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Aug 2, 2016 · The Weimar Republic, the post–World War I German government named for the German city where it was formed, lasted more than 14 years, but democracy never found firm footing.
Aug 2, 2016 · What does it mean to create a government responsible to the people? What measures did the Weimar Constitution take to make the new government accountable to the German people? What do you think the preamble means when it says that the German people are united in their “racial elements”?
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History. The Threat of the Political Left & Right to the Weimar Republic, 1919-23 - Summary. After the abdication of the Kaiser in November 1918, people began to consider different political ideologies. Hundreds of political groups emerged across Germany. The groups held different opinions about how to run the new German state.
The Weimar Republic was the new system of democratic government established in Germany following the collapse of the Second Reich . The first elections for the new Republic were held on the 19 January 1919. They used a voting system called Proportional Representation .
- Overview
- The Treaty of Versailles
The government’s instructions to the German peace delegation that went to Versailles, France, at the end of April 1919 show how wide was the gap between German and Allied opinion. In German eyes, the break with the past was complete, and the Wilsonian program of self-determination and equality of rights as set out in the Fourteen Points was binding on both sides. The fact that the Allied powers refused to permit negotiations and the character of the terms presented on May 7 provoked bitter indignation throughout all classes in Germany.
Germany was called on to cede Alsace-Lorraine to France; the industrial area of Upper Silesia, most of Posen (Poznań), and so-called West Prussia to Poland; North Schleswig to Denmark; and three small frontier districts to Belgium. Danzig (Gdańsk) was to become a free city, independent of Germany; East Prussia was separated from the rest of the Reich by Polish Pomorze; and Memel was placed under French administration before eventually being ceded to Lithuania. In Europe alone (without counting the German colonies, all of which were ceded to the Allies), Germany lost about 27,188 square miles (over 70,000 square km) of territory with a total population of over 7,000,000. The union of Austria with the Reich, which was advocated in both countries, would have compensated for these losses but was expressly forbidden by the treaty.
The left bank of the Rhine was to be occupied by Allied troops for 5 to 15 years to ensure the execution of the treaty’s terms. The left bank, and the right bank to a depth of 31 miles (50 km), were to be permanently demilitarized. Germany was to lose the rich coal fields of the Saar for 15 years, at the end of which a plebiscite was to be held. Until then the Saar was to be governed by the League of Nations and its coal mines administered by France.
A decision on reparations was deferred until 1921, but the Germans were to make a provisional payment of 20 billion marks in gold as well as deliveries in kind. Prewar commercial agreements with foreign countries were canceled. German foreign financial holdings were confiscated, and the German merchant marine was reduced to less than one-tenth of its prewar size. At the same time, the Allies were to enjoy most-favoured-nation rights in the German market for five years.
The German army was to be limited to 100,000 officers and men, and conscription was forbidden. The German general staff was to be dissolved. Great quantities of war matériel were to be handed over, and the future manufacture of munitions was rigidly curtailed. German naval forces were to be reduced to a similar scale, while the possession of military aircraft was forbidden. Inter-Allied control commissions were set up with wide rights of supervision to make sure that the disarmament clauses were carried out. A list of those accused of violating the laws and customs of war was to be prepared, and those named were to be handed over to the Allies for trial. Finally, as justification for their claims to reparations, the Allies inserted the famous war-guilt clause, article 231:
The Allied governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.
The government’s instructions to the German peace delegation that went to Versailles, France, at the end of April 1919 show how wide was the gap between German and Allied opinion. In German eyes, the break with the past was complete, and the Wilsonian program of self-determination and equality of rights as set out in the Fourteen Points was binding on both sides. The fact that the Allied powers refused to permit negotiations and the character of the terms presented on May 7 provoked bitter indignation throughout all classes in Germany.
Germany was called on to cede Alsace-Lorraine to France; the industrial area of Upper Silesia, most of Posen (Poznań), and so-called West Prussia to Poland; North Schleswig to Denmark; and three small frontier districts to Belgium. Danzig (Gdańsk) was to become a free city, independent of Germany; East Prussia was separated from the rest of the Reich by Polish Pomorze; and Memel was placed under French administration before eventually being ceded to Lithuania. In Europe alone (without counting the German colonies, all of which were ceded to the Allies), Germany lost about 27,188 square miles (over 70,000 square km) of territory with a total population of over 7,000,000. The union of Austria with the Reich, which was advocated in both countries, would have compensated for these losses but was expressly forbidden by the treaty.
The left bank of the Rhine was to be occupied by Allied troops for 5 to 15 years to ensure the execution of the treaty’s terms. The left bank, and the right bank to a depth of 31 miles (50 km), were to be permanently demilitarized. Germany was to lose the rich coal fields of the Saar for 15 years, at the end of which a plebiscite was to be held. Until then the Saar was to be governed by the League of Nations and its coal mines administered by France.
A decision on reparations was deferred until 1921, but the Germans were to make a provisional payment of 20 billion marks in gold as well as deliveries in kind. Prewar commercial agreements with foreign countries were canceled. German foreign financial holdings were confiscated, and the German merchant marine was reduced to less than one-tenth of its prewar size. At the same time, the Allies were to enjoy most-favoured-nation rights in the German market for five years.
The German army was to be limited to 100,000 officers and men, and conscription was forbidden. The German general staff was to be dissolved. Great quantities of war matériel were to be handed over, and the future manufacture of munitions was rigidly curtailed. German naval forces were to be reduced to a similar scale, while the possession of military aircraft was forbidden. Inter-Allied control commissions were set up with wide rights of supervision to make sure that the disarmament clauses were carried out. A list of those accused of violating the laws and customs of war was to be prepared, and those named were to be handed over to the Allies for trial. Finally, as justification for their claims to reparations, the Allies inserted the famous war-guilt clause, article 231:
The Allied governments affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.
Jul 5, 2019 · Faced with defeat in the First World War, the military leaders of Imperial Germany convinced themselves that a new civilian government would do two things: take the blame for the loss, and persuade the soon to be winners of the war to demand only a moderate punishment.
Expertise. History. The First World War and the Creation of Weimar Germany - Timeline & Summary. In 1918, Germany was under a dictatorship of the Kaiser - the German word for ‘King’. Kaiser Wilhelm II ruled Germany from 1888 and pushed the country to increase its economic and military power.
