Weimar Republic - Knowledge

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work day, reinstated demobilised workers, released political prisoners, abolished press censorship, increased workers' old-age, sick and unemployment benefits, and gave labour the unrestricted right to organise into unions. It was made harder for estates to sack workers and prevent them from leaving when they wanted to. Under the Provisional Act for Agricultural Labour of 23 November 1918, the normal period of notice for management and most resident labourers was set at six weeks. In addition, a supplementary directive of December 1918 specified that female and child workers were entitled to a fifteen-minute break if they worked between four and six hours, thirty minutes for workdays lasting six to eight hours, and one hour for longer days. A decree on 23 December 1918 established committees (composed of workers' representatives "in their relation to the employer") to safeguard the rights of workers. The right to bargain collectively was also established, while it was made obligatory "to elect workers' committees on estates and establish conciliation committees". A decree on 3 February 1919 removed the right of employers to acquire exemption for domestic servants and agricultural workers. In 1919, legislation provided for a maximum working 48-hour workweek, restrictions on night work, a half-holiday on Saturday, and a break of thirty-six hours of continuous rest during the week.

4357: 4365: 4333: 4356: 4338: 4360: 3344: 156: 2666: 2172: 4340: 3663: 3161:, the question of possible relief was combined with a plan for the final settlement of the reparations question. Instead of the annual payment of 2.5 billion Reichsmarks envisaged in the Dawes Plan, an average of 2 billion – initially 1.7 billion – was to be paid over a period of 59 years. With the prospect of what was thought to be a final reparations plan, and in view of Germany's willingness to accept the liability until 1988, France in parallel negotiations conceded a withdrawal of troops from the occupied Rhineland five years earlier than under the Versailles Treaty. For the nationalist right in Germany, it was above all the reparations burden extending across generations that provided propaganda fuel for their agitation against the Weimar Republic. The DNVP and Nazi Party carried out a 3184: 4350: 3528: 3031: 2846: 4962: 4348: 4330: 3310: 4452: 2739: 2015: 4936: 4910: 4868: 4525: 3103: 4889: 3027:

advantage of the state-organised social welfare system, which replaced the former poor relief. The new system, however, was characterised by "petty means tests under an anonymous social bureaucracy" and by benefits that only secured existence at a subsistence level. In the brief peak phase of overall economic recovery and economic optimism, unemployment insurance was introduced in 1927. In some respects it was the "high point of the Republic's social expansion", although it benefitted only a portion of the workforce and did not cover permanent unemployment. In the meantime, the state had also introduced a new system of social security.

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compromise. Such class and status consciousness was part of the legacy of the imperial era and continued to have an effect, although it was also partly reshaped by a consumer and leisure-oriented mass culture that emerged in the 1920s and was driven by the new media forms of records, film and radio. People of all classes and strata went to the cinema or sat in front of the radio. Mass culture pointed in the direction of democratisation and was interpreted by conservatives as intellectual flattening and a decline in values. The class fronts were gradually softened by mass culture, marking a "class society in transition".

1659: 4373: 1716: 4615: 4594: 4547: 4343: 5009: 4988: 4312: 730: 705: 4657: 4782: 4709: 4845: 2927: 5193: 2779:, which increased the punishments for politically motivated acts of violence, established a special court for the protection of the Republic and prohibited organizations, printed material and rallies that opposed the constitutional republican form of government, was intended to put a stop to the Republic's right-wing enemies. The conservative judiciary from the imperial era that still remained in place and passed lenient sentences against right-wing state criminals contributed to the fact that their activities could not be permanently deterred. 79: 63: 3336: 4473: 4499: 4573: 2300: 4756: 2447: 808: 4636: 4431: 2101: 2094: 4362: 146: 2919:, who had his own governmental ambitions directed against left-wing parties and Weimar parliamentarism, behaved loyally towards the Stresemann government only with respect to his own interests. In spite of the moves against the governments in Saxony and Thuringia, no action was taken against Bavaria, where Kahr was preparing a military coup aimed at overthrowing the Reich government in cooperation with the Bavarian military under district commander 4183:, which eliminated one of the last potential bastions of resistance to Hitler's seizure of power. Prussia was led by the Social Democratic Party, was home to the federal capital Berlin and had 61% of the Weimar Republic's population. Papen also pressured Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor and himself as vice chancellor in 1933 in a cabinet ostensibly not under Nazi Party domination. Papen and his allies were quickly marginalized by Hitler. 3302:

was extended to other categories of the population during the existence of the Weimar Republic, including seamen, people employed in the educational and social welfare sectors, and all primary dependents. Various improvements were also made in unemployment benefits, although in June 1920 the maximum amount of unemployment benefit that a family of four could receive in Berlin, 90 marks, was well below the minimum cost of subsistence of 304 marks.

4730: 3328: 3677:, the Nazis received two million fewer votes than in the previous election. Kurt von Schleicher, a retired army general who for many years had worked politically behind the scenes to further the interests of Germany's military, maneuevered Papen out of office and was appointed chancellor by Hindenburg on 3 December. He tried to cause a split within the Nazi Party that would force Hitler to support his government but failed in the attempt. 3232: 3612: 2552:. In addition, the Rhineland and an area stretching 50 kilometers east of the Rhine was to be demilitarized. France had demanded the occupation both to protect itself from a renewed German attack and as collateral for German reparations. The occupation was to last 5 years in the British zone, 10 in the American and 15 years in the French and Belgian zones, until 1934, but the last foreign troops evacuated the Rhineland on 30 June 1930. 3875: 2747: 4829: 5085: 1269: 2154:), a group of a few hundred supporters of the Russian Revolution that had allied itself with the USPD in 1917. On the same day, in a move that was contrary to the constitution because only the Kaiser could appoint a chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, at Ebert's request, transferred his powers as chancellor to him. In view of the mass support for more radical reforms among the workers' councils, a coalition government called the 4813: 4683: 4363: 2854:

more of its value. Foreign trade became all but impossible, as did German ability to pay reparations. While personal savings became virtually worthless, so did fixed debts. Middle class owners of land or houses often came out ahead because their debts lost value along with the currency. Large industrial concerns profited in the same manner, and wealth concentrated in fewer hands. The classic example was

5099: 2525: 1283: 4345: 4344: 2059:(SPD), also known as the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), which had supported the war and favoured a parliamentary system. The rebellion caused great fear among supporters of the monarchy and in the middle classes because of the soviet-style aspirations of the councils. To centrist and conservative citizens, the country looked to be on the verge of a communist revolution. 4359: 4395: 3019:

of the German proletariat. Once the plan had been passed, it brought the Weimar Republic a significant inflow of American loans from state funds as well as private investors. The money served as both start-up financing for reparations and as aid for an economic revival. German railways, the National Bank and many industries were mortgaged as security for the loans.

2587:, then minister president of Germany, said to the Weimar National Assembly on 12 May 1919, "What hand should not wither that puts this fetter on itself and on us?" He resigned rather than accept the terms, but after the Allies threatened to resume hostilities, the National Assembly voted to approve the treaty on 23 June. It was signed in Paris five days later. 3126:, which settled Germany's western borders but left the issue of the eastern ones open. Through reaching an understanding with France and securing Germany an equal position in the League of Nations in 1926, he led the Weimar Republic out of isolation. Germany signed arbitration conventions with France and Belgium and arbitration treaties with Poland and 4383: 3298:

associations that all aid for the disabled and their dependents be taken over by the central government (thus assuming responsibility for this assistance) and extended into peacetime the nationwide network of state and district welfare bureaus that had been set up during the war to coordinate social services for war widows and orphans.

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continued. In 1922, for example, meat consumption had not increased since the war years. At 22 kilograms per person per year, it was less than half of the 52 kilograms consumed in 1913. German citizens felt the food shortages more deeply than during the war because the reality contrasted so starkly with their expectations.

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affected by massive job cuts and salary reductions; and rationalisation and concentration in large industries continued and deprived many small and medium-sized enterprises of their livelihoods. Savers and creditors who had been hurt by inflation were effectively left without any significant compensation.

