Weimar Republic Timeline

Timeline of Early Weimar Republic Events

• September 29: Ludendorff requests armistice negotiations.
• September 30: The Kaiser pledges political reform.
• October 1, 1918: Prince Max of Baden becomes chancellor, curtailing the Kaiser's power and giving control of armed forces to the civilian government.
• October 3, 1918: Prince Max seeks an armistice with Wilson, who delays responding due to suspicions of a German stall tactic.
• October 24: Wilson demands German evacuation, an end to submarine warfare, and political democratization.
• October 26: Ludendorff resigns and flees to Sweden due to disagreements over Wilson's terms.
• October 28: German morale collapses, leading to a naval mutiny at Wilhelmshaven.
• November 3: Kiel Mutiny occurs.
• November 6: Revolts spread across German ports and cities, driven by pro-democracy sentiment.
• November 8, 1918: Bavaria declares a republic, deposing its monarchy.
• November 9, 1918: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates and a new German Republic is declared; Prince Max resigns and Friedrich Ebert becomes Chancellor.
• November 10, 1918: The Ebert-Groener Pact establishes army support for the Weimar Republic.
• November 11, 1918: Armistice is signed.

Military Terms of the The Treaty of Versailles

• Army limited to 100,000 personnel.
• Rhineland and Heligoland were demilitarized.
• Military aircraft were prohibited.
• Submarines were prohibited.
• Tanks, armored cars, and heavy artillery were prohibited.
• Navy limited to 15,000 men including only 6 battleships.

Territorial Impacts of the Treaty of Versailles

• Germany lost 13% of its territory, equivalent to 70,000 km².
• Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France.
• Eupen and Malmedy areas were given to Belgium.
• Northern Schleswig-Holstein given to Denmark.
• Memel was taken by Lithuania.
• Most of Posen, West Prussia and part of Pomerania were given to Poland.
• Eastern Silesia was given to Poland (Western Silesia voted to stay).

Impact of Losing Eastern Silesia

• Germany lost 75% of its iron core, 26% of its coal, 68% of its zinc core, and 15% of its arable land.

Other Treaty Terms

• Germany's overseas colonies were put under League of Nations control and divided among the Allies.
• The Rhineland was demilitarized with Allied occupation to ensure compliance.
• Germany was forbidden from uniting with Austria.
• Germany was barred from joining the League of Nations.
• The Kaiser and other Germans were to be tried for war crimes.
• The Saarland was separated from Germany and governed by the League of Nations for 15 years.
• France was allowed to exploit Saarland coal mines, with Germany supplying free coal to France, Belgium, and Italy.

War Guilt and Reparations

• Germany had to accept blame for starting WWI (Article 231).
• Germany was to pay £6.6 billion in reparations.
• Germany was required to surrender most of its merchant shipping fleet, railway locomotives, rolling stock, patents, and overseas territory.

Strengths of the Weimar Constitution

• Guaranteed equal rights for all Germans before the law.
• Allowed referendums to be called by the president, Reichrat, or the people (if 10% of electorate applied).
• Established full democracy in local and central government, preventing Prussian dominance.
• Granted women the right to vote on equal terms with men.
• Proportional representation allowed smaller parties to gain seats, ensuring fewer wasted votes.

Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution

• Article 48 allowed the president to rule by decree in emergencies; Ebert used this power extensively (136 times).
• The army was largely autonomous and favored right-wing causes; judges and civil servants from the old order remained undemocratic.
• Proportional representation led to coalition governments that were unstable due to numerous parties.
• Smaller parties could exploit proportional representation for publicity and influence.
• Consensus in the Reichstag was difficult to achieve due to diverse party agendas.

International Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles

• Britain: Public was glad Germany lost her colonies and fleet, although it wanted to trade with it again, and believed the terms were too harsh & it's army shouldn't be weakened.
• France: Many wanted harsher terms for revenge.
• USA: The terms were considered too harsh; the U.S. made a separate peace with Germany in 1921 and didn't join the League of Nations because Britain and France were enriching themselves to Germany's expense & Republicans opposed the treaty.

Reactions to the Treaty of Versailles

• Marshal Foch: The treaty was "an armistice for 20 years."
• Pro-republican parties: Asked main opponents DVP, DNVP and DDP to state that those who signed the treaty weren't unpatriotic
• Germany: Felt Wilson's 14 points and article 231 to be unjust and humiliating. Angered by the high reparations, French occupation of the Saarland, and exclusion from the League of Nations.

