sikitu said:
What about a less harsh treaty of Versailles,
A less harsh Treaty of Versailles would certainly aid the post-war German government's stability, but would it be the 'Weimar Republic' that would arise? With less harsh terms, there might be a different evolution of the German government. I guess this is a matter of semantics to a degree. Probably you could still get the Weimar Republic since, IIRC, the treaty negotiations started before the Republic's founding, but weren't completed until after. Anyone have confirmation on that?
or maybe it is softened after a Polish defeat in the 1920s against the Soviets? If you stop the reparations in 1921, you might be able to avoid the inflation problem.
Hmmm, the Soviets take Poland or just some slivers? If the Soviets tried to take the whole thing, I wonder if another World War would start, or would the Allies just say, "We're too tired, call back later." Let's say they do that. Well, with the Soviets now bordering Germany, it's likely that anticommunism goes even higher in Weimar Germany, so more right wing/right leaning governments. Stresemann was associated with the right, though more moderate than many, really. Would he hold on to power more, or be replaced by someone further right? I can see the British and even the French now relenting and allowing Weimar to build up their military and economy, rather than risk further Soviet expansion in that direction.
Of course, this begs the following question. If the Soviets were willing to go after Poland, why stop there? Why not Germany, or a substantial portion thereof? I suspect an invasion by the Soviets of the Weimar Republic in the early 20s would bring down that government, one way or the other.
On the other hand, would the Soviets in the early 20s be ready or even able to take on military conquests in the West. Remember, they too are suffering from war fatigue, both from WWI and their own Revolutionary/Civil Wars. They are focused inward mostly at this point it seems to me. Now, in the thirties, with the rest of the world brought low by the Great Depression, and a decade to rebuild themselves, they might be more aggressive, especially after receiving all that money from arms trade to the Royalists in the Spanish Civil War. But this would likely be too late for an impact on the German Republic's fate.