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was a punishing and degrading document because it forced them to surrender resource-rich areas and pay massive amounts of compensation. The punitive reparations caused consternation and resentment, but the actual economic damage resulting from the Treaty of Versailles is difficult to determine. While

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The 1920s saw a remarkable cultural renaissance in Germany. During the worst phase of hyperinflation in 1923, the clubs and bars were full of speculators who spent their daily profits so they would not lose the value the following day. Berlin intellectuals responded by condemning the excesses of what

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who, as reparations agent, could directly influence German fiscal and financial policy in order to secure monetary stability. The acceptance of the Dawes Plan in the Reichstag had long been uncertain – parts of the Right spoke of a "new enslavement of the German people" and the KPD of the enslavement

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The hyperinflation fueled by the government's response to the occupation of the Ruhr caused the cost of a loaf of bread to rise from 3 Reichsmarks in 1922 to 80 billion Reichsmarks in November 1923. Prices were rising so rapidly that people rushed to spend their pay at lunch breaks before it lost any

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Germany lost the war because its allies were facing defeat and its economic resources were running out, while by late summer 1918 fresh American troops were arriving in France at the rate of 10,000 per day. Support among the population had begun to crumble in 1916, and by mid-1918 many Germans wanted

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were used in the perceived state of emergency to effectively grant the new Chancellor broad power to act outside parliamentary control. Hitler promptly used these powers to thwart constitutional governance and suspend civil liberties, which brought about the swift collapse of democracy at the federal

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blamed the DNVP for failing to reconcile with the Republic, stating that "Under the cloak of loyalty to the Monarchy, they either held aloof or sabotaged the efforts of successive Chancellors to give a stable government to the Republic. The truth is that after 1918 many German Nationalists were more

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The Weimar Republic was severely affected by the Great Depression. In 1926, about two million Germans were unemployed, which rose to around six million in 1932, with many blaming the Weimar Republic. As the Weimar Republic was very fragile throughout its existence, the depression was devastating and

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The Youth Welfare Act of 1922 obliged all municipalities and states to set up youth offices in charge of child protection, and also codified a right to education for all children, while laws were passed to regulate rents and increase protection for tenants in 1922 and 1923. Health insurance coverage

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The Provisional Order of January 1919 concerning agricultural labour conditions fixed 2,900 hours as a maximum per year, distributed as eight, ten, and eleven hours per day in four month periods. A code of January 1919 bestowed on land labourers the same legal rights that industrial workers enjoyed,

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The young republic was exposed from the beginning to attacks from both the extreme right and extreme left. The Left accused the Social Democrats of betraying the ideals of the labour movement because of their alliance with the old elites; the Right held the supporters of the Republic responsible for

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that peaked in late 1923 had its worst effects on government workers, whose wages did not keep pace with private sector workers, and on middle class Germans who had invested in war bonds or who relied on savings, investments or pensions for their living. What had once been substantial savings became

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members and 56 members of the regular army dead. The USPD leaders were angered by what they believed was treachery by the MSPD, which in their view had joined with the anti-communist military to suppress the revolution. As a result, the USPD left the Council of the People's Deputies after only seven

1410:; internationally, it suffered isolation, reduced diplomatic standing and contentious relationships with the great powers. By 1924, a great deal of monetary and political stability was restored, and the republic enjoyed relative prosperity for the next five years; this period, sometimes known as the 3797:. It effectively destroyed the checks and balances of the democratic system, concentrating all the power in the hands of Hitler and his inner circle. The Enabling Act played a significant role in the establishment of Hitler's dictatorship and the subsequent events that unfolded during the Nazi era. 3789:

and the Reichstag Fire Decree transformed Hitler's government into a legal dictatorship and laid the groundwork for his totalitarian regime. Since July 1933, the NSDAP was the only legally permitted party in Germany. The Reichstag from 1933 onward effectively became the rubber stamp parliament that

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that granted all legislative powers to the cabinet and by extension to Hitler. It in effect allowed Hitler's government to act without regard for the constitution. Since it formally amended the Weimar Constitution, it required a two-thirds majority to pass, which it obtained (68%) on 23 March, with

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The immediate question was what part the Nazi Party would play in the government of the country. Hitler refused a ministry under Papen and demanded the chancellorship for himself but was rejected by Hindenburg on 13 August 1932. Since there was still no majority in the Reichstag for any government,

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In 1923, unemployment relief was consolidated into a regular programme of assistance following economic problems that year. In 1924, a modern public assistance programme was introduced, and in 1925 the accident insurance programme was reformed, allowing diseases that were linked to certain kinds of

3118:. With his change from "monarchist of the heart" to "republican of reason", as he himself expressed it, Stresemann exercised a stabilising influence on the political development of the Republic not only as Reich chancellor in 1923 but throughout the entire period of his participation in government. 3022:

The economic consolidation that occurred after the period of hyperinflation was largely at the expense of wage earners and the economic middle class. The eight-hour day, one of the main social achievements of the 1918/19 revolution, was in many cases watered down or abandoned; the civil service was

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took over a meeting that Kahr and Lossow were holding at a beer hall in Munich. Ludendorff and Hitler declared that the Weimar government was deposed and that they were planning to take control of Munich the following day. Kahr and Lossow organized the resistance to Hitler, with the result that the

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responded with a policy of non-violent passive resistance to the occupation. It underwrote the costs of idled factories and mines and paid the workers who were on strike. Unable to meet the enormous costs by any other means, it resorted to printing money. Along with the debts the state had incurred

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Immediate post-war industrial production fell to the levels of the 1880s, or 57 percent of its value in 1913. The 1919 per capita GDP was only 73 percent of the comparable 1913 figure. Controlled demobilisation kept unemployment initially at around one million. By January 1922 the unemployment rate

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was signed on 28 June 1919. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 250,000 German civilians died of disease or starvation between the end of the war and the signing of the treaty. Many German civilians expected life to return to pre-war normality after it was lifted, but the severe food shortages

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on 10 November. Over the telephone, Ebert promised that he would allow sole command of the troops to remain with the officer corps, while Groener pledged that the military would be loyal to the government and that it would help it in its fight against left-wing revolutionaries. The agreement marked

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began in August 1918, and the position of Germany and the Central Powers deteriorated, leading them to sue for peace. After initial offers were rejected by the Allied Powers, the hunger and privation of the war years came together with the awareness of an impending military defeat to help spark the

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Knowing that his government was about to fall and fearing that Papen would get the chancellorship, Schleicher began to favor Hitler. Hitler was initially willing to support Schleicher as his minister of Defense but was convinced by an associate of Schleicher that he was about to launch a putsch to

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Schleicher's relations with his cabinet were poor because of his secretiveness and open contempt for his ministers. Papen had become Schleicher's bitter enemy when he was forced out of office but retained Hindenburg's confidence. He advised him to sack Schleicher and appoint Hitler chancellor in a

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A series of progressive tax reforms were introduced under the auspices of Matthias Erzberger, including increases in taxes on capital and an increase in the highest income tax rate from 4% to 60%. Under a governmental decree of 3 February 1919, the German government met the demand of the veterans'

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in foreign affairs, along with a growing economy and a consequent decrease in civil unrest, although the improvements came about without establishing a sustainable foundation for the parliamentary democracy. While Germany's recognition of its reparations obligations promoted reintegration into the

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was spread by the Right throughout the 1920s and ensured that many monarchists and conservatives would refuse to support the government of what they called the "November criminals". The destabilising effect of the stab-in-the-back myth on the Weimar democracy was an important factor in the rise of

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wrote that the DNVP's status as a far-right party rather than a mainstream conservative party was one of the main reasons for the Weimar Republic's downfall. In Shirer's view, the DNVP's refusal to "take a responsible position either in the government or in the opposition" during most of Weimar's

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of the Constitution gave the president power to "take all necessary steps" if "public order and security are seriously disturbed or endangered". Although it was intended as an emergency clause, it was often used before 1933 to issue decrees without the support of Parliament and also made Hitler's

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The reasons for the Weimar Republic's collapse are the subject of continuing debate. It may have been doomed from the beginning since even some moderates disliked it and extremists on both the left and right loathed it, a situation often referred to as a "democracy without democrats". Germany had

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A wide range of progressive social reforms were carried out during and after the revolutionary period. The Executive Council of the Workers' and Soldiers' Councils – a coalition that included Majority Social Democrats, Independent Social Democrats, workers and soldiers – introduced the eight-hour

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All in all, there was little objective and critical questioning of the causes of the war or of Germany's responsibility for it in academia, politics or the media during the Weimar period. The official view of history continued to follow the argument issued by the OHL in 1914 that Germany had been

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pointed to the "national disgrace" that was "felt throughout Germany at the humiliating terms imposed by the victorious Allies and reflected in the Versailles Treaty...with its confiscation of territory on the eastern border and even more so its 'guilt clause'." Adolf Hitler repeatedly blamed the

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and drastic cuts in state expenditures.Among other measures, he completely halted all obligatory public payments to the unemployment insurance program introduced in 1927, resulting in higher contributions from the workers and fewer benefits for the unemployed. Benefits for the sick, invalids and

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With the decree of 3 February 1919, the Ebert government reintroduced the original structure of the health insurance boards according to an 1883 law, with one-third employers and two-thirds workers. As of 28 June 1919, health insurance committees were elected by the workers themselves. That same

