Weimar Republic

Challenges to Weimar, 1919- 1923:
.When war ended in November 1918, food and coal supplies were scarce and most Germans were near starvation.

.By 1918, Germany was producing just over half of what it had produced before the war.

.The allied blockade in the last 2 years of the war had made it impossible for the German Government to import food.

.Many returning soldiers had no home or jobs to go to.

.During the winter of 1918-1919 many suffered badly. This was worsened by the outbreak of Spanish Flu, which peaked in early 1919. More than half a million civilians and soldiers died from the epidemic.

In these economic and social circumstances, and with a new government being established, it is not surprising that there were various political challenges to it's very existence.

The Spartacists:
.The Spartacists were German communists who were inspired by the Russian revolution of 1917.
.They saw the abdication of the Kaiser as the first step to what they wanted to achieve in Germany and aimed to copy the uprising by the workers of Russia in 1917.
.Some wanted to wait until the workers of Germany became fed up with the Weimar government, whereas others wished to take immediate action while there was still much unrest in Berlin.
.In January 1919, some Spartacists staged an attempted revolution in Berlin against Ebert's government. It was badly organised and the leaders, Rosa Luxemberg and Karl Liebknecht, only supported it when it had already started.
.The uprising was crushed by the Friekorps. Over 100…