1.1 The Abdication of the Kaiser and the Establishment of the Weimar Republic

Reichstag

Parliament

Autocracy

System of government by one person with absolute power

Democracy

System of government by whole population or all eligible members of a state, usually through elected representatives

Kaiser Wilhelm II

The last German Emperor

November 1918

The German navy mutinied, and rebellion spread throughout the country. Germany was forced to drop out of WWI, and the last German emperor abdicates and flees the country

January 1919

Elections are held for a new Reichstag

February 1919

In the town of Weimar, a new government is agreed upon

11 August 1919

The elected President of the new Republic signs the new Constitution on this day

Friedrich Ebert

The elected President of the Weimar Republic

Military autocracy

Germany’s form of government before 1914

Parliamentary democracy

Germany’s form of government after 1919

11 November 1918

Armistice is signed