KEY TIMELINE DATES

Weimar Republic

The democratic government founded in Germany after World War I, known for its instability and political challenges.

Article 48

A provision in the Weimar Constitution allowing the President to rule by decree during a national emergency.

Hyperinflation

A period of extreme inflation experienced in Germany in 1923, when currency rapidly lost value.

Stab in the Back Myth

The belief that Germany did not lose World War I on the battlefield but was betrayed by internal enemies, particularly politicians.

June 1919

Germany forced to accept treaty of Versailles

July 1919

Constitution of the new German republic approved by reichstag.

1920

Kapp Putsch in Berlin attempts to other throw government.

NSDAP established.

1921

Adolf Hitler became leader of NSDAP

SA established

1922

Murder of Walther Rathenau

Treaty of Rapallo with USSR

1923

German economy Hit by Hyperinflation

January 1933

French and Belgium troops occupy the Ruhr industrial area to force Germany to pay Reparations

November 1923

Hitler and Nazis attempt to seize power in beer hall putsch in Munich

Feb 1924

Hitler sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for Leading the Beer Hall Putsch

April 1924

Dawes plan introduced to ease reparations payment

December 1924

Hitler released from prison

1925

Field Marshal Hindenburg elected president of German Republic

Mein Kampf published.

1926

SS established

Germany accepted into League of Nations.

Jun 1929

Young Plan introduced to reorganise reparations payments.

October 1929

Wall Street Crash leads to collapse of German economy and Mass unemployment.

Dawes Plan

A 1924 plan to restructure German reparations payments and stabilize the German economy.

Spartacist Revolt

A failed uprising by leftist groups in January 1919 attempting to establish a communist government in Germany.

Freikorps

Paramilitary groups formed in post-World War I Germany, composed of demobilized soldiers, used to suppress leftist uprisings.

Treaty of Versailles

The 1919 peace treaty that officially ended World War I and imposed heavy reparations and territorial losses on Germany.

Kapp Putsch

A 1920 coup attempt by right-wing forces seeking to overthrow the Weimar government.

Locarno Treaties

Agreements signed in 1925 aimed at ensuring peace between Germany and its western neighbors and normalizing relations.

Young Plan

A 1929 program that further reduced German reparations payments and extended the payment period.

Spartacist League

A revolutionary socialist organization founded by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, later became the KPD (German Communist Party).

Ebert-Groener Pact

An agreement between Friedrich Ebert and General Groener to secure military support for the Weimar government.

Reichstag

The German parliament of the Weimar Republic, consisting of representatives elected by proportional representation.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

The last German Emperor, whose abdication in 1918 marked the end of the German Empire and the establishment of the Weimar Republic.

Nazi Party (NSDAP)

A far-right political party led by Adolf Hitler that rose to prominence in Germany during the Weimar Republic and later established a totalitarian regime.

Crisis of 1929-33

A period marked by severe economic depression and political instability leading to the collapse of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party.

Coalition Government

A government formed by multiple political parties, often necessary in the fragmented political landscape of the Weimar Republic.

KPD

The Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (Communist Party of Germany), which represented extreme leftist ideologies during the Weimar period.

Bavarian Soviet Republic

A short-lived socialist state declared in the aftermath of WWI, which was violently suppressed by government forces.

Proportional Representation

An electoral system used in the Weimar Republic that aimed to fairly represent all political parties, often resulting in unstable coalition governments.