Weimar & Nazi Germany: The Weimar Republic 1918-29

• First World War began in August 1914 and ended in autumn 1918
• Sides in World War I

  • Allies (Britain, France, Russia)
  • Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey)
• USA joined the allies in 1917
• Autumn 1918, the German army had been pushed back on the Western Front in France and the British Naval blockade resulted in food shortages for the German people, making a German defeat imminent and looming
• Early October 1918, a new Government was formed in Germany led by Prince Max of Baden. It included members of the Reichstag and was Germany's first parliamentary cabinet. It was accountable to the Reichstag, not the Kaiser
• Late October 1918, the German navy mutinied in the Kiel mutiny. Sailors refused to attack the British navy due to them feeling it was a foolish move, endangering ceasefire talks
• November 9th 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated due to his lack of support
• November 11 1918, Chancellor Friedrich Ebert accepted the Armistice on the basis of Wilson's Fourteen Points
• Elections for a Constituent Assembly on the 19th January 1919 were announced
• The January elections resulted with no single party having a majority, leading to a Coalition Government
• Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democratic Party was chosen by the assembly to the new President. The party formed a coalition with the Catholic Centre Party and German Democratic Party to form a majority
• Due to the many parties in the coalition, overall majorities were difficult to secure. Coalitions were a feature of the republic
• Since the Kaiser had abdicated, a Weimar Constitution had to be drawn up and was finalised in August 1919
• Article 23 of the Constitution


  Every 4 years, a Reichstag would be elected
• Article 48 of the Constitution


  If public safety and order in the Reich was endangered or disrupted, then the President could take measures to restore safety and order, including ignoring the Reichstag
• Strengths of the new constitution

  • Men and women both had the vote from the age of 20
  • Head of the Government (Chancellor) had to have support of most of the Reichstag
  • Strong President was necessary to keep control over the Government and protect the country in crisis
  • Proportional Representation meant that the number of seats each party had in the Reichstag was based on the number of votes they got
• Weaknesses of the new constitution

  • Leaders of the army wanted the Kaiser to return because their status would be maintained under the Kaiser
  • Many Senior Civil Servants and Judges did not want the Weimar Republic as they did not agree with its liberal views
  • Article 48 allowed for the President to rule without decree, so arguably the President had more power than the Reichstag
  • Many political parties so it was difficult to create political stability. No party could win a majority and there were many coalition Governments
• 28 June 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending the First World War
• Terms of the Treaty of Versailles

  • Territory: Colonies given to Allied Powers, Alsace-Lorraine returned to France, Saar administered by League of Nations, Posen and West Prussia given to Poland, No union (Anschluss) allowed with Austria
  • Reparations: £6.6 billion, Coal mined in the Saar by France, Cattle and sheep given to Belgium and France
  • Arms: Army not to exceed 100,000, No tanks or heavy artillery permitted, Rhineland demilitarised, No submarines
  • War Guilt: Article 231 stated Germany was to accept blame for starting the war in 1914
  • League: Germany denied entry to the League of Nations
• The 'Stab in the Back Theory' or Doltchoss scapegoated the new Weimar Politicians by calling them the 'November Criminals' and blaming them for Germany having lost the war and signing the treaty
• The irony to this was that if the German leaders had refused to accept the terms of the treaty, then Germany would have faced hostilities
• Whilst Ebert and Schediemann were trying to establish a new German Government, there was political turmoil nationally
• The Weimar Republic, in its early years, faced challenges from the left and right
• Criticisms to the Weimar politicians included ending the war, accepting the Treaty of Versailles and introducing higher taxes for the better off in society to pay reparations
• By late October, early November 1918, there were still food shortages due to the British naval blockade. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia was also impactful, leading to the spreading of unrest. Unrest also occurred as people felt that democracy had been imposed on them
• Following the Bolsheviks Revolution in Russia (October 1917), many Germans hoped that a socialist country could be established in Germany too
• Soldiers, sailors and workers set up councils, called sovietys, in October and November of 1918
• The threat of a revolution led to Ebert making a deal with the new army leader Groener, agreeing that the army would support the new Government against the revolution and, transactionally, Ebert would support and supply the army
• Leaders of the army did not want democracy necessarily, however they preferred this to a Bolshevik style Government
• The Sparticist Uprising was a left wing uprising of those who sought to establish a state with communist ideals as the foundation
• December 1918, the Sparticists demonstrated against the Government. This led to clashes with the army and 16 sparticists were killed
• By the end of the month, the group formed the German Communist Party (KPD)
• 6th January 1919, the Sparticists attempted to overthrow Ebert and the Weimar Government in favour of a communist state. The regular army and the Berlin Freikorps (groups formed from demobilised soldiers at the end of the war, most were monarchists), to end the rebellion. The leaders Liebknecht and Luxemburg were captured and killed
• The violence led to the assembly moving to Weimar
• In March, an additional communist-inspired rising in Berlin was also put down ferociously with over 1000 people killed
• March 1920, the Weimar Government announced measured to reduce the size of the army and disband the Freikorps. This led to uproar in Berlin
• Ehrhardt and Berlin Politician, Wolfgang Kapp planned to seize Berlin and form a new right-wing Government with Kapp as Chancellor
• Kapp stressed the communist threat, Dolchstoss and the severity of the Treaty of Versailles
• 13 March 1920, Berlin was seized and the Weimar Government moved to Dresden and the Stuttgart
• The regular army was asked to put down the Kapp Putsch but refused