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Creation of the Republic and the Constitution

3rd October 1918 - Prince Max asked Allies for an armistice

Allies discussed and German politics continued - 1918-1919 Weimar Republic created

Communist Revolution Threat:

Prince Max government made constitutional reforms

Extended vote to all men

Both ministers and army responsible to government not kaiser - although talk of revolution continued

28th October 1918 -> gov's inaugeration day navy refused to sail against the British fleet -> strikes and mutinies

Prince's reforms seen as cynical and fake whilst others focused on other unchanged problems

Sparticists wanted revolution like that in Russia

Worker's and soldiers councils set up - shared ideals of Russian soviets (others less radical) but all wanted change

Prince Max advised Kaiser to abdicate - 8th November Bavaria broke from Germany declared a republic -> final straw for Kaiser and he abdicated

Prince Max's government were then forced to resign - lasted less than a month

10th November 1918 - New Government Set up - Council of People's Representatives led by socialist groups that held power in the Reichstag (Most significant being SPD and USPD, led by Ebert and Haase respectively)

Ebert became chancellor with cabinet of SPD and USPD members

Problems with new Gov. and how overcame:

Ebert Groener Pact - army would support government as long as government opposed left wing parties in Reichstag, SPD and USPD could not agree

Stinnes Legien Pact - Set 8 hour working day, allowed independent trade unions, helped ex soldiers find work, widen health and unemployment benefit

Ebert - wanted to arrange new elections and let National Assembly make largest changes

Haase - wanted social and political reforms and nothing to do with army unless reformed

First action of Government:

11th November - Matthias Erzberger (Jewish, Socialist - stab in the back!) signed armistice

Germans told by allies could not take part in treaty discussions

Partys began to form and reform and get votes to have a say in the Reichstag

Gov. made social reforms to try and dismiss idea of left wing revolution (Stinnes Legien Pact) - Set 8 hour working day, allowed independent trade unions, helped ex soldiers find work, widen health and unemployment benefit

First elections fixed for 1919 Jan

Unrest -> USPD and SPD fought over how radical policies should be and many USPD members joined KPD

The Spartacist revolt:

KPD - party set up in December 1918

many Germans petrified of the red Plague of communism spreading from Russia

Freikorps had units specially recruited to fight in the east against possible communist invasion - extent of fear!

Kpd political meetings came under attack from the private armies of other political parties (freikorps)

Political atmosphere so violent that when the Spartacist uprising broke out in January 1919 Berlin Ebert move the government to Weimar the safety

The freikorps were asked to deal with the sparticist leaders and results brutal - Liebknicht and Luxembourg were captured beaten and murdered

Note: Many political parties in 1919 have their own private armies

Returning soldiers unemployed and bitter about the signing of the armistice refused to return military equipment - they set up private armies the biggest of which were the freikorps - the SPD had it’s own group the Sozi

Between 1919 and 1922 there were 376 political murders in Germany 356 by right wing extremists

The biggest and most significant murders were:

Rathenau (Jewish) - whose death caused concern and anti-antisemitism - killed by org. consul

Erzberger (signer of armistice) - killed by org. Consul

Haase - (leader of USPD) Shot outside Reichstag

Creation of the Constitution:

Government was still in Weimar for the 19th January election

the election was a success 82.7% of electors voted - shows public interest in politics/democracy

SPD did not get majority and hopeful and could only governed by forming Coalition

form a coalition with Z party and the German democratic party (DDP) - other parties had seats in the Reichstag and a vote but were not part of the government

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Overcoming Challenges of Constitution

28th June 1919 - German Delegation from Weimar gov. signed treaty of versailles - was a diktat

Made republic and democracy unpopular - many still believed war could have been won

Clauses hated by all - war guilt, reparations and fact was a diktat

Government had to battle own unpopularity and internal challenges from groups and weakness of constitution

Throughout 1920s-1930s political opposition shown by voting, debates and violence

End of war released numbers of trained soldiers - joined private armies

Right wingers who wanted imperial government, supported republic in lukewarm way rather than risk opposing it and it become more left wing

Challenges:

Allowed for Reichstag with too many political parties - took only 60,000 votes to gain seat - too many parties meant formation of weak coalitions and difficult for reichstag to work effectively - 29 parties throughout 1920s

Shift of parties and membership (ie USPD and SPD) confuses voters and loses them valuable votes

PR meant people voted for party rather than individual (as had been done before the war) - felt like a lot of politicians but none interested specifically in them

PR meant majority hard to form (especially with so many parties) so weak quaralling coalitions of opposing parties form eg. quarall over flag caused collapse of one government! - 1919-1923 nine different short lived coalitions - government argued before laws were even presented to the reichstag

Parties not interested in working together in coalitions

Coalitions broke down and article 48 had to be used by Ebert to rule by degree - use of emergency powers lead people to believe in state of emergency

Power of article 48 could be abused in wrong hands as granted president unlimited emergency powers and never specified an emergency

Overcoming Challenges:

1924-1929 - reichstag

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Constitution Structure:

7th of February 1919 Ebert gave speech to new assembly proclaiming victory for democracy

11th of February elected first president of Republic by 277 votes to 51

Government still meeting in Weimar as felt returning to Berlin was dangerous

Weimar Constitution finally passed by national assembly on 31st of July 1919

7th of February 1919 Ebert gave speech to new assembly proclaiming victory for democracy

11th of February elected first president of Republic by 277 votes to 51

Government still meeting in Weimar as felt returning to Berlin was dangerous

Weimar Constitution finally passed by national assembly on 31st of July 1919