Weimar Experience And Maintaining Democracy :: essays research papers

Human nature, in individuals, as well as within united bodies of people, is to correct, learn, and grow from ones mistakes. If one cannot learn from one’s own mistakes, it is necessary then to learn from the mistakes of others. When dealing with the political sciences, especially in international history, it is possible to analyze what has succeeded, and what has failed. The United States, being a fairly young country, has the advantage of a relatively short past, unmarked by national chaos as a result of poor governing. The United States, by learning from past history of other nations, chose a system of stability and balance, called democracy, which has caused the United States to flourish over time. Democracy has successfully reined in this country for all of its 200-year history. Democracy, for our nation, has proved to be a keystone in every aspect of our success, our growth, and our strength as a country. It is crucial however, that we learn from the past, to realize that things can and do change. In the 1930s Germany, struck by inflation, a collapse in the economy, and national outrage, declined from a democratic republic, to a totalitarian state. The fall of the Weimar republic, and the rise of the NSDAP, which eventually led to WWII, shows how the drastic effects of economic problems, extreme nationalism, and drastic changes in cultural identity, can lead to a totalitarian state, and a complete political turnover within a nation. It is important to learn from the Weimar experience in order to help maintain the health, stability, and power of our own democracy today in the United States. At the turn of the 20th century, Germany experienced an industrial revolution that caused them to almost capitalize in trade and production as a country. By August of 1914 WWI had began and Germany, both economically, and socially was hit hard. By the closing months of 1918, Germany, once strong and peeking in industry and economy finances, returned from the war battered and beaten. They were completely finished off by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. The treaty outright blamed the war on Germany, and charged them with the damage fines of the entire war. Such a huge amount of money would surely strike down and weaken an already tattered Germany, which was precisely the intention at hand. Germany was faced with paying for all damages caused by the war.