25 Oct 1918

Kiel Mutiny as naval commanders refuse last suicide fight

26 Oct - 5 November 1918
German Homefront collapsing
6 November 1918
Social Democrats led by Ebert lead the Reichstag
7 November 1918
Ultimatum to Kaiser - abdicate or they would join the rebels
9 November 1918

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Announce abdication and new coalition government

chancellor= Ebert

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10 November 1918
Kaiser flees to Holland

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New German Government known as Weimar Republic (Berlin still too unstable)

proportional representation
everyone over 20 could vote
chancellor runs government but needs over 1/2 the Reichstags support
president = Head of State - no day to day powers but in emergencies Article 48
democracy imposed by the allies

11 November 1918

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Armistice comes into effect

January 1918

Free elections and Ebert won a majority and becomes president of Weimar Republic. The new
constitution is signed into law in August 1919

Political Groups in Germany in 1919-1922

Left Wing:
Socialists principles including workerss rights and state control of industry
Right Wing:
Private Ownership and property rights along with individual freedoms and law and order

Political Situation in Germany in 1919

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Unstable
Extremist parties (Spartacists and Freikorps) fighting in the streets
Innocent people being killed
Ebert and the social democrats, the largest party organised election. They were democrats so
they welcomed free elections but democracy was resented as it was imposed by the Allies
through the T.O.V

The Spartacist Uprising

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- Main group of left wing revolutionaries. They wanted a social revolution like the Russian
revolution.

- They did not trues Ebert and the Social democrats to look after the interest of the working
people
- They were communists who believed in socialist principles (workers rights and state control of
industry)
- they were led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebnecht
- They demanded a revolution and communist nation like Russia and for aristocrats to be
removed

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January 1919
Some spartacists member staged an attempted revolution in Berlin against Eberts government

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5 Jan 1919
The Spartacists captured the headquarters of the governments newspaper and telegraph bureau.
The whole uprising was horribly planned. The other left-wing groups did the not support the
uprising neither did the leaders until it had started

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10 Jan 1919
The Rising was crushed by the Freikorps. Many members were killed including the leaders. Hence
the movement did not recover

By 15 Jan 1919
The Spartacists were crushed and over the next few months the Freikorps disbanded all
communists groups. Ebert and the Government were happy to make use of the Freikorps.

The Freikorps

- ex-soldiers that wanted the return of the the Kaiser

- demanded private ownership, property right and individual freedoms and law and order imposed
by violence if necessary

- They believe the army should be in control and use of violence is acceptable
- the Freikorps were temporarily allied with Ebert to crush the Spartacists.
Kapp Putsch, 1920
led by Wolfgang Kapp and Walter von Lutwitz
they wanted to undo the revolution and overthrow the Weimar Republic
Believed in a right-wing autocratic government
supported by the Reichswehr (military)
The Kapp Putsch did not approve of the T.O.V and wanted to seize power
Blamed the German Government (Social Democrats known as the November Criminals for
signing the Treaty of Versailles)

In early, 1920, the allies were worried because of the size of these unofficial forces. SO when
Germany tried to disband them (due to Ally pressure) The Freikorps unit, led by Wolfgang Kapp,
marched in to Berlin and declared a new government. Eberts government fled to Dresden and
politicians appealed to workers for help. The general strike proved efficient as the Kapp Putsch
collapsed. Workers stopped working during the strike.

Treaty of Versailles

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- Signed June 28th 1919

- signed in the Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles (v. extravagant and quite humiliating for

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Germany)
- Loosing country would have to sign armistice or fighting would continue
Why was the treaty signed in Versailles?

In 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War , France gave up Alsace-Lorraine after signing the treaty to
newly unified Germany.

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Who were the Big Three?

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Georges Clemenceau - PM of France

Woodrow Wilson - President of the USA
David Lloyd George- PM of Great Britain
Paris Peace Conference?

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Clemenceau-

- Wanted revenge and to ensure Germany never invade France again (happened in 1870 and

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1914)

- Wanted the following points in the T.O.V

1.
2.
3.
4.

