spartacist revolution

• The German communist party (the Spartacists) decided that they wanted to take over Germany from Ebert


  January 1919
• Spartacist Revolution attempt


  1. Started on 6th January

  2. Not successful

  3. Ebert with the help of his Freikorps (ex-WWI soldiers paid to help the government keep order) had stopped the rebellion

  4. Killed many communists

  5. Spartacist leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht, were murdered
• Spartacists were no longer a threat


  Ebert had to rely on the Freikorps to keep order
• Relying on the Freikorps made Ebert look weak to the public, and it was risky as the Freikorps could turn on him at any point
• The German communists continued to create riots around Germany, even after the Spartacist Revolution failed
• Freikorps had to be sent round to fight them and stop them
• The right wing


  • Hated the Social Democrats
  • Went against Ebert in 1920 when they supported Wolfgang Kapp in his attempt to take over the country (Kapp Putsch)
• Kapp Putsch


  1. Workers in Berlin went on strike

  2. Refused to help the Freikorps
• The Kapp Putsch failed
• Over 200 people connected to the Weimar Government were assassinated between 1919 and 1923
• Walther Rathenau


  Politician who had been involved with the armistice and the Treaty of Versailles
• Assassinations of people connected to the Weimar Government

  • Showed how much people disliked their new government
  • Made people feel that the government was doing a bad job as they weren't stopping violence on the streets
• The Treaty of Versailles


  June 1919
• The government had no choice but to sign the treaty; if they didn't sign the war would continue and Germany would lose
• BRAT


  The Main terms of the Treaty of Versailles
• Blame


  • Germany had to accept responsibility for starting the war and causing all the damage. This is called the War Guilt clause.
• Reparations


  • Germany had to pay £6.6 billion to pay to repair the damage caused by the war.
• Armed Forces


  • The Germany army was reduced to 100,000 men, and they couldn't have any tanks, submarines or planes. The Rhineland (an area of Germany that borders France) was also demilitarised so no German troops could go there.
• Territory


  • Germany lost 13% of their land and 12.5% of their population. They also lost all their colonies so they no longer had an empire. Germany was also forbidden to join with Austria. Some of the land they lost was industrial land with coal mines etc on; this meant they lost a way to produce income for Germany.
• The Germans were outraged. They called the Treaty a "diktat" (dictated peace) and accused the Weimar Government of "stabbing them in the back" by agreeing to such harsh terms.
• People began to look to other politicians to rule Germany better than the Social Democrats.