ENG Wa 9 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

ENG Wa 9 - Essay Example The constitution was weak. At one period between 1919 and 1933, there were 28 different parties in government. There were only coalition governments. From 1918 to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the government did nothing to improve widespread poverty, massive inflation and unemployment. They remained basically ineffective for 13 years, a point in which Hitler used to gain popularity. Upon signing of the Treaty of Versailles, the social and economic situation of the country became drastically worse. The government lost all credibility setting the stage for the growth of nationalism, anti-Semitism and the rise of the 3rd Reich . The purpose of this paper is to show why the German people had no choice but to accept the 3rd Reich. When a country is in such economic and social turmoil, it sets the stage for a dictator and totalitarian regime. The paper will conclude by showing how a country changes from economic turmoil to WWII. The Treaty of Versailles set the stage and there w as no other choice. Towards the end of the war, in January of 1918, President Wilson proposed to the US Congress the "Fourteen Points" and "Four principles". He sent the proposal to the Germans on the 5th of November 1918. (http://www.germanculture.com.ua) The new Weimar Republic was created November 9th 1918 on the premise that the Wilson proposition would be ratified as part of the peace settlement. The armistice was asked for November 11, 1918. Cease fire began by a country who thought they were winning the war at home and had no idea of the losses on the front.().France and Britain wanted retribution. They wanted Germany to be reduced to a insignificant European country.(Duffy 2004 ) .Of Wilson's Fourteen Points, nothing was taken into account other than the creation of the League of Nations. (Fuller 2010) Germany was completely demoralized. Had the proposal been considered, the blame of World War I would have been shared, and reparations would not have fallen completely on one country. The German people had no faith in the new governing powers. The Weimar Republic stayed in power from 1918 to 1933.(Wadell) In 1919, a new constitution was drawn, but it was never ratified. The fallacies of the constitution were later used by Hitler to gain toletarian power when he became Chancellor in 1933. Though it was a democratic constitution, " the president had the right to dismiss the cabinet, dissolve the Reichstag, and veto legislation. The legislative powers of the Reichstag were further weakened by the provision for presidential recourse to popular plebiscite. Article 48, the so-called emergency clause, accorded the president the right to allow the cabinet to govern without the consent of parliament whenever it was deemed essential to maintaining public order". Defining public order was highly subjective. (http://www.germanculture.com.ua) Â   In 1918, the economic situation was catastrophic. The government had no power to improve the financial situation of its c itizens. One is four men lost his life in battle which was equivalent to one third of the civilian population. The advances of mass production of technology required human labor to operate the machines and financial stability to finance the investment in the machines. Had the 14 Points been signed, Germany would have had a chance to recover its losses. (Karpovsky) Germany was forced to sign a treaty. The Treaty of Versailles was compiled in