The Wiemar Republic 1918-29

• Germany paid HUGE reparations to the allies
• Germany  lost all its colanies
• Germany's military forces were cut
• They lost lots of land to the allies

The politicans who signed the Treaty of Versailles

100,000

• They didn't feel they were to blame for the war
• They felt they hadn't lost the war and that they were betrayed by those who signed the German defeat
• Their patriartic ego was severly bruised

The Wiemar Republic

• The chancellor seemed to have little power
• The extreme parties didn't support it as they prefered a dictatorship
• The moderate parties feared its weakness
• It was built on shaky foundations

Due to proportional representation, there was lots of parties represented in the Reichstag (28). This meant it was very hard to gain a majority, which meant that processes tended to be very slow

• The war spent all their supplies and reparations made the economy bankcrupt
• The occupation of the Ruhr limited Germany's income from industry
  
• Infaltion came as a result from the rising unemployment and general bad economic conditions.
• In an attempt to help themselves, the government printed more money. However, this then led to hyperinflation

• Everyone suffered from shortages
• People had difficulty buying the essentials as wages couldn't keep up with inflation
• Savings became completely worthless
• £1 = 20billion marks. This meant that foreign suppliers stopped trading with Germany

The German communist party

• People lost faith in the moderation of the Wiemar and the moderate parties
• The economic crisis pushed people to extreme ideologies 
• The Wiemar leaders were widely seen as responsible for signing the Treaty and therefore admiting Germany's war guilt

• Left Wing - Red Front Fighters
• Moderates - Sozi Forces

LITTLE TIP! When trying to remember these, think of the left wing being the red Front Fighters, and F, seeing as it's near the beginning of the alphabet, is towards the left

An extreme left wing rebel group, who would have achieved a communist revolution in Germany 1919, had it not been for the Freikorps helping the government in surpressing them

Armed, demobilised ex-German soldiers, who lost their military jobs due to the Treaty. They:

• Were anti-communist
• Worked with the regular Army but not officially as to not break the Treaty
• Were known to take the law into their own hands

• Hugo Haase, 1919 (Council of People's Represntitives)
• Matthias Erzberger, 1921 (Moderate politician who signed the Surrender of Germany)
• Wather Rathenau, 1922 (Wiemar Foreign Minister)

Extreme right wing rebels marched on Berlin and controlled the city for a while, with the hope of reinstating the Kaiser. 

They were stopped eventually but this showed the Wiemar's weakness

1923

Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP (Nazi Party)

• 1923 was when the French occupied the Ruhr - because Germany wasn't paying it's reperations - which angered civilians and furthered political unrest
• It was also the year of hyperinflation and wide spread econmoic suffering which provoked further resentment of the Wiemar

Hitler crashed a meeting that was being held in Bavaria with 3000 officials, with a gun adn 600 SA troops, declaring he was taking over Bavaria, demanding the support of all the officials.

However, by the next morning, on marching to the centre of Munich, Hitler found he'd been abandoned by the officials and faced the police and German armed forces. 

He fled the scene and was later found and arressted. 

• Hitler was trialed, found guilty and imprisoned for 5 years
• The Nazi party was banned

However, despite this short term failure; Hitler used the trial to gain publicity for his political views and ideology

18

14 Nazi supporters

4 Policemen

1924

• Introduction of the Rentenmark
• The Dawes Plan, 1924
• The Locarno Pact, 1925
• The Young Plan, 1929

• Annual German reperation payments were reduced to a more affordable level
• US banks gave loans to German industry, boosting their economy

• Annual German reperation payments were reduced to a more affordable level
• US banks gave loans to German industry, boosting their economy

• Germany agreed to keep the 1919 borders with France and Belgium

In Return:

• The last Allied troops left the Rhineland
• France promised peace with Germany
• The Powers agreed to considering to all German membership of the League of Nations

A pact promising all countries that signed it wouldn't use war to achieve foreign policy aims

September 1926

• He reduced reperations, improved currency and restored economy
• Imporved German international relations
• Regained support of moderate parties

• Reduced annual amount government had to pay
• This made it possible to lower taxes
• This then released spending power and boosted the German economy

3rd Ocotber 1929

The Wall Street Crash

which lead to the Global Economic Depression