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on 15 November 1923. One U.S. dollar was equivalent to 4.20 Rentenmarks; the exchange rate was 1 Rentenmark to one trillion paper marks. The new money was backed by the Reich's gold reserves along with a 3.2 billion Rentenmark mortgage on the land holdings of agriculture, industry and trade. The

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Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty was widely perceived not only as a legal legitimisation of reparations but also as a moral condemnation of Germany, and it triggered a storm of indignation among the German public. The hostility towards it came from across the political spectrum, from the far

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Thoss, Bruno (1994). "Der Erste Weltkrieg als Ereignis und Erlebnis. Paradigmenwechsel in der westdeutschen Weltkriegsforschung seit der Fischer-Kontroverse" [The First World War as event and experience. Paradigm Shift in West German World War Research since the Fischer Controversy]. In

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The Reichstag could remove the chancellor from office even if it was unable to agree on a successor. With the Reichstag increasingly fractured, President Hindenburg rather than the Reichstag chose the Republic's last four chancellors (Brüning, Papen, Schleicher and Hitler). They all governed by

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which took place on 5 March 1933, the NSDAP obtained 17 million votes and a scant majority of 16 seats for the NSDAP-DNVP coalition. The Communist, Social Democrat and Catholic Centre votes changed little. It was the last multi-party election of the Weimar Republic and the last in a united

3078:(SDP, DDP and Centre), which had started so comfortably in 1919 and which maintained its position as a "bulwark of democracy" only in Prussia. In the May election, the Coalition partners lost a total of 13 seats, while the right wing DNVP and left wing KPD picked up 82 seats. After the SPD left 3026:

The declarations of social guarantees contained in the Weimar Constitution had only a limited effect and stood in striking contrast to the many experiences of social decline. From 1924 onwards, small savers who had been impoverished or economically ruined by inflation were at least able to take

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the official reparations were considerable, Germany ended up paying only a fraction of them. However, the reparations damaged Germany's economy by discouraging market loans. A number of factors came together in 1923, including printing currency to finance the costs of passive resistance to the

3706:(DNVP) which, together with Papen, would work to rein in Hitler. On 28 January 1933, Schleicher told his cabinet that he needed a decree from the President to dissolve the Reichstag in order to keep his government from being defeated in a no-confidence vote, but Hindenburg refused the request. 3042:

The parliamentary system of Weimar democracy was the expression of a party landscape that was strongly characterised and fragmented by class and social milieus. Reichstag members as representatives of the interests of their respective electorates often had narrow limits to their willingness to

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was easily stopped. Hitler was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for high treason, the minimum sentence for the charge. He served less than eight months in a comfortable cell, receiving a daily stream of visitors until his release on 20 December 1924. While in jail Hitler dictated

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The consensus opposing the "war guilt clause" did much to promote agitation against foreign countries and the Weimar Constitution. Both the DNVP and, in particular, the NSDAP questioned the entire post-war order and propagated a "war guilt lie". In line with national conservative and bourgeois

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In the four years following the First World War, the situation of most German civilians remained dire. The post-war economic crisis was a result of lost pre-war industrial exports, the loss of imported raw materials and foodstuffs due to the continental blockade, the loss of Germany's overseas

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to inquire into the events that had led to the "outbreak, prolongation and loss of the First World War". Its results were of questionable value due to a lack of cooperation from the civil service and military and to increasing interference from the government, which wanted to prevent a German

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Hitler was sworn in as chancellor on the morning of 30 January 1933. By early February, the government had begun to clamp down on the opposition. Meetings of the left-wing parties were banned and even some of the moderate parties found their members threatened and assaulted. Measures with an

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in June 1922. Both men had been defamed as compliant to Germany's former enemies in the matter of reparations payments. Erzberger was also attacked for signing the armistice agreement in 1918, and Rathenau had sought to break Germany's external isolation after the First World War through the

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appointed himself Reich chancellor and Lüttwitz Reichswehr minister and commander-in-chief of the Reichswehr. The legal government fled Berlin and called for a general strike. The putsch quickly failed due in large part to the refusal of the ministerial bureaucracy to obey Kapp's orders. The

1557:(Art. 1 of the Constitution), hardly anyone used it during the Weimar period, and no single name for the new state gained widespread acceptance. To the right of the spectrum, the politically engaged rejected the new democratic model and were appalled to see the honour of the traditional word 2641:, which dedicated itself to the task of "disproving" German war guilt and war crimes. As a result it was the leadership of the Reichswehr with its largely anti-democratic civil service personnel that, along with the Foreign Office, determined the portrayal of the war in the Weimar Republic. 1986:

convinced the Kaiser that Germany needed to pursue an armistice and that the majority parties in the Reichstag, not the OHL, had to take responsibility for it. Although in retreat, the German armies were still on French and Belgian territory when the war ended on 11 November. Ludendorf and

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Artists in Berlin were influenced by other contemporary progressive cultural movements, such as the Impressionist and Expressionist painters in Paris, as well as the Cubists. Likewise, American progressive architects were admired. Many of the new buildings built during this era followed a

3984:"), a widely believed theory that Germany's surrender in the First World War had been unnecessary and the act of traitors, the popular legitimacy of the government was on shaky ground from the start. As normal parliamentary lawmaking broke down and was replaced around 1930 by a series of 2568:

Germany had to compensate the Allied Powers for the losses and damages of the war, with the exact amount left to be determined at a later date (Article 233). In the short term it was required to pay the equivalent of 20 billion gold marks in installments through April 1921 (Article 235).

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became president of Germany in 1925. As he was an old-style monarchist conservative, he had little love for the Republic, but for the most part, he acted formally within the bounds of the constitution. However, he ultimately – on the advice of his son and others close to

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work to become insurable risks. In addition, a national unemployment insurance programme was introduced in 1927. Housing construction was also greatly accelerated during the Weimar period, with over 2 million new homes constructed between 1924 and 1931 and a further 195,000 modernised.

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argues that there was a clear link between economic decline and people turning to extremist politics. That was made apparent when political parties on both the far right and far left wanted to disband the Republic altogether, making any democratic majority in Parliament impossible.

3840:. It was in clear violation of the Enabling Act, which stipulated (Article 2) that any laws passed under its authority could not affect the institutions of either chamber. By then, however, the Nazis had become law unto themselves, and the actions were never challenged in court. 3063:, 48.3% to 45.3%. Despite the fact that Hindenburg had declared in advance that he intended to hold office in accordance with the Weimar Constitution, his electoral success showed how far the country had shifted to the right since Weimar's beginnings with a socialist president. 3121:

He sought a release from the restraints of the Treaty of Versailles exclusively by peaceful means and through mutual understanding, although without abandoning long-term revisionist intentions such as regaining the territory ceded to Poland. He took the initiative for the 1925

2858:, who earned the title of Inflation King by taking advantage of its effects on debt to amass controlling interests in 1,535 businesses with 2,890 different plants by 1924. Stinnes' empire collapsed after the government-sponsored inflation was stopped by the introduction of the 4392: 4355: 2810:

determined that German coal deliveries were short, French and Belgian troops on 11 January 1923 marched into the Rhineland, Germany's most productive industrial region, and took control of most of its mining and manufacturing companies. The German government under Chancellor

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Territorially, Germany had to renounce sovereignty over its colonies and in Europe lost 65,000 sq km (25,000 sq mi) or about 13% of its former territory – including 48% of its iron and 10% of its coal resources – along with 7 million people, or 12% of its population. The

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The treaty's disarmament provisions were intended to make the future German army incapable of offensive action. It was limited to no more than 100,000 men with only 4,000 officers and no general staff; the navy could have at most 15,000 men and 1,500 officers. The

4388: 4352: 10096: 2311:, in which women were allowed to vote for the first time, took place on 19 January 1919. The MSPD won the largest share of the votes at 37.9%, with the USPD fifth at 7.6%. To avoid the ongoing fights in Berlin, the National Assembly convened in the city of 2798:). By attempting to meet the payments, it intended to show the Allies that the demands were beyond Germany's economic means. In May 1922, when the Reichsmark was rapidly losing value, Germany was granted a payment moratorium over strong French objections. 4320: 3266:. Conservatives and reactionaries feared that Germany was betraying its traditional values by adopting popular styles from abroad, particularly those Hollywood was popularising in American films, while New York became the global capital of fashion. 2787:

After a series of international conferences to determine the reparations for which Germany was liable, an amount of 132 billion Reichsmarks was presented in May 1921, to be paid either in gold or commodities such as iron, steel and coal. Chancellor

