Problems in the 1920s and 1930s

 Political Problems 

Politically, the Weimar Republic had many small political parties so it was nearly impossible to form a coalition. The Weimar Republic was criticized by both conservatives and leftists. Conservatives thought the Weimar Republic was too weak. Leftists and communists demanded the changes they’d heard Lenin brought to Russia. In addition to the critiques of the Weimar Republic, many Germans were still angered by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Having to pay such large reparations negatively impacted the economy. Not only did the Treaty of Versailles impact the economy, it also impacted German nationalism and the sense of pride they had for their country. Germans of all classes began to believe the Weimar Republic was weak and not doing enough to protect German pride. 

Economic Problems

The political problems were compounded by economic problems. In 1922 and 1923, Germany experienced rampant inflation. Inflation is the rise in prices and the fall in the value of money. Many Germans who lived on fixed government incomes found their money to be worthless. In addition to inflation, Germany began to fall behind on reparation payments as mandated in the Treaty of Versailles. When the Weimar Republic was unable to make payments, France occupied the Ruhr Valley. The German workers in Ruhr Valley refused to work, but were still paid by the government with newly printed money. The newly printed money only created more inflation and soon the German currency (marks) were worthless. 

Angered, bittered and humiliated, Germans began to look for scapegoats [people who are unfairly blamed for all problems] to explain their political and economic problems. Many Germans looked to German Jews as the reason for Germany’s problems. These political and economic problems caused many people to lose faith in the Weimar Republic and they began to look to extremist leaders to solve the problems it seemed the Weimar Republic was unable to solve.