As a German I voted for the Weimar government, only because I wanted my right to vote to remain and I knew with the parties it would lead to dictatorship, just ike in Russia. I believe the Weimar government did the best they could with the situation they were given and the mess they were forced to fix.
At the same time I am mad with the Weimar’s government for choosing to sign the armistice when we were so close to winning the war. (1) We could have pulled out a victory! Our men were so close to the French headquarters they could smell it, but then they were called back. This decision hurt my faith in the Weimar government they were not the government I thought they would be, but they are still better than any of my alternatives.
Unlike my fellow citizens I do not believe that the Weimar Government are the “November Criminals.” Believe they made a decision that was forced upon them by the countries that developed the Treaty of Versailles. If they did not sign the treaty I might be writing this, and at the same time fearing for the safety of my family and friends, that they might die at the hands of another counties soldiers. If any think the government should have accepted only some of the punishment from the treaty to please the majority, then fought the rest of the treaty for a lessened punishment. If I was in charge I would say that if the countries ever want to see the money Germany owed then for the war then there was no way they could take away 40% of our iron production and 16% of our coal production.(1) Doing this would hurt our industry and make it impossible for us to play them back in the near future or at all. I believe that appealing to their financial side would have allowed us to retain the majority of our land because if the believed they would never see their money they would be more willing to negotiate.
Although the Weimar government has made a few mistakes, I still think they have the best interest of the German at heart. If this was not true, they would not hold elections like they did; they would not want to hear what the common person had to say. This sense of input is something that I do not get from the other government parties and is why the Weimar government gained my support and will keep it. With every government there will be up and downs, the Weimar government has dealt with these in the best way they could. They have the best vision for my country German!!
Sources
1- Belk Notes
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your point of view because I wrote about the same things. Many people don't realize that although Germany did end up with inflation and political instability, any government in their situation would have been faced with the same harsh problems that truly had no "right" answers. It was a lose-lose situation for the Weimar government. They had good intentions I think, they just came into rule at the wrong time. I agree with you that they had to sign the armistice even though it meant Germany had to take full responsibility for the war, because don't you think if they didn't a U.S. invasion of our country would have most likely been much worse? The inflation was also the Weimar Government's fault, but there was really no right answer to that situation either because they had to produce the money somehow to keep the peace. Which leads me to a point you made that I found interesting about how it was unfair for the Allies to expect us to pay 33 billion dollars to them, as well as take away our coal and iron production which would make it so much harder to produce enough money to repay them. We were definitely being unfairly micromanaged.
ReplyDeleteAlthough they were forced to sign the treaty of versailles, i have to disagree with the fact that they did the BEST that they could. The government could have at least fought a little to receive the rightful ownership that they deserve to keep, even though they were seen as the agressor of the war. They could have kept some of the land that was rich for agriculture. In doing this, they could have boosted the economy and not have gone into such debt and economic disaster. Germany could have at least been able to build themselves up to a respectable place. However, the government gave in to the other countries and did not show strength in the country of Germany. In giving in fully, the goverment made Germany seem weak and vonerable.
ReplyDeletealyson!
ReplyDeleteI see where you are coming from. And your view makes sense. However, as a citizen, I cannot agree with you. Why did Germany agree to the Treaty of Versailles after the war KNOWING that the economy and all of its problems that they would soon encounter after the war. It's not like they had NO idea that it was coming. The Treaty of Versailles was a set up for disaster. They agreed to pay $33 billion dollars in debt. They agreed to give up the land. They knew that the soldiers had to come home. Not to say that we can be VERY proactive in a situation like this. But the Treaty of Versailles made it inevitable for the economy to be shot, leaving the citizens hopeless.
i understand where your coming from when you say the Weimar government did the best they could with the situation, however i disagree. i believe the government could have been stronger and stood its ground. They signed away our land, our pride, and our military strength because it was the easiest way out. These things effected our money, family, and economy, and for them to just sign the "peace treaty" without hesitation or trying to negotiate shows that they didnt fight for us. They didnt have to take all of the blame for WWI because they werent the only country that forced it. this would have helped some of our country relations because its impossible to have a democracy without international relations. they could have kept some of the land so that we could have had something to build off of. These arent even all of the things they could have at least tried to fight for. They gave some effort however it wasnt the best.
ReplyDeleteAh Alyson...
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to say I have some problems with this one...
1. You say you wanted the Weimar Government because it allowed you the opportunity to have a democracy. But is listening to the people's calls and needs not an extremely critical aspect of being a democracy? The people of Germany were calling for help and the Government was only there making things worse for them.
2. They may have wanted success for Germany...but they went about it the wrong way. They pulled Germany out of a war they could have won. They accepted a treaty that practically destroyed Germany economically, geographically, and socially.
3. This is not necesarily directed toward Alyson but to everyone else. I think its ridiculous to accept the fact that the Weimar Government was a new government as an excuse for their inability to do what is best for the country. This is not some elementary school game of kick ball where the new kid is given a little break when he misses the ball...this is being in charge of a country! They were in charge of peoples' lives! There is no room for a learning curve; especially in such a critical point for their country. The fact is that they made too many mistakes and Germany as a whole suffered at their hands.
I agree with some of the things you said, but I also have to disagree with some things. First of all, I do agree with what you said about trusting the Weimar Government because their goal was democracy. And according to Belk's notes, it said that early elections showed that this coalition of parties had 76.2% of the vote. Majority of the people, including you, wanted to have a democratic government. I do have to disagree with you though when you said, "at the same time fearing for the safety of my family and friends, that they might die at the hands of another counties soldiers". Yes, since they signed to Treaty of Versailles you do not have to worry about the safety of your family or friends. But, if they had not have signed the peace treaty then yea we would still fear the safety of our loved ones, but we possibly could have won the war. If we had won, some of the major problems like political instability, economic ruins, and unemployment might have never occured.
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