Cameron Campbell

4/21/19
AP Euro
Weimar Republic DBQ

Several factors contributed to the instability of the Weimar Republic during the early

1900s. The main factors which led to instability were; Germany had a weak government that

consisted of several different groups with opposing ideas, the rise of the National Socialist Party

and its use of militarism to gain support, and the backlash that Germany felt after World War I.

All of these factors led to an unstable time for the Weimar Republic.

First, the weak government that Germany had after World War I led to the Weimar

Republic being unstable. Several groups had their own ideas of how Germany should resolve its

internal problems. For example, in document 1, the leader of the German Democratic Party talks

about a League of Nations. This contrasts with Communist Party member’s idea of implementing

a proletarian revolution (document 3). This shows that within the government, there were many

different ideas of what should happen with Germany, making the government indecisive and

unstable. There was a novelist who made a speech to German University students. He was

persuading them to support democracy for Germany and compared it to “humanity”. Because he

there trying to persuade them, he may be putting his opinion at the forefront. This is showing

how many different people were advocating many different ideas. This is further explaining how

mismatched and unstable the German government was.

The rise of the National Socialist Party and its increased use of militarism to gain support also

led to instability for the Weimar Republic. In document 6, a National Socialist member giving a

speech to Nazi members advocated that they “arm themselves with the weapons of democracy

and that they will “comes as enemies!” He is pushing for an overthrow of the government, and
Cameron Campbell
4/21/19
AP Euro
Weimar Republic DBQ
he is supporting that it be violent. Since he is using propaganda in the speech, it is more

likely that he is amplifying his words and glorifying his plan to gain support. Document 5 shows

the increased militarism of this party. This rise of force led to an uncertain time for the people of

the Weimar Republic. In document 8, the German Chancellor stated that the Social Democratic

Party was “unfit to govern”. With this opinion of this group, their increasing power must have

caused an uneasy feeling in Germany. In the political journal in document 9, it is stated that the

rising political group gained support by taking over the weakened German people. And they did

this by employing “the methods of war” (document 9). The National Socialist Party had begun to

rise to power by using the military and force, causing instability for the Weimar Republic.

Lastly, Adolf Hitler gave his speech to a group of people, saying that the men were “schooled to

blind obedience” (document 10). Finally, with the spirit of the German people low, the country

of Germany fell apart. Carl von Ossretzy, a journalist, stated that “there was nothing to make the

heart beat faster” (document 6). Nothing could inspire the people. Another writer, a World War

I veteran, wrote that after the war, Germany fell apart. He wrote, “What do we believe in?”

(document 7). The spirit of the people had fallen and German unity had declined, leading to

instability. Also, the Chancellor of Germany wrote that the German revolution lacked “fire and

inspiration” (document 8) Since it was written in his memoirs and published after his death, this

is merely his opinion and was not meant to persuade anyone of anything. Finally, document 9

states that “the

Cameron Campbell
4/21/19
AP Euro
Weimar Republic DBQ
Condition of Germany was a psychological fact” (document 9). This proves that having

the spirit of the German people down could be a factor in the instability of the Weimar Republic.

In conclusion, many factors led to the instability of the Weimar Republic. From the weak

government Germany possessed, to the rise of the National Socialist Party, all this led to

Germany being in an unstable time.