Alsace-Lorraine back to France

Germany completely demilitarised
Germany crippled
Reparations and Compensations

Lloyd George-

- wanted Germany fairly punished (not harsh)

- wanted Germany to lose Navy and colonies
- Wanted to still be able to trade with Germany which would provide Germans with jobs
Wilson-

wanted a better and more peaceful world

idealist
did not want to punish Germany harshly as he thought they would seek revenge
He believed in self-determination
wanted to strengthen Germanys democracy

Wilsons 14 points1. No secret treaties

2. Free access to sea during peace and war
3. Free trade between countries
4. Disarmament
5. colonies have a say in their future
6. German troops to leave Russia
7. Independence for Belgium
8. France to regain Alace- Lorraine
9. Frontier of Austria and Italy adjusted
10. Self-determination for Europe
11. Serbia to have access to the sea
12. Self-determination for Turkish Empire
13. Poland Independence and access to the sea
14. League of Nations set up.

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Terms of the Treaty of Versailles1. War Guilt Clause

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2. Reprations
In 1921 the exact amount announced - 6,600 million

3. Armed Forces
- army consisted of 100,000 men
- conscription banned
- no aircraft, submarines or tanks
- navy had only 6 warships
- Rhineland (boarder with France and Belgium) demilitarised

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4. Territories and Colonies

- no overseas colonies

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Togoland and Cameroon > to GB and France

German East Africa > to GB
German S. West Africa> South Africa
New Guinea > Australia
Samoa > New Zealand
The Marshall, Mariana, and Caroline Islands > Japan
-Distribution of Territories
Alsace-Lorraine > France
Saarland > League of Nations
West Prussia and Posen > Poland
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia became independent states.
5. Anschluss
6. League of Nations
No membership until proven trustworthy.

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German Reaction the T.O.V

Why would the Germans feel annoyed at the way the treaty was signed?
They were forced to sign the treaty or fighting would continue. They ultimately had no say as they
were not invited to negotiations and Versailles was intimidating.
Why would Germans feel cheated on the War Guilt Clause?

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It meant that they had to accept all the blame for the war, however it was the alliance system that
dragged everyone into it. Also since they had to accept all the blame, they had to pay reparations
and compensations
Which group of people would suffer from the loss of territories?

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Industrialists- their business would depend on materials from abroad.

Expats- their home would be taken away
Soldiers- they would feel as if they fought for nothing

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Government- dip in the economy and their country is vulnerable and lacks protection. They faced
loss of industry yet had to pay reparations.

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Reasons for German Bitterness

- stabbed in the back by the November Criminals
they were looking 10% of their land
all overseas colonies
12.5% of population
16% of coalfields
50% or iron and steel industry

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1923 The Year of Crises

Invasion of the Ruhr

How much did Germany have to pay in reparations and in each instalment?
Announced April 1921- 6,600 million in hard currency or gold. Each instalment consisted of 50
million.
Why was nothing pain in 1922?
After paying the first instalment in 1921, they realised that there was a big strain on the economy,
which they were trying to rebuild after the war.
Why did the French loose patience?
They French lost patience because they needed money to rebuild their infrastructure and to pay of
debts to America.

What did the French do to try and recover the money the Germany owed them?
The French and Belgium troops marched in to the Ruhr and began to take what was owed to them
in the form of goods.
What was the French governments justification for their actions?
It was justified under the Treaty of Versailles .

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What was the direct result of the French action?

The workers were ordered to go on strike by the government. Also about 100 workers dies and
over 100,000 protestors were expelled from the region. The halt in production led to a collapse of
the economy and the German currency. This was known as passive resistance.

Hyperinflation

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Hyperinflation refers to an economic situation in which the value of of money drastically decreases
and the prices of goods and services rapidly shoot up.

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What caused hyperinflation?

Since there were no goods to trade the government simply printed more money to pay of internal
debts.

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What were the effects of hyperinflation?

There was a massive loss of value in the currency. For example in 1921 people could buy a house
out of their savings where as in 1923 it wouldnt even buy them a loaf of bread. Wages were being
paid daily instead of weekly.

