HOW TO WRITE THE ESSAY

The Weimar government

The basic PEEL

P-point E-evidence E-elaborate L-link

First thing first

From your planning, you should have your points in mind.

For writing each point, start with a new paragraph.

Each paragraph comprises of the PEEL explained in previous slide.

How to go about it…

State the point clearly, bluntly and briefly.

Next, put facts that are relevant to prove your point stated.

Thereafter, explain in details your facts. Offer some ideas, give assessments of

the importance of the point and link the point to other paragraph.

Lastly…

Answer the question back directly, citing your given point.

Check your essay again for spelling errors, sentence structure that include grammatical mistakes.

Actions speak louder than words How stable was the Weimar government? This is a frequently ask question. There is 2 approach to the question: Looking back at the circumstances

surrounding the establishment of the Republic.

Forward to a consideration of the reasons for its failure.

The introduction The period between 1924-9 present one of

the most tantalising 'might have been' in history.

During that period, Germany prospered economically, politically and in its foreign policy until the onset of the great depression.

It is believed that without the onset of the great depression, the horrors of Hitler might have been avoided as Germany will still be able to develop into a stable parliamentary democracy.

Here we PEEL Point – period of stability between the periods of

1924 – 1929. Evidence – both Germans and Americans alike

notice this was a high point for the Weimar republic. Elaborate – an American journalist write 'A

wonderful ferment was working in Germany. Life seemed more free, more modern, more exciting than in any place I had ever seen‘

Link - It is even thought that conditions were so bad by 1929 that the Weimar Republic may have soon collapsed without the onset of world depression.

Firstly…

The first factor is economic stability. The link between the health of the

republic and the economy is striking. Thus the country face difficulties when

its economies faced trouble. Draw some general conclusions about

the strength of the economy in 1929.

Stability-pros Point – the stabilisation of the currency and

introduction of Dawes plan bought economic growth and affluence.

Evidence –'German business conditions appear to have righted themselves on a relatively high level of activity’. Heavy industries exceed export and out-put levels of 1913.

Elaborate – The economy was recovering and the Republic was becoming more stable.

Stability-cons

Point – Recovery was not as real as it seems to be at face value.

Evidence – Germany's balance of trade was in the red. Unemployment was never below 1.3 million.

Elaborate – Germany's economic well-being was dependent on and vulnerable to 'the investment whims of foreign capital‘. Thus, Germany was forced to rely on international loans generally from America

Stability-cons

Link – so, the 'recovery' of Germany's economy was only 'a false image of prosperity' (Layton). Her economy could not possibly be stable when it was tied so tightly to external forces beyond her control.

The second scene

The second factor to include is political stability.

It is the country weakness for not able to establish lasting political stability.

1924-9 stands out as a time when a stable political system seems to be stabilising.

However, it is unable to withstand the effect of the depression and its existence was an illusion.

Political stability

Point – Economic and certain signs of political recovery between 1924 and 1929.

Evidence – Election results of this period gave people grounds to believe the long term survival of Weimar was a strong possibility

Elaborate – Notable decline for left-wings parties like the Nazi party.

Political stability

Elaborate – Parties sympathetic to the Republic (like Social Democrats who held the majority 153 seats) gained seats. Doubled as a sign of chronic political weakness.

Political stability Point – Sign of chronic political weakness. Evidence – No progress made in

parliament. the coalition governments did not enhance the credit of party politics in Germany, where the foundations of democracy were insecure.

Elaborate – The coalition governments did not enhance the credit of party politics in Germany, where the foundations of democracy were insecure

Political stability Link – Showed no effective consolidation

nor any significant sign of political maturation in particular the main democratic parties had still not recognised the vital necessity of working together in a spirit of compromise'

The X factor

The third factor is the most important. It is known as foreign policy.

Due to its foreign policy, the country seemed to make the most progress during the period 1924-9.

The X factor

However, it had drawback. By 1929 the policy had seemed to reach a dead end and that germans thought that a more dynamic approached is needed. Thus Hitler promises to overthrow the treaty of versailles won genuine popularity for his moves in this direction in the 1930s.

The X factor

Point – Bring about a revision of the Treaty of Versailles.

Evidence – Germany joined the League of Nations and the Kellog-Briand Pact was subscribed to. Pacts and Treaties such as these, including the Treaty of Berlin with Russia and reduced reparations in the Young Plan.

The X factor

Elaborate – This led Germany to believe she was no longer the 'ogre' of Europe.

Link – 'His achievement was indeed considerable though by 1929 his policy had not lasted long enough or gone far enough to establish a momentum that could survive the very different circumstances of the 1930s'.

Last but no the least…

It should be obvious by now that the most that can be claimed for the Weimar Republic by 1929 is 'relative stability' in neither economic, political or foreign affairs had sufficient progress been made to enable the republic to withstand the coming storm:

Famous last paragraph

By 1929 neither the economy nor the political system were stable.

Prosperity in Germany was based on large international loans, and

the economy was facing severe internal structural problems. There

was no sign of political maturation by 1929. The parties had not

learned to work together for the good of the country. In 1929 with the

death of Stresemann came the end of stability in foreign affairs.

Therefore by 1929 the Weimar Republic was not stable.