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The period of German history from 1919 to 1933 is known as the Weimar Republic (in German "Weimarer Republik"). It is named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after Germany's defeat in World War I.
This first attempt at establishing a liberal democracy in Germany was a time of great tension and inner conflict and, ultimately, failed with the ascent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in 1933. Although technically, the 1919 constitution was never entirely invalidated until after World War II, the legal measures taken by the Nazi government in 1933 that are commonly known as Gleichschaltung in fact destroyed all mechanisms provided for by a typical democratic system, so it is common to mark 1933 as the end of the Weimar Republic.
This article thus outlines the events from 1918 until the collapse of the Republic in 1933. The Nazi Germany article describes the following period; see also Gleichschaltung for details about how the Nazi dictatorship was installed.
From 1916 onwards, the 1871 German Empire had effectively been governed by the military, led by the Oberste Heeresleitung (OHL, Supreme Army Command) with the Chief of Staff Paul von HindenburgPaul von Hindenburg (full name Paul von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg ( October 2, 1847 August 2, 1934) was a German general and politician born in Posen in Prussia (now Poznan, Poland), as the son of the Prussian Robert von Beneckendorff und von Hinde. When it became apparent that World War I was lost, the OHL demanded that a civil government be installed. Any attempt to continue the war after Bulgaria had left the Central Powers would only have caused German territories to be occupied. The new Reichskanzler Prince Max von Baden thus offered a cease-fire to US President Woodrow Wilson on October 3October 3 is the 276th day of the year (277th in Leap years). There are 89 days remaining in the year. Events 2333 BC Legendary date of the establishment of the Kingdom of Chosun ( Korea) 42 BC First Battle of Philippi: The Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octav, 1918Events January January 8 President Woodrow Wilson announces his " Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. February February 3 The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service in San Francisco as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long).. On October 28October 28 is the 301st day of the year (302nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 64 days remaining. Events 306 Maxentius is proclaimed Roman emperor. 312 Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine the Great defeats the forces of Maxentius. Roman e, 1918, the 1871 constitution was finally amended to make the Reich a parliamentary democracyA parliamentary system or parliamentarism is distinguished by the head of government being dependent on the direct or indirect support of the parliament, often expressed through a vote of confidence. Hence, there is no clear-cut separation of powers betwe, which had been refused for half a century: the Chancellor was henceforth responsible to Parliament, the Reichstag, and no longer to the Emperor.
The then-current plan to transform Germany into a constitutional monarchy similar to Britain quickly became obsolete as the country slid into a state of near-total chaos. Germany was flooded with soldiers returning from the front, many of whom were wounded physically, psychologically, or both. Violence was rampant, with fights breaking out even between rival leftist groups at funerals for leaders assassinated by right-wing adversaries.
Rebellion broke out when, on October 29, the military command, without consultation with the government, ordered the German High Seas Fleet to sortie, which was not only entirely hopeless from a military standpoint, but was also certain to bring the peace negotiations to a halt. The crews of two ships in Wilhelmshaven mutinied. When the military arrested about 1,000 seamen and had them transported to Kiel, the local revolt turned into a general rebellion that quickly swept over most of Germany. Other seamen, soldiers, and then also workers solidarized with the arrested, began electing worker and soldier councils modelled after the soviets of the 1917 Russian Revolution, and took over military and civil powers in many cities. On November 7, the revolution had reached Munich, causing Ludwig III of Bavaria to flee.
Initially, the demands of the councils were modest: they wanted the arrested seamen to be freed. As opposed to Russia one year earlier, the councils were not controlled by a communist party. Still, with the emergence of the Soviet Union, the rebellion caused great fear in the establishment down to the middle classes. The country was on the verge of becoming a Socialist Republic.