3465:, the first Weimar chancellor to operate independently of parliament. After a bill to reform Germany's finances was opposed by the Reichstag, it was made into an emergency decree by Hindenburg. On 18 July, as a result of opposition from the SPD, 1850:) to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles' 100,000 man limit on the German army. The Black Reichswehr was never involved in direct military action and was dissolved in 1923 after a group of its members attempted to overthrow the government in the 1937:

between 28 July 1914 and 11 November 1918. The war ended with 20 million military and civilian deaths, including 2,037,000 German soldiers and from 424,000 to 763,000 civilians, many of them from disease and starvation as a result of the Allied

3165:, which failed by a large margin due to the low turnout, but through it the National Socialists were able to use their propaganda to draw nationwide attention to themselves and to make their mark on the right-wing fringe of the party spectrum. 2207:) which took place from 16 to 21 December 1918. Against the opposition of the more radical members who demanded a socialist republic, Ebert, backed by the large MSPD majority at the Congress, was able to schedule the election for a provisional 3384:(1929). When American banks withdrew their line of credit to German companies, the rapid rise in unemployment could not be checked by conventional economic measures. Unemployment thereafter grew dramatically, to 4 million in 1930, and in the 4086:

During the Weimar Republic, it was accepted that a law did not have to conform to the constitution as long as it had the support of two-thirds of Parliament, the same majority needed to change the constitution. That was a precedent for the

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Germany's defeat in the First World War, denigrating them as "November criminals" and insinuating that the German army, which was still fighting on enemy soil when the war ended, had been stabbed in the back by them and the revolution (the

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Per a prior agreement with Hindenburg and Hitler, Papen dissolved the Reichstag on 4 June 1932 and called for a new election in the hope that the Nazi Party would win the most seats and allow him to set up an authoritarian government. The

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Hansen, Ernst Willi (2007). "Der Staat im Staate – Militärgeschichte der Weimarer Republik 1919 bis 1933" [The State Within the State – Military History of the Weimar Republic 1919 to 1933]. In von Neugebauer, Karl-Volker (ed.).

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was to be demilitarized and occupied and all fortifications in the Rhineland and 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of the river demolished. Germany was prohibited from having an air force, tanks, poison gas, heavy artillery, submarines or

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had several weaknesses, making the eventual establishment of a dictatorship likely, but it is impossible to know whether a different constitution could have prevented the rise of the Nazi party. The 1949 West German constitution (the

2086:(MSPD) was sent to Kiel to prevent any further unrest and took on the task of controlling the mutinous sailors and their supporters in the Kiel barracks. The sailors and soldiers welcomed him, and he was able to defuse the situation. 3710:

keep Hitler out of power. Amid rumors that Schleicher was moving troops into Berlin to depose Hindenburg, Papen convinced him to appoint Hitler chancellor. The President dismissed Schleicher and appointed Hitler on 30 January 1933.

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The constitution of 1919 was never formally repealed, but the Enabling Act meant that it was a dead letter. The Reichstag was effectively eliminated as an active player in German politics. It met only sporadically until the end of

2380:

colonies and the worsening debt balances that had been exacerbated by Germany's heavy reliance on bonds to pay for the war. The economic losses can be attributed in part to the extension of the Allied blockade of Germany until the

4354: 5406:

Sozialgeschichtliches Arbeitsbuch, Volume III, Materialien zur Statistik des Deutschen Reiches 1914–1945, edited by Dietmar Petzina, Werner Abelshauser and Anselm Faust. Munich: Verlag C. H. Beck, 1978, p. 31. Translation: Fred

4102:

meant a party with a small amount of support could gain entry into the Reichstag. That led to many small parties, some extremist, building political bases within the system, and made it difficult to form and maintain a stable

3811:

In the months following the passage of the Enabling Act, all German parties aside from the NSDAP were banned or forced to disband themselves, all trade unions were dissolved and all media were brought under the control of the

2284:

were summarily killed after their arrests on 15 January. With the affirmation of Ebert, those responsible were not tried before a court-martial, leading to lenient sentences, which made Ebert unpopular among radical leftists.

1426:, which marked its reintegration into the international community. Nevertheless, especially on the political right, there remained strong and widespread resentment against the treaty and those who had signed and supported it. 2198: 2910:

The nationalist right, especially in Bavaria, branded the breaking off of the Ruhr resistance as treason. In a breach of the Weimar constitution, Bavaria declared a state of emergency, and executive power was transferred to

130: 3290:

year, health insurance was extended to wives and daughters without their own income, people only partially capable of gainful employment, people employed in private cooperatives, and people employed in public cooperatives.

1639:; and a more prosaic but no less powerful sense, the concept of a German state that would include all German speakers in Central Europe – 'one People, one Reich, one Leader', as the Nazi slogan was to put it. 3991:

No single reason can explain the failure of the Weimar Republic. The most commonly asserted causes can be grouped into three categories: economic problems, institutional problems, and the roles of specific individuals.

3757:

and "suspended until further notice" a number of constitutional protections of civil liberties, allowing the Nazi government to take swift action against political meetings and to arrest both socialists and communists.

4336: 4317: 3518:

The consensus today is that Brüning's policies exacerbated the German economic crisis and the population's growing frustration with democracy, contributing considerably to the increase in support for Hitler's NSDAP.

5194: 4387: 4315: 3145:

The favourable effects expected from the Locarno Treaties were to a certain extent realized. The first Rhineland zone was vacated in 1925, Franco-German economic relations were expanded through agreements, and the

2805:

saw Germany's failure to pay reparations as a lever that he could use to achieve the separation of the Rhineland from the German Reich, a French demand that had been refused by the British at Versailles. After the

3583:(SS) that had been imposed on 13 April under the Brüning government. Using the political violence that took place during the Reichstag election campaign as a pretext, he ousted the SPD-led coalition government of 3014:. Without fixing a final total sum, the plan regulated the scope, composition and the security of transfers for future annual reparations payments. The latter was to be guaranteed by the American financial expert 4319: 3454:(SPD), whose five-party coalition had broken down on 27 March over how to finance the increased costs of unemployment compensation. The new government was expected to lead a political shift towards conservatism. 1506:

in 1945, the Nazis governed Germany under the pretense that all the extraordinary measures and laws they implemented were constitutional; notably, there was never an attempt to replace or substantially amend the

131: 4366: 3195:

Influenced by the cultural explosion in the Soviet Union, German literature, cinema, theatre and musical works entered a phase of great creativity. Innovative street theatre brought plays to the public, and the

3473:

and the small contingent of NSDAP members, the Reichstag again rejected the bill by a slim margin. Immediately afterward, Brüning submitted a decree from the President to dissolve the Reichstag. The consequent

3482:, to form a pro-republican majority that excluded the KPD, DNVP and NSDAP. The situation led an increase in the number of public demonstrations and instances of paramilitary violence organised by the NSDAP. 4341: 9757: 3082:'s cabinet in November 1923 in protest of the Reich executions against Saxony and Thuringia, it did not take part in a government again until June 1928. From 1924 to 1928, there were three chancellors: 2722:) within the Weimar state and a rallying point for right-wing conservative and reactionary forces. The unstable political conditions in the early phase of the Weimar Republic were also evident in the 9892:[Law on the Head of State of the German Empire and Decree of the Chancellor on the Implementation of the Law on the Head of State of the German Empire of 1 August 1934, 1 and 2 August 1934]. 2576:, did not use the word "guilt". It stated that Germany accepted full responsibility for all the loss and damage from a war that was imposed on the Allies by the aggression of Germany and its allies ( 4332: 4331: 2168:

for the USPD, it governed Germany from November 1918 to January 1919. Although the new government was confirmed by the Berlin Workers' and Soldiers' Council, it was opposed by the Spartacus League.

4337: 3478:

resulted in an enormous political shift within the Reichstag: 18.3% of the vote went to the NSDAP, five times the percentage it had won in 1928. As a result, it was no longer possible, even with a

9890:"Gesetz über das Staatsoberhaupt des Deutschen Reichs und Erlaß des Reichskanzlers zum Vollzug des Gesetzes über das Staatsoberhaupt des Deutschen Reichs vom 1. August 1934, 1. und 2. August 1934" 4349: 3294:

while a bill ratified the same year obligated the states to set up agricultural settlement associations which "were endowed with the priority right of purchase of farms beyond a specified size".

