Weimar republic 1918-29

• ww1 ended 11th november 1918 due to the signement of the Armistice
• the armistice was signed by Germany, France, Britain and Russia
• Kaiser Wilhem abdicated on 9th November 1918 after being advised to and the lack of support from the military
• Freidrich Ebert became the first President of the Weimar Republic
• What were the impacts of WW1 


  -2 mill troops died

  -+4mill troops were wounded

  -gov debts increased from 50bil-150bil marks

  -750 000 germans died from starvation making people strike and riot
• 10th November 1918


  Ebert suspended the old Reichstag and formed the Council of People's Representatives temporarily. The Kaiser fled into exile to Holland
• Why was the government formed in Weimar


  constant riots in Berlin
• Role of President

  Head of republic elected every 7 years na dhad political power e.g chose the chancellor and could suspsend the consitution and pass laws
• How did Ebert achieve fragile control?


  allowed previous civil servants to stay in office, army would not be reformed, not confiscate any land/factories and won support of trade unions by trying to achieve an 8 hour working day
• national elections took place on 19th January 1919
• chancellor could choose gov mimisters
• Reichstag


  more powerful house

  controlled taxation elected by people once every 4 years
• Reichsrat 


  elected every 4 years

  represented the regions of germany

  sent certain number of representatives depending on size
• democratic gov was formed on 31st July 1919
• how did republic become more democratic 


  women were allowed to vote

  age reduced from 25 to 21
• what did the regions each local parlimant control

  key services like police and schools and courts
• how was coalitions a weaknedd


  meant smaller parties win seats so in 1920s, they were 29 parties in total so some parties would join together as a coalition resulting in frequent arguments and no clear/strong policies. they were 9 coalitions between 1919-1923
• Article 48


  chancellor could ask president to pass laws without Reichstags permission in a crisis. but by 1930s, the chancellor regulary relied on it bypassing democratic rules
• during german revolution, gov had used force relying on army to subdue riots creatng a sense that the Weimar Republic was not the people's choice
• nationalists and communists opposed to democracy
• Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28th June 1919
• Diktat


  theory that the terms were imposed on, not agreed by the germans
• Article 231


  germany had caused the war
• Terms of the Treaty of Versailles (war guilt)


  1921 reperations were £6.6 billion

  loast all its colonies to victorious nations

  army limited to 100 000 troops, no artillery

  only allowed 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers, 12 tornado bots, no submarines and fleet was destroyed

  air force was destroyed - no air force allowed

  Rhineland was demilitarised and Allied troops were stationed there until 1930
• German also lost 10% of its populations and 13% of European territory due to ToV
• Dolchstoss theory


  army was betrayed by politicians -stabbed in the back
• Impacts of ToV


  damage Germans economy and people hated thse who signed it 'November Criminals' as it linked to weakness and humiliation
• main right wing party in 1919


  national party KPD
• main left wing party in 1919


  German communist party KPD
• who backed the KPD making it popular


  Soviet Union with 33 daily newspapers and 400 000 members
• What happened after Ebert sacked the police chief of Berlin on 4th Jan 1919


  100 000 workers went protesting in the streets in which the Sparticist decided to call for an uprising and on 6th Jan the sparticists seized control of gov newspapers and telegraphs
• How did Ebert react to the Sparticist revolt


  hired ex military soldiers (Freikorps) to turn on the rioters. They were 250 000 men in March 1919. by 13th Jan the rebels had been driven off and leaders Rosa Luxemborg and Liebknecht were arrested and killed
• Why did 5000 Kapp Putsch rebele in march 1920 in berlin?


  they feared unemplyment they feared unempolyment so had Wolfgang Kapp, nationalist politician, as a figure head and invited the Kaiser back to form a new gov
• Why did memebers of the gov flee Berlin durring the Kapp Putsch


  feared there lives
• Ebert asked peole to go on strike in repsonse to the Kapp Putsch stopping essentail servives like water, transport and electricity in which they did as they had no desire for the Kaiser to return
• Why did Wolfgang Kapp try to flee


  realised he couldnt govern but was then caght and put in prison where he died
• political murders during 1912-1922


  376 political murders
• What happened when political paeties hired private political armies conisisting of unemplted ex-military soldiers?


  their presence often caused political meeying and marches to become violent
• when could germany no longer afford to pay reperations?


  1923
• when did germany fail to send coal to france and when did french troops then arrive in the Rhur?


  Decemeber 1922

  January 123