The Weimar republic 1918-29

• The first world war affected Germany socially, economically and politically. German society expected a quick victory and the war had lasted longer than expected. By 1918, German society was exhausted. The war caused many deaths and crippled the Germane economy, making it difficult to recover
• WW1 deaths 


  During the war, 2 million troops died from fighting and 4 million were left wounded

  This left 600,000 women as widows

  The home front was also affected by the war. 763,000 civilians died from starvation and a further 150,000 died from the flu pandemic
• Crippled economy from WW1

  By 1918 industrial production was only 2/3 of 1913

  Germany's debt had increased over World War One from 50 billion marks in 1914 to 150 billion marks in 1918
• Inflation due to WW1

  Germany printed more money to fund the war effort

  This meant that the value of the German mark fell leading to inflation
• Uneven distribution of wealth from WW1 


  Wealth became more unevenly distributed through the first World War

  The average wage for a worker in 1918 was only 60% of what they earned in 1913

  Big armament businesses made lots of money from the war

  This caused social problems as workers resented business owners
• By the autumn of 1918, it was becoming clear that Germany could not win the war. This resulted in a series of events leading to Kaiser Wilhelm abdicating
• On the 19th of September 1918, it was clear that Germany would lose the war

  • Field Marshall Hindenburg and General Ludendorff told Kaiser Wilhelm II that Germany could not win the war
  • Hindenburg and Ludendorff said that a democratic government was needed for a favourable peace settlement with the Allied Powers
• On the 3rd of October 1918, Hindenburg informed the Reichstag of the decision to create a more democratic government

  • The Kaiser appointed a Liberal, Prince Max of Baden, to be Chancellor
  • Under Prince Max, a new government was set up

  The German military leaders handed over power to the civilian government just in time for them to take the blame for the loss of WW1
• The Kaiser now lost the support of his military

  Sailors in the navy refused to follow the Kaiser's orders on the 3rd of November 1918. This was called the Keil Mutiny

  Kurt Eisner, a communist, caused mass strikes in Munich after supporting an uprising against the Kaiser
• On the 9th of November 1918, The Kaiser lost the support of his advisors and was forced to abdicate

  Ministers tried to make Kaiser abdicate which he refused

  Following this, the leaders of the army withdrew their support for the Kaiser

  The Kaiser abdicated and fled to Holland
• On the 10th of November 1918, the German Republic was born

  • Philipp Scheidemann, a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), declared the new German Republic

  Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the SPD, became the leader of the German Republic

  • Ebert created the Council of People's Representatives as a temporary government. This council ran Germany until new elections were held in January 1919
• On the 11th of November 1918, Ebert admitted defeat and signed the armistice with the allies

  Some Germans felt that they could've won the war and that the treaty was unfair. They felt that they had been stabbed in the back (Dolchstoss) by Ebert and his government

  • Ebert and the politicians who negotiated peace became known as the 'November Criminals' Berlin became a hotbed for revolt (rebellion).
• To set up the new republic away from the unrest in Berlin, politicians moved to the small town of Weimar, where a new government was created
• The structure of the Weimar Republic

  At the head of the Republic was the President

  • The president was elected every 7 years
  • The president had the power to choose key ministers, such as the Chancellor
  • Using articles 48, the President could overrule his government and make laws by decree
• The structure of the Weimar Republic - government 


  Beneath the president was the government

  The cabinet made political decisions. The chancellor led the cabinet
• The structure of the Weimar Republic - parliament 


  Beneath the government was parliament. This was formed from the Reichstag and the Reichsrat.

  In parliament, parties were given 'proportional representation'

  This means that the party's seats reflected the amount of votes it received

  The Reichstag and Reichsrat were elected every 4 years

  The Reichstag was more powerful and controlled tax

  The Reichsrat represented each region of Germany
• The structure of the Weimar Republic - electorate 


  Beneath the parliament was the electorate

  • According to the constitution, all men and women over 20 were eligible (had the right) to vote in elections and this was drawn up by a Jewish man named Hugo Preuss
• Strengths of the Weimar Constitution

  • The Weimar Republic was a genuine democracy. This was because all Germans over 20 could vote.
  • The constitution was strong because no one person or group could hold too much power
• Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

  • Proportional representation meant that weak coalitions were the only way to gain power and lead Germany
  • Article 48 was a weakness because it meant that the President could bypass democracy
  • The Constitution was weak because strong German states, such as Prussia, still held power through the Reichsrat
• The terms of peace were agreed in the Treaty of Versailles, in 1919. The German people believed the treaty was a diktat (dictated peace) and that it was unfair.
• General terms of Versailles

  Germany accepted blame for the war (Article 231 the 'war guilt clause')

  Germany must pay £6.6 billion in reparations to the Allies

  This meant a huge loss of land in Europe and all their German colonies

  • Germany lost 13% of its land and 12.5% of its population
• Military terms of Versailles

  Military restrictions, which included having a maximum of 100,000 soldiers, 15,000 sailors, 6 ships, 0 submarines and 0 armoured vehicles

  The demilitarisation of the Rhineland

  Not being able to join with Austria
• Resentment of Versailles 


  Some Germans felt that Germany could have won the war and so were 'stabbed in the back' - Dolchstoss - by Ebert and his government that signed the armistice. These politicians were known as the 'November Criminals'
• Public opinion of Versailles

  The historian James Hawessays ‘germany should have won the war’. Germany was usually the first country to develop new weapons like poison gas, very heavy artillery, and functioning submarines

  Hawes says that ‘in August 1918, most germans still genuinely thought they were going tow in the war’.

