Burdette--There's a silver lining to every cloud...

At least the war is over. At least Kaiser Wilhelm is gone. At least there will be no more fighting.
This new government (they call themselves the Weimar government) ended the war just like that. No one was quite prepared. I can't say I mind too much...I'm glad the war is over. I had just gotten so tired of hearing about all the deaths. And though I realize the reality of it is that there will be brothers, fathers, sons, best friends, boyfriends, uncles don't return home, I am just happy that no more people have to die for some cause that no one even remembers at this point. Some would say that these Weimar people should not have gotten us out of the war...something about the fact that we weren't really defeated and should not have given up. I just got so tired of the war though. I'm glad it's over. Although I must say, the Allies did put us in quite a predicament with their little treaty. But I really don't think that was the Weimar government's fault. They just wanted to get us out of this war. The Allies, on the other hand, wanted to lay full responsibility on us; they were merciless, creating a treaty that cost us billions (of money and acres of land). The Allies are to blame for our problems: our unstable economy, our tiny army, our new status as an outcast in the world. Just because the Weimar government wanted to get Germany out of the war does not mean that they should be to blame for our current situation. Look to the Allies if you want to blame someone.
And then there's the economy issue. Again, I blame the Allies. We are dealing with inflation and billions of dollars in war debt. On top of that, due to the high rate of casualties in the war (thanks again to the Weimars for getting us out of that mess ASAP), there's a lack of workers. Some returning soldiers can't even work and unemployment rates are high. Plus, we lost a lot of industrially rich land in that stupid treaty the Allies forced us to sign. Because of this, our industrial production is going to be way down. And then how are we supposed to pay off this debt? It's a vicious cycle! But I have faith in the Weimar government...I have a feeling they are going to make things better. We may not be in a good place right now (and some of my fellow Germans would probably blame our new government), but I don't think this unstable economy was caused by the Treaty of Versailles which we basically had no choice but to sign. If our government hadn't signed that treaty, we would have been occupied by the Allies. And at that point, you could pretty much just say goodbye to our beloved Germany as we know it. The Weimar Republic had their hands tied by a pretty little piece of paper that will go down in history as the Allies' great victory: the Treaty of Versailles.
At least, after all the disaster the Allies have caused in Germany they have tried to come up with plans to help us pay back the debt that they so kindly handed us in the first place (pardon my sarcasm here). With the Dawes Plan and eventually the Young Plan, the Allies are attempting to get us on track with our payments for the war reparations. I'm not so sure that the Weimar government should have agreed to this and as the Great Depression is currently destroying both America and by default, most of the world, things aren't looking so good for us. But again, we were forced into this. The Weimar government was not given much choice. They have done the best they could. The ending is not in their hands anymore. The Allies stole that much from them and from us when they made us not only sign the Treaty of Versailles but also agree to the Dawes and Young Plans.
There was absolutely no alternate choice for the Weimar government. Perhaps they see these decisions as what's best for us. The general unrest in the German people due to our current situation probably mean the Weimar Republic won't be in power much longer. Signing the Treaty of Versailles seems like a sacrifice on their part. It's hitting us hard too but they signed over their chances of holding power when they signed that treaty. Thanks to the Allies for turning the German people against their government who did so much for them. I can't blame the Weimar government--their hands were figuratively tied--although I know many can and will. It seems such a shame that they were put in such a predicament (that we were put in such a predicament) because of the Allies' lack of mercy.