The coat of arms incorporated the German Imperial Eagle derived from the coat of arms under the Paulskirche Constitution of 1849. ==Armed forces== After the dissolution of the army of the former German Empire, known as the Deutsches Heer (simply "German Army") or the Reichsheer ("Army of the Realm") in 1918; Germany's military forces consisted of irregular paramilitaries, namely the various right-wing Freikorps ("Free Corps") groups composed of veterans from the war.
Of these losses, a large proportion consisted of provinces that were originally Polish, and Alsace-Lorraine, seized by Germany in 1870, where Germans constituted only part or a minority of local populations despite nationalist outrage at the fragmentation of Germany. =====Allied Rhineland occupation===== The occupation of the Rhineland took place following the Armistice with Germany of 11 November 1918.
A decree on 3 February 1919 removed the right of employers to acquire exemption for domestic servants and agricultural workers. With the Verordnung of 3 February 1919, the Ebert government reintroduced the original structure of the health insurance boards according to an 1883 law, with one-third employers and two-thirds members (i.e.
22 kg per person per year was still less than half of the 52 kg statistic in 1913, before the onset of the war.
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 World War I from 1914 to 1918 with heavy losses, Germany was exhausted and sued for peace under desperate circumstances.
Examples include the nationwide pig slaughter, Schweinemord, in 1915.
In eastern provinces, forces loyal to Germany's fallen Monarchy fought the republic, while militias of Polish nationalists fought for independence: Great Poland Uprising in Provinz Posen and three Silesian uprisings in Upper Silesia. Germany lost the war because the country ran out of allies and its economic resources were running out; support among the population began to crumble in 1916 and by mid-1918 there was support for the war only among the die-hard monarchists and conservatives.
There, sailors, soldiers, and workers began electing Workers' and Soldiers' Councils (Arbeiter und Soldatenräte) modelled after the Soviets of the Russian Revolution of 1917.
The proclamation was issued by Karl Liebknecht, co-leader (with Rosa Luxemburg) of the communist Spartakusbund (Spartacus League), a group of a few hundred supporters of the Russian revolution that had allied itself with the USPD in 1917.
The Weimar Republic (Weimarer Republik ) was the German state from 1918 to 1933, as it existed as a federal constitutional republic.
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 World War I 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 First World War.
The coat of arms incorporated the German Imperial Eagle derived from the coat of arms under the Paulskirche Constitution of 1849. ==Armed forces== After the dissolution of the army of the former German Empire, known as the Deutsches Heer (simply "German Army") or the Reichsheer ("Army of the Realm") in 1918; Germany's military forces consisted of irregular paramilitaries, namely the various right-wing Freikorps ("Free Corps") groups composed of veterans from the war.
Awareness of impending military defeat sparked the German Revolution, proclamation of a republic on 9 November 1918, the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and German surrender, marking the end of Imperial Germany and the beginning of the Weimar Republic. ===November Revolution (1918–1919)=== In October 1918, the constitution of the German Empire was reformed to give more powers to the elected parliament.
Although the new government was confirmed by the Berlin worker and soldier council, it was opposed by the Spartacus League. On 11 November 1918, an armistice was signed at Compiègne by German representatives.
It amounted to German capitulation, without any concessions by the Allies; the naval blockade would continue until complete peace terms were agreed. From November 1918 to January 1919, Germany was governed by the "Council of the People's Deputies", under the leadership of Ebert and Haase.
Ebert called for a "National Congress of Councils" (Reichsrätekongress), which took place from 16 to 20 December 1918, and in which the MSPD had the majority.
It was made harder for estates to sack workers and prevent them from leaving when they wanted to; under the Provisional Act for Agricultural Labour of 23 November 1918 the normal period of notice for management, and for most resident labourers, was set at six weeks.
In addition, a supplementary directive of December 1918 specified that female (and child) workers were entitled to a fifteen-minute break if they worked between four and six hours, thirty minutes for workdays lasting six to eight hours, and one hour for longer days.
A decree on 23 December 1918 established committees (composed of workers' representatives "in their relation to the employer") to safeguard the rights of workers.
By late summer 1918 the German reserves were exhausted while fresh American troops arrived in France at the rate of 10,000 a day.
Of these losses, a large proportion consisted of provinces that were originally Polish, and Alsace-Lorraine, seized by Germany in 1870, where Germans constituted only part or a minority of local populations despite nationalist outrage at the fragmentation of Germany. =====Allied Rhineland occupation===== The occupation of the Rhineland took place following the Armistice with Germany of 11 November 1918.
It amounted to German capitulation, without any concessions by the Allies; the naval blockade would continue until complete peace terms were agreed. From November 1918 to January 1919, Germany was governed by the "Council of the People's Deputies", under the leadership of Ebert and Haase.
A decree on 3 February 1919 removed the right of employers to acquire exemption for domestic servants and agricultural workers. With the Verordnung of 3 February 1919, the Ebert government reintroduced the original structure of the health insurance boards according to an 1883 law, with one-third employers and two-thirds members (i.e.
From 28 June 1919 health insurance committees became elected by workers themselves.
The Provisional Order of January 1919 concerning agricultural labour conditions fixed 2,900 hours as a maximum per year, distributed as eight, ten, and eleven hours per day in four-monthly periods.
A code of January 1919 bestowed upon land-labourers the same legal rights that industrial workers enjoyed, while a bill ratified that same year obliged the States to set up agricultural settlement associations which, as noted by Volker Berghahn, "were endowed with the priority right of purchase of farms beyond a specified size".
