Hilton 2017 · Hilton 2017 Committee Name ... and ultimately to help the Weimar Republic survive...

Hilton 2017

Committee Name

Committee Overview

Committee Description

Chairs

Political Instability

Allied Oversight

Economic Troubles

The Weimar Republic is a gathering of government and military leaders tasked with resolving the top-ics outlined below. This committee will be run crisis-style. This means that topics will not be addressed separately, but instead will generally be addressed through a series of intelligence briefings that will be presented to committee. The majority of committee will be run as a gentleman’s unmoderated caucus, a type of caucus in which delegates are permitted to discuss in an open environment and moderation by the chairs is kept to a minimum, to keep up with the fast pace of debate and the ever -changing land-scape of the crisis. The committee as a whole will be allowed to pass directives, press releases, and communiques to re-spond to the crises, and ultimately to help the Weimar Republic survive and thrive in a crises-filled world. Delegates will also have access to portfolio powers, which are independent directives/press re-leases/communiques that the delegate’s position carries out independent from the forum. Keep in mind these powers must be within a member's powers and policies.

John Rutecki | [email protected]

Greetings! My name is John Rutecki and I

am überglücklich to to join you in restoring

the glory of the German Empire. I am a

senior at Pittsford Sutherland High School

and this is my second time chairing. Out-

side of MUN, and serving the Fatherland, I

play chess, read avidly, and enjoy debating

just about anything with anyone. If you

have any questions or concerns do not hesi-

tate to email me. Wir sehen uns im

Komitee!

Alan Gao | [email protected]

Hello! My name is Alan Gao and I welcome you

to the German Reich! I am a junior at James-

ville-DeWitt High School and this will be my first

time chairing. Beyond my career of MUN, I par-

ticipate in cross country, indoor track, and out-

door track at my school and aspire to rap like

the iconic rapper, Kanye West. Feel free to

email or dm me on instagram, @thegaoinator, if

you have any questions about anything pertain-

ing to the committee!

Hilton 2017

The First Assembly of the Second Federally

Elected Weimar Government

Hilton 2017

Background

Sources

Our distinguished nation entered The Great War as a feder-al monarchy under Kaiser Wilhelm II, with one of the world’s leading economy and military. We entered on the grounds of pro-tecting our close ally, Austria-Hungary. After a few years of initial success, Germany and her allies began to lose ground on the war front with the entry of the United States into the war. A British naval blockade sunk the Fatherland into the depths of poverty and starvation. Misfortune and dissent, especially with the es-teemed Reich, were rampant among the German brother and sis-terhood, and workers’ and soldiers’ councils began to take control of many cities. Fearing anarchy, Friedrich Ebert led his party, the Social Democrats, in pushing for the abdication of the Kaiser. On November 9, 1918, Germany was proclaimed a republic and the Weimar Republic was founded, with Friedrich Ebert as the presi-

dent. Ebert and his government managed to survive a wide range of issues in the first few months of their rule, but outrage among the German people reached an all-time high when Ebert’s admin-istration signed the demeaning Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919. Much to the anger of the Ger-man brother and sisterhood, the treaty took territories away from Germany, assigned primary guilt for starting the war to Germany, burdened Germany with billions of dollars in war reparations, and reduced the German army and navy to a mere shadow of what it was prior to the war. The treaty was viewed as a humiliation by Germany, and her citizens were furious that their government had signed it. Nevertheless, Ebert and his government did their best to keep the country together. The second federal elections for our effulgent republic were held on June 6, 1920. The Social Democrats, previously the largest representative party, maintained their position, continuing to claim the most seats, but their loss of approximately one third of their seats signified the discontent with their rule. The committee begins soon after these elections, on June 25, 1920. How has the public morale of 1920 Germany been affected by World War One and the Versailles Treaty?

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/weimar-germany/impact-of-world-war-one-on-the-weimar-republic/ https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/political-science/17-508-the-rise-and-fall-of-democracy-regime-change-spring-2002/study-materials/weimar_timeline.pdf http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-treaty-of-versailles/



Hilton 2017



Roles & Descriptions

1.President Friedrich Ebert (The Chairs): Appoints chancellor and cabinet, signs bills into laws, acts as “supreme commander,” leads foreign relations, and can dissolve the Reichstag and confer amnesties. Most decisions relied on him since a majority was rarely found in the Reichstag.

