign. Gertrude’s strong perspective on the good attributes of the Nazi regime made it not lose its grip on women even though it was being criticized heavily by reducing women to slaves of the household and taking them as breeding objects and machines of domestic work( Fischer, 1995).
Women resistance against the Nazi policies
According to a letter from a German woman addressed to Hitler, she praised the Nazi ideals and policy of letting women take family affairs and household chores. In her proclamation, the woman noted that she was now proud that she could take the overall responsibilities of a mother, i.e. bringing forth children, looking after them, and educating them to be suitable models and useful people in society. The atrocities implicated on women by the Nazi ideals and policies however did not end in the family compound (Ziemer, 1941).
An American teacher visiting a Berlin clinic in Germany described an extraordinary act on a woman. On the hospital bed, doctors were sterilizing a woman on the basis that she was mentally sick. The Nazi policies were that a woman should be healthy and give birth to healthy offspring. Women who did not adhere to this policy were supposed to be sterilized and this was a major blow to the support of the Nazi’s policy by women (Ziemer, 1941).
According to Zeimar (1941), Many women opposed to the party did nothing or little to demonstrate their support for the party, with some going publicly in declaring their opinion and stand towards the party’s policies. The party was so tough on these ‘deviants’ and among the implications they suffered from their deviance was being killed in concentration camps. Others committed suicide or went for exile in other countries.
Failure of the Nazi policies on women
However, success was not to come easily for the Nazis in mobilizing and getting optimal support of the majority of German women, as not all women were loyal to the Nazi party. This can be evidenced in the letter addressed to Hitler by German women which was published in 1934 in a Leipzig newspaper. In the paper, the women were protesting on the role of the educated men against family affairs. Men were accused of neglecting and leaving their families for clubs and hostels, while their daughters’ ideals in growing up just to be breeding machines for men. The women expressed their agony at how their sons sarcastically ridiculed them publicly as their natural servants (Ziemer, 1941).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Nazi party in its policies and ideals was not successful in mobilizing women in accepting their roles as beasts of labor in the family setting. Even though it got minority support from women like Gertrude, the majority of women were totally in rejection of such policies. In most cases, women argued that they were being abused as machines for breeding children to work for Germany’s Nazis. The act of rewarding women who had met the minimum qualification of producing a minimum of four children however had no significant boost on the party’s grip on women and their stipulated roles in the policies. The act of sterilizing women perceived to be weak in their biological productivity did bring out more resistance by women to the party’s policies as this was a violation and disrespect to human rights as it pertains to women’s welfare. The Nazi party, therefore, failed in getting the support of women in their policies about women’s roles.
References
Fulbrook. M. The Fontana History of Germany: The Divided Nation. Fontana Press. New York, 1991.
Fischer K. Nazi Germany: A New history. Manchester.Manchester University Press, 1995.
Ziemer V. Education for Death. Oxford. Oxford University Press, 1941.