German Military and the Weimar Republic: General Hans von Seekt, General Erich Ludendorff and the Rise of Hitler

by Karen Schaefer

General Hans von Seekt (1866-1936) was the military counterpart of the Weimar Republic, both attempted to restore Germany's international acceptance and security following defeat in World War I and the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. And the failure of both led eventually to the rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany. Hans von Seekt was from the traditional German officer caste, served with distinction on the war and became Chief of the Army Command at the Reichewehr Ministry of the Weimar Republic and Germany's 'supreme soldier' and major military strategist. His role was to re-build the shattered German army in face of the punitive terms of post-war settlement imposed by the victorious Entente Powers which drastically reduced its strength and imposed crippling financial conditions. He aimed to build a modern and efficient military - a new German army - with a main strategy of peaceful defense purposes, and to re-introduce Germany into the community of nations. This original and far-sighted policy was opposed by the movement seeking revenge for defeat - a 'stab in the back' - led principally by his rival, General Erich Ludendorff, whose aim was re-build the once-mighty German imperial army as a major international force. The failure of von Seekt's experiment was mirrored by the fall of the Weimar Republic, and the rise of rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany.

288 pages, Paperback

Published January 8, 2024

Reviews

[Dropbear123 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Good info, interesting argument but presented in a dry manner and a bit too niche for most people. I didn't dislike the book too much but I would find it hard to recommend to most people, although some people might get a lot out of it.

Short at 200 pages, gets the info across but not that much in the way of background context. The book is mainly about Hans Von Seekt, head of the German military between 1920 and 1926 - mainly his ideas around the shape of the Weimar's military (the Reichswehr) and military-civilian leadership relations. The first chapter covers the historiography of the man, which is basically a lot of other historians saying Seekt was an incompetent ideologue who wanted to turn Germany into a dictatorship, break the Treaty of Versailles and start a war with France. The author disagrees. The author's main argument through the book is that Seekt believed that the military should come second to the political government, that there should be cooperation between the military and civilian leadership rather than the military dominating everything, and that it was preferable to avoid war (which is contrasted with the views of other military figures like Ludendorff who wanted total war and military dominance). In terms of military strategy the author says Seekt wanted a small (but a little bit larger than the Versailles restrictions allowed 200k instead of 100k men) professional and well equipped army because (1) technology was key and it would be too expensive to arm large numbers of men with the best equipment, (2) Seekt believed it would lead to wars of mobility rather than heavily destructive wars of attrition, and (3) a large army would be destabilising considering how many people were opposed to the Weimar Republic, so it would be stupid to arm and train them.

The book is a PHD thesis turned into a book , so it is not the most readable of books. If you're just looking for an overview of the Weimar Republic's military then this probably isn't the book for you. While the title of the book mentions the rise of Hitler that topic is not mentioned at all - purely a publishing and marketing gimmick.

It is my first book on this narrow subject so I have nothing to really compare it to.

[Robert Neil Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Germany in November 1918 lay prostrate at the feet of its conquerors as they dictated the terms of German surrender. The country had to pay massive reparations and demilitarize while setting up a democracy that went against the national grain. That would be a tall order for any nation. General Hans von Seeckt took command of the army and was tasked with finding a new strategic role for it. History has not treated him well, regarding him as closed-minded and one of the old guard. In this absorbing book, Karen Schaefer has a different interpretation to run by you.
Schaefer begins with the literature on Seeckt and finds it lacking any consideration of his strategic ideas. Historians, contends Schaefer, have argued that Seeckt was an undefeated general chasing dreams of renewed war but without understanding the new military or political realities. Schaefer disagrees in just about every respect with that portrait. The rest of her book tells us why. She sets out her stall by contrasting Seeckt with Erich Ludendorff, an undoubted hero of World War I and an advocate of total war. Schaefer then steadily builds her case, examining Seeckt’s views on military strategy and his political philosophy that favoured civil authority over the military and a defensive, balanced posture by Germany. However, rising military and political opposition, against the backdrop of economic turmoil and a new aggressive nationalist spirit bent on revenge for Versailles, derailed Seeckt. He retired in 1926, but the arguments remain between his vision and that of Ludendorf, Seeckt’s nemesis.
German Military and the Weimar Republic is derived from Schaefer’s PhD thesis and it shows for better and worse. Her book is structured as an argument narrowly tied to Seeckt and his political-military philosophy, and as such relies on at least an understanding of the Weimar Republic background to fully comprehend. I suspect that significantly reduces Schaefer’s audience, which is a pity because her book is well-written and her thesis appears solid. To make this work for a wider audience, she needed more context and perhaps more pit-stop summaries for her less knowledgeable readers to catch their breath. Nevertheless, Schaefer provides a valuable window into military thinking during that vital period when Germany still had choices, however limited, and is therefore an important book worth reading for students of the Weimar Republic.