With the affirmation of Ebert, those responsible were not tried before a court martial, leading to lenient sentences, which made Ebert unpopular among radical leftists. The National Assembly elections took place on 19 January 1919.
Many German civilians expected life to return to prewar normality following the removal of the naval blockade in June 1919.
Meanwhile, the currency depreciated, and would continue to depreciate following the French invasion of the Ruhr. The treaty was signed 28 June 1919 and is easily divided into four categories: territorial issues, disarmament demands, reparations, and assignment of guilt.
The Republic's first Reichspräsident ("Reich President"), Friedrich Ebert of the SPD, signed the new German constitution into law on 11 August 1919. The new post-World War Germany, stripped of all colonies, became 13% smaller in its European territory than its imperial predecessor.
The highly publicised rhetoric of 1919 about paying for all the damages and all the veterans' benefits was irrelevant for the total, but it did determine how the recipients spent their share.
Stinnes' empire collapsed when the government-sponsored inflation was stopped in November 1923. In 1919, one loaf of bread cost 1 mark; by 1923, the same loaf of bread cost 100 billion marks. Since striking workers were paid benefits by the state, much additional currency was printed, fuelling a period of [The
The Freikorps units were formally disbanded in 1920 (although continued to exist in underground groups), and on 1 January 1921, a new Reichswehr (figuratively; Defence of the realm) was created. The Treaty of Versailles limited the size of the Reichswehr to 100,000 soldiers (consisting of seven infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions), 10 armoured cars and a navy (the Reichsmarine) restricted to 36 ships in active service.
This was the "stab-in-the-back myth" that was unceasingly propagated by the right in the 1920s and ensured that many monarchists and conservatives would refuse to support the government of what they called the "November criminals". ===Years of crisis (1919–1923)=== ====Burden from the First World War==== In the four years following the First World War, the situation for German civilians remained dire.
The occupying armies consisted of American, Belgian, British and French forces. In 1920, under massive French pressure, the Saar was separated from the Rhine Province and administered by the League of Nations until a plebiscite in 1935, when the region was returned to the Deutsches Reich.
At the same time, in 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium (see German-Speaking Community of Belgium).
The actual total payout from 1920 to 1931 (when payments were suspended indefinitely) was 20 billion German gold marks, worth about US$5 billion or £1 billion British pounds.
The Freikorps units were formally disbanded in 1920 (although continued to exist in underground groups), and on 1 January 1921, a new Reichswehr (figuratively; Defence of the realm) was created. The Treaty of Versailles limited the size of the Reichswehr to 100,000 soldiers (consisting of seven infantry divisions and three cavalry divisions), 10 armoured cars and a navy (the Reichsmarine) restricted to 36 ships in active service.
Germany was forced under Article 235 to pay 20 billion gold marks, about 4.5 billion dollars by 1921.
Shortly after, France completely occupied the Rhineland, strictly controlling all important industrial areas. =====Reparations===== The actual amount of reparations that Germany was obliged to pay out was not the 132 billion marks decided in the London Schedule of 1921 but rather the 50 billion marks stipulated in the A and B Bonds.
The reparations bill was fixed in 1921 on the basis of a German capacity to pay, not on the basis of Allied claims.
The rationale behind exterminating the population of swine was to decrease the use of potatoes and turnips for animal consumption, transitioning all foods toward human consumption. In 1922, now three years after the German signing of the Treaty of Versailles, meat consumption in the country had not increased since the war era.
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 First World War.
The severe food shortages improved little to none up until 1923.
By 1923, the Republic claimed it could no longer afford the reparations payments required by the Versailles Treaty, and the government defaulted on some payments.
In response, French and Belgian troops occupied the Ruhr region, Germany's most productive industrial region at the time, taking control of most mining and manufacturing companies in January 1923.
Stinnes' empire collapsed when the government-sponsored inflation was stopped in November 1923. In 1919, one loaf of bread cost 1 mark; by 1923, the same loaf of bread cost 100 billion marks. Since striking workers were paid benefits by the state, much additional currency was printed, fuelling a period of [The
From 1924 to 1929, the Republic enjoyed relative stability and prosperity.
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.
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.
From 1924 to 1929, the Republic enjoyed relative stability and prosperity.
The world-wide economic crisis beginning in October 1929 hit Germany particularly hard.
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 World War I from 1914 to 1918 with heavy losses, Germany was exhausted and sued for peace under desperate circumstances.
High unemployment led to the collapse of the coalition government and from March 1930 various chancellors ruled through emergency powers granted by the President.
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.
Only during the 1930s did the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany. According to historian Richard J.
The actual total payout from 1920 to 1931 (when payments were suspended indefinitely) was 20 billion German gold marks, worth about US$5 billion or £1 billion British pounds.
The Weimar Republic (Weimarer Republik ) was the German state from 1918 to 1933, as it existed as a federal constitutional republic.
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.
On 30 January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor at the head of a coalition government.
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.
With the ascendance of the SS, the Reichswehr took a softer line about the Nazis, as the SS presented itself as elitist, respectable, orderly, and busy reforming and dominating the police rather than the army. In 1935, two years after Adolf Hitler's rise to power, the Reichswehr was renamed the Wehrmacht {"Defense Force"}.
The occupying armies consisted of American, Belgian, British and French forces. In 1920, under massive French pressure, the Saar was separated from the Rhine Province and administered by the League of Nations until a plebiscite in 1935, when the region was returned to the Deutsches Reich.
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