Democratiziation Processes in Post-War Germany

After World War Two ended, Germany was in a horrible state. America would fly in all kinds of supplies on an average of one plane every three minutes (Levy 11). America, Great Britain, and France created three zones with democratic governments in

First, the defeat of WWI was not just the beginning of the Weimar Republic but could be considered a catalyst to its downfall as well. During the later stages of WWI

After World War II Germany was left devastated and in ruins. There had been massive destruction of the country’s infrastructure (Bessel 2011), it lacked political structure and economic activity had plummeted. There was a scarcity of food, fuel and housing and Germany was in no condition to clothe or feed its population (O’Dochartaigh 2003).

To help Germany with the reparation situation even more, in 1924 Dawes Plan was created, which guaranteed Germany receiving loans from America which also helped Germany recover its industry. Many new railways, factories and houses were built and the living conditions in the country were improved. On the other hand, even though the German economy began regaining its strength, weaknesses didn’t vanish. After the hyperinflation and other serious economic issues still a number of people remained unemployed, the employers were unhappy with the high taxes they had to pay, farming was in trouble facing low income in agriculture, small shops saw their business threatened by the popularity of department stores and mainly Germany was dependant on America’s money which could possibly mean losing it all one day. So of course the economic situation in the Weimar Republic wasn’t flawless but it certainly improved and managed to almost catch up with the rest of Europe.

In addition to the damaging consequences of the First World War with the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, certain features of Germany caused the state to be susceptible to the influence of this dangerous ideology. Along with the damage to the national ego as a result of the First World War, Germany had co-existing and conflicting highly modern strands of development forced to integrate with powerful remnants of archaic values and social structures, and had a deeply fractured parliamentary political system, and the weaknesses of this system reflected the social and political differences within the population. This shame and failure after World War I was superimposed onto a modern country which once had an advanced economy, a sophisticated state

The importance of the First World War in shaping Germany's historical development is large; A German victory in 1918 would have certainly defused the crisis and in doing so retarded the process of political reform for a generation or more. It plowed Germanyinto economic crisis, causing hyperinflation

The Weimar Republic came into being on November 1918 and was born in the throes of military defeat and social revolution. In January 1919, a National Assembly was elected to draft a constitution. The government, composed of members from the assembly, came to be called the Weimar coalition and included the SPD, the German Democratic Party and the Centre Party. Weimar was a rushed and often referred to as a ‘mistaken democracy'. Its been said "The dysfunctional nature of Weimar democracy ... aided

1) Germany before the Fuhrer. Germany’s defeat at the end of World War I left the nation socially, politically, and economically shattered. The reparation agreements inflicted upon Germany without its’ consent at the end of the war meant that the nation was in complete financial ruin. In the wake of Germany’s defeat, public decent climaxed on the 9th November 1918 during the revolution that took place on Berlin’s Postdamer Platz. This revolution transpired as a result of the public’s culminating discontent towards the imperial monarchy, and lasted up until August 1919, which saw the establishment of the Weimar Republic. In attempts to guide Germany out of economic

To refresh your memory, at the end of World War II, the Allied powers divided Germany into four different zones. Decided at the Potsdam Conference, each separate zone was controlled by The United States, Soviet Union, France, and Great Britain. (Rosenburg) But as the relationships between The Soviet Union and the rest of The Allied Powers quickly evaporated, aggression and power became the main focus. The United States, France, and Great Britain combined their zones, creating “West Germany”, and The Soviet controlled zoned turned into “East Germany” (Rosenburg). Being controlled by democratic nations, West Germany’s living conditions and economy were flourishing. Almost Miraculously. On the other

According to the Second Reich constitution, it is clear that during the years of the Second Reich there was no democracy. The German Electorates could only elect the Reichstag, which

2. After WWII, Germany was divided into four zones. West Germany was occupied by the U.S., Britain, and France. Whereas East Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union. Berlin

The Failure of Democracy in Germany in the Period 1928 to 1934 Those in power in Weimar Germany so consistently mishandled the political and economic situation leading up to the period 1928-1934, that a well-structured challenge from the Nazi Party brought about the fall of democracy. This Nazi Party was stronger ideologically, structurally within the party and politically, with Hitler as Fuhrer a major factor himself. In addition, factions within Germany for whom a right-wing political system was more beneficial, such as the army and big business, aided the eventual change in governance. Thus a series of events occurred which can be summarised by these three main factors: failure of the Weimar

Two important cornerstones of a democracy are the ability for the people to elect representatives, and the willingness/power of these representative to make decisions in favour of their electorates. Although there is no general consensus on parliamentization in Wilhelmine Germany, many historians agree that Germans had a significant amount of experience with Democracy during this era. This paper examines the political culture of Wilhelmine Germany and the parliamentisation of the Reichstag in this period to assess the extent to which imperial Germany was ‘practicing democracy’.

Right from the start of the Cold War, after the Second World War (1939-1945), the European continent was split up once more and two ideologies were considered to dominate most countries. The Truman doctrine, established in 1947 by the President of the United States of America forged the Western bloc and put forward capitalism as a strong political ideology . Following this doctrine was the initiation of the Marshall plan, a financial and military help, which goal was to reduce The Soviet Union’s influence on eastern countries. The leading force of the Eastern bloc, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) answered to the United States’ doctrine with the Zhdanov doctrine which divided the world between “the imperialists”, the United States and “the socialists”, the Soviet Union. Communism was the ideology in the U.S.S.R. and its allied countries. Defeated after the end of the Second World War, Germany was split in four occupation zones as it was discussed at the Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945). The three zones belonging to the western countries (French zone, British zone and American zone) were unified and thus opposed to the soviet zone. Berlin, a strategic city within the eastern part of Germany, was itself divided and thus West Berlin became an enclave. In the 1950s,

After taking control of Western Europe in June 1940, the carefully constructed information dissemination campaign of the ‘New Order,’ timed itself perfectly with Germany’s strategic plan. Exhausted and desperate Europeans craved economic stability and Hitler’s ‘New Order’ adroitly exploited that desire, promising that the ‘New Order’ would achieve that longed for economic stability. The forces behind the emerging authoritarian regime in Germany after World War I never lay on the table the cost of total political subjugation, nor the commanding control Germany would wield over the markets of the world. Deficiencies of the ‘New Order’ were deftly veiled from the would-be victims in Europe, deficiencies that included resistance that had already