The Weimar Republic

tHE gERMAN rEVOLUTION

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• In late 1918, there was unrest across Germany as the KAISER ABDICATED. tHESE EVENTS ARE CALLED THE gERMAN rEVOLUTION

rEASONS FOR rEVOLUTION

• dEFEAT IN WW1 was near certain. 2 million soldiers had died and morale was low.
• Allied navies were blockading the german coast preventiong imports of basic supplies. Food shortages led to great suffering
• A deadly influenza infection spread through Europe from August 1918 causing many deaths.

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• Many people wanted to copy the Russian Revolution and replace the Kaiser with councils of workers and soldiers.

Events of the Revolution

• 29th October German sailors mutiny. These radical actions spread.
• tHOUSANDS OF bAVARIAN WORKERS MARCH WANTING CHANGE.
• The allies say they will only negotiate with 'representatives of the people.' Ministers tell the Kaiser he must go. On November 9th Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates.

Effects of the German Revolution

• THE NEW GOVERNMENT WAS ABLE TO AGREE AN ARMISTICE ON nOVEMBER 11TH
• gERMANY HAD TO WITHDRAW FROM ALL LAND WON IN THE WAR, PULL ITS TROOPS 30 MILES INSIDE ITS BORDER WITH fRANCE, SURRENDER ITS WEAPONS AND PUT ITS NAVY UNDER aLLIED CONTROL.
• tHE SECOND THING THE eBERT gOVERNMENT HAD TO DO WAS CREATE STABILITY.

tHE Weimar Constitution

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• there was unrest all around Germany but especially in Berlin.
• Ebert took control and made slow, careful change

Strengths of new Constitution

• Germany was now more democratic than under Kaiser
• More people voted, including women and there were elections every 4 years
• Power was shared between the Chancellor and the President so no one person or group had all the power.
• System of PR meant that smaller parties could get into Parliament.

Weaknesses of the new constitution

• 1. Proportional Representation meant that even a party with a small number of votes gained seats in the Reichstag.
• To get majority support, Chancellors needed coalitions of several parties and this made getting a stable government difficult.

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• 2. Whenever the coalition government could not agree on policy the chancellor had to ask the President to suspend the constitution under article 48 and rule by decree.
• This made people think that the new constitution did not really work.

The Weimar Republic was built on shaky foundations.
Extremist parties didn't support it and moderate Germans thought it was too weak.

Treaty of Versailles

LAMB

• lAND = gERMANY LOST ALL OF ITS COLONIES
• Alsace and Lorraine were lost to France
• Germany lost 13 percent of its European territory
• Almost 50 percent of its iron and 15 percent of its coal reserves were lost as this valuable land was 'given' to other countries.

Army

• Army was cut to 100,000
• Navy was cut to 6 battleships, 6 cruisers, 12 destroyers and 12 torpedo boats.
• No submarines allowed and the remainder of the naval fleet was destroyed.
• No air force was allowed.
• The Rhineland became a demilitarised zone.

Money

• Reparations was fixed in 1921 to £6600 million

Blame

• gERMANY HAD TO ACCEPT FULL BLAME FOR THE gREAT wAR.

gERMAN REACTION

• tHE aLLIED LEADERS SPENT MONTHS DRAWING UP THE PEACE TREATY.
• tHE german Government were given 15 days to respond to the treaty.
• The Germans asked for several changes but each was refused.
• They called the treaty a DIKTAT as they were not involved in the negotiations.

Dolchstoss

• The german people struggled with the Treaty as they believed that their army had never been defeated in the war.
• Many believed that the army could have fought on and had been 'stabbed in the back'. this is called Dolchstoss in German.

Effects of the Treaty

• The politicians who signed the Treaty were blamed for undermining the army, for being weak, and for accepting its harsh terms.
• These politicians became known as the 'November Criminals'
• The Treaty weakened the popularity of the Weimar Republic; harmed its economy and created political unrest.

Economic problems

Bankruptcy

• Germany had spent all of its gold reserves during the war.
• The TOV deprived Germany of wealth-earning areas such as the Silesia coalfields.
• Germany struggled to pay reparations but the victors especially France needed the money to pay their own war debt to America.

Occupation of the Ruhr

• by 1923, Germany could no longer pay its reparations.
• France and Belgium responded by sending troops into the industrial Ruhr.
• They took raw materials such as coal, or manufactured goods back to their countries.
• The French workers responded with passive resistance.

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• The occupation of the Ruhr did the french little good, but it crippled Germany.
• Many factories and 80 percent of German coal and iron were based there.
• The disruption increased Germany's debts, unemployment and the shortage of goods.

Inflation

• These shortages meant that the price of things went up and this is called inflation.
• During 1919-23 the Government income was only 25 percent of what they needed. the response was to print money!
• I 1923 the Government had 300 paper mills and 2000 printing shops!
• This made it easier to pay reparations.

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• The more prices rose, the more money was printed and so prices rose again. It was a vicious circle.
• By 1923, a loaf of bread cost 100,000 million marks!. This extreme inflation is called hyperinflation.

who benefited from hyperinflation?

• Farmers = profited from rising food prices.
• Some businesses were able to pay off loans quickly and were able to buy up smaller, failing businesses cheaply.
• Homeowners = some people had bought property or land before the inflation at huge costs and suddenly found they could pay off their entire mortgage.

Who suffered from hyperinflation?