7995: 9169: 5371: 4391: 4386: 4353: 3684:. The various projects, which are often wrongly attributed to Hitler, created 2 million jobs for unemployed Germans by July 1933. In foreign policy, Schleicher's main interest was in winning 4375: 4342: 4148:(including religious associations) and the inviolability of property – Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124 and 153 of the Weimar Constitution – could be suspended under Article 48. The 3110:

Despite the frequent changes of personnel in the Reich chancellery and in the government cabinets between 1923 and 1928, there was nevertheless an effective constant in Foreign Minister

4232:

tended to describe the Weimar Republic as a period of treason, degeneration, and corruption. The whole period from 1918 to 1933 was described in propaganda as "The time of the System" (

4221:

influenced by feelings of disloyalty to the Republic than of loyalty to the Kaiser, and it was this motive which led them to make their fatal contribution to bringing Hitler to power".

9986: 4381: 8495: 4322: 2048:. The revolution spread throughout Germany, and participants seized military and civil power in individual cities. The power takeovers were achieved everywhere without loss of life. 3615:

Chart of federal election results 1919–1933, with right-wing parties at the top and left-wing at the bottom, showing the collapse of the centrist and right of centre parties as the

8875: 8836: 5925:

Mommsen, Hans (1997). "Militär und zivile Militarisierung in Deutschland 1914 bis 1938" [Military and Civil Militarization in Germany 1914 to 1938]. In Frevert, Ute (ed.).

5239:

While Germany fulfilled most of its treaty obligations, it never completely disarmed, and paid only a small portion of war reparations (by twice restructuring its debt through the

4364: 2350:, and societies of exiled Russian monarchists. Revolutionary sentiment also arose in the eastern states where interethnic discontent between Germans and minority Poles led to the 4038:, to cause rampant hyperinflation. At the beginning of 1920, one US dollar was equivalent to fifty marks. By the end of 1923, one US dollar was equal to 4,200,000,000,000 marks. 2443:

and set the conditions for peace. It was signed 28 June 1919 and can be divided into four main categories: territorial issues, disarmament, reparations and assignment of guilt.

2649:

right-wing parties, they accused the governing parties of having contributed to Germany's humiliation by signing the treaty and of denying it the right to self-determination.

4119:

presidential decree. The 1949 Basic Law stipulates that a chancellor may not be removed by Parliament unless a successor is elected at the same time, a procedure known as a "

3339:

Unemployment rate in Germany between 1928 and 1935. During Brüning's policy of deflation (marked in purple), the unemployment rate soared from 15.7% in 1930 to 30.8% in 1932.

11362: 4347: 4327: 3002:

contemporary state system and world markets, it also developed a strong dependence on American capital. The stability was partly borrowed and, in the end, only superficial.

11141:

Bryden, Eric Jefferson. "In search of founding fathers: Republican historical narratives in Weimar Germany, 1918–1933" (PhD thesis. University of California, Davis, 2008).

4335: 4374: 4368: 2754:

The sharp political polarisation that had occurred was visible in the assassinations of important representatives of the Republic by members of the right-wing extremist

2093: 3150:, which monitored German disarmament, left Germany in 1927. In 1928 Stresemann played an important mediating role between the USA and France in the negotiations on the 2831:. 12.5 billion was cash that came mostly from loans provided by New York bankers. The rest was goods such as coal and chemicals, or from assets like railway equipment. 2194:

and Germany. It amounted to a German capitulation, without any concessions by the Allies; the naval blockade was to continue until complete peace terms were agreed on.

1674:. It was abolished after the entry into force of the Enabling Act of 1933, when the Nazi Party gained total power, in favour of two co-official national flags: the old 3832:, held no debates and enacted only a few laws; for all purposes, it was reduced to a mere stage for Hitler's speeches. The other chamber of the German parliament (the 2031: 1631:, by the Weimar Republic ... conjured up an image among educated Germans that resonated far beyond the institutional structures Bismarck created: the successor to the 4169:'s deflationary economic policy from 1930 to 1932 has been the subject of much debate. It caused many Germans to identify the Republic with cuts in social spending. 1700:

of 1849, and announced in November 1919. In 1928, a new design by Karl-Tobias Schwab was adopted as national coat of arms, which was used until being replaced by the

4321: 7253:

Schröder, Joachim; Watson, Alexander (23 June 2016). Daniel, Ute; Gatrell, Peter; Janz, Oliver; Jones, Heather; Keene, Jennifer; Kramer, Alan; Nasson, Bill (eds.).

3216:" and in many ways admired and respected, kindled further "ultramodern" sensations in the minds of the German public. Art and a new type of architecture taught at " 2613:

After the treaty came into force, the Foreign Office continued the state's control of the debate over war guilt. The War Guilt Department financed and directed the

4384: 4382: 4380: 4379: 4372: 4369: 4346: 3331:

Gross national product (inflation adjusted) and price index in Germany, 1926–1936. The period between 1930 and 1932 is marked by severe deflation and recession.

2705:, where dissatisfaction with the lack of nationalisation of key industries was particularly high, councils were formed that sought to seize local power. In the 2583:

The implications of Article 231 and the territorial losses especially angered the Germans. The treaty was reviled as a dictated rather than a negotiated peace.

1873:

was primarily responsible. The goal was to arouse broad social support for rearmament and to militarize society itself for the purpose of future warfare. Under

12356: 6029: 4377: 4376: 4351: 2129: 8628: 3138:

ensured that relations with the Soviet Union remained unencumbered. Beginning in 1925 there was secret and illegal cooperation between the Reichswehr and the

2775:, renounced all war claims and mutually cancelled pre-war debts. Rathenau also attracted right-wing extremist hatred because he was a Jew. The passing of the 9058: 3813: 1433:

of October 1929 severely impacted Germany's tenuous progress; high unemployment and subsequent social and political unrest led to the collapse of Chancellor

4385: 4371: 4370: 3857:

and Reich Chancellor", giving Hitler complete power over the entire Reich without any possibility of checks and balances. The action was later ratified by

3844: 2689:

occupied the government quarter in Berlin. In an attempt to reverse the revolution and install an autocratic government, the former Prussian civil servant

1314: 5399: 5290: 4091:. The Basic Law of 1949 requires an explicit change of the wording, and it prohibits abolishing the basic rights or the federal structure of the republic. 2070:. The MSPD decided to make use of their support at the grassroots level and put themselves at the front of the movement. They joined the calls for Kaiser 12361: 5651: 2417:

were set up in cities across Germany. Even after they were suppressed, ideological conflicts between the Left and supporters of the former empire led to

5333: 3976:

limited democratic traditions, and Weimar democracy was widely seen as chaotic. Since Weimar's early left of center politicians had been blamed for the

2889:, Communists won enough seats to participate in governments under Social Democratic minister presidents. In both states the Communists were expelled by 11203:

Haffert, Lukas, Nils Redeker, and Tobias Rommel. "Misremembering Weimar: Hyperinflation, the Great Depression, and German collective economic memory."

7011:

McElligott, Anthony (25 February 2021). Daniel, Ute; Gatrell, Peter; Janz, Oliver; Jones, Heather; Keene, Jennifer; Kramer, Alan; Nasson, Bill (eds.).

4389: 4378: 4216:

existence denied Weimar "that stability provided in many other countries by a truly conservative party." Similarly, conservative British historian Sir

1785:) was in the hands of the OHL. The resulting dualism between civilian power and military command was to become a heavy burden on the Republic. Whereas 11233: 8571: 4394: 4393: 3392:(NSDAP, Nazi Party), until then a minor far-right party, increased its share of the votes to 19%, becoming Germany's second largest party, while the 1610:(Republic of Weimar) came during a speech delivered by Adolf Hitler at a Nazi Party rally in Munich on 24 February 1929. A few weeks later, the term 3843:

Hindenburg's death on 2 August 1934 eliminated any remaining obstacle to full Nazi dominance. The day before he died, the Hitler cabinet passed the

12336: 6902:

Boldorf, Marcel (13 December 2021). Daniel, Ute; Gatrell, Peter; Janz, Oliver; Jones, Heather; Keene, Jennifer; Kramer, Alan; Nasson, Bill (eds.).

6456: 6608: 11529: 11372: 4324: 4010:

The Weimar Republic had some of the most serious economic problems ever experienced by any Western democracy. It experienced a period of rampant

1193: 8656: 7554: 6413:

Aulke, Julian (23 October 2017). Daniel, Ute; Gatrell, Peter; Janz, Oliver; Jones, Heather; Keene, Jennifer; Kramer, Alan; Nasson, Bill (eds.).

3853:("coordination"). It transferred the president's powers upon his death, including as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, to the new post of " 6536:

Kramer, Alan (22 January 2020). Daniel, Ute; Gatrell, Peter; Janz, Oliver; Jones, Heather; Keene, Jennifer; Kramer, Alan; Nasson, Bill (eds.).

