AP European History Mr. Blackmon

The Weimar Republic

Treaty, Event Date Significance

Max Pax 10 /1918

Ludendorff's demand for an immediate armistice led to theformation of a new government on Oct. 3, 1918 by Prince Max ofBaden. Max' primary task is to negotiate with Woodrow Wilson foran armistice. Labelled the Pacifist Prince by the public and thearmy, he is hampered by the inconsistent attitudes of Hindenburgand Ludendorff. Prominent in Max’ government are the SocialDemocrats, led by Friedrich Ebert.

The KielMutiny

10/1918

As the war ended, officers in the High Seas fleet concocted a plan totake the fleet out on a "death ride," challenge the Royal Navy, andgo down in glory. The sailors refuse to do their duty to take theships out. By November 3, the mutiny has spread to the city of Kielitself, involving sailors and dockworkers. The port is shut down. The Social Democrats send representatives to try to head off aBolshevik revolution and succeed. Clearly, German military unitsare no longer reliable.

Abdication ofthe Kaiser

10 /1918

Amidst great turmoil and confusion in the country, Max tried to savethe monarchy, but the Kaiser hesitated to abdicate. By Nov. 7, Eberttold Prince Max that if the Kaiser did not abdicate, a socialrevolution would be inevitable. He added that he did not want tosee such a revolution occur.

FriedrichEbert and the

GermanRepublic

10 /1918

Ebert asks Max to resign and begins forming a Socialist-dominatedgovernment for the new German Republic. Ebert must negotiate thearmistice, withdraw all German troops from France, arrange anation-wide election in January to write a new constitution, keep thecountry from dismembering itself, and fight off an attemptedBolshevik-style coup from the radical left, the Spartacists.

TheSpartacists

Led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, the Spartacists hadopposed participation in the war, and were ideologically close to theBolsheviks. Lenin rejected the Social Democrats as true socialists(he regarded them as Marxist Revisionists, which they were) butaccepted the Spartacists as comrades. They will eventually organizethemselves as the KPD (Communist Party of Germany).

The Weimar Republic

Armistice Nov.11,

1918

The Armistice agreement was signed in a railroad car in the Forestof Compiègne.

TheSpartacist

Revolt

Jan. 6,1919

The Spartacists, led by Liebknecht and Luxemburg, quitedeliberately set out to destroy the government by agitation, strikes,and armed bands. When Germany was severely torn by civil war,then the Spartacists could take over. The Spartacists attempt theircoup d'etat on January 6, 1919 in Berlin. They are crushed by theFreikorps, Liebknecht and Luxemburg are captured and murdered. One legacy of the Spartacist Week is that the Socialist governmentis now permanently compromised in the eyes of the radical Left

TheFreikorps

The Freikorps were paramilitary units owing loyalty to the brigadeorganizer, like the condottieri of the Italian Renaissance. They weremade up largely of veterans, many of whom came from elite shocktroop formations. Their officers were primarily from the shocktroops. They are heavily armed, very skilled and professional,nihilistic, violent, viciously anti-democratic and anti-Bolshevik.. Many of them will end up in Hitler’s SA. Although they despisedEbert, they were very happy to kill Spartacists. Lenin did not haveto face anything like them in Russia.

The BavarianCounter-

revolution

April1918

Kurt Eisner was assassinated by an extreme right wing nationalist. Chaos ensues in Bavaria. A "government" of the Coffeehouse

Anarchists is established. The Coffeehouse Anarchists areeccentric, to say the least. Their Commissar for Foreign Affairs was

a lunatic. (He complained in a wire to Lenin that his predicessorhad absconded with the key to his toilet) They last 6 days.. TheCommunists then take over. A Red Terror ensues. The Weimar

Socialists sent in the Freikorps, who brutally crush the Communists.

The GeneralElections

Jan.1919

The results of the voting meant that no government could be formedwithout the Majority Socialists, but Ebert would have to form

coalitions with the Catholic Centre and German People's Party. Athorough-going Socialist program is out of the question.

The WeimarConstitution

A strong President is created, with power to veto laws and submitthem to referendum. The President also appointed and dismissed

the Chancellor.Article 48 gave the President the power to suspend some civil rights,

dissolve Parliament, and govern by decree in times of nationalemergency. The abuse of Article 48 paved the way for Hitler's

seizure of power.

