WEIMAR REPUBLIC

NAME

didn´t meet in Berlin

ORIGIN

1918

Allies offered Germany peace

condition: being
more democratic

Kaiser refused

9th November, 1918

abdicated throne
left the country

New leader of Republic

socialist

inmediatelly

signed armistice with Allies

announced people

freedom of speech
and worship

better working
conditions

CONSTITUTION

President

Court

Chancellor

Government Ministers

Armed Forces

OPPOSITION

LEFT-WING

Spartacists

Communist Party

led by

like Lenin´s Bolsheviks

against Ebert´s
democratics plans

1919: joined by

some rebel soldiers and sailors

set up soviets in
many towns

wanted Germany be
ruled by workers´councils
or soviets

Freikorps

anti-communist ex-soldiers

many fights with
Spartacists

many casualties

Spartacists remainded
anti-government force

arragement with Ebert

stop rebelion

he couldn´t

heavely armed

RIGHT-WING

violent opposition
wanted defeat Ebert

led 5000 Freikorps
into Berlin

Kap Putsch Rebelion

army refused to fire

Berlin workers declared

general strike

capital: no transport,
power, water

realised he couldn´t succeed

left country

hunted down

were people who

grew up in Kaiser´s days

wanted to have Empire

liked having strong army

TREATY OF VERSAILLES

announced terms

Germany lost

10% land

12,5% population

16% coal

48% iron industry

all overseas colonies

in addition

army reduced to 100,000

accept blame for starting
World War 1

forced to pay reparations

£6600 million

annual instalments

Economic Chaos

1st instalment

correctly payed

2nd instalment

couldn´t be paid

Ebert try negociating

Allies ran out of patience

French-Belgian
troops entered

Ruhr
(industrial area)

taking goods and
raw materials

government ordered
workers

go on strike

French reacted harshly

killed 100 workers

expell 100,000 protesters
from the region

HYPERINFLATION

no goods to trade

government printed money

seemed atractive solution

paid off its debts

including war loans

so much money circulating

prices and wages rocketed

money worthless

prices rised in terms of SECONDS

more affected

rich families

their huge savings

no valuables anymore

ACHIEVEMENTS

Economy

reparations payements
spread over long period

800 million marks

into Germany´s industry

industry recovering very well

exports increasing

achieved same production levels

as before WW1

Cultural Revival

writers, poets flourished

artists made powerful paintings

arquitects developed
Bauhaus style

Cinema´s Golden Age

greatest stars and directors ever

clubs: major pastime

censorship was removed

songs critisising political
leaders performed

Politics

became more stable

republic began to settle

people reconciling way things were

Foreign Poicy

signed Locarno Treaty

not changing Germany´s
western borders

Young Plan negociated

final removal of
British-French-Belgian troops

from Rhineland

PROBLEMS

Economy

only beneficiated

big businesses

big landowners

workers of big industries

main losers

peasant farmers and
middle class

thought government
offered them little

Culture

many villages and
country towns

represented moral decline

Wandervogel Movement

wanted return simple culture

Politics

Nazis and Communists

building up party organisations

parties opposed
to the Republic

Foreign Policy

Nationalist attacked Streseman

signing Locarno Pact

joining League of Nations

Communists attacked Streseman

called in worthless marks

burned them

replaced with new currency

Rentenmark

right-winger

more skilful politician than Ebert

slowly built up
Germany's prosperity

German People

Reichstag (parliament)

approved laws

17 local governments

limited power

President

urgent action needed

new government