Establishment of the Weimar Republic and Its Early Problems

Date : Abdication of the Kaiser

9th Novemebr 1918

Features : German revolution

• Kiel Mutiny began in October 1918 and spread across Germany as sailors, workers and soldiers rebelled agaisnt the govenrment

• The Mutinies became a nationwide revolution, increasing pressure on the Kaiser

• 9th November 1918, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, ending the monarchy

• Germany is declared a republic under Friedrich Ebert

Causes : German Revolution

• Suffering from the First World War : food shortage (750,000 deaths from famine and disease), low domestic production, allies naval blockade

• Allies insisted that peace couldn’t come until the Kaiser abdicated

• Ordinary Germans set up their own workers council on the 6th November 1918

• Kiel Mutiny, strikes and protests against army leaders after commanders at Kiel ordered ship to fight despite knowing they’d lose

Effects : German revolution

• 10th November 1918 : a new republic was set up and the social democrat Friedrich Ebert took office as new president

• 11th November 1918 : an armistice was agreed by Germany and the allies, ending the First World War

• Politicians who signed the armistice were labeled traitors called the ‘November criminals’ and there was belief that Germany didnt need to surrender and were close to victory

• Stab in the back/Dolschstoss theory, explaining why the new republic was so unpopular from the beginning

Date : elections for new republic

19th January 1919

Date : council of people representatives take control

November 1918

Features : New republic

• Proportional representation → parties gained seats in the Reichstag according to the percentage of votes they received

• Article 48 allows the president to rule by decree in an emergency without the approval of the Reichstag

• The president was elected every 7 years and appointed the chancellor who could dissolve the Reichstag, giving them significant powers

• The state govenrment was Still kept but had limited power that could be overruled by national govenrment

• Weimar constitution guaranteed German citizens freedom of speech, religion and equality under the law → all men and women over the age of 20 could vote

Causes : new republic

• losses in the First World War → caused immense suffering with food shortages, low domestic production and naval blockage

• The German revolution beginning with the Kiel Mutiny in October 1918

• Abdication of the Kaiser created a power vacuum with no monarch so a new form of govenrment had to be created

• The temporary govenrment needed a permanent system to govern, hence the establishment of the Weimar constitution

Effects : new republic

• more political parties gained influence → proportional representation allowed smaller parties to win seats in the Reichstag

• Chancellors found their time in office often came to a sudden end when their coalition failed (e.g ebert only served 96 days)

• Meant that Weak coalition govenrment We’re created because parties struggled to agree, which led to an unstable govenrment

• Article 48 was created for the president to rule by decree in times of crisis but meant that it could be abused easily

Date : treaty of Versailles

28th June 1919

Features : Treaty of Versailles

• war guilt clause (article 231) meant that Germany had to accept full responsibility for causing WW1

• Germany had to pay 6.6 billion pounds in reparations to compensate the allies for war damage → contributed to the resentment towards the Weimar govenrment due To the financial burden

• Military restrictions : army limited to 100,000 soldiers, no conscription, no Air Force, Rhineland was demilitarised → humiliated

• Territorial loss : Germany lost 13% of European territory, all 11 colonies in Africa and far east, Alsace and Lorraine was lost to France

Causes : treaty of Versailles

• Woodrow Wilson (president of USA) didnt want bitterness in the future and created the ‘14 points’ but George Clemenceau (PM of France) and David Lloyd George (PM of UK) made the treaty harsh

• Allies wanted to harshly punish Germany for the destruction caused by the war

Effects : treaty of Versailles

• anger and resentment among the Germans calling the treaty a shameful ‘diktat’ as they weren’t allowed to negotiate the terms of the

• Politicians who signed the armistice and accepted the treaty were labelled ‘November criminals’

• Rise of extremism and meant that extremist parties could gain leverage over the Weimar Republic

• The reparations contributed to the economic difficulties, which lead to hyperinflation

• Loss of military and land lead to the destruction of national pride and humiliation

Date : Kapp Putsch

March 1920

Features : Kapp Putsch

• the right wing attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic, Wolfgang Kapp was extremely nationalist

• Support from the Freikorps, which were ex-soldiers unable to adjust to civilian life

• Ebert appealed to the people for support, moved the govenrment out Of the city and encouraged people to go on general strike, meaning the city was unable to function, forcing the Putsch to collapse

• The German army refused to stop the freikorps as they felt sympathy for their aims

• Apparent that the German govenrment had no control over its own capital it had the support of the majority of people in Berlin → preference of Eberts govenrment over Kapps extreme right wing party

Causes : Kapp Putsch

• Disbanding of Freikorps due to restraints made of 100,000 in ToV

• Discontent with Eberts govenrment → conservatives, army officers, landowners, nationalists hated the Weimar Republic, calling them ‘November criminls’

• desperately wanted a strong authoritarian govenrment with A powerful leader, seeking the return of the Kaiser

