Professional Documents
Culture Documents
German history from 1919 to 1933
An overview
THE BIRTH OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
• Before 1918, the most powerful person in Germany was
Kaiser Willhelm II. He was head of the government,
appointing ministers to run the country. He was head of
the civil service and commander of the armed forces.
Usually, it is said that, due to all these powers, the
government of Germany was almost a military autocracy.
• But despite the Kaiser’s powers, Germany’s government
did have some democratic features: men of 25 and over
had the right to vote for a parliament called the Reichstag.
This voted on the laws which the Kaiser and his ministers
drew up. However, the Reichstag had no say in foreign or
military affairs, nor in choosing of ministers.
• In autumn 1918 the Allies had clearly won
the war and Germany was in a state of chaos.
• The Allies offered Germany peace, but under
strict conditions. One of them was that
Germany should become more democratic.
• Kaiser Willhelm II then allowed the main
parties in the Reichstag, Germany’s
Parliament, to form a new government which
took away many of the Kaiser’s powers and
gave them to the Reichstag.
• But this change did not satisfy many people.
Public opinion turned against the Kaiser.
• At the end of October 1918, the German navy
mutinied. Rebellion spread throughout the
country, mostly encouraged by the Socialists
(who had been previously persecuted by the
Kaiser).
• Finally, in November Germany was forced to
drop out of the First World War. Kaiser
Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November 1918
and fled the country.
• After the abdication of the Kaiser, the
Socialist leader Friedrich Ebert became the
new leader of the Republic of Germany. He
immediately signed an armistice with the
Allies.
• In January 1919, elections were held for a
new Reichstag and in February 1919, in the
town of Weimar, a new government was
agreed: Friedrich Ebert was elected President
of the new Republic and a new constitution
was drawn up.
Phase #1 – 1919‐1923
• At first the Weimar Republic had great
difficulties:
• Left wing rebellions
• All people were angry with it
• Right‐wing rebellions and terrorism
• Invasion and inflation
• Munich Putsch
Phase #2 – 1923‐1929
• But the Republic survived and (after Gustav
Stresemann became Chancellor in 1923) did
well:
•Economic Prosperity
•Foreign Policy successes
•Cultural flowering
Phase #3 – 1929‐1933
• After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, however,
the Republic collapsed:
•Unemployment
•Nazi Party grew more powerful
•In 1933, Adolf Hitler became Chancellor