1. THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC

2. Revision: The End of the First World War
Consider picture 138.
What problems was Germany facing in 1918?
How many of these issues were directly the result of World War I?
Revolt of sailors at Kiel. Largely socialist uprising.
9 November Abdication of the Kaiser.
Friedrich Ebert new leader of the Republic.
Signed treaty with the Allies.
A new constitution drawn up: “The Weimar Constitution”.
Free elections held in January 1919.

3. The Weimar Constitution
Ebert was duly elected the first president of the so-called ‘Weimar Republic’
See page 139: Factfile and Source 3
In what ways was the Weimar Republic ‘democratic’?

4. Threats to the New Constitution
The Spartacists
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
The Freikorps
The Communist Revolution

5. Pressure from the Right
The Kapp Putsch (p. 141)
5000 Freikorps marched on Berlin, March 1920
Army refused to fight the Freikorps
General strike by Berlin workers
Political Assassinations
E.g. assassination of Kurt Eisner, in Bavaria, 1919
E.g. assassination of foreign minister, Walther Rathenau, 1922
Growth of Nationalist parties
The German Workers Party a.k.a. the National Socialist German Worker’s Party or Nazis

6. The Republic in Trouble
The Treaty of Versailles

7. The Treaty of Versailles (pp. 91) 28 June 1919
Germany lost:
10% of its land in Europe:
Alsace-Lorraine; Saarland; North Schleswig; West Prussia and Posen; Upper Silesia; Estonia; Latvia; Lithuania
Its overseas colonies
Africa: Togoland; Cameroon; German South West Africa [Namibia]; German East Africa;
Asia: New Guinea; Samoa; Marshall, Mariana, Caroline Islands
12.5 %of its population
16% of its coalfields, c. 50% of its iron and steel

8. The Treaty of Versailles (pp. 91) 28 June 1919
Other stipulations:
Had to accept blame for starting the war
Army reduced to 100, 000 men
No conscription
No air force
Could only have 6 battleships
Rhineland de-militarised
Reparations 6600 million pounds
The League of Nations

9. The Republic in Trouble
The Treaty of Versailles
The Invasion of the Ruhr Valley
Jan Belgian and French troops invade
Germans workers went on strike
French retaliation
Hyperinflation
Without goods, government simply printed money
And the problem is/was ….?!

10. The Stresemann Years
Gustav Stresemann

11. Outline Stresemann was Chancellor in 1923
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
His role contributed to survival of the Weimar Republic ….
In fact this was due to several factors. What were they? See page 145.

12. The Dawes Plan (1924) He signed Germany up to the Dawes Plan in 1924
Charles G. Dawes was the US Vice-President
Germany’s reparations paid over a longer period
America lent money to German industry and also to the Government to pay reparations
German currency reorganised (Rentenmark)

13. Foreign Policy Stresemann showed real skill in foreign policy – 1925
Locarno Treaties – 1925
1926 – Germany joined the League of Nations
Young plan
After a number of years in the wilderness Germany was accepted back into the international community

14. Locarno Treaties
Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Poland met at Locarno in Switzerland.
Signed a number of treaties to settle disputes between themselves
France, Belgium and Germany agreed to accept borders as drawn up by Treaty of Versailles
Rhineland stayed demilitarised
France would protect Poland and Czechoslovakia if attacked by Germany
Germany would not use force to settle disputes with neighbours

15. League of Nations
The League of Nations was the fore runner of the United Nations
Its aims were to:
prevent aggression by any nation
Encourage co-operation between nations
Work towards international disarmament
Improve the living and working conditions of all people
The core was collective security – members of the League could prevent war by acting together .

16. Other features of the Stresemann Years
POSITIVES:
Growth in Economy
Stabilisation of politics
Golden age of German cinema
Night life, cabaret
Removal of censorship
NEGATIVES:
Unemployment and poverty still high
Middle classes and small farmers disillusioned
Growth of immigration/erosion of traditional values
Growing prosperity based on USA loans (subject to recall)
Growth of extreme left and right parties

17. Anything else?
Stresemann wasn’t popular with either the extreme nationalists like Hitler and the Nazis, or with the Communists
Hitler disliked the League because it supported the Treaty of Versailles
BUT both the Nazis and the Communists made little progress in these years because people were much better off and their EXTREME ideas did not appeal to people