• Weak support for the Weimar repbulic from the beginning due to bad reputation

Effects : Kapp Putsch

• the Weimar gov had survived → the putsch failed after a general strike involving 12 million workers brought the German industrial process to a halt

• The gov looked weak and exposed when their army (reichswehr) refused to defend them → unloyal to democracy

• Increased political instability as more extremist groups gained support due to the lack of confidence in the governments ability to maintain order

• Elections on the 6th June 1920 saw a decline for moderate support, with left and right wing parties holding around 20% of seats

• Right wing extremists were treated leniently, getting light punishments or escaping punishements all together

Date : spartacist uprising

5th January 1919

Feature : spartacist uprising

• was a communist revolution lead by the spartacists, led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht (who were leaders of the spartacist’s league and encouraged workers to rise against the govenrment)

• Took place in Berlin where around 50,000 workers joined strikes, seizing newspaper offices and important buildings

• Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxembourg were shot by Freikorps fighters, weakening the communist movement in the short term, ending the rebellion

• It had failed due to the lack of support across Germany

Causes : spartacist uprising

• opposition to the Weimar govenrment → belief that Friedrich Eberts democratic gov didn’t represent workers well enough

• Economic and social problems as a result of WW1 → food shortages and economic damages from the reparations

• Influence of the Russian revolution 1917 where the Bolsheviks overthrew the tsar, leading to the spartacists believing they could do so too

Effects : Spartacist uprising

• the Weimar gov survived by calling the Freikorps who had been demobilised after the war, who soon ended the revolt

• Despite the death of the leaders, communism in Germany was still popular → November 1932 elections where they won 100 seats

• The friekorps became more powerful as they realised Ebert relied on them to crush the uprising, increasing their influence which resulted int he Kapp Putsch in 1920

• There was continued instability as the Weimar Republic still faced serious threats from extremist parties

Date : Occupation of the Ruhr

January 1923

Feature : occupation of the Ruhr

• the French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr, Germanys most important industrial region due to the failure to pay instalments repeatedly by the end of 1922

• The govenrment encouraged Passive resistance, telling the workers in Ruhr to not cooperate → they went on strike and refused to produce coal/steel

• The gov paid striking workers as no goods were produced, which posed a problem following the excessive amounts of money being printed

• Occupying the Ruhr as Germanys most important industrial region severely impacted Germanys ability to pay reparations and had grave impacts on the German economy

• There were violent altercations between German workers and French troops (over 100 French civilians were killed) as the French tried to keep production going

Causes : occupation of the Ruhr

• Germany’s failure to pay reparations of 6.6 billion pounds under the TOV → had missed instalments

• The French and Belgian understood that the Ruhr was a main industrial region which produced large amounts of steel/coal which allowed them to take resources directly instead of waiting for reparations

• The allies had taken loans during the war and need the payments from Germany to repay the money they owed to countries like USA

• Germany had failed to deliver coal and timber, which was required under the ToV

• The French were determined to enforce the ToV

Effects : occupation of the Ruhr

• German govnerment gained temporary popularity due to the call for passive resistance → resisting France and providing strike pay

• The govenrment printed Huge amounts of money to pay striking workers which caused the German mark to dramatically collapse and prices to rise indefinitely

• Passive resistance eventually came to an end in September 1923 as they were causing too much economic damage

• Germans went through financial hardships where their savings became worthless through hyperinflation (those with fixed incomes/savings suffered)

Date : hyperinflation

1923

Features : hyperinflation

• the value of the German mark become worthless

• The govenrment had 300 paper mills and 200 printing shops whose only purpose was to print money

• The prices of everyday goods increased, making it very difficult for people to afford basic necessities

• August 1923, 69,000 marks were needed to buy a loaf of bread compared to the 0.54 marks in 1918

Causes : hyperinflation

• 1919-1923 : the income of the German govenrment was only a quarter of what it needed

• Passive resistance in the Ruhr meant that striking workers despite refusing to cooperate with the French and Belgians could not produce goods and had to continue to be paid

• Occupation in the Ruhr meant Germany lost control of its main industrial region

• The chain of events requiring German money : WW1, treaty of Versailles, invasion of Ruhr

• The banknotes in circulation is linked to the gold in banks, and so printing more money only dropped the value of the notes dramatically

Effects : hyperinflation

• saving of Germany (living off pensions etc) become worthless due to falling value of the mark compared to other currencies

• Prices of everyday essentials rose and would change several times in a single day (e.g going to a restaurant but not being able to pay by the time you finished eating)

• Living standards dropped as families could no longer afford food and fuel

• Some people benefited : repaying loans using money worth less than when they borrowed it, farmers could sell their produce at higher prices

• Loss of confidence in democracy made people turn to extremism but allowed gustav stresemann to introduce the rentenmark, which stabilised the German currency and economy