• Foreign suppliers refused to accept marks for goods, so imports dried up and shortages of food got worse.
• Everyone found it difficult to buy what they needed. Some workers got paid twice in a day but still could not manage to get what they needed.
• People with savings were very angry as these were now worthless.

Political Problems 1918-1923

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• German people were unhappy with the Weimar leader's decision to admit defeat; the TOV AND THE HARDSHIPS CAUSED BY UNEMPLOYMENT AND INFLATION.
• aLL OF THESE THINGS PERSUADED MANY PEOPLE TO SUPPORT EXTREME POLITICAL GROUPS.
• tHESE POLITICAL GROUPS WANTED TO TAKE POWER FROM THE nOVEMBER CRIMINALS.

VIOLENT POLITICAL UNREST

• THE POLITICAL PARTIES IN gERMANY OFTEN HAD THEIR OWN PRIVATE ARMIES.
• tHEY RECRUITED EX-SOLDIERS WHO WERE UNEMPLOYED AND BITTER THAT THEIR GOVERNMENT ACCEPTED PEACE.
• bETWEEN 1919-1922 THERE WERE 376 POLITICAL MURDERS IN gERMANY WITH VERY FEW ARRESTS AND PROSECUTIONS.
• gERMANY SEEMED LAWLESS

tHE sPARTACIST lEAGUE

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• DURING THE WINTER OF 1918-19, THERE WERE LEFT WING UPRISINGS THROUGHOUT gERMANY WHICH SET UP LOCAL COUNCILS.
• a CENTRAL cOUNCIL OF cOMMISSARS WAS CREATED CLAIMING TO BE THE TRUE GOVERNMENT.

tHE sPARTACIST UPRISING

• rOSA lUXEMBURG AND kARL lIEBKNECHT WERE THE LEADERS.
• jANUARY 6TH 1919, 100 000 COMMUNISTS DEMONSTRATED IN bERLIN AND TOOK OVER KEY BUILDINGS
• cHANCELLOR eBERT REALISED THE GERMAN ARMY WERE NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO DEFEAT THE COMMUNISTS. HE ASKED THE fREIKORPS TO HELP; THEY HATED THE COMMUNISTS.

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• tHE fREIKORPS WERE DEMOBILISED SOLDIERS WHO HAD REFUSED TO GIVE BACK THEIR ARMS AND THERE WERE AROUND 250 000 OF THEM.
• tHE GOVERNMENT WAS ABLE TO PUT DOWN THE UPRISING.
• THOUSANDS OF COMMUNIST SUPPORTERS WERE ARRESTED OR KILLED.
• bOTH lUXEMBERG AND lIEBKNECHT WERE MURDERED BY THE fREIKORPS.

rIGHT WING vIOLENCE

kAPP pUTSCH

• 1920, 5000 SUPPORTERS OF dR WOLFGANG KAPP MARCHED ON BERLIN TO OVERTHROW THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC AND BRING BACK THE KAISER.
• tHE REBELS CONTROLLED THE CITY AND THE GOVERNMENT FLED TO DRESDEN.
• tHEY ASKED WORKERS NOT TO CO-OPERATE AND THE bERLINERS LISTENED!

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• eSSENTIAL SERVICES SUCH AS GAS AND ELECTRICITY STOPPED.
• bERLIN GROUND TO A HALT.
• kAPP REALISED HE COULD NOT GOVERN AND FLED.
• hE WAS CAUGHT AND PUT IN PRISON.
• tHE WORKERS OF bERLIN HAD HELPED TO SAVE THE REPUBLIC.

mUNICH pUTSCH

• tHE nAZI PARTY HAD GROWN TO 55,000.
• hITLER SENSED THAT THE NEW cHANCELLOR sTRESEMANN WOULD SOON GET ON TOP OF THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS AND SO HE NEEDED TO ACT QUICKLY.
• hITLER HAD SEEN sTRESEMANN'S GOVERNMENT CRACK DOWN ON EXTREME GROUPS AND SO ON nOVEMBER 8TH 1923 HE MADE HIS MOVE.

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• Kahr and other important leaders were taken to a side room and promised to support Hitler's attempt at seizing power.
• Hitler was supported by the legendary war hero von Ludendorff.
• The next morning kahr and co changed their minds but Hitler continued his plan.
• The police were alerted and opened fire.

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• 3000 MEMBERS OF THE bAVARIAN GOVERNMENT MET IN A BEER HALL. tHEY WOULD HEAR SPEECHES FROM VON kAHR, LEADER OF THE bAVARIAN GOVERNMENT.
• hITLER BURST IN WITH 600 sa troops and announced that he was taking over the Bavarian government.
• He said this was the first step on his way to take over the Reichstag.

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• Goering was shot in the thigh
• Hitler was dragged to the ground with such force he dislocated his left arm.
• 14 Nazi and 4 policemen were killed.
• Ludendorff was arrested.
• Hitler fled but was later captured and put on trial.

impact of unrest

• tHE WEIMAR REPUBLIC WAS PERMANENTLY WEAKENED BY THE POLITICAL UNREST.
• iT HAD NOT BEEN FULLY SUPPORTED AND NEEDED HELP DEFENDING ITS POWER.
• gOVERNMENT FORCES HAD KILLED THOUSANDS TO KEEP THEMSELVES IN POWER.
• eXTREMIST PARTIES HAD GATHERED STRENGTH DURING THESE YEARS. THEY MAINTAINED THEIR PRIVATE ARMIES AND GAINED SUPPORTERS

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