Weimar Republic

Week 1

Results of the November Revolution:

Verfassung:

• proportional representation in Parliament

• human and civil rights granted

• 2 house of Parliament: The Reichstag (members elected directly by the people) and the Reichsrat (elected members of the 18 German states)

• President (elected by the people) (today’s Bundespräsident is elected by the MPs)

• all men and women over 20 allowed to vote (the people elect the Reichstag, the President, the Reichsrat, and in plebiscites.

Hyperinflation

• The London Ultimatum (May 1921) demanded German reparations be paid in gold, not Reichsmark.

• In 1923, the dollar was worth 4.20 marks.

• In 1924, the dollar was worth 4.3 trillion marks.

Week 2: Three Penny Opera by Bertolt Brecht