Weimar Republic

Birth

Created in Weimar city

Berlin was a chaos

1918 allies had won the war

offered peace to Germany

under some conditions

democratic Germany

Kaiser should abdicate

after some time(November 9th) he did

10 th November

Fredrich Ebert new lider

German Republic

ended the war and armistice with allies

primised feredom of speech, better working conditions

New constitution

Weimar constitution

most democratic system in the world

Chancellor

in charge of goverment

Head of state (President)

emergency powers

international work

appointed

Chancellor Judges control armed forces

german people elected

Reichstag president local goverments

Opposition

Left threats

old Bolshevicks

Communist led by

Karl Liebkecht

Rosa Lusemburg

opossed to democraric Germany

wanted a revolution

failed because

Freikorps stopped it

group of anti Communist ex soldiers

paramilitar and vigilante group

leaderes died and many casualties

after this Communists remained a powerful anti government force in Germany through the 20s

wanted a country reuled by worker councils and soviets

punished more strictly and severely (taken to court)

Right threats

people who had grown up in the succesful days of the Kaiser

wanted his type of government

dictatorial

refused to the Treaty of Versailles

restrictions in army, loses of territory and industries

withing punishments

taken to court but as judges were from right

short prison sentences, tolerant

Example: Hitler was nos strictly punished

biggest crisis on 1919 when it was announced

Germany lost

10% of land and overseas colonies

12,5 % population

16% coal and 48% iron industry

army reduced, no air force, navy reduced

had to accept blame for starting the war

pay reparations to the allies

caused economic disaster

as paying the reparations was almost impossible

Problem in the Ruhr

2nd year Germany couldn't pay anymore

France and Belgium entered The Ruhr( legal according to the treaty)

satarted taking products

Ebert told workers to stop production

allies reacted harshly( killed people)

caused a collapse in industrial production

This caused Hyperinflation

as there were no good to trade

goverment started printing money

consecuences

with so much money in circulation but not enough goods

prices, wages rocketed

money didn't have value

most affected middle class families with savings

situation needed urgent action

August 1913 a new goverment under Stresemann took over

continue production in Ruhr

replaced marks

asked for Americans loans

renegociated reparation payments

damaged politically the Weimar Republic

goverment had lost support

most germans furious at Ebert

he didn't want to accept it be he had no choice

germans could't go back to war

Achievements

Economy

He was a more skilful politician and had wider support

helped by post war depression in other countries

built up Germany prosperity again

under Daves plan

loger periods for reparation payments

loans from the USA for German industry

in 1927 industry recovered

Politics

became more stable

no more revolutions

parties which supported Weimar democracy did well in those years

Culture

revival in Germany

free expressions of ideas were allowed

artists, poets flourished in Berlin

painted about reality of everyday life

1920s were a golden age for german cinema

Foreign Policy

his gretest triumphs were in foreign policy

signed Locarno Treaties

1926 Germany was accepted into the League of Nations

Problems

Economy

economic boom precarious

economic winners

big businesses

land owners

workers in big industries

main loosers

peasant farmers

overproduction

middle classes sections

Politics

4 chancellors

Nazis and Communists

building up their party organizations

1926

Hidemburg elected as president

opposed to democracy

Culture

culture of the city represented

moral decline

worse by American inmigrants and Jews

Wandervogel movement

to return to simple values

Foreign policy

Germany still a troubled place

Nationalists attacked Stresmann

joining the League of Nations

singing the Locarno pact

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