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Kaiser Abdicated
Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, fleeing the nation to Holland. He did not want to sign the armistice, which would have changed the German government to a democracy, versus an empire. -
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Spartacist Uprising
A group of left-wing extremists aimed to overthrow the Weimar Republic to replace it with a communist society. They gained power by seizing some of the newspaper offices in Berlin, organizing a general strike and starting armed street fights against opponents. They were crushed by the Freikorps, a group of right-wing ex-soldiers, who had been sent in by the government. -
Friedrich Ebert Elected President
The Weimar Republic (based in the quiet town of Weimar) was established, and Friedrich Ebert became the president in the elections of 1919. -
Treaty of Versailles was Signed
The WWI Peace Treaty was signed, stating that -The Saarland would be given to France for 15 years
-Germany colonies would be given to the League of Nations
-The Rhineland would be demilitarized
-Alsace-Lorraine would be returned to France
-The Polish Corridor would be given to Poland, splitting Germany in half
-The Germans would pay 132,000,000,000 gold marks to the allies
-The Military would be reduced to 100,000 men, plus naval reductions
-Germany had to accept full blame for the war -
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Kapp Putsch
Dr. Wolfgang Kapp and Generals Luddwitz and Ludendorff organized a coup to overthrow the Weimar Republic, in favor of a more nationalistic autocracy. They were joined by the Freikorps, a group of right-wing ex-soldiers; Freikorps marches were organized, and the rebels terrorized Berlin. The Putsch was only stopped when the workers went on a general strike, stopping transportation, public utilities and product production. -
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Hyperinflation
-a Reparations payment was missed
-French and Belgian soldiers invaded the Ruhr (to take payment from factories)
-The workers went on strike
-Prices rose due to low supply and high demand
-The Government printed more money to combat rising prices
-Prices rose more
-The economy collapsed -
Workers' Strike Called Off
The newly-elected chancellor and foreign minister Gustav Streseman called off the workers' strike -
Rentenmark First Issued
To destroy the crippling hyperinflation afflicting all of Germany, a new currency- the Rentenmark- was issued, and all of the old marks were burned. -
Reichstag Agreed on Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan, an arrangement created by American Bank Director Charles Dawes, was an agreement between the French and the Germans that spread out Germany's World War I Reparations payments over a longer period of time. The German Parliament, known as the Reichstag, agreed to the plan on August 29, 1924. -
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Recovery
Due to the Dawes Plan, the Rentenmark, and many large loans from the United States, the German economy was revived. Though the farming sector never recovered from the hyperinflation of 1923, inflation fell, industry expanded, exports increased, and by 1928, industrial production exceeded pre-war levels for the first time. -
Locarno Treaties Signed
The Locarno Treaties were a series of treaties signed by France, Belgium and Germany, in which they agreed to respect their shared borders. This created peace of mind for the French, who previously felt suspicion towards Germany. With multiple nations satisfied, a period of peace ensued, known as the Locarno Honeymoon. -
Wall Street Crash
The American Stock Market Crashed, which dragged the entire world into an economic depression. This was awful for Germany, because in addition to not having nearly as many orders for export items, the USA also recalled many of the loans it had made to Germany since 1924.
