Blog 8

              The Weimar Republic was a federal republic and representative democracy established in Germany in 1919 replacing the imperial form of government which had ruled the region for many years. Before the official end of the Weimar Republic, a result Hitler’s establishing of the Third Reich, the republic saw many different instances of political violence, which ultimately led to the its demise.  During this time the conditions were optimal for political violence. World War I and the Treaty of Versailles had left the country with not only a very weak state and military, but also ultimately resulted in hyperinflation, which ravaged the economy and left for plenty of civil unrest.  This provided for plenty of external restraints on government as well as motives for groups to resort to extreme measures in trying to bring about change. On multiple occasions both left and right wing extremists used political violence as means of ceasing political power. The beginning of such problems began in 1919, “The first challenge to the Weimar Republic came when a group of communists and anarchists took over the Bavarian government in Munich and declared the creation of the Bavarian Soviet Republic.” (Wikimedia) One month later the central government deployed a large mercenary force of about 30,000 ex-soldiers, named Freikorps, into the Bavarian Soviet Republic, which had formed in Southern Germany. The Bavarian Soviet Republic had been formed by a seemingly peaceful revolution with virtually no bloodshed, however this would soon change when Freikorps entered the city later to put down the revolution. The bitter street warfare that ensued ended in the death of over 1,000 deaths and arrests of roughly 700, many of which were later executed.  At first glance this violence would appear to most likely be a form of Civil War or “armed combat within the boundaries of a sovereign state between parties that are subject to a common authority at the beginning of hostilities.” (Samuels 2012) However the question remains, were these two forces really under the same “authority” to begin with, or in other words, was Bavaria really “within the boundaries of a sovereign state?” The definition is sound in that it provides a specific boundary for the warfare, but it’s hard to pin down where a sovereign state ends and begins. Did the conflict take place within the Weimar Republic or the Bavarian Republic? This distinction is necessary in designating the conflict as civil war or as an interstate conflict. The Bavarian Republic was most likely not recognized as “sovereign” by many other countries, the Weimar Republic included, however it was supported by its citizens and seemed an effective and independent government. In it’s short-lived rule it had produced councils and laws, even national political parties, more than the South was able to do prior to its conflict with the North in the American Civil War. It’s far easier to categorize a civil war using this definition when the parties aren’t both claiming to be citizens of independent nations.  At its core however, this conflict was the put down of a revolution in a former free state of the Weimar Republic and thus a form of civil war. Although the Bavarians had formed a separate government, which seemed to even be able to function in the best interests of it’s citizens, they did however originate from the Weimar Republic.

Works Cited

Wikimedia, World War I. Wikemedia Foundation,       http://books.google.com/books?id=lEmpNcEcvkYC&pg=PA156&lpg=PA156&dq=freikorps put down bavarian soviet republic&source=bl&ots=eHrVe6zQF&xsig=ClvRYmso5MUBlTGED7En3l-bpcg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ACWdUKaOFY62qQHJ8oCADw&ved=0CFQQ6AEwBg

Samuels, David. Comparative Politics. Pearson Education Inc., 2010.