The Weimar Republic

The Treaty ofVersailles

The Germans believed (with considerable justice) that the armisticehad been on the basis of the Fourteen Points. Furthermore, they

believed that they would have an opportunity to negotiate with thevictors. To compound matters, on the issue of colonies and eastern

borders, the Germans deluded themselves. Instead, they werehanded a Diktat, a "Carthaginian Peace." Not only the Germangovernment but the German people felt a profound sense of outrage

at the Treaty. It is my view that the Treaty of Versailles madeanother war inevitable. It can also be argued that forcing the

Republic to sign the Treaty, the Allies gravely weakened the causeof democracy.

The Treaty ofVersailles:TerritorialProvisions

Northern Schleswig is granted to Denmark after a plebescite.Alsace-Lorraine is given back to France (Point 8). Although 2/3s of

the population was German speaking, the population clearlypreferred to be French. Belgium is granted the districts of Eupen

and Malmedy.

The Treaty ofVersailles:TerritorialProvisions

i.France is given control over the coal-rich Saar valley for 15 years,at which time a plebescite would determine if the Saar were to

return to Germany, be independent, or join France. The Saar had apopulation of 650,000 and 25% of Germany's coal reserves (morethan France). France had at first demanded outright cession of theSaar, despite the fact that historically it had always been German. France's motives were both economic and military. Under these

terms, the bulk of the coal would go to France, French troops wouldpolice the district, and France hoped to manipulate the plebescite toat least gain Saar independence from Germany (as a French client

state, of course)

The Treaty ofVersailles:TerritorialProvisions

The Rhineland, with 6.5 million Germans and its heavy industry, islikewise placed under French administration for 15 years, with

withdrawal contingent upon fulfillment of reparations payments, andis to be permanently demilitarized. France had originally demandedoutright cession (with Alsace and the Saar, this would give them a

continuous border along the Rhine River). Wilson had flatly refusedto go along; French acquisition of the Rhineland would be an Alsacein reverse. Clemenceau got all that Wilson would accept, but Fochand Poincaré are outraged and plot to seize the Rhineland anyway.

The Weimar Republic

The Treaty ofVersailles:TerritorialProvisions

An independent Poland with access to the sea (Point 13) is created. Poland is granted Upper Silesia (despite a plebescite that went

German), the province of Posen, parts of East Prussia, and WestPrussia, which gave it access to the sea, and separated East Prussia

from the rest of Germany. The city of Danzig, which was 90%German, was made a free city under Polish administration.

2,000,000 Germans were thus incorporated in the Polish state.

The Treaty ofVersailles:TerritorialProvisions

An Anschluß, the unification of Austria with Germany, wasspecifically banned. (Technically, this was part of the Treaty of

Saint Germain with Austria) Germans noted (with justice) that theprinciple of self-determination was used only when it hurt Germany

The Treaty ofVersailles: Economicprovisions

Germany gave up all colonies, which are acquired by the victors,technically under League of Nations mandate.Almost the entire

German merchant marine was confiscated.

The Treaty ofVersailles:Reparations

At the time of the signing of the treaty, the Allies had not agreed ona figure. Germany was therefore required to sign a blank check.ii.In 1921, the bill was assessed at 216 billion gold marks (at the1914 exchange rate of 4.2 gold marks / dollar, or $51.42 billion,

which was several times as large as Germany's total nationalincome. (Fest 138, Flood 178, 184) John Maynard Keynes left the

conference and wrote The Economic Consequences of the Peacewhich all-too accurately predicted that attempting to make Germany

pay the full cost of the war would lead to Germany's economiccollapse, which in turn would lead to the collapse of the Central

European economy. This in turn would damage the Allies' econmyand politically destabilize Germany.

The Treaty ofVersailles:War Guilt

Article 231 stated "the Allied Governments affirm and Germanyuaccepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all

the loss and damage [suffered by the Allies] as a consequence of thewar imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and its

allies." (Passant 156)his is the single most hated, and most disputed part of the entire

treaty.

