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Why were Matthias Erzberger and Walther Rathenau assassinated?

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Birth of the Weimar Republic — Weimar Republic Learn about Germany's fledgling Weimar Republic and the challenges it faced.

During the early years of the Weimar Republic, political violence was rampant, with right-wing extremists targeting government officials who represented the new democratic system and the Treaty of Versailles.12

Matthias Erzberger: As a leader of the Centre Party and a signatory of the 1918 Armistice, Erzberger became a primary target for the extreme right. He was subjected to a vicious slander campaign and was ultimately assassinated by members of a nationalist organization in 1921 due to his role in the armistice and his support for the republican-democratic system.31
Walther Rathenau: As foreign minister, Rathenau was reviled by the extreme right, who viewed him as a symbol of the postwar system and a promoter of "creeping communism" following his negotiation of the Treaty of Rapallo with the Soviet Union. His assassination in 1922 by right-wing fanatics was further fueled by virulent antisemitism.41

These murders were part of a broader wave of nearly 400 political assassinations by the end of 1922, reflecting the intense hostility radical nationalists held toward the republic's leaders.12