1919-7-31 Weimar Republic

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On 11 August 1919 the Weimar Republic was officially established when Friedrich Ebert signed the new constitution into law.

The Weimar Republic was born amid the civil strife and open revolt that had engulfed cities across Germany in the closing weeks of the First World War. The November Revolution actually began at the end of October 1918, but spread from the port of Kiel to eventually reach as far as the southern Bavarian city of Munich by 7 November.

The German Republic was declared on 9 November, shortly after the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II was announced. Power was swiftly transferred to Friedrich Ebert who reluctantly accepted the role of Reichspräsident and formed a coalition government known as the Council of the People's Deputies.

It was therefore Ebert’s government that signed the Armistice of Compiègne on 11 November, and which authorised the brutal suppression of the Spartacist Uprising in January 1919. Just four days after the deaths of Spartacist leaders Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht elections for the National Assembly took place, which convened in Weimar in order to avoid the unrest in Berlin.

Although the state of Germany from the inauguration of the new constitution until Hitler became Führer is generally referred to as the Weimar Republic, its official name continued to be Deutsches Reich or ‘German Empire’ which had first been adopted in 1871.

It took the best of part of seven months for the delegates of the National Assembly to agree on the terms of the new constitution, which Ebert signed into law whilst on holiday in Schwarzburg.

Setting up the Weimar Republic:
- The 9 months from November 1918 - July 1919 were uneasy for the new Republic whilst a new government was being put in place
- Ebert took steps to increase people’s confidence in the new republic
- Ebert kept civil servants who had served under the Kaiser to stay in office
- They were instructed to work alongside soldiers and workers’ councils where local people had set these up
- This kept Germany running - e.g. collecting taxes and keeping public services, such as schools running
- Ebert reassured the army would not be reformed & officers kept their ranks
- This gained him support of the German army
- Ebert reassured leaders of industry that no land or factories would be seized by the new Republic
- Moreover, there was to be no nationalisation of private industries
- This helped businesses and the economy continue to operate
- Ebert won the support of the trade unions - he told their leader (Carl Legien) the new Republic would try to achieve an 8hr working day
- Some extreme political parties were still dissatisfied - demonstrations & riots remained common in major cities
- Germany was still on the edge of anarchy
- Ebert’s fragile control lasted long enough to agree a new constitution

The National Assembly:
- 19th Jan 1919, elections for a new National assembly took place
- 82% of the electorate voted and moderate parties won most of the seats (SPD 40% and the Centre Party won 20%)
- Moderate parties, combined, had around 80% of the seats in the Assembly
- Feb 1919, the National Assembly met for the first time
- The large amounts of violence & unrest in Berlin meant the assembly had to meet in the peaceful town of Weimar (250 km away)
- 31 Jul 1919, the National Assembly agreed a new constitution by 262 votes to 75
- This constitution became known as the Weimar republic

Weimar Germany overview - BBC

The Weimar Republic (Weimarer Republik (listen)) was the German state from 1918 to 1933, as it existed as a federal constitutional republic. The state was officially the German Reich (Deutsches Reich), and was also referred to as the German Republic (Deutsche Republik). The term "Weimar Republic" refers to the city of Weimar, where the republic's constituent assembly first took place. In English the country was usually simply called "Germany"; the term "Weimar Republic" did not become common in English until the 1930s.

After four years of hostilities in WW1 from 1914 to 1918 with heavy losses, Germany was exhausted and sued for peace under desperate circumstances. Awareness of imminent defeat sparked revolution, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, German surrender, and proclamation of the Weimar republic on 9 November 1918.

From 1918 to 1923, the Weimar Republic faced numerous problems, including hyperinflation, political extremism (with contending paramilitaries) as well as contentious relationships with the victors of the WW1. From 1924 to 1929, the Republic enjoyed relative stability and prosperity. Those years are sometimes called the Golden Twenties. The [US generated] world-wide economic crisis beginning in October 1929 hit Germany particularly hard. High unemployment led to the collapse of the coalition government and from March 1930 various chancellors ruled through emergency powers granted by the President. This period ended with Adolf Hitler's appointment as chancellor on 30 January 1933.

Resentment in Germany towards the Treaty of Versailles was strong, especially on the political right where there was great anger towards those who had signed and submitted to the treaty. The Weimar Republic fulfilled most of the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles, although it never completely met its disarmament requirements and eventually paid only a small portion of the war reparations (by twice restructuring its debt through the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan).

Under the Locarno Treaties, signed in 1925, Germany moved toward normalising relations with its neighbors. Germany recognised the western borders that had been established through the Versailles Treaty, but its eastern borders remained subject to possible revisions. In 1926, Germany joined the League of Nations.

From 1930 onwards, President Paul von Hindenburg used emergency powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning, Franz von Papen and General Kurt von Schleicher. The Great Depression, exacerbated by Brüning's policy of deflation, led to a surge in unemployment. On 30 January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor at the head of a coalition government. Hitler's Nazi Party held two out of ten cabinet seats. Von Papen as Vice Chancellor was intended to be the "éminence grise" who would keep Hitler under control, using his close personal connection to Hindenburg. These intentions badly underestimated Hitler's political abilities.

By the end of March, the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933 had used the perceived state of emergency to grant Hitler as Chancellor broad power to act outside parliamentary control, which he used to thwart constitutional governance and civil liberties. Hitler's seizure of power (Machtergreifung) thus ended the republic. Democracy collapsed, and the creation of a single-party state began the dictatorship of the Nazi era.