"The French drew no comfort from the existence of the Weimar Republic, with its beautiful constitution and its top-hatted presidents. They noted, rather, the continuing force of nationalism and militarism, the private armies that marched and fought in German streets, the assassination of democratic politicians; they noted that German industry lay still firmly in the hands of the great industrialists who had backed Germany's pre-war policies of expansion; that Junkers still dominated the army. The French were certain from reports by their intelligence sources that from the very moment the peace treaty was signed, its provisions for disarming Germany and forbidding her to design and manufacture tanks, heavy guns and military aircraft had been deliberately and systematically evaded; an evasion which was continued throughout the 1920s. In Britain, however, the Weimar Republic was widely taken at its face value as a splendidly successful new achievement of liberalism. With a characteristically naĂŻve optimism the British believed that Germans had renounced their history, and that as a consequence the new Germany merited the trust of Europe."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Correlli Barnett, The Collapse of British Power (1972), p. 322
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Weimar_Republic
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Weimar Republic
16 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Weimar Republic →
Related Quotes
"You will understand and know the German Republic better when it elects Hindenburg president."
"If you look at the lives of many ordinary Germans during the Weimar Republic immediately after the first world war, w…"
"Paul von Hindenburg was a popular Prussian field marshal, statesman, and politician during World War I. In 1919, Hind…"
"The victors imposed upon the Germans all the long-sought ideals of the liberal nations of the West. They were relieve…"
"The most important political consequence of the New Deal was significantly to strengthen the federal government relat…"
"The destruction of representative government and private capitalism of the old school was complete when Hitler came t…"
"There you have a country against which the Allies must take well-defined precautions. It is possible that its republi…"
"If it was possible to objectively measure the spiritual life of a city—through the language of its municipal charter,…"
"It is difficult for those who have not experienced the 'Age of Catastrophe' of the twentieth century in central Europ…"
"Germany is as good an example of the practical blessings and drawbacks of democracy as any country can give. The Weim…"