2827:) to restructure Germany's payments. The total reparations payout from 1920 to 1931 (when payments were suspended indefinitely) was 20 billion 2248:

of the MSPD and occupied the Reich Chancellery where the Council of the People's Deputies had its offices. The ensuing street fighting left 11

2052: 1991:

then began proclaiming that it was the defeatism of the civilian population – especially the socialists – that had made defeat inevitable. The

1979: 8766: 7690: 6394:

Urbach, Karina (13 July 2016). Daniel, Ute; Gatrell, Peter; Janz, Oliver; Jones, Heather; Keene, Jennifer; Kramer, Alan; Nasson, Bill (eds.).

6321: 6294:

Barth, Boris (8 October 2014). Daniel, Ute; Gatrell, Peter; Janz, Oliver; Jones, Heather; Keene, Jennifer; Kramer, Alan; Nasson, Bill (eds.).

5565: 2128:, the leader of the MSPD, who thought that the question of monarchy or republic should be answered by a national assembly. Two hours later, a 1616:

was first used again by Hitler in a newspaper article. Only during the 1930s did the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany.

11734: 10010: 8300: 4149: 3277:

crashed in October 1929, American loans dried up and the sharp decline of the German economy brought the "Golden Twenties" to an abrupt end.

2614: 9392: 7338: 1881:

leadership gained increasing political influence and eventually helped determine the composition of the Reich governments. As a result, the

1597:" was a painful reminder of a government structure that they believed had been imposed by foreign statesmen and of the expulsion of Emperor 1356:

that established its government. In English, the republic was usually simply called "Germany", with "Weimar Republic" (a term introduced by

12331: 8507: 4061: 3413: 2622: 1886: 1438: 546: 9889: 8793: 5490: 4334: 2270:, took advantage of a large strike in Berlin and attempted to establish a communist government. The uprising was put down by paramilitary 1486:

who would keep Hitler under control; these intentions severely underestimated Hitler's political abilities. By the end of March 1933, the

8859: 8820: 4014:, sometimes high unemployment, and a large drop in living standards. From 1923 to 1929, there was a period of economic recovery, but the 3892: 3817: 3147: 3142:. Germany tested weapons in the Soviet Union that had been banned by the Treaty of Versailles, including aircraft, tanks and poison gas. 2939: 2823:

called off the passive resistance in September 1923. The French and Belgian occupation ended in August 1925, following an agreement (the

2645:

threatened by invasion and encirclement. Revising the conditions of the Versailles Treaty became the main goal of German foreign policy.

2338:

to these units, many of which were on the extreme right, resulted in the growth of far-right, antisemitic movements and organisations in

9932: 2621:" was founded with representatives of many groups considered "fit for good society". In 1919 the Weimar National Assembly established a 12326: 12321: 3343: 6634: 3943: 3730:

appearance of legality suppressed the Communist Party in mid-February and included the plainly illegal arrests of Reichstag deputies.

3051:

After Reich President Ebert died at the beginning of 1925 at the age of 54, the candidate of the parties that supported the Republic,

9782: 8598: 6510: 12262: 9706: 6563: 3915: 3451: 3091: 1434: 12020: 11260: 8727: 8629:"One hundred and eighteen years of the German health insurance system: are there any lessons for middle- and low-income countries?" 6797: 3131: 2618: 2303:

Chart of the Weimar Constitution of 11 August 1919. It replaced the law concerning the provisional Reich power of 10 February 1919.

2211:

that would act as an interim parliament and be given the task of writing a democratic constitution for a parliamentary government.

1307: 8956: 5460: 4788: 2694:

Reichswehr, however, proved itself to be unreliable. It adopted a wait-and-see attitude under General von Seeckt, the head of the

1414:, was characterised by significant cultural flourishing, social progress, and gradual improvement in foreign relations. Under the 12306: 12201: 4072:("substitute emperor"), an attempt to replace the emperors with a similarly strong institution meant to diminish party politics. 3745:. Hitler blamed the fire on the KPD (although Van der Lubbe was not a member of the party) and convinced Hindenburg to issue the 2577: 2355: 2117: 2108: 1955: 866: 155: 9731: 7254: 6269: 4244:), a term that was adopted into everyday use after 1933. Another Nazi phrase used for the republic and its politicians was "the 3568:, which came to be known as the "Cabinet of Barons". It continued to govern by presidential decree as had the Brüning cabinets. 3157:

After the full reparations schedule under the Dawes Plan was drawn up in 1928/29, new negotiations took place. In the resulting

2716:

In Bavaria the Kapp Putsch led to an anti-republican government reshuffle that made the Free State a so-called "cell of order" (

2665: 3922: 3821: 3674: 2903:

of the Weimar Constitution. In the Reichstag, the Social Democrats withdrew their support from Cuno's government and entered a

2881:

came a short-lived secessionist movement in the wake of which sections of the labour force became increasingly radicalized. In

2776: 2414: 7062: 2792:

had no choice other than to accept, but in an attempt to have the amount lowered, he began the German policy of "fulfilment" (

2171: 1862:, leading among other things to the secret training of German military pilots in clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles. 78: 11494: 11111: 11085: 11063: 11008: 10938: 10402: 10370: 10301: 10191: 9926: 9538: 9314: 9152: 9123: 9004: 8869: 8830: 8803: 8737: 8710: 8608: 8581: 6669: 6353: 6189: 6099: 6064: 5840: 5685: 5541: 5433: 4326: 4325: 4018:

of the 1930s led to a worldwide recession. Germany was particularly affected because it depended heavily on American loans.

3837: 3071: 2840: 2617:, which was to provide "scientific" support for the "campaign of innocence" abroad. For war-innocence propaganda at home, a " 2390: 1418:

of 1925, Germany moved toward normalising relations with its neighbours, recognising most territorial changes under the 1919

1395: 1247: 1178: 1111: 10197: 10154: 3416:

rather than parliamentary consultation. It effectively rendered parliament powerless as a means of enforcing constitutional

2532:

Under the terms of both the Armistice of 1918 and of the Treaty of Versailles, French, British, Belgian and American troops

11801: 7968: 5952: 4207: 4194:. Additionally, Hindenburg's death in 1934 ended the last obstacle for Hitler to assume full power in the Weimar Republic. 3183: 2389:

had sunk to just 0.9%, but inflation caused most workers' real wages to be significantly lower than they were in 1913. The

367: 191: 8554: 3560:

as the new chancellor. He was closely associated with the industrialist and land-owning classes and the military. General

2051:

At the time, the socialist movement, which represented mostly labourers, was split among two major left-wing parties: the

11648: 11631: 11464: 8700: 7663: 7063:"Approximate German territorial losses, and related loss of resources, following the Treaty of Versailles, June 28, 1919" 4287:

and the German revolution of 1918–1919, the remaining states continued as federal states of the new Republic. The former

3929: 3793:

The passage of the Enabling Act of 1933 is widely considered to mark the end of the Weimar Republic and the beginning of

3762: 3680:

One of the main initiatives of Schleicher's government was a public works program intended to counter the effects of the

3662: 2973:, which laid out his ideas and future policies. Hitler decided to focus in the future on legal methods of gaining power. 2465: Annexed or transferred to neighbouring countries by the treaty, or later via plebiscite and League of Nation action 2155: 1939: 1300: 1074: 842: 566: 409: 84: 9555:"Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and State ("Reichstag Fire Decree") (February 28, 1933)" 12351: 11539: 11504: 11449: 9966: 9257: 9232: 8354: 8160: 5867: 4736: 4621: 4600: 4120: 3641: 3629: 3030: 2056: 1975: 1951: 1576: 1376: 1213: 1007: 862: 7012: 5709: 3527: 11988: 11892: 11729: 11030: 10987: 10963: 10909: 10885: 10866: 10847: 10816: 10776: 10757: 10725: 10699: 10644: 10575: 10553: 10532: 10510: 10479: 10445: 10344: 10323: 10127: 9348: 9289: 8776: 8538: 8478: 8034: 7646: 7458: 7429: 7375: 6942: 6886: 6694: 6618: 6493: 6238: 6162: 6033: 5983: 5897: 5770: 5656: 4198: 3962: 3703: 3470: 3056: 9533:. Translated by Forster, Elborg; Jones, Larry Eugene. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 542. 7827: 7580: 4261:, the Weimar Republic is seen as "the best-known historical example of a 'failed' democracy that ceded to fascism". 3911: 7500: 4190:

him – appointed Hitler chancellor, thereby effectively ending the Republic after the passage of the

4073: 3985: 3896: 3750: 3458: 3067: 2900: 2845: 1446: 857: 8432: 8274: 3648:

the Reichstag was again dissolved, and an election was scheduled in the hope that a stable majority would result.

