Discuss the factors that allowed the Weimar Republic to survive the political and economic challenges it faced between 1918 and 1924.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the reasons why the Weimar Republic could survive the various crises it faced up to 1924. Political challenges include the threats from left and right (Spartacus, Kapp and Munich Putsch). Some may refer to the Groener-Ebert Pact and the Freikorps or that neither left nor right were strong enough to be a real threat. Some may argue that politically the republic was weak with no majority government, however, the Weimar parties combined (SPD, DDP, DVP and Centre) had a majority in the Reichstag and coalitions were relatively stable. President Ebert could use Article 48, for example supporting Stresemann’s economic policies. Economic challenges included relatively high post-war unemployment, inflation that was exacerbated by reparation payments and the policy of passive resistance in 1923 culminating in hyperinflation. The economic crisis was survived by Stresemann’s effective policies, calling off passive resistance, issuing the Rentenmark and negotiating the Dawes Plan. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions should be clearly stated and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the reasons why the Weimar Republic could survive the various crises it faced up to 1924. This was a popular question. Many candidates were able to identify the challenges faced; however, in some cases, there tended to be less focus on the factors which allowed the Republic to survive. However, there were some high-quality responses which were able to discuss the importance of the Ebert-Groener Pact as well as the electoral fortunes of the pro-Weimar Republic parties over this period. The role of Stresemann and the Dawes Plan were also well understood by many candidates. Weaker candidates tended to focus on the rise to power of Hitler even though it was beyond the scope of the question.