The Weimar Republic

The Treaty ofVersailles:

MilitaryProvisions

Germany's army was reduced to 100,000 men, less than the policeforce of Imperial Germany. The German General Staff was

outlawed. Seeckt simply changed the job titles and carried on.Germany was denied an air force. Germany used civil aviation--

Lufthansa-- as a basis for a future air force. Well before the Nazis,the Germans were clandestinely developing new aircraft and

theories. The Nazis simply accelerated the process.The German navy is confiscated, and further construction virtually

banned.Germany was denied possession of heavy artillery, tanks, or

submarines.

The KappPutsch

March1919

The Freikorps, under the “leadership” of a bureaucrat namedWolfgang Kapp, staged a putsch in Berlin. The Army refuses todefend the government, so the Socialists call for a general strike,

which topples Kapp in 4 days. The aftermath of the putsch involvedcivil war and bitter fighting around the country.

ParamilitaryOrganizations

The Nazis create the Sturmabteilulng (the SA), the storm troopers,as the shock troops of the movement. Many Freikorps leaders and

soldiers end up in the SA. Others include the Communist Red Veterans’ League and the SD’s

Reichsbanner

FemeMurders

1919-1922

the Freikorps begin the Feme-murders: political assassinations. According to conservative official estimates, some 354 political

murders were committed between 1919 and 1922.Ernst Röhm reports in his autobiography (titled significantly

History of an Archtraitor): "One day an alarmed statesman went upto the Police President and whispered in his ear, 'Herr President,

political murder organizations exist in this country!' Pöhner replied,'I know--but there are too few of them!'" (Waite 213)

Treaty ofRapallo

1922 Germany and the Soviet Union gave up all economic claims againsteach other. This led to covert military cooperation between them.

Occupation ofthe Ruhr

Jan.11,

1923

At the end of 1922, Germany fails to deliver all of the coal andtelephone poles required. France declares Germany in default of

reparations payments. French and Belgian troops occupy the Ruhrindustrial district. The Weimar government calls for passive

resistence. The population responds to the call with overwhelmingsupport. All reparations payments of any kind are stopped. The

French are unable to exploit the economic assets.

The Weimar Republic

Hyper-inflation

1921-1923

The Weimar government promises to support the Ruhr workers, anddoes so by paying their salaries. However, without access to the

richest district in the country, the only way the government can dothat is by printing huge quantities of money.

Hyper-inflation

1921-1923

In October 1921, the mark had stood at M 200:$1; in October 1922 it was M4,500:$1;

In January 1923, the mark has dropped to M17,972:$1In November 1923, the mark officially stood at M

4,200,000,000,000:$1 (Flood 382, 392, Passant 192, 159);Middle class savings are completely wiped out. These people are

"proletarianized,"

The BeerHall Putsch

Nov.8,

1923

Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were among a coaliton of rightest groupsin Bavaria who hoped to take advantage of the confusion. However,

when the others failed to act, Hitler impatiently tried to force theissue and seize control of Munich by force. The police fire upon the

Nazis, dispersing them. Hitler is arrested, tried for treason, andgiven a lenient sentence at Landsberg prison, where he writes his

autobiography, Mein Kampf.

CurrencyStabilization

1924 Gustav Stresemann becomes Chancellor and calls an end to thepassive resistance. Hjalmar Schacht then implements a currency

reform.

The DawesPlan

Jan.1924

Charles G. Dawes and Owen D. Young headed a group that hopedto place the reparations issue on a sound economic footing. The

plan scaled down payments, calculating that Germany could pay 2.5billion marks per year. The plan provided large loans to Germany,

chiefly from the U.S., to help the German economy recover. Charles G. Dawes and Owen D. Young headed a group that hoped

to place the reparations issue on a sound economic footing. b.The plan scaled down payments, calculating that Germany could

pay 2.5 billion marks per year.c.The plan provided large loans to Germany, chiefly from the U.S.,

to help the German economy recover.

Election ofHindenburgas President

1925 Friedrich Ebert died, forcing new elections for President. Paul vonHindenburg, who is a hero to most Germans, is elected in his place.

He is 77 years old, a rather simple man who is still a deeplycommitted monarchist. He had never been an especially intelligent

man, and the complexities of constitutional law, politics andeconomics bewildered him. He was wholly reliant on the advice ofothers. By the 1930s, he is also quite senile, and not able to fully

understand the government's policies.

