weimar germany whole booklet

• Nazi control and dictatorship, 1933–39

  • The Reichstag Fire and the Enabling Act, 1933
  • Hitler becomes Führer
  • A police state
  • Policies towards the churches
  • Propaganda and censorship
  • Church opposition
  • Youth opposition
• Life in Nazi Germany, 1933–39


  • Women and the family
  • Nazi youth organisations
  • Nazi education
  • Policies to reduce unemployment
  • The standard of living
  • Racial beliefs and policies
  • Jewish persecution 1
  • Jewish persecution 2
• The First World War ended

  1918
• Friedrich Ebert, leader of the Social Democratic Party, became the first German president and declared Germany a republic
• Impact of the First World War on Germany

  • Two million German troops died and over four million were wounded (11 million in total fought in the war)
  • Government debts increased from 50 billion marks to 150 billion marks
  • More than 750 000 Germans died because of food shortages
• The devastating effects of the war left many people with no option other than to revolt by striking and rioting
• The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II (the Emperor)

  1. Kaiser visited army headquarters in Spa

  2. Ministers tried to persuade the Kaiser to abdicate

  3. The Kaiser refused

  4. Army officers refused to support the Kaiser

  5. The Kaiser had no option but to abdicate
• Revolution and the declaration of the republic

  1. The Kaiser fled to Holland

  2. The revolutionary period continued until August 1919, when the Weimar Republic was finally established
• The armistice - the peace agreement between Germany and the Allies - was signed on 11 November
• The armistice was the first major decision of Ebert's new Republic
• The terms of the peace, the Treaty of Versailles, became a very big burden for the country
• Democratic government was established in the drawing up of a new constitution. This was done on 31 July 1919 in the town of Weimar, rather than in Berlin where there was still unrest
• President


  Head of the Weimar Republic, elected by the people every seven years, had some important political powers
• Chancellor


  Head of the government in the Weimar Republic, chose all government ministers
• Cabinet


  The main decision-making body of the government
• Reichstag


  The more powerful of the two houses, controlled taxation, directly elected by the people at least once every four years
• Reichsrat


  Also elected every four years, represented the regions of Germany, each region sent a certain number of representatives depending on its size
• Electorate


  Consisted of all men and women of 21 years old and over
• Strengths of the Weimar Constitution

  • Proportional representation made sure small parties had a fair share of seats
  • Women able to vote as well as men
  • Voting age reduced from 25 to 21
  • No one group or person could have too much power
  • There was an election for president every seven years
  • Central government was more powerful than before, but local government still retained power in the regions
  • The Reichsrat could regulate the power of the Reichstag by delaying new laws
• Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

  • Proportional representation led to coalition governments that were unstable, or found it difficult to have strong policies and often fell apart
  • Lack of strong government led to weakness in a crisis that ended up with the president passing laws without the prior consent of the Reichstag. Article 48 of the constitution enabled the president to do this
  • It was not the choice of the people so was not that popular
• The Treaty of Versailles damaged Germany's economy making the Weimar Republic weak from the start. People blamed the leaders of the new German republic for signing it. They were labelled the 'November Criminals' because they surrendered in November 1918 and were seen as traitors to their country
• Article 231 of the Treaty of Versailles said that Germany was guilty of starting the war. Ordinary German people hated this blame and felt very resentful because of it. They believed they fought the war in self-defence and that other countries were to blame
• Areas Germany ceded to other countries

  • Northern Schleswig
  • Eupen and Malmédy
  • Alsace and Lorraine
  • Posen
  • West Prussia
  • Upper Silesia
  • Memel
  • Polish corridor
• Germany lost 13% of its European territory and 11 of its colonies
• The treaty and military forces

  • Army limited to 100 000
  • Navy limited to six battleships, six cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats (and no submarines)
  • All planes were destroyed and no air force was allowed
  • No military was allowed in the land bordering France (the Rhineland)
• Challenges from left and right

  • The Spartacists (left-wing)
  • The Freikorps (right-wing)
  • Right-wing parties in the Reichstag
  • Left-wing parties in the Reichstag
  • Left-wing and right-wing political armies
  • Right-wing bias in the courts
  • Political assassinations
• The Spartacist Revolt


  1. In January 1919, the Spartacists took over the government's newspaper and telegraph bureau, and tried to organise a general strike in Berlin

  2. The Weimar government sent Freikorps units to put down the revolt
• The Kapp Putsch


  1. In March 1920, Freikorps troops, fearing unemployment, decided to march on Berlin

  2. Ebert asked the head of the army to resist the Freikorps but he refused

  3. A nationalist politician, Dr Wolfgang Kapp, was put in charge by the rebels and the Weimar government fled Berlin seeking safety

  4. The government organised the trade unions to go on strike to put down the rebels
• From 1919–1923 politicians in the Weimar Republic were worried about assassinations. In the early years of the republic, 376 political assassinations took place. Some right-wing extremists used the murders to weaken the new republic. Conservative judges were sympathetic to the conservative cause and gave them light punishments
• In 1923 the German people faced a terrible economic crisis. There was hyperinflation that made the German currency worthless
• Why there was hyperinflation

  1. 1914–18: The government printed more money to pay for the First World War, but it didn't have more gold – it was bankrupt

  2. 1918–22: The Weimar government printed more money for post-war shortages and asked for longer to pay the first reparations instalment

  3. November 1923: The German mark was worthless
• In January 1923, French troops invaded the Ruhr to take reparations payments in goods and raw materials. German workers went on strike. 80% of German coal, iron and steel reserves were in the Ruhr and many of its factories. The occupation was a disaster for Germany's economy
• Hyperinflation


  When the price of goods increases it is called inflation; when it increases spectacularly, it is called hyperinflation
• The effects of hyperinflation

  • Negative effects: Some people could not afford essentials like bread, wages rose but not as quickly as prices, some businesses went bankrupt, people with fixed or monthly incomes suffered most, savings became worthless, people blamed the Weimar government
  • Positive effects: Farmers benefited, some people and businesses could pay off loans and mortgages, fixed rents for rooms or shops became very cheap, foreign visitors could buy more for their money
• Rentenmark


  1. In November 1923, Stresemann set up the Rentenbank and issued the new currency called the Rentenmark

  2. Supply of these notes was tightly controlled. Their value was tied to the price of gold so it had real value. This encouraged more public confidence

  3. In August 1924 the Reichsbank was given control of this new currency. It was renamed the Reichsmark. Hyperinflation was over
• The Dawes Plan, 1924


  1. In 1924, Charles Dawes, an American banker, designed a plan so Germany could pay its reparations

  2. Instalments were temporarily reduced to £50 million a year

  3. US banks agreed to make loans to German industry. The Allies felt more confident that they would get their reparations payments
• The Young Plan, 1929


  1. In August 1929, a committee, set up by the Allies and led by an American banker called Owen Young, proposed a plan

  2. The Young Plan reduced the total reparations debt from £6.6 billion to £2 billion

  3. The payments could be made over a longer time, up until 1988

  4. Lower reparations meant lower taxes for German people

  5. There was a lot of opposition, especially from the extreme political parties, like the Nazis, who felt it was extending the burden for future generations
• Improvements in the economy: industrial output doubled by 1928 and finally passed pre-First World War levels, employment and trade increased
• However, there were still problems: the extreme political parties were completely against Germany paying the reparations at all, the economic recovery depended on American loans, so it remained fragile
• Gustav Stresemann resigned the chancellorship in November 1923, but stayed as foreign secretary until 1929