2701:

Some among the working class did not limit themselves to passive resistance to the Kapp Putsch. Especially in the

908: 11854: 11454: 11198: 6770: 3373: 1919: 1897: 1896:

announced the "regaining of military sovereignty" (reintroduction of conscription etc.) in 1935, two years after

1653: 1480:

held two out of ten cabinet seats. Von Papen, as Vice-Chancellor and Hindenburg's confidant, was to serve as the

1019: 884: 4961: 4180: 3588: 11837: 11653: 11337: 7231: 6903: 6395: 5396: 5301: 4715: 3900: 2009: 1739:

either simply dispersed on their own or were formally demobilized. The provisional civilian government and the

888: 847: 317: 6537: 2501:

went to Denmark following a plebiscite. In the east, a significant amount of territory was lost to a restored

1682:. From 1935, the Nazi flag became the sole national flag of the Third Reich, and after World War II, both the 12131: 11907: 11769: 11673: 11572: 11147: 6589: 4762: 4270: 3511:

of the DNVP and Adolf Hitler. On 30 May 1932, Brüning finally lost Hindenburg's support over the question of

2187: 1967: 1649: 1503: 160: 68: 8326: 5323: 3507:

By late 1931 Hindenburg and Schleicher had begun to contemplate dropping Brüning in favour of accommodating

2730:, which until then had had a three-quarters majority, lost 125 seats to parties on both the left and right. 2634: 1982:, which demanded an end to the war. When it became obvious to the generals that defeat was at hand, General 1793:

was content with limited political and administrative duties during his tenure (1920–1928), Colonel General

12151: 11879: 11749: 11253: 10249: 8899: 7208: 6123: 5890:

Basic Course in German Military History. Volume 2: The Age of the World Wars: 1914 to 1945. Peoples in Arms

5886:

Grundkurs deutsche Militärgeschichte. Band 2. Das Zeitalter der Weltkriege: 1914 bis 1945. Völker in Waffen

3691: 3475: 3385: 2723: 2308: 2231:

to 100,000 army soldiers and 15,000 sailors, remained fully under the control of the German officer class.

2055:(USPD), which called for immediate peace negotiations and favoured a soviet-style command economy, and the 1701: 880: 10607:

The Role of the Personality in the Crisis of the Weimar Republic: Hindenburg, Brüning, Groener, Schleicher

7286: 6295: 3106:

Gustav Stresemann, who was Reich chancellor in 1923 and foreign minister from 1923 until his death in 1929

11946: 11859: 11311: 4276: 4095: 3309: 2590:

Explaining the rise of extreme nationalist movements in Germany shortly after the war, British historian

2533: 2478: 2320: 1802: 1760:(navy), to 15,000. The treaty prohibited an air force, submarines, large warships and armoured vehicles. 900: 852: 837: 832: 787: 487: 304: 5622:[The Name of the Enemy: Why Was the First German Democracy Even Called the 'Weimar Republic'?]. 4205:

positions and its unwillingness to accept the Republic because of its monarchist ideology. In his book,

3657: 2738: 2014: 1344:

for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclaimed itself, as the

62: 11869: 11781: 11759: 11678: 11663: 11479: 11459: 11301: 10279: 9812: 8152: 7527: 7308: 6369: 4895: 4553: 4229: 3633: 3466: 3393: 3347: 3102: 2256: 2071: 1779:, while the Reich minister of the armed forces exercised command authority. Military right of command ( 1687: 1407: 1079: 1049: 822: 9653:"German Social Democracy and Hitler's 'National Revolution' of 1933: A Study in Democratic Leadership" 8096: 7111: 4451: 4175:, who was chancellor of Germany from 30 May to 17 November 1932, ousted the elected government of the 1974:

an end to the war. Increasing numbers of them began to associate with the political left, such as the

12346: 12341: 12316: 12311: 12301: 12121: 11306: 9503: 6839: 6030:"The National Archives – Exhibitions & Learning online – First World War – Spotlights on history" 5038: 5015: 4888: 3936: 3244: 2904: 1675: 896: 892: 827: 7136: 5618: 4935: 4909: 4867: 4524: 3433: 3356: 2288: 2234:

A rift developed between the MSPD and USPD after Ebert called upon the OHL for troops to put down a

12366: 12098: 12060: 11897: 11668: 5557: 5187: 5118: 4043: 3637: 3115: 3010:

An essential basis for the relative stabilisation was the restructuring of reparations through the

2935: 2768: 2327: 2293: 2208: 1697: 1534: 1380: 1361: 904: 351: 348: 10073: 10002: 9365: 9031: 8248: 8078: 8051: 7088: 4201:(DNVP) has also been blamed as responsible for the downfall of the Weimar Republic because of its 3429: 3252: 2326:

During the debates in Weimar, fighting continued sporadically across Germany. On 7 April 1919 the

2164:) was established, consisting of three MSPD and three USPD members. Led by Ebert for the MSPD and 1337:, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a 12371: 12234: 12108: 12088: 12065: 12045: 12005: 11968: 11917: 11791: 11754: 11524: 11246: 10626:

A history of the Weimar Republic: v. 1. From the collapse of the Empire to Hindenburg's election.

10617: 10609:. New York:=: Pantheon Books. pp. 3–50, Republic to Reich The Making of the Nazi Revolution. 7477:[Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry into the Question of Guilt for the First World War]. 6414: 5619:"Der Name des Feindes: Warum heißt die erste deutsche Demokratie eigentlich 'Weimarer Republik?'" 4642: 4505: 3988:, the decreasing popular legitimacy of the government further drove voters to extremist parties. 3885: 3274: 3151: 3135: 2425:. The young republic found itself in a nearly constant economic and political crisis until 1924. 1585:(German Republic). By the mid-1920s, most Germans referred to their government informally as the 1338: 1171: 872: 7162: 2686: 12035: 12010: 11973: 11832: 11764: 11593: 11484: 11474: 11193:

Graf, Rüdiger. "Either-or: The narrative of 'crisis' in Weimar Germany and in historiography."

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that such terminology became more specifically associated with socialist and Communist regimes.

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lists them as basic rights that cannot legally be nullified and in Article 20 (4) includes the

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To ensure that the fledgling government maintained control over the country, Ebert and General

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were used by republican movements across the political spectrum. It was only during and after

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introduction of the Rentenmark was successful at stabilizing German currency and the economy.

12196: 12015: 12000: 11963: 10226: 9916: 9222: 8909: 8381: 5675: 4874: 4663: 4176: 3981: 3746: 3738: 3584: 3134:. As a result of the Dawes Plan, foreign troops left the Ruhr in 1925. In addition, the 1926 2807: 2659: 2440: 2235: 2191: 2067: 1992: 1934: 1658: 1487: 1388: 1234: 876: 164: 10468: 10434: 9838: 9554: 8923: 8689:

Modern Germany: society, economy and politics in the twentieth century by Volker R. Berghahn

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in November 1933. It gave the NSDAP 100% of the seats in the chamber. In February 1934, the

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scene and jazz bands became very popular. According to the cliché, modern young women were

2630: 2565:. A large number of its ships and all of its air-related armaments were to be surrendered. 2434: 2381: 2228: 2218:, Ludendorff's successor as leader of the Supreme Army Command (OHL), concluded the secret 2197:

The Executive Council of the Workers' and Soldiers' Council of Greater Berlin called for a

2079: 1744: 1740: 1736: 1679: 1491: 1419: 1353: 1229: 1057: 1044: 936: 592: 168: 9340: 9334: 8189: 4781: 4708: 1743:(OHL) planned to transfer the remaining units to a peacetime army. Under the terms of the 8: 12161: 12055: 12030: 12025: 11902: 11847: 11786: 11692: 11423: 11357: 10119: 7894: 5113: 5058: 4579: 4280: 4237: 4186: 4141: 4108: 4056: 3833: 3754: 3666: 3561: 3462: 3443: 3439: 3417: 3405: 3060: 2755: 2584: 2510: 2494: 2486: 2343: 2316: 2267: 2240: 2175: 2121: 2075: 1988: 1874: 1870: 1772: 1671: 1508: 1461: 1442: 520: 469: 398: 275: 251: 11519: 4166: 3447: 3397: 3180:

they considered capitalism and demanding revolutionary changes on the cultural scenery.