The Weimar Republic

LocarnoTreaties

1925 Gustav Stresemann and French Foreign Minister Aristide Briand tryto solve their differences. Stresemann offers a German guarantee torespect the eastern borders of France and Belgium as defined by theTreaty of Versailles, and proposed that the great powers should joinin guaranteeing the inviolability of those borders. France yielded all

claims to invade German soil in order to enforce treaties.Stresemann agrees to demilitarization of the Rhineland, which is

guaranteed by Britain and Italy No agreement is to take effect untilGermany is admitted to the League of Nations.

The expression, "spirit of Locarno" enters popular vocabulary. Unfortunately, this is not the beginning of a new era, but a high

water mark.

The YoungPlan

1929 American banker Owen D. Young played a key role in thenegotiations.The plan established a schedule of payments until 1988.

Each payment averages 2.05 billion marks. The French beganevacuation of the Rhineland in Sept. 1929

Origins of theGreat

Depression Trade Policy

1929 US Trade Policy: "Beggar Thy Neighbor" tactics, i.e. Be the world'sbanker, food producer, and manufacturer, but buy as little as

possible from other nations.Herbert Hoover advocated strong foreign sales and investments

while supporting high tariffs, especially the Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)

which he signed over the protests of 1,000 economists.Balance-of-payments, in the long run, must be in "balance"--Cannot

remain favorable indefinitelyIf the U.S. won't buy from Europe, then Europe will not be able to

buy from us, or to pay the interest on our loans.

Origins of theGreat

Depression Agricultural

Over-production

1929 Agricultural Problems: Overproduction2. Selling on an unregulated world market. Banks and

companies from whom farmers buy could dictate terms. Increase in production due to WW I, mechanization, tospecialization, to land diverted from grazing (less need forhorses due to internal combustion engine).

3. 25% of US employment was in agriculture in 19294. 25% of US farm income from export sales in 19295. Farmers had a heavy debt burden6. A solid prosperity cannot ignore 25% of the population!7. Agriculture, in turn, very vulnerable to any interruption

of exports or contraction of credit.

The Weimar Republic

Origins of theGreat

Depression Maldistribution of Wealth

1929 Maldistribution of Wealth1929: Top 0.1% of American families have an aggregate wealth

equal to the bottom 42%1929: top 0.5% of families had 32.4% of ALL individual net worth.

1929: 80% of all American families had no savings!Productivity rose faster than wages

(1)1923-1929 personal productivity increased 32%(2)1923-1929 wages increase 8%

(3)difference goes into profits.(4)1923-1929 corporate profits increased 62%

(5)1923-1929 corporate dividends increased 65%

Origins of theGreat

Depression Growth of

Credit:

1929 Growth of Credit:Widespread use of credit to stimulate consumption

(6)Role of advertising in long-held values ("A penny saved is apenny earned") to foster an attitude of "Spend it now, earn it later."

ii.Increase in installment credit(1)1925: $1,380,000,000(2)1929: $3,000,000,000

Origins of theGreat

Depression Stock

MarketSpeculation

1929 Stock Market SpeculationCommodities not purchased for their intrinsic value but to resell at a

profit.iii.In the trick is to ride the bubble until there is no longer

confidence that prices will continue to rise, then sell out before thebubble bursts.

iv.Whenever a substantial number of speculators decide that priceswill no longer rise and sell out, the bubble inevitably breaks; their

decisions are a self-fulfilling prophecy.v.Greed tends to keep most players in the game too long.

vi.In the speculative bubble will inevitably burst since prices do notrepresent intrinsic value.

Origins of theGreat

Depression

1929 The Great Bull Market:The foundation of the Great Bull Market was the growth of the

automobile industry.

The Weimar Republic

Origins of theGreat

Depression Margin andLeverage:

1929 Margin and Leverage:Margin is similar to buying on credit8. 1928: RCA sells at $85.00 / share9. Speculator puts $10.00 cash down, and borrows $75.00 for

the rest (this is call money), using the stock as collateral.10. 1929: Speculator sells RCA at $420.00 / shareLeverage: for a $10.00 investment (less $75.00 plus 5% interest forthe loan) the speculator gets $341.25 or 3400% profit.11. Leverage will also work in reverse!!!! A $10.00 investment

could cause a heavy loss if the price of RCA drops instead ofrises. Suppose it fell to $50.00 would have to balanceagainst $75.00 plus the 5% interest.