Justification of Treaty Terms

• Germany's previous actions: Germany punished Russia harshly in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and aimed for territorial annexation from its enemies. The other allies resisted Clemenceau's wish to be more harsh, because they wanted Germany to remain strong enough to withstand the spread of communism from Russia.

Franco-Belgian Occupation of the Ruhr (1923)

• Cause: Germany fell behind on coal reparations by the end of 1922.
• Action: France and Belgium sent 60,000 (later 100,000) troops to occupy the Ruhr in January 1923 to seize coal, steel, and manufactured goods.
• German response: The government stopped reparation payments and ordered passive resistance, promising wage continuation for striking workers. Paramilitary troopers, with the army secretly sabotaged the French.
• French retaliation: Military courts were set up, punishing non-compliant mine owners, miners, and civil servants; 150,000 workers were expelled and 132 were shot in clashes with police.
• Economic impact: Output of the Ruhr fell drastically and deliveries declined.

Economic Impacts of the Ruhr Occupation

• Shortage of goods led to higher prices.
• Lost tax revenue from closed businesses and unemployed workers.
• Limited foreign reserves within the country.
• Coal imports were needed, depleting foreign reserves.

Hyperinflation of 1923

• Money became worthless.
• Workers used wheelbarrows to carry money as prices rose rapidly.
• Food shortages led to food riots and people began bartering possessions for vital supplies.
• Theft increased as city dwellers stole food from farms.

Origin of German Social Welfare

• WWI created a need for social support due to death and injury, leading to welfare reforms and employment rights.
• The 1919 Weimar Constitution stated, "Every German citizen should have the right to work or welfare."
• Wartime governments financed the war through borrowing and printing more money.

Weimar Republic Debt

• The Weimar Republic debt at the end of the war was 1.44 billion marks.
• Measures to reduce the debt were not taken due to political instability.
• Prices quadrupled b/w 1919-1920 and then got 14x higher than in 1913.

Economic Impact of Reparations

• Reparations made repaying government debt more difficult.
• Gold reserves were inadequate for the scale of repayment.
• Coal payments became problematic as Germany lost coal reserves due to Treaty of Versailles.
• Manufacturing the goods made it a threat to Allied jobs in the Allied countries.
• Allies hampered Germany's export trade by taking the merchant fleet and increasing exports to other nations.

Political Impact of Reparations

• The Cabinets of Fehrenbach resigned in protest at the harsh terms.
• A reparation commission was set up to determine the scale of damage caused by allied countries.

Hyperinflation Benefit

• Black marketeers benefited from buying and selling food at inflated prices.
• Owners of foreign exchange and foreigners living in Germany benefited.
• Farmers in the countryside coped well with food demand and less reliance on money.
• People with debt, mortgages & loans could pay off the money with worthless currency

Hyperinflation Disadvantages

• Pensioners lost out because those reliant on rent were hit badly and so was their income.
• Lenders who patriotically lent money to the government in wartime by purchasing fixed interest rate 'war bonds' also lost out because interest payment decreased in value.
• 29.3% of workforce was fully employed with a decline in the standard of living due to artisans & small business owners (mittlestand) being badly hit and them paying a disproportionate share of taxes.

Social Welfare Laws During the Weimar Republic

• 1919 Maximum 8 hour maximum work day.
• 1919 Introduction of state health insurance system was now extended to include wives, daughters & the disabled
• 1919 aid for war veterans was given from the national state.
• 1922 National Youth Welfare Act: local authorities were responsible with child protection & decreed that all children had the right to an education

Other Important Weimar Republic People

• Hugo Stinnes: Reichstag Deputy & Business Owner.

Coalition Government Problems

• No single party could form a government alone due to proportional representation, leading to coalition governments.
• Social, economic & political crisis occurred in times of polarisation.
• Parties were dedicated to overthrowing the government.
• SPD was in charge until June 1920, then they ceased to take a leading role in any coalition government.

Spartacist Uprising

• Occurred due to people wanting a full communist uprising.
• Result of a mass spontaneous risings in Berlin at the dismissal of a radical official.
• The Weimar used the right-wing Freikorps to put down the revolt.