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The Weimar Republic 1918-33
- Origins
- Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II
- Revolution with sailors in Kiel
- "Turnip winter" 1917-18 - little food
- Defeat to Allies imminent
- Flu epidemic
- "Turnip winter" 1917-18 - little food
- Chancellor Ebert signed the
armistice
- Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II
- Weimar Constitution
- Bicameral - Reichstag and Reichsrat
- Secret ballot + universal suffrage
(men + women over 20)
- President - head of state,
Chancellor - head of affairs
- Proportional representation - although each vote
counted, led to small parties + coalitions (weak governments)
- Article 48 - allowed President to rule by decree
- Army + judges opposed to republic
- Bicameral - Reichstag and Reichsrat
- Early weaknesses, 1919-20
- Treaty of Versailles
- Association of government
with humiliation
- "November Criminals" - nickname from opposition
- Dolchstoss - government "stabbed in the
back" German army
- Reparations further crippled economy - especially as
Saarland had been removed
- Association of government
with humiliation
- Spartacist Revolution 1919
- Wanted a similar revolution to
Bolshevik revolution in 1917
- Communist - left-wing
- Karl Liebknecht + Rosa Luxemburg took
power in Berlin + Baltic ports
- Bavaria: independent socialist state led
by Kurt Eisner
- Crushed by the Freikorps
(ex-soldiers)
- Wanted a similar revolution to
Bolshevik revolution in 1917
- Kapp Putsch 1920
- Nationalist - right-wing
- Wanted a strong, autocratic government
- Wolfgang Kapp + Freikorps seized
power in Berlin
- Government fled but encouraged
strikes - capital stopped
- Kapp had little support and fled
- Nationalist - right-wing
- Treaty of Versailles
- Economic crisis, 1923
- Ruhr invasion
- Germany missed second reparations payment
- France + Belgium sent troops
to take goods in kind
- Passive resistance encouraged - invasion stopped
- But economy stopped too...
- Germany missed second reparations payment
- Hyperinflation
- Due to passive resistance, more + more money printed
- By 1923, $1 = 4.2bn marks
- Cost of living outstripped income - no food or fuel
- Workers paid twice/day
- Savings and pensions worthless
- Businessmen and borrowers profited
- Due to passive resistance, more + more money printed
- Ruhr invasion
- Stresemann's reforms in the Golden Era
- Stresemann - German Chancellor
- Economic reform
- Rentenmark - temporary
replacement of old mark
- Reset Reichsmark by gold standard
- Dawes Plan 1924 - US loans in exchange for
sliding scale of reparations
- Young Plan 1929 -
reparations cut by 67%
- Leading industrial power 1930
- Rentenmark - temporary
replacement of old mark
- Political reform
- Governments more stable
- Moderate parties (Social Democrats, Centre Party etc.)
- Extremists unpopular (Nazis, Communists etc.)
- Governments more stable
- Foreign policy reform
- 1925 Locarno Pacts - borders guaranteed
- 1926 entered League of Nations -
permanent seat on Council
- 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact - peaceful solutions to dispute
- 1925 Locarno Pacts - borders guaranteed
- Cultural flowering
- Film: Marlene Dietrich,
Fritz Lang
- Philosophy: Theodor Adorno,
Martin Heidegger
- Science: Werner
Heisenberg, Albert Einstein
- Art: Walter Gropius (Bauhaus),
Otto Dix, Paul Klee
- Music: Arnold Schoenberg
- Literature and theatre: Erich
Maria Remarque, Bertolt Brecht
- Film: Marlene Dietrich,
Fritz Lang
- Stresemann - German Chancellor
- Problems 1924-33
- Dependent on US loans -
"dancing on a volcano"
- Agricultural output fell
- President Hindenburg
opposed to Republic
- Wall Street Crash 1929 - loans recalled
- Unemployment rose to 4mn by 1930
- Extremist parties (particularly Nazis) rose to power
- Dependent on US loans -
"dancing on a volcano"
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