12. Investment trusts (such as Goldman, Sachs) used margin andleverage to buy companies, or to buy other investment trusts

Pyramiding of leveraged companies: a house of cards.

Origins of theGreat

Depression Black

Tuesday,October 29,

1929

1929 Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929Low point in a slide that actually began in September. The marketlost 17% of its value in a single day. Loss of $40,000,000,000 in

paper value in 2 months, or more than the cost of World War I to theUnited States.

Origins of theGreat

Depression Summary

1929 "In the fragile economy was heavily dependent upon confidenceand the spending and investment of the well-to-do. These wereprecisely the things that the Crash most effectively undercut.""When the United States cut lending and erected higher tariff walls,the world economy faltered further."

The GreatDepression

1929 Germany was extremely dependent upon short term loans from USbanks to keep its economy going. The stock market crash in the US

dried up that money, The result was the failure of key Germanbanks, which brought the Depression into central Europe. From

there, it spread, since the collapse of the Central European economydragged everyone else down with it.

The Weimar Republic

The Electionsof 1930

1930 The elections are a disaster for Parliamentary democracy.13. Stresemann's German People's Party goes from 78 seats to

4114. The National Liberals go from 45 seats to 3015. The Catholic Centre go from 16 seats to 1916. The Left Liberals go from 25seats to 2017. The Social Democrats go from 153 seats to 14318. The Communists gain 23 seats, from 54 to 7719. The National Socialists (Nazis) gain 95 seats, from 12 to

107A Parliament that had a democratic majority is now replaced by onewhere the second and third largest parties are implacably opposed toparliamentary democracy.The Chancellor, Dr. Heinrich Brüning is determined to rule bydecree. Brüning's government therefore marks the end ofParliamentary democracy in Germany.

Hindenburg’sRe-election

1932 Hitler decided to run for President against Hindenburg, who is senileby now. He makes the run-off but loses.

von Papenand von

SchleicherGov’ts

1932 First, Franz von Papen and then Gen. Kurt von Schleicher attempt toform aristocratic, rightist governments without Nazi participation.Lacking a Reichstag majority, both will have to govern by decree,

using Article 48. Von Schleichser maneuvers to discredit von Papenwith Hindenburg, and von Papen then returns the favor to von

Schleicher.

Hitler-vonPapen Gov’t

Jan.30,

1933

The industrialists and landowners who surrounded Hindenburgurged him strongly to appoint a Hitler-Papen government: a

Harzburg government of all the nationalist groups. The old manfinally agrees.

The new cabinet includes only 3 Nazis, Hitler himself, WilhelmFrick as Minister of the Interior (includes the police) and Hermann

Goering as Minister Without Portfolio (also Prussian InteriorMinister).

Papen and his people believe that they can control Hitler. They arewrong; the German Faust has made its pact with Mephistopheles.

Works Cited

Fest, Joachim. Hitler. Transl. Richard and Clara Winston. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1974.

Flood, Charles Bracelin. Hitler: The Path to Power. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989.

McElvane, Robert S. "Who Was Roaring in the Roaring Twenties?--Origins of the Great Depression." Conflict and Consensus in Modern American History. Davis, Allen F. andWoodman, Harold D., ed. 7th Edition, Vol. 2. Lexington, Massachusetts: D.C. Heath,1988. pp. 300-315.

Passant, E.J. A Short History of Germany: 1815-1945. New York: Cambridge UniversityPress, 1959

Waite, Robert G. L. Vanguard of Nazism: The Free Corps Movement in Post War Germany 1918-1923. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1952).

Works Consulted

Bessel, Richard. Germany After the First World War. (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1993).

Blum, Jerome, Cameron, Rondo, and Barnes, Thomas G. The European World Since 1815: Triumph and Transition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1966.

Corum, James S. The Roots of Blitzkrieg: Hans von Seeckt and the German Military Reform. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1992.

Craig, Gordon A. The Politics of the Prussian Army 1640-1945. New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1967.

Goerlitz, Walter. History of the German General Staff 1657-1945. Transl. Brian Battershaw. New York: Frederick Praeger, 1967.

Jones, Nigel H. Hitler's Heralds: The Story of the Freikorps 1918-1923. New York: Dorset,1987.