2.Chancellor Hermann Müller: Appointed by the president and responsible to the Reichstag. Technically head of government after the president, but in reality didn’t have much authority.

3.Reich Minister of Finance Joseph Wirth: In charge of national finances, leads the Reichs-ministerium der Finanzen, or Federal Ministry of Finance, in dealing with war reparations and fiscal emergencies in the Republic

4.Minister of Economic Affairs Ernst Scholz: In charge of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which manages the economic policy of the republic. It played a role in demobilization, combat-ing inflation, reparations, and lead efforts to stimulate the German economy.

5.Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Heinrich Brauns: In charge of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which promotes job growth and deals with social issues.

6.Minister of Defense Otto Geßler: In charge of the Reich Ministry of Defense, which coor-dinates the Reichswehr, the national military forces.

7.Minister of the Interior Erich Koch-Weser: In charge of the Ministry of the Interior, which maintains security in Germany, protecting constitutional rights and against disasters and terrorism.

8.The Centre Party (Zentrum) Member Matthias Erzberger: Representative in the Reichstag for the Centre Party, a Catholic political party with moderate liberal beliefs

9.The German Democratic Party (DDP) Co-founder Hjalmar Schacht: Co-founded the DDP, a social liberal political party, and also acts as a board member for the German National Bank.

10.The German People’s Party (DVP) Chairman and Founder Gustav Stresemann: Founder and Chairman of the DVP, a right-wing liberal political party

11.The Bavarian People’s Party (BVP) Co-Founder Georg Heim: Co-founded the BVP, a moderate conservative political party, and was a member of the Weimar National Assembly at the time.

Hilton 2017



Roles & Descriptions

12.Leader of the German National People’s Party Oskar Hergt: Conservative monarchist, Chairman of DNVP, member of Reichstag, nationalist

13.Anti-government Radical/Nazi Hans Georg Calmeyer: Political and social agitator, had communist sympathies, identified with the Nazi party

14.Communist Journalist Paul Frölich: Radical political activist and journalist, co-founder of the Communist Party of Germany

15.Chief of the German Army Hans von Seeckt: Chief of the German army, responsible for much of the structure and organization of the army, responsible for the army itself

16.Head of the Naval Command William Michaelis: Head of Naval Command, responsible for the structure and operations of the German navy

17.Deputy Chief of the Berlin Criminal Police Bernard Weiß: Head of Political Police, respon-sible for criminal law enforcement, especially political crimes

18.Intelligence(Abwehr) head Friedrich Gempp: Lieutenant Colonel in Reichswehr, responsi-ble for directing the Abwehr intelligence agency

19.Minister of Foreign Affairs Adolf Köster: Primarily responsible for German foreign policy

20.Head of Reichsbank Rudolf Havenstein: Responsible for directing German central bank, controls the currency

21.Allied Overseer French Prime Minister Alexandre Millerand: In attendance as a repre-sentative of the Allied Powers, represents French interests, desires higher and more punitive repa-rations

22.Allied Overseer British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs George Curzon: In attend-ance as a representative of the Allied Powers, represents British interests, is less zealous over rep-arations and other punitive Versailles Treaty articles

Hilton 2017



Political Instability

Sources

Our grand republic has been plagued by political instability from the very start. Disgruntled groups came from across the political spectrum. Communist and other radical groups, royal-ists, and soldiers returning from the war lacked respect for our newly-founded republic and its government. Communists, em-boldened by Lenin’s success in Russia, pushed for a Communist government. Royalists, angered by how the Social Democrats had encouraged the Kaiser to abdicate, called for a restoration of the monarchy. Soldiers returning from war believed that we had betrayed them by overthrowing the Kaiser, ultimately resulting in our defeat in The Great War. Most concerning, however, was the incredible discontent among the German brother and sisterhood. Separatist move-