At the time, the political representation of the worker class was divided: a faction had separated from the Social Democrats, calling themselves "Independent Social Democrats" (USPD, for Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands) and leaning towards a Socialist system. In order not to lose their influence, the remaining "Majority Social Democrats" (MSPD, who supported a parliamentary system) decided to put themselves at the front of the movement and, also on November 7, demanded that Emperor Wilhelm II abdicate. On November 9, 1918, the Republic was proclaimed by Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag building in Berlin, two hours before a Socialist Republic was proclaimed around the corner at the Berlin Castle by Karl Liebknecht.
Still on November 9, in a legally questionable act, Reichskanzler Prince Max von Baden transferred his powers to Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the MSPD. It was apparent that this act would not be sufficient to satisfy the masses, so a day later, a revolutionary government called "Council of People's Deputies" (Rat der Volksbeauftragten) was erected, consisting of three MSPD and USPD members, respectively, led by Ebert for the MSPD and Hugo Haase for the USPD. Although the new government was confirmed by the Berlin worker and soldier council, it was opposed by the Spartakus left wing of the USPD led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. Ebert called for a National Congress of Councils, which took place from December 16 to 20, 1918, and in which the MSPD had the majority. Ebert thus managed to enforce quick elections for a National Assembly to produce a constitution for a parliamentary system, marginalizing the movement that called for a Socialist Republic (see below).
To ensure that his fledgling government was able to maintain control over the country, Ebert pacted with the OHL, now led by Ludendorff's successor General Wilhelm Groener. This Ebert-Groener pact essentially stipulated that the government would not attempt to reform the Army so long as the army swore to protect the government. On the one hand, this agreement symbolized the acceptance of the new government by the military, soothing concerns among the middle classes; on the other hand, it was considered a betrayal of worker interests by the left wing, and it also established the Army as an independent and conservative group in Weimar who would wield a large amount of influence over the fate of the republic. It marked one of several steps that caused the permanent split of the worker class's political representation into the SPD and communists.
The split became final after Ebert called upon the OHL for troops to put down another Berlin soldier mutiny on November 23, 1918, in which the revolting soldiers had captured the city commandant and closed off the Reichskanzlei in which the Council of People's Deputies resided. The put-down was brutal with several dead and injured. This caused the left wing to call the split with the MSPD, which, in their view, had pacted with the counter-revolutionary military to suppress the revolution. The USPD thus left the Council of People's Deputies after only seven weeks. The split deepened when, in December, the Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands (KPD) was formed out of a number of left-wing groups, including the left wing of the USPD and the Spartakus group.
In January, more bloody attempts at establishing a proletarian dictatorship by workers in the streets of Berlin were put down by paramilitary Freikorps units consisting of volunteer soldiers, culminating in the beating deaths of Luxemburg and Liebknecht on January 15. With the affirmation of Ebert, the murderers were tried not before a civil court, but a military court, leading to very lenient sentences, which did not exactly lead to more acceptance for Ebert on the left wing either.
The National Assembly elections took place January 19, 1919. In this time, the new left-wing parties, including the USPD and KPD, were barely able to get themselves organized, leading to a solid majority of seats for the moderate forces. To avoid the ongoing fights in Berlin, the National Assembly convened in the city of Weimar, giving the future Republic its unofficial name. The Weimar Constitution created a republic under a semi-presidential system with the Reichstag elected by proportional representation.
During the debates in Weimar, fights continued. A Soviet republic would be declared in Munich only to be put down by Freikorps and regular army units, and sporadic fighting would continue to flare up around the country.
There were also fighting in the eastern provinces of Germany, that were loyal to the emperor, but didn't want to be a part of the republic: Great Poland Uprising in Provinz Posen and 3 Silesian Uprisings in Upper Silesia.
Meanwhile, the German peace delegation in France would sign the Treaty of Versailles, accepting heavy reductions of the German military, heavy reparations payments, and the infamous "war guilt clause." Adolf Hitler would later blame the republic and its democracy for this treaty.
The Republic's first President, Friedrich Ebert of the MSPD, signed the new German constitution into law on August 11, 1919.
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