Weimar & Nazi Germany New

• The First World War began in August 1914 and ended in autumn 1918. Britain, France and Russia (the allies, or Triple Entente) fought against Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey (the Central Powers). The 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.
• Weimar Constitution


  • Article 23 noted that every 4 years, a Reichstag would be elected
  • Article 48 said that 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. The terms of the treaty shocked Germans as Clemenceau, the French leader, wanted revenge so that Germany could not threaten France again.
• 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.
• Sparticist Uprising


  1. December 1918, the Sparticists demonstrated against the Government

  2. Clashes with the army and 16 sparticists were killed

  3. By the end of the month, the group formed the German Communist Party (KPD)

  4. 6th January 1919, the Sparticists attempted to overthrow Ebert and the Weimar Government

  5. The regular army and the Berlin Freikorps ended the rebellion. The leaders Liebknecht and Luxemburg were captured and killed

  6. In March, an additional communist-inspired rising in Berlin was also put down ferociously with over 1000 people killed
• Kapp Putsch


  1. March 1920, the Weimar Government announced measured to reduce the size of the army and disband the Freikorps

  2. Ehrhardt and Berlin Politician, Wolfgang Kapp planned to seize Berlin and form a new right-wing Government

  3. 13 March 1920, Berlin was seized and the Weimar Government moved to Dresden and the Stuttgart

  4. Ebert and Schediemann called on the people of Berlin to not support the Putsch and encouraged people to strike. Trade unionists and civil servants supported the Government and, due to a lack of support, the Putsch failed
• Further Uprisings: Communist rising in the Ruhr a week after the Kapp Putsch commenced. Army involved and put the rebellion down. 376 murders total in the period 1919-22, 354 carried out by the right. 10 left-wingers were sentenced to death. Two Weimar ministers were assassinated in this time.
• The French occupied the Ruhr in 1923 and hyperinflation occurred, worsening problems for the Weimar Republic.
• Inflation following the war, due to the high reparation levels (£100 million per year, £6600 million total), and the loss of wealth-making industrial areas, led to the Weimar Government continuing to print more money due to inflation to pay workers in the Ruhr during the French and Belgian occupation.
• French Occupation of the Ruhr

  1. January 1923, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr

  2. The occupation was met with passive resistance. Workers in the Ruhr striked, protesting against the occupation

  3. Some strikers were shot by French troops - their funerals led to demonstrations against the invasion

  4. The German Government, who backed the strikers, printed more money to pay the workers a wage

  5. Fewer goods were being produced due to the strike

  6. The printing of more money and the reduction in production of goods led to hyperinflation
• People with savings or a fixed income were left penniless and people quickly blamed the Weimar politicians.
• Hyperinflation benefitted businessmen who had borrowed money from banks and could pay off debts, farmers who could raise their prices due to the serious food shortages and foreigners in Germany who, with their dollars or pounds, could change them for millions of marks and afford things that ordinary Germans couldn't.
• Summer 1923, Gustav Stresemann became Chancellor and steadied things by introducing a new currency called the Rentenmark. The new currency and loans from the USA allowed for economic recovery, leading to a supposed period of stability and prosperity.
• The Dawes Plan


  1. Stresemann persuaded the British, French and American to change the payment terms for reparations

  2. Reparations would begin at 1 billion marks for the first year and increase over a four year period to 2.5 billion marks a year

  3. The Ruhr was to be evacuated by the allied occupation troops, carried out in 1925

  4. The Reichsbank would be reorganised under allied supervision

  5. The USA would give loans to Germany to aid economic recovery
• Loans began with 800 million marks. For 6 years following, USA companies and banks gave loans totaling almost $3000 million USD, allowing economic recovery and the payment of reparations.
• The Rentenmark


  1. November 1923, Stresemann restored confidence in the German currency by introducing a new temporary currency called the Rentenmark

  2. The new currency was issued in limited amounts and was based on property values rather than gold reserves

  3. The Rentenmark was converted into the Reichsmark, a new currency backed by gold reserves
• The Young Plan


  1. 1929, the Allied Reparations Committee asked US banker Owen Young to come up with a new plan for payments

  2. Reparations figure was reduced from £6,600 million to £1,850 million

  3. Germany was given more time to pay, 59 years, with average payments at 2.05 billion marks per year
• The plan was a large achievement for Stresemann yet criticised by right-wing politicians such as Alfred Hugenberg and Adolf Hitler, who objected to any further reparation payments, especially once these had been extended to 1988.