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What did the government do to deal with hyperinflation?

The new government of Gustav Stressemen burnt the old note and printed the new Rentenmark

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Munich Putsch

Why did Hitler launch the Munich Putsch?

Hitler, who was the leader of the Nazi Party, launched the revolution because they believed that
Stressemens decision to give in to France was a betrayal and people would support a rebellion
against the Weimar Government.
Why did Hitler think he had a chance of succeeding?
Hitler believed he had a chance of succeeding because he had the support of the former army
leader: Ludendorff. They believed that the army could easily be persuaded to abandon the
government and support them .
Why did the Putsch fail?
It was easily crushed by the army and police. Also the head of Bavarian Government - Gustav
Kahr- was hesitant and did not want to carry out the Putsch. It was also carried out at the wrong
time as Stressemen had already taken action tackling hyperinflation, calling of passive resistance.
Hitler also didnt have control over the army or full support from them.

Golden Years of Weimar

Gustav Stressemen:
Party: German Peoples Party (centre right)
Chancellor: 13 August- 23 November 1923
Foreign Minister: 1924- 1929
Nobel Peace Prize: 1926

Economic Prosperity
1923
Stressemen replaced the old worthless mark with the new Rentenmark

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He also created a new central bank called the Reichsbank to control the new currency.
1924 - Dawes Plan

Under the deal negotiated by Stressemen reparation payments were re-organised so that
Germany should pay what it could afford each year. Also, the French agreed to withdraw from the
Ruhr while America agreed to loan Germany money.

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Foreign Loans:

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With foreign confidence restored Germany could borrow from abroad

Between 1924 and 1929 foreign loans amounted to 25,000 million gold rentenmark and they were
used to
1. build new factories and machines
2. build new houses and public buildings
3. help farmers

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SOLUTIONS:
Lady - Locarno Pact - 1925
Diana - Dawes Plan - 1924
was

Killed - Kellogg Briand - 1928

Really - RentenMark
Young - Young Plan - 1929

However
-American loans could be withdrawn at any time and the economy would collapse
Unemployment was still a serious problem
Employers thought taxes were too high as they were spent on welfare and benefits
In 1929, farmers income was a little more than the national average
Extreme wealth and poverty
concentration of power with the industrialists as they controlled over half of Germanys industry.

Cultural Prosperity
In the 1920s Germany became a world centre for the arts.
1.The Weimar Arts and Crafts School (Bauhaus) became a centre fro experiment in arts and
architecture. That Warburg Institute in Hamburg was a leading centre for art studies. German
museums collected the latest modernist paintings and sculptures

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2. Berlin became a centre for challenging new plays often politically left-wing from writers such as
Berthed Brecht and Arthur Schnitzler.

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3. Music and Opera flourished in Berlin and many other cities such as Hamburg, Munich, and
Frankfurt.
4. Germany developed more films in the 1920s than the rest of Europe put together.

However

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Many people argued Germany was loosing its traditional culture and heritage. (including the Nazis)

Political Prosperity

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1926- Germany enters the League of Nations

1924-1929 more stable government
After 1928 elections the social democrats joined a governments coalition with other parties
committed to the Republic.
Middle Class Parties no longer suspicious of the Social Democrats

However

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The Reichstag made of coalition parties led there to be 25 separate governments in 14 years.
Nationalists felt Stressemen policies too cautious. They wanted to reject the T.O.V completely.

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The Great Depression
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The German economy collapsed because they relied too much on foreign loans, especially from
America. America became rich after WWI and thanks to the Dawes Plan America paid Germany to
help their economy. However in 1929, the Wall Street crash occurred. Many factories sold goods
all over the world and many people had invested in or bought shares with credit in hopes to make
profit. However October 1929, the Americans realised they werent making money from their
shares so they decided to ell them. Unfortunately, share price dropped and a lot of money was lost.
This led to to the Great Depression. America then decided to demand the money from Germany.
Germany now had no money and their industry collapsed. Also their economy suffered because
America, Britain, Italy and Japan could not afford to import goods.