Abdication & Armistice

• Germany had to face the combined might of the allies Britain, France, Russia, and later the USA during World War One
• The war lasted four years from 1914 to 1918
• Two million German troops were killed and four million were wounded during World War One
• By 1918, Germany's debt was three times the debt they had in 1914
• In 1918, the British navy blocked German trade routes, leading to severe food shortages and an estimated 750,000 deaths from hunger
• In Stuttgart and Hanover, people protested and rioted in the streets
• In Munich, a general strike was declared and the communist ideas of workers and soldiers councils became popular
• Resistance at the front began to collapse by November 1918
• The navy rebellions in Kiel and Hamburg were the final nail in the coffin for the Kaiser
• On the 9th of November 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and went into exile in Holland
• On the 10th of November, a republic was established in place of the Kaiser's rule
• Frederick Ebert became the Chancellor after the Kaiser's abdication
• The Social Democratic Party (SDP) had to act quickly to set up the republic as the crowds were angry and anxious for change
• The Great War ended


  11th of November 1918
• Mathias Erzberger, a representative of the new government, met with the leaders of the allied nations in a train carriage in France
• Armistice signing

  Mathias Erzberger signed the agreement to end the war
• For many Germans, the end of the Great War was seen as a betrayal of a Germany that had not lost the war in battle
• The following nine months after the armistice were dangerous for the republic
• Challenges faced by Ebert


  • Keeping the people on side, as well as the leaders of industry and the army
  • Dealing with openly hostile extreme political parties and anger at Germany's defeat
• Steps taken by Ebert to prevent uprisings


  1. Kept existing civil servants who understood Germany's needs and worked with workers and soldiers councils

  2. Maintained communication with army leaders to help keep control

  3. Met with leaders of industry to reassure and encourage them to supply Germany

  4. Met with leaders of trade unions and agreed to certain changes to working conditions
• Ebert managed to gain control of Germany in the month following the armistice
• Ebert's control was weak due to threats from extreme political parties and the risk of public unrest throughout the years of the Weimar Republic