WI: Radical Pacifist Germany?

CECBC

Banned
What if Germany before WWII, instead of adopting the ultra-militarism of Fascism instead adopted a pacifist ideology where they disbanded their already small military, melted down guns, shut down all armament factories, and preached for total non-violence in all facets of life?

Would a pacifist Germany be bullied by France? Would it have a better economy without wasting efforts on building up an army?
 
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The Western Allies/NATO wouldn't have allowed it, they needed to occupy West Germany to guard against the Soviets.
 
Well, the problem here is that there was a very real threat of Germany collapsing into violence due to a variety of far-right and far-left paramilitary groups. Unless the economy can improve to the point that extremists lose their support, the threat of an attempted uprising of some sort will keep the army necessary.
 

NoMommsen

Donor
Oh well, then ...
A Germany run by a "pacifist" ruling body (just goverment at 1919/20 ?), disbanding all army aka soldiers immediatly, supporting no Freikorps, will most likely become an easy prey for the communists ("Spartakists" or "USPD" of this time).
... and will have a damn hard time with millions of soldiers left out with no work, no income, no food (entente blockade still active).

But for the sake of argument :

Whatever goverment there might be, the french will get after them and "bully" them, if you mean the several "reparation"-issues and additional occupations after the armistice, in any case. France made their own finances to a big extent dependent on reparation payments.
Such a pacifist goverment wouldn't be able to get their industrialists on line with them, means Germany would be even more unable to pay reparations

With a pacifist/communist goverment the "Ruhr-industrialists" will be happy to set up an "independant" Rheinland-state under the protection of France - and merge with the french heavy industrie in some way (something famous/infamous Hugo Stinnes already was working on in peacetime prior to WW I on private venture terms).

Arms production was already heavily hampered in 1920 - 1923 by the IMCC und wasn't be able to sore up in some degree before 1924. So -> no real economic "gain" for now. That would need a unified germany passing through the Great Depression with its goverment still intact.
 
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