Cambridge Igcse History

Weimar Republic: Was the Weimar Republic doomed from the start?

Hitler's Rise to Power: Why was Hitler able to dominate Germany by 1934?

The Nazi Regime: How effectively did the Nazi control Germany, 1933-1945?

Revolution of 1918

- The Kiel mutiny inspired revolutionary councils to appear in German cities, leading to the abdication of the Kaiser

- In November 1918 both SPD and Spartacists proclaimed a new national government

- The Spartacists formed a communist party then launched an attempt to take over Berlin and the Weimar government

Establishment of the Republic

A republic was proclaimed with the SPD leader Friedrich Ebert as Chancellor (Prime Minister). The first act of the new government was to sign the armistice with the Allies. Many including Adolf Hitler saw this as an act of treason and the men who agreed to surrender became known as the “November Criminals.”

The Spartacists, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, were a group of socialists who gained support in the first few months after the end of WWI.

In January 1919, the Communists rose up in revolt in Berlin. Ebert left the Freikorps to bring back peace and stability. No mercy was shown, the leaders of the Spartacists/Communists were murdered after their arrest.The Freikorps was better organised and armed with a military background. The Spartacists were civilians.

Group of ex-soldiers - Share strong anti-communist views - Taste for violence - Volunteer force - Formed by Ebert the day before the Spartacists Rising - Armed and well equipped - Around 4'000 members in January 1919

In March 1920 a large Freikorps brigade seized Berlin and a public servant, Kapp, claimed the chancellorship. The attempted putsch failed within days, after the Reichswehr ignored its calls and a general strike paralysed Berlin.

Article 48 allowed the President to rule by decree in times of emergency. This was Article was often used during the period of hyperinflation.

Germany missed a reparation payment - The French invade the Ruhr (Industrial hub) - Germans went on strike and refused to cooperate with the occupiers - This put the economy in ruins - The government tried to combat this by printing paper money - The lack of goods made prices sky rocket - Hyperinflation made the currency worthless

In January 1923, France and Belgium invaded the Ruhr, the industrial hub of Germany. They had the intention of taking all the resources they were owed from the unpaid reparations. The German government ordered the workers to "passively resist" the French and to go on strike. Due to this strike, goods became very scarce therefore very expensive. To solve the issue and pay the striking workers, the government decided to print more money.

Printing money was the worst thing possible, it said to the world that Germany could not provide for their day-to-day needs. All foreign investors pulled out. Prices started to rise to match inflation, but this very quickly got out of control. Prices were going up quicker than people could spend their money. In 1922, a loaf of bread cost 163 marks. By September 1923, this figure had reached 1,500,000 marks and at the peak of hyperinflation, November 1923, a loaf of bread cost 200,000,000,000 marks. People were paid by the hour and rushed to pass money to loved ones so that it could be spent before its value meant it was worthless. People had to shop with wheelbarrows full of money. Bartering became common, exchanging something for something else but not accepting money for it.

Germany needed a new currency. In September 1923, Germany's new chancellor, Gustav Stresemann, called off passive resistance and ordered the workers back to work. The Mark was replaced with the temporary Rentenmark which was backed with American gold.

In 1924, the Dawes Plan was announced. This plan, created by Charles Dawes, an American, set realistic targets for German reparation payments. This changed their payment schedule so they only had to pay £50 million a year as opposed to the original £2 billion a year. The American government also loaned Germany $200 million.

"Golden Age" 1923-1929 - Locarno Treaties signed in 1925 - Admitted to the League of Nations in 1926 - Young Plan in 1929 which reduced reparations from £6.6 billion to £2 billion

In 1920, the party renamed itself the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazis), and announced its Twenty-Five Point Programme. At first, the Nazis were both nationalist (they believed in Germany’s greatness) and socialist (they believed the state should benefit everybody equally).

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On 9 November 1923, Hitler, Ludendorff and 3000 SA men marched on Munich's army headquarters. On the way they met a police barricade which opened fire, killing sixteen Nazis. Hitler was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment. Ludendorff was found not guilty. At the trial Hitler gained enormous publicity with Hitler's every word was reported in the newspapers. Hitler turned into a bit of a celebrity which no doubt helped him into power in 1932.

Hitler decided that he would never come to power by revolution; he realised that he would have to use constitutional means, so he organised: the Hitler Youth, Propaganda campaigns, mergers with other right-wing parties, local branches of the party, which tried to get Nazis elected to the Reichstag, the SS as his personal bodyguard, which was set up in 1925. It was this strategy of gaining power legitimately that eventually brought him to power.