2946:, which would eventually become a driving force in the collapse of the Weimar Republic. 2926: 2802: 1453: 12227: 12220: 12075: 12040: 11927: 11912: 11842: 11820: 11796: 11724: 11658: 11588: 11499: 11418: 11387: 11296: 11273: 11172: 11164: 11044: 10998: 10973: 10949: 10746: 10714: 10659: 10595: 10587: 10543: 10459: 9688: 9680: 9273: 9195: 8978: 8948: 8861:

The Great Disorder: Politics, Economics, and Society in the German Inflation, 1914–1924

8503: 7798: 7770: 7762: 7207: 6840:"The Social and Political Consequences of the Allied Food Blockade of Germany, 1918–19" 5452: 5397:

Volume 6. Weimar Germany, 1918/19–1933 Population by Religious Denomination (1910–1939)

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From 1924 to 1929, the Weimar Republic was relatively stable. Known in Germany as the "

2915:

as state commissioner general. The Reichswehr under the Chief of Army Command, General

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Matthias Erzberger, one of the signers of the 1918 armistice, was assassinated in 1921.

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The Death of Democracy: Hitler's Rise to Power and the Downfall of the Weimar Republic

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abolished all state parliaments and passed state sovereignty to the Reich government.

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took place on 1 January 1921, after the limitations had been met. The soldiers of the

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named himself chairman of the party in July 1921. On 8 November 1923, in a pact with

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Poster promoting Hitler's Mein Kampf in 2 paperback volumes for 2.85 Rentenmarks each

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After four years of war on multiple fronts in Europe and around the world, the final

1423: 1384: 989: 912: 533: 267: 255: 11176: 10283: 9866:[Law Concerning the Head of State of the German Reich. From 1 August 1934]. 7447:

Der lange Weg in die Katastrophe. Die Vorgeschichte des Ersten Weltkrieges 1815–1914

7311:[Philipp Scheidemann Against Accepting the Versailles Treaty (12 May 1919)] 6488:. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England: Pen & Sword Books Limited. pp. viii. 5159: 3376:. Germany's fragile economy had been sustained by the granting of loans through the 3351: 2816:

during the war, it was one of the major causes of the hyperinflation that followed.

1851: 1482: 1403: 12243: 12191: 12186: 12176: 12171: 12166: 11993: 11958: 11932: 11604: 11408: 11377: 11332: 11327: 11156: 10899: 10842:. Philip O'Connor (translator). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. 10613: 10289: 10054: 9664: 9579: 9330: 8640: 7754: 6851: 6744: 5587: 4648: 4202: 4112: 4015: 3681: 3508: 3457:

As Brüning had no majority support in the Reichstag, he became, through the use of

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After four years of war and famine, many German workers were disenchanted with the

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from 6 February to 11 August 1919, but the name only became mainstream after 1933.

1430: 1415: 1341: 951: 946: 941: 345: 7607: 7424:] (in German). Darmstadt: WBG Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. p. 63. 7110: 3785:

only the SPD voting against (the KPD had been banned). The combined effect of the

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In January 1923 France declared Germany in default. The French minister president

1520: 1517:) had effectively ended the republic, replacing its constitutional framework with 12146: 12141: 12136: 12083: 10804: 10563: 10392: 10356: 10334: 10220: 10177: 10144: 10113: 8331: 7365: 5403: 5034: 4172: 4153: 4079: 3849: 3806: 3603:) of Prussia, a step that further weakened the democracy of the Weimar Republic. 3557: 3479: 3401: 3209: 3188: 2994: 2982: 2920: 2916: 2890: 2638: 2514: 2281: 2215: 2137: 2125: 2100: 1794: 1776: 1572: 1513: 1496: 1457: 1411: 1372: 1368: 497: 428: 386: 263: 247: 226: 100: 43: 9863: 9625: 9607:

A/AS Level History for AQA Democracy and Nazism: Germany, 1918–1945 Student Book

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straight-lined, geometrical style. Examples of the new architecture include the

3130:, undertaking to refer any future disputes to an arbitration tribunal or to the 2509:

was ceded to the Allied powers, and Danzig went to the League of Nations as the

2439:

The Treaty of Versailles ended the state of war between Germany and most of the

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Wisch, Fritz-Helmut; Martin, Paul; Martinson, Marianne; Schruth, Peter (2006).

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Industrial and Labour Information, Volume 20, International Labour Office, 1926

7309:"Philipp Scheidemann gegen die Annahme des Versailler Vertrages (12. Mai 1919)" 5944: 5295: 5090: 4942: 4916: 4819: 4572: 4257: 4011: 3734: 3724: 3573: 3539: 3263: 3256: 3248: 3174: 3127: 2413:

dominated the new revolutionary government in Berlin, and numerous short-lived

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Philipp Scheidemann proclaiming the German Republic from the Reichstag building

1930: 1287: 1273: 1014: 579: 357: 311: 10072: 10031:

James, Harold, "Economic Reasons for the Collapse of the Weimar Republic", in

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at the end of the Second World War and ultimately reorganised into the modern

2629:

During the course of World War I, war reporting was the responsibility of the

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The Long Road to Catastrophe. The background of the First World War 1815–1914

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Realizing that continuing the course was untenable, the new Reich Chancellor

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Republic and its democracy for accepting the oppressive terms of the treaty.

2133: 2023: 1829: 1825: 1797:, Chief of Army Command from 1920 to 1926, succeeded in largely removing the 1635:; the vision of God's Empire here on earth; the universality of its claim to 1101: 710: 335: 206: 193: 10621:(2003), a standard scholarly survey; part of three volume history 1919–1945. 10436:

The Nazi seizure of Power: the experience of a single German town, 1922–1945

9172:[Destruction of the Democracy 1930–1932: The von Papen Government]. 7161: 6704: 6610:

Domestic Military Powers, Law and Human Rights: Calling Out the Armed Forces

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as the largest party in the Reichstag, although it did not gain a majority.

3504:

by forcing the economy to reduce prices, rents, salaries and wages by 20%.

3212:

in the metropolis of Berlin for instance, where she was declared an "erotic

3191:" in Berlin: a jazz band plays for a tea dance at the hotel Esplanade, 1926. 2299: 2259:(KPD) was formed out of a number of radical left-wing groups, including the 2190:

by German representatives. It effectively ended military operations between

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Germany Tried Democracy: A Political History of the Reich from 1918 to 1933

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Kritische Online-Edition der Nuntiaturberichte Eugenio Pacellis (1917–1929)

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Following Germany's defeat in World War I, several million soldiers of the

1690:

readopted the Weimar-era flag. The coat of arms was initially based on the

1683: 1632: 1552: 1473: 1469: 1357: 1333: 1210: 1206: 1141: 1131: 1092: 979: 723: 561: 440: 271: 10293: 9864:"Gesetz über das Staatsoberhaupt des Deutschen Reichs. Vom 1. August 1934" 6855: 4721: 4635: 4430: 3597:) of 20 July. By emergency decree he declared himself Reich Commissioner ( 2626:

admission of guilt before the world public. The committee met until 1932.

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by a leftist military unit on 23/24 December 1918 in which members of the

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Companje, Karel-Peter; Veraghtert, Karel; Widdershoven, Brigitte (2009).

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developed into what many historians consider a "state within the state".

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produced a severe economic shock in Germany which was made worse by the

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units consisting of volunteer soldiers. Following bloody street fights,

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The Nazi Voter: The Social Foundations of Fascism in Germany, 1919–1933

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to form a united Mecklenburg. Second, in April 1937, the city-state of

5000: 4252:), referring to the month the republic was founded in (November 1918). 4023: 4005: 4001: 3903: in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 3616: 3531: 3496: 3491: 3389: 3381: 3377: 3231: 3158: 3011: 2969: 2943: 2859: 2824: 2402: 2395: 2347: 2165: 1749: 1730: 1636: 1598: 1477: 1450: 1064: 673: 666: 660: 292: 243: 145: 8188: 7998:[Battle for the Republic 1919–1923: Communist Coup Attempts]. 3094:

of the SPD. Altogether there were seven cabinets under the three men.

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for 15 years, and the output of the area's coal mines went to France.

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in 1929) not commonly used until the 1930s. The Weimar Republic had a

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Weimar Cities: The Challenge of Urban Modernity in Germany, 1919–1933

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100(0) Schlüsseldokumente zur deutschen Geschichte im 20. Jahrhundert

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Deutschland 1918–1933. Die Weimarer Republik. Handbuch zur Geschichte

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and committing never to go to war. The following year, it joined the

1399: 766: 454: 9668: 4729: 3874: 3611: 3354:(person in foreground with raised clenched fist) and members of the 3220:" schools reflected the new ideas of the time, with artists such as 3204:, wearing makeup, short hair, smoking and breaking with traditional 2750:

Walther Rathenau, German Foreign Minister, was assassinated in 1922.

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The Last Winter of the Weimar Republic: The Rise of the Third Reich

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Social Relations in the Estate Villages of Mecklenburg c. 1880–1924

8429:

Cabaret Berlin – Exploring the entertainment of the Weimar era

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