Weimar Republic
- Democratic Gov’t formed after WWI (Reichstag)
- First Chancellor (ruler) is Friedrich Ebert until 1925
- Many people felt that the government’s constitution was its downfall
- People were mad that they followed Treaty of Versailles
- Royalty were kept apart from the Weimar
- Democratically elected Parliament
- Weimar Germany: Came in the 1920's in a period of great turmoil
- Reparations etc.
Spartakist Uprising
- Socialist group in Germany (Spartakist League)
- Began by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
- Work in lower classes to begin a communist uprising in Germany
- Attempted to take over Berlin (Weimar) in 1919
- Prevented uprising from happening
- Brutally put down by the Freikorps
- Turned a socialist group, Spartakists League into German Communist Party
- Luxemburg and Liebknecht murdered
Kapp Putsch
- In German, Putsch stands for Coup d’etat
- Freikorps are asked to disband
- Treaty of Versailles (100,000 army)
- Wolfgang Kapp march on Berlin in March 1920
- German workers save Weimar Republic - general strike*
*General Strike: All sectors of the city stop working and the city is shut down
Hyperinflation
- Currency is devalued - money becomes worthless
- Changed class structure (everyone was now equal)
- Caused by:
- The need to pay reparations
- Unemployment
- Refusal of workers to work in Ruhr region
- Leads to:
- French Occupation of region in 1923
- New Reichsmark
Summary
There was both a left wing and a right wing uprising in Germany (during the first two years)