‘the Impact of the First World War Merely Heightened Existing Social, Economic and Political Divisions Which Had Split Germany Before 1914.’
To state that the social, economic and political divisions were ‘merely heightened’ after the War would be to hugely underestimate the problems Germany faced post World War One. The main divisions’ pre-1914 however, were in no part indistinct or tenuous. The political divisions being largely due to the outdated and warped constitution, with the socio-economic divisions existing because of industrialisation and urbanisation. Despite such divisions, Germany managed to put her problems aside when war was announced or at even the idea of war and in 1914 all parties voted for war credits, showing alas unity and agreement between many parties and classes having such vast beliefs. Nevertheless these problems were never truly eradicated, and as war went on they began to escalate into severer problems and in 1918 these divisions far outweighed those existing pre-1914. To highlight the greatest impact of the war on these divisions one would definitely sway towards the food and fuel shortages, which have such a detrimental effect on the German people and moral that enlarge any slight problem into a crisis.
The problems that Germany faced pre-1914 should not be underestimated. The clash of the booming middle and urban working class in contrast to the poor agricultural working class. Such Industrialisation during this period had created economic demands for the acquisition of raw materials and markets beyond Europe, this lead to radical nationalist pressure groups forming, such as the Pan-German League, which reflected the radicalisation of the middle classes and peasantry who feared the rise of the socialists. The existence of political divisions as stated before lied at the responsibility of the constitution. The weakness of the Reichstag and parties unwilling to work together entrenched divisions. The constitution allowed Prussia to dominate the Bundesrat as only 14 votes were needed to block a motion, Prussia controlling 17 out of 58 seats meant that nothing could be
The problems that Germany faced pre-1914 should not be underestimated. The clash of the booming middle and urban working class in contrast to the poor agricultural working class. Such Industrialisation during this period had created economic demands for the acquisition of raw materials and markets beyond Europe, this lead to radical nationalist pressure groups forming, such as the Pan-German League, which reflected the radicalisation of the middle classes and peasantry who feared the rise of the socialists. The existence of political divisions as stated before lied at the responsibility of the constitution. The weakness of the Reichstag and parties unwilling to work together entrenched divisions. The constitution allowed Prussia to dominate the Bundesrat as only 14 votes were needed to block a motion, Prussia controlling 17 out of 58 seats meant that nothing could be