  This made the terms of Versailles even harder to accept
• In its early years, the Weimar Republic struggled to cope with the pressures of the Treaty of Versailles. Already unpopular, the Weimar republic needed to prove that democracy could be a success. Between 1919 and 1923, there were 376 political assassinations
• Challenges from the left - Spartacist Uprising 


  The Spartacists were a Communist group supported by the Soviet Union. They were led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.

  In January 1919, the Sparticists staged a revolt (Rebellion) in Berlin and hoped to lead a Strike. The ultimate aim was to overthrow the Weimar Republic.

  Ebert used a right-wing group of former soldiers, called the Freikorps, to stope the uprising.

  • He recognized the need to use political extremist groups against each-other
• Key challenges from the right - Kapp putsch

  In march 1920, the Freikorps in Berlin staged a rebellion. Wolfgang Kapp was the leader of the Freikorps in this rebellion

  The aim was to seize control and stop the Weimar democractic system

  The putsch failed because German workers went on strike. This forced Kapp to flee

  Wolfgang Kapp was a nationalist GErman civil servant. Some people believe that Kapp was a puppet for General Ludendorff, although this unconfirmed

  One unit in the Kapp Putsch had swastikas on their helmets
• Background of the Munich Putsch 


  The second challenge from the right was the Munich Putsch in 1923

  The national socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP), also known as the Nazi party, staged the Munich Putsch.

  Hitler had been introduced to Ludendorff by Rohm, the leader of the SA

  Adolf Hitler and Lundendorff (the general who told Kaiser to abdicate in World War One) led the putsch

  The nazis thought the Weimar Republic was weak because of the economic crisis in 1923
• The Munich Putsch 


  In November 1923, the Nazis entered a meeting of the Bavarian government. Hitler demanded the goverments support

  The Nazis took control of the local polic and army headquarters. But Lundendorff secretly let the government leaders go

  The next day, Hitler marched on Munich to declare himself President of Germany.

  But the state police met the nazis. They arrested. Hitler, who received a 1-year sentence of ‘fortress arrest’.
• Hitler’s imprisonment 


  Hitler used his trial for publicity to spread the Nazi message.

  In prison he wrote his bestseller. ‘Mein Kampf’, which outlined his political objectives.

  Most importantly, the need to destroy democracy, the need for Lebensraum, and the inferiority of the Jews

  Hitler realised he needed to reorganize the Nazi party to gain success
• Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to pay £6.6 billion in reparations to the allies. This was a huge burden and Germany found it hard to pay
• Difficulty with paying reparations

  The period of 1919 to 1923 was particulary difficult for Weimar Germany. Most especially because they were unable to pay their reparation installments (fixed regular payments).

  In 1922, the Weimar Republic stopped paying their reparation installments

  • in 1923, France and Belgium retaliated by seizing the Ruhr (german region) to take what they believed Germany owed in the form of coal and other goods
• The seizing of the ruhr

  The Ruhr was the main industrial region in Germany

  The french and Belgians took control of all factories, mines and railways in the area

  The actions of the French and Belgians were legal in the eyes of the international community because of the treaty of Versailles
• German reaction to the seizing of the Ruhr

  In response to the seizing of the Ruhr, Ebert told German workers to go on strike. This was called ‘passive resistance’.

  But France and Belgium simply brought their own workers in to take their place

  Over 8 months, 132 people were killed and 150,000 Germans were kicked out of their homes in the Ruhr
• Cause of hyperinflation 


  When money was printed, governments tied currency to a fixed value of gold

  But weimar Germany did not have enough gold to match the amount of money it was printing.

  This meant that the value of the german mark fell and that the price of goods increased rapidly.

  This caused hyperinflation

  Germany’s war debts and the interest payments on these meant that they had debts worth 175% of their total national output. This is the same level as Greece in the eurozone crisis
• Consequences of Hyperinflation 


  In 1918, a loaf of bread cost 0.6 German marks. By November 1923, it cost 201 Billion German marks.

  As prices rose every hour, people bought goods as soon as they were paid. This meant that they carried money round in wheelbarrows

  To get around the problem of hyperinflation, people used a barter system (trading items) instead of money
• Social problems with hyperinflation

  People with savings (especially the middle class) lost their money.

  People with a fixed income could not renegotiate (discuss again to change) their earnings.

  The elderly with fixed pensions could not get any more money and so their incomes were destroyed

  Small business owners went bankrupt
• Benefits of hyperinflation 


  A few people benefitted from hyperinflation:

  People with debt benefited because it was easier to pay off.

  Farmers benefited because people paid more for food

  However, it is important to remeber that most people suffered because of hyperinflation. People did not get their savings back when hyperinflation ended
• The Weimar republic overmcame some of there difficulties with the help of Gustav Stresemann. He was Chancellor in 1923 and Foreign minister between 1923-1929. Between 1924 and 1929, German citizens came to accept the Weimar republic as a legitimate government and so did international powers
• Stopping hyperinflation 


  TO help stop hyperinflation, Stresemann called of passive (non-violent) resistance in the Ruhr.

  In November 1923, Stresemann set up a new currency called the ‘Rentenmark’.

  Unlike the previous currency, Rentenmark was tied to the price of German land and held real value

  In August 1924, this currency was rename the Reichsmark and place under the control of the Reichsbank. With this new currency, hyperinflation was stopped