Hey Guys, if anyone can have a read of my response that would be awesome!
TO WHAT EXTENT DID THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON THE DOWNFALL OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC?INTRODUCTION:To a great extent the Treaty of Versailles (TOV) had the utmost influence on the collapse of the Weimar Republic because it formed a sense of a distrust between the German government and people
as a result of a home-grown product as supported by Nicholls who exerted that the damaged did to Germany was to disillusion more moderate man who might otherwise support their new republic. Your thesis is long and confusing. Finish at the part I have left and it will be fine 
As a result of the Treaty of Versailles Germany lost all of her colonies, 80% of her pre-war fleet, half of all iron production, 16% of all coal production, 13% of her territory and 12% of her population and gained a £6,600 million reparation debt. Therefore, it is apparent that the Treaty of Versailles had the largest impact on the failure of the Weimar Republic through its significant political, social, economic impacts.
The sentence regarding what was lost in the TOV (percentage wise) is not needed here and should come up in your body paragraphs as examples. The link between that sentence and your last sentence is also very weak as a result. Your introduction gives me no clear idea of where your essay is going as it doesn't specifically highlight any main points you will address.ECONOMIC IMPACTS:The immediate economic consequences of the terms of the TOV were a significant concern and added to Germany’s humiliation. During the first five years of the Weimar Republic, inflation was the main economic issue, which was fuelled huge burden placed on Germany
Following the comma, this doesn't make sense. from national debt from WW1 and the huge sum of reparations. Germany had to borrow funds in an effort to get their economy up and running. However, an inexperienced government made paying back reparations and War Bonds their priority instead of stimulating the economy. Due to this poor decision, the economy and production struggled to grow and inflation began to increase. Under the terms of the treaty, Germany had to pay huge sums in reparations. In 1921, this amount was set at £6.6 billion; a sum that Germany could not pay. In 1922 Germany announce they can no longer afford Reparations payments. As a result, France and Belgian sent thousands of soldiers into the Ruhr, seizing control of coal mines, factories and the railways to make up for the unpaid reparations. Subsequently, to show the people of Germany that the government would stand up for its people against the French occupation, the Weimar government supported ‘passive resistance’ by simply printing more money. This put more money into the circulation and soon all public servants throughout Germany were given pay rises in the hope of increasing employment and production. However, the printing of more money simply increased inflation. With few goods for sale, but so much money in the country, prices rose drastically. The government continued to print more and more money as prices continue to rise at an incredible rate. By 1923, the economic problems of the Republic escalated to the point of hyperinflation by which the German Mark had been rendered worthless. Thus, it is clear that the TOV had the greatest influence on the downfall of the Weimar Republic through the economic effects it had on Weimar Germany.
This whole paragraph has too great a focus on telling what happened in Germany to make it economically unstable, you have not linked these issues to the W.R downfall but rather have just proved that the economic issues in themselves were bad. Look to link the economic problems to the rise of Hitler/the Nazis and how his nationalistic approach appealed to the German public, who were desperate due to the economic poverty at the time and how the Republic in contrast were branded with being the reason for all of Germany's economic woes.SOCIAL IMPACTS:Throughout WW1, the German people were misled to believe that they were going to win the war and that there was no possibility they could lose. However, when the armistice was signed by the German government, the loss came as an extreme shock. The German people felt betrayed that their government hadn't told them the truth and, so before the Weimar Republic even came to be, the citizens were unsatisfied with their government. Furthermore, the German public could not comprehend that they had lost the war and therefore felt that someone on the homefront was responsible. The imposition of the Treaty of Versailles led to wide bitterness across Germany. This was the most influential on the moderate Germans who initially supported the new democratic republic but then became disillusioned with the whole process. The link between the devastating end of the war and the humiliating peace left negative attitudes towards the new German democracy. This is further exerted by Nicholls who suggested that the German public felt that the end of the war and the subsequent Treaty of Versailles was a ‘stab in the back’ from the German politicians. This theory grew in popularity as the economy suffered and many former soldiers, in particular, believed that the politicians had lost the war rather than the army. This, amongst other things,
A bit vague. led to a growth in the number of people who distrusted the Weimar Republic and were unwilling to support it. Furthermore, the Treaty of Versailles impacted the German people's nationalism, as it restricted their army to 100,000 men, their navy to 6 battleships, and denied them an airforce and submarines.
Explain further eg. linking Germany's proud military history and how this was linked to nationalism. Make it more clear. Consequently, the Treaty of Versailles had reduced the faith of German people in their ruler and impacted the people’s nationalism, which ultimately largely contributed to the downfall of the Weimar Republic.
This is a better job at linking the issues of the TOV to the downfall of the Republic yet it is still not quite there. I would look at again how Hitler took advantage of this social disillusion to link more clearly to the fall of the W.R - so look at egs. of Hitler doing this such as: Hitler Munich Speech – “with this armistice begins the humiliation of Germany…it will ruin the German nation.”Political Impacts: I need help writing this paragraph if someone could suggest some ways writing it that would be awesome!
Here I would discuss political illegitimacy - so the ideas you have brought up eg. the economic issues how the TOV led to hyperinflation, the depression etc. in the long term and also how the TOV ruined German pride - this all combined to make the German government appear weak and as contrary to German ideals - this in turn affected the way they were seen by the public and would lead many people to turn to nationalistic parties instead, leading to their demise.Conclusion: All in all, the Treaty of Versailles had the greatest effect on the failure of the Weimar Republic as it fabricated a sense of disbelief among the German government and people, it caused several economic problems such as hyperinflation and also largely led to political and social instability. Considering this, it is without a doubt the treaty of Versailles had the largest influence on the downfall of the Weimar Republic.
A nice conclusion but needs to be longer and a stronger link between the TOV and downfall of WR, which will come with addressing the issues I explained above. Also since it is a to what extent question, you can also show how other factors eg. Proportional Representation etc. contributed to their downfall.
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