Weimar Government 1918-23The Years of Crisis

Weimar Germany ‘Catchphrase’

RULES

•Hands up•Do not shout out•Say what you see!

Say what you see!

Say what you see!

PER

Say what you see!

Say what you see!

Say what you see!

Say what you see!

Say what you see!

Say what you see!

Say what you see!

?

Say what you see!

Say what you see!

Germany’s leader during WW1 Kaiser, Wilhelm II

• Before 1918

Germany had been

ruled by the Kaiser.

• He controlled

spending and major

decisions.

• The German

parliament (called the

Reichstag), had to

do what he told them.

Bleak…

Bye Bye… A photo of Kaiser Wilhelm and his family on their way to exile in Holland. He never returned to Germany.

Enter Germany’s new leader Friedrich Ebert…

• Ebert, was a German politician

in the Reichstag (German

parliament).

• After the Kaiser fled, Ebert took

control of the country. (There

would be no more Kaisers)

• Ebert took the advice of

Germany’s top war leader,

General Hindenburg on what to

do about the war:

“We must make up our

minds to abandon this war as

hopeless. Every day brings the

enemy closer to his goal, and

makes him less likely to

conclude a reasonable peace

with us.”

Psychological effects…• Before the Great War, Germans had been proud and ambitious for

their country. They were prepared to work hard for its success.

• At the Armistice on 11th November 1918 many Germans began to look around for someone to blame for their defeat.

• Germany after 1918 became famous for its squabbling and conflict.

• One group of Germans became convinced that Germany had lost the war because they had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by the politicians back at home in the Reichstag.

• From his hospital bed Adolf Hitler (temporarily blinded by gas) heard about and believed strongly in the ‘stab in the back’ myth about why Germany had lost the Great War.

• Hitler was convinced that politicians, socialists and communists had betrayed Germany on the brink of Germany’s victory in the war.

“The German army was stabbed in the

back. No blame is to be attached to the

army…it is perfectly clear on whom the

blame rests.” General Hindenburg

Friedrich Ebert, the leader of the

Social Democrats (SPD)

became the first President of the

Weimar Republic.

The government got this

nickname because it established

itself in the small town of Weimar.

They had moved here due to

Communist unrest in the capital,

Berlin.

Signing the Armistice in November 1918 gave the new

republic some breathing space. The country’s first major

election was held in January 1919.

What were the results of the Armistice?

The signing of the Treaty of Versailles

Territory – the terms on paper

Other terms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YJfOZkriyk

‘Make Germany Pay’ (1-9 mins)

Annotate the sources – what do they tell us about German attitudes toward the Treaty of Versailles?

When we have paid 100 hundred billion marks then I can give you something to eat. German magazine, 1919

The Constitution of the Weimar Republic

The President

The Chancellor

The Parliament (Reichstag)

The German People

Elect

Elect

Chooses

Chooses

Article 48

In an

emergency the

President can rule

on their own.

Proportional Representation (PR)

- Means 5% of votes = 5% of seats. This lead to coalitions of parties being formed to rule the German Republic.

Article 48 = ‘Emergency Decree’The president could suspend the Reichstag and take control of Germany in times of national crisis (used 136 times by Ebert up to 1925)

Hinge task in books:

• I think the Weimar constitution was good because it....

• I think the Weimar constitution will have problems because....

Threats from the left-wing

Left-wing opponents of the Weimar

Republic wanted the end of the Weimar

Republic and a workers state to replace it.

They wanted to make Germany equal and

in alliance with Communist Russia.

Spartacists, 1919 Rosa Luxemburg and Karl

Liebnecht

Spartacists defending the post

office, 1919

The Freikorps save the day for the Weimar Republic in 1919.

https://www.youtube

.com/watch?v=Ob8

B5YNG2VE – 1919

Spartacists

Now threats from the right-wing

Right-wing opponents of the Weimar

Republic wanted the return of the Kaiser or

a more autocratic style of leader.

They wanted to make Germany strong

again and have lots of territory and

powerful industries.

The Kapp Putsch, 1920Wolfgang Kapp led 5,000 Freikorps into

Berlin to seize control of Germany from

the Weimar Republic.

President Ebert asked the small Germany

army to help him stop the Freikorps.

The German army refused to help. They

were angry about what the Versailles

treaty had done to the army and refused

to fire on the Freikorps as they were ex-

soldiers.

Any suggestions on what President

Ebert could do to save the Weimar

Republic?

https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=O8mvHJNY6h0

STRIKE!

Task

Do a SWOT analysis of the

Weimar Republic 1919-

1922:

Strengths;

Weaknesses,

Opportunities;

Threats.

Checklist:

• Spartacists

• Kapp Putsch

• Treaty of Versailles

• Weimar political system

Reparations payments

At the Treaty of Versailles, Weimar had to accept they were to pay

reparations (compensation) for starting the war.

£6.6 Billion was the final bill for the war agreed by France and Britain.

Germany paid the first instalment of £50 million in 1921.

In 1922, nothing was paid to the allies.

What will the French reaction be?

France had to repay her war debts to America, so needed the money

from Germany. The French army marched into the Rhineland and took

over the Ruhr region coal mines and factories in January 1923.

German reaction to this?

The French occupation of the Ruhr

French troops march in to

occupy the Ruhr, January

1923.

Over 100 Germans were shot

in 1923 by the French for not

doing as they were told.

150,000 Germans were made

homeless by the French

occupation.

How might these events

affect German views of the

Weimar government?

Crisis in the Ruhr, 1923

Due to the Versailles Treaty the Weimar

Republic had no army to defend itself

against the French invasion.

It therefore told all Germans in the Ruhr to

begin Passive Resistance (refuse to

work).

The Weimar Republic promised to

continue to pay their wages despite the

workers being on strike.

Can you think what the consequences

of this policy might be for Germany

and for the Weimar government?

What was hyperinflation?

1 Billion Mark note

30th September, 1923

Learning objective: To be able

to explain what hyperinflation

was and why it affected

Germany so badly in 1923.

What has happened in the German economy and why?

100 Billion Mark note

23rd October 1923

10 million mark note,

9 September 1923

25 mark note

1921

500 mark note

1922

10,000 mark

note

February, 1923

1 Billion Mark note

30th September, 1923