1. Weimar Republic
 Allies offered peace to Germany, but
Germany had to become democratic.
 Kaiser refused, but there was a sailors’
revolt, so on Nov 9th 1918 he abdicated.
 Friedrich Ebert became the new leader.
 There was to be a new constitution and
new laws and right for the people.

2.  1st act was to sign the Versailles Treaty
 Named for the city in
which the constitution
was developed

3. Problems
 The threat from the left
 The Treaty of Versailles
 The threat from the right
 Economic problems

4. Threat from the left
 Spartacists (communist party) under
Liebknecht and Luxemburg
 They followed Russian model
 They incited the Communist revolution
 A second revolution in Bavaria.

5.  Ebert worked together with the
Freikorps to crush the revolts.
 This caused tension between Ebert and
his party (SPD)
 Most Germans were agreed however,
they feared a bloody civil war, like in
Russia.

6. Freikorps

7. Treaty of Versailles
 Many Germans felt they had been
btrayed (“stabbed in the back”) by
Ebert and his government.
 This divided the politicians and caused
political unrest
 Until Hitler rose to power in 1933, the
Treaty was still a much hated topic.

8. The threat from the right
 Strong nationalism, many people who
supported the kaiser were still in place.
 1920: Kapp-putsch. 5000 Freikorps
soldiers into Berlin. Situation saved by a
general strike.
 Kapp was prosecuted, but the rest of
the leaders not.

9. Kapp putsch

10.  Many political murders
 1923: Munich putsch (Beer Hall Putsch).
Hitler tried to take over Bavaria.
Weimar troops responded.
 Hitler was held responsible and put on
trial.
 He received a very light sentence.

11. Leaders of the Beer Hall
Putsch

12. Economic problems
 Reparations: 6600 million pounds,
annually.
 In 1922 Germany didn’t pay.

13. Occupation of the Rhineland
 1923, Germany fails to pay reparations
to France and Belgium too.
 France and Belgium occupy the
Rhineland to force payments
 Germans launch a general strike of non-
cooperation with the occupiers
 Govt. pays strikers to strike

14. Hyperinflation
 Payments to strikers forces Weimar
government to print money to fund it.
 Far too much is printed compared to
what it is worth.
 In 1914 there were four marks to every
dollar.
 In 1924 there were
4,000,000,000,000,00 marks per dollar.

15. Stresemann Miracle
 Gustav Stresemann served as the prime
minister and stabilized the mark by
following the advice of Hjalmar Schacht
 Germany stabilizes and begins to grow
again without inflation
 Finally, Stresemann settles the western
border with France with the Locarno
Treaty.

17. THE FACTS
Stresemann was Chancellor in 1923 only.
His main role was as Foreign Minister from 1924
He was a right-winger and more able than Ebert
He built up Germany’s prosperity again although all of
Europe was recovering
He signed Germany up to the Dawes Plan in 1924

18. Treaty of Locarno
 Perhaps the high point of the Weimar
Republic
 Germany agrees to respect its western
border with France and Belgium.
 This allows Germany to enter the
League of Nations and removes
Germany from diplomatic isolation

19. Golden Era 1924-1929
 Economy grows quite well
 Culture become famous for its plays,
art, etc., though decadent.
 “Americanization” as some parts of
culture look to America for guidance.
 Movie industry become world famous,
esp., the “Mountain films” like a US
Western.

20. Crisis years 1930-1933
 Great Depression hits as unemployment
goes to record levels.
 Governments fall as no one can solve
the problem of the Depression
 Private armies of political parties battle
in the streets as public loses faith in the
Republic to solve problems.