German Army

After a series of short term and long-term crises the Weimar Republic was unable to cope with the Great Depression. The brief periods of relative stability were only a façade for the chaos underneath the surface. The depression set the scene for what came to be the final event in the breaking down of the democratic system. It came at a time in which Germany had seemed to have renewed faith in the government system. In the 1928 elections extremist groups had not been supported, and although the government was a coalition it appeared to be relatively secure. Despite this there were a number of underlying problems; politically, socially and economically which further heightened the impact of the Great depression.

Before the great depression in 1929 there were a series of crises that undermined people’s faith in democracy. The long-term issues that helped in the collapse of the Weimar Republic included the political and economical issues of the 1920’s.
Politically Germany seemed to struggle to organise its government. Between 1924 and 1928, Germany had six different governments, highlighting its lack of political stability. Parties had separate priorities and the coalitions that were created found it difficult to agree on policies making them appear to be weak. The existence of extremist parties did not help the unstable nature of the democratic system either, as they often sought to turn people away from the republic, especially in times of crises. The Treaty of Versailles, like the coalitions, did little in the way to help the democratic government to achieve popularity. The diktat was humiliating for the German people and they often could not forgive the democratic government for signing it. In addition the revolution had ultimately changed the political system but it had failed to alter the social structure. This left many conservative elites in high positions of power that allowed them to undermined democracy.
These long-term political factors would...