ments swept across our great nation in 1918-1919. We were forced to rely upon help from the Freikorps, right-wing paramilitary militias, to support the national army in order to put down these movements. The Freikorps, noting how we had to rely upon them for keeping order, used their military might to take over Berlin, forcing us to flee in March, 1920. Only a city-wide pro-test from the workers quelled the uprising, also known as the Kapp Putsch, after the traitor Wolfgang Kapp, who led the attack. The political instability in our glorious republic was further highlighted by the hundreds of political murders committed during this time period. Additionally, the illustrious product of our democratic process, the Weimar Constitution, allowed for any group to be represented in the Reichstag. This allowed radical groups such as the Communists and Nazis to constantly under-mine us and be a constant barrier to forward progress. Is there any way that we can reconcile themselves with the numerous political groups and the German people? How can we decrease our reliance on the Freikorps? Should and can the Wei-mar Constitution be changed to allow the ruling parties to have more authority/power?

https://www.bundestag.de/blob/189772/8b9e17bd8d64e64c8e3a95fc2305e132/november_revolution-data.pdf http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/germany/weimarproblemsrev1.shtml http://www.johndclare.net/Weimar3.htm

Hilton 2017



Allied Oversight

Sources

Following the defeat of our glorious fatherland in the Great War, the Allied Powers forced Germany to sign the ignominious Versailles Treaty of 28 June, 1919. Since Ger-many was barred from participating in treaty negotiations, we had no say in our destiny. Consequently, the Allies forced Germany to agree to numerous humiliating clauses. One of these clauses, article 231, proclaimed that Germany and her allies were entirely to blame for the Great War. Due to this declaration, the Allies demanded that Germany pay Allied Powers reparations, drastically reduce the size of the territory and people it controlled, and severely limit its military and police capabilities.

In order to enforce these changes, the Allies have

been harassing our great republic since the day we were forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles under threat of military invasion. Since the signing of the treaty, the pressure to comply with all articles has been crushing. In certain aspects we have nearly lost any idea of sovereignty due to continuing threat of conflict. In order to save the honor and dignity of our republic, and our people we must find a way to establish a more equal peace with our Western neighbors. Time is of the essence. The future of Germany rests in our hands. How can a more equal peace be established without provoking conflict? How can we maintain order in the Weimar Republic while complying with the military and police restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles? How can we ensure that the League of Nations doesn’t become a punitive extension of the Allied Powers? How can we accept the new boundaries created by the Treaty and still maintain a stable national unity?

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/treaty-of-versailles https://www.loc.gov/law/help/us-treaties/bevans/m-ust000002-0043.pdf http://schoolshistory.org.uk/ASLevel_History/week4_versailles.htm

Hilton 2017



Economic Troubles

Sources

In the period following the Great War, our great Weimar Republic has suffered financially. Since leaving the gold-standard, the Deutsche Mark has begun to lose value at a concerning pace. Further complicating this matter is the enormous amount of reparations that we are supposed to pay to the Allied Powers. Our Reichsbank has been working hard to stabilize the Mark, but is having only moderate success. Further-more, domestic issues have exacerbated our acute shortage of funds as many individuals, such as veter-ans, widows, and orphans, cannot support themselves in the aftermath of the Great War. In compromises with the socialist-leaning forces in the Reichstag, the conservative and nationalist forces agreed to institute welfare programs. Due to this compromise, our government now finds itself responsible for supporting impoverished

Germans, as well as paying reparations and maintaining the government. We must ensure that our currency, the Deutsche Mark, does not fail under such great strains. If our currency does begin to fail the consequences could be catastrophic. Defaulting on our reparation debts could instigate another Great War,and failing to provide promised wel-fare to the German people could result in great famines among the impoverished. The situation is urgent. We must seize this opportunity to save our fatherland. Lang lebe Deutschland! How can we preserve the value of the Mark? Which financial responsibilities are most pressing for our government? How can we prevent dissent among the working classes in light of an un-stable currency?

http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/samples/cam033/2002073751.pdf https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~rapte22p/classweb/interwarperiod/politicaldisorder.html http://home.uchicago.edu/rmyerson/research/weimar.pdf

Hilton 2017 · Hilton 2017 Committee Name ... and ultimately to help the Weimar Republic survive...

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