Vette V. The role of German soldiers in the history of the early Weimar republic

Abstract: Reviewing the history of Weimar Germany, the author puts forward the thesis that freedom was lost not in 1933 when Hitler came to power, but even earlier – in 1920. This view is presented through the lens of an analysis of the transformations in the Kaiser army and of the role of the German soldiers in the early stages of the new republic. Despite defeat during the First World War, the change in political power, the limitations imposed by the peace treaty of Versailles, the army still sought to defend its independence and to remain not the government’s tool, but its personification. Military leadership constructed its relationship directly with government representatives. The author underlines the inconsistency of the social-democrats’ political course, the incoherence of the government actions aimed at reforming the army according to the expectations of the party members, the weakness and inconsequence of the political control over the army. The command of the Reichwehr, though formally adhering to the Versailles agreements and constitutional frames, organised a professional army and developed plans for the continued realisation of Germany’s policy of world supremacy. On the one hand, this aroused protests from the pacifist movement in which representatives of the democratic community, as well as officers-pacifists took an active part. On the other hand, the militaristic spirit contributed to the emergence of paramilitaristic forces that became the pillar of the national-socialists.

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