describe the rise and decline of weimer republic

The Weimar republic was formed in 1919 following Germany's defeat in the First World War and the abdication of the German emperor. The republic sought to convert Germany into a liberal constitutional democracy. However, from the very beginning, the republic was beset with crisis.

It faced severe economic problems due to the collapse of the German economy after the war. The German currency lost all its value and there was hyperinflation. The heavy burden of reparations imposed by the Treaty of Versailles compounded the problems of the Weimar republic. The people of Germany began to lose faith in the republic. The German economy did recover during the middle of the 1920s but again suffered due to the Great Depression from the 1929.

The Weimar republic also faced problems of political instability. Due to proportional representation, no party could secure a majority in the German parliament due to which there were frequent changes in government. From 1930, the German President Hindenburg had to use emergency powers to enable the German chancellors to run the government.

Such problems eventually led to the collapse of the Weimar republic and its replacement by the dictatorship of Hitler in 1933.

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US joined the Allied powers in 1917 and defeated Germany and the Central Powers. The defeat of Germany in world war 1 resulted in the abdication of the German Emperor. This gave an opportunity for the parliamentary parties to bring in a change, in German politics. A democratic constitution with a federal structure was formed by the National Assembly, which met at Weimar and the Weimar Republic came into existence.The republic faced two kinds of problems (i) Economic Crisis The war had been very costly for all concerned. The damage and human casualties, along with post-war depletion of resources, consequent debts and war compensation led to this crisis. Hyperinflation made the German Mark valueless and caused immense hardship to the German people. (ii) Political Crisis Although the National Assembly framed a democratic Constitution, it was too weak. Proportional representation and Article 48 resulted in the creation of a political crisis and finally the death of the Weimar Republic.
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