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November Revolution
Due to the military defeat of the German Empire in World War I, insurgency spread developing into a mass movement against the monarchical system, leading to the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II (official on November 28th) and the declaration of the Weimar Republic by Philipp Scheidemann. -
Signing of the Armistice
Signed by the Allies and Germany. Terms like the cessation of hostilities, withdrawal of German forces, Allied occupation of the Rhineland, preservation of infrastructure, surrender of aircraft, warships, and military materiel, release of Allied prisoners of war and interned civilians, eventual reparations, no release of German prisoners and no relaxation of the naval blockade of Germany, were agreed. The signing lead to "stab in the back" allegations by German military leaders. -
Spartacist Revolt
Leftist uprising lead by the Spartacist League (Communist Party), that aimed to destroy the Weimar Republic and establish a communist state in Germany. -
Treaty of Versailles
Peace treaty that ended the state of war between the Allies and Germany, in which Germany was held responsible for the war, substantial territory was taken away, financial penalties for war reparations were made, and the military was highly restricted, leading to bitterness among the German population because of the injustice os the punishments. -
Weimar Constitution
Friedrich Ebert from the SPD, signed the Weimar Constitution that established Germany as a republic, creating the first parliamentary democracy in Germany. By being one of the most progressive documents of the time, it introduced universal and secret suffrage, but it was also full of voids that made it weak, like the principle of proportional representation, and the president's entitlement to suspend basic principles of the constitution and rule by emergency decree. -
Ebert-Groener Pact
Pact between Friedrich Ebert (President of Germany) and Wilhelm Groener (Chief of Staff of the German military), in which loyalty of the armed forces was assured, meanwhile the government would take action towards leftist uprisings, call a national assembly and allow the military to remain the "state within state". -
25-point Programme
Party program of the NSDAP drafted by Hitler and other party members, that intended to ensure mass support, established the party's ideologies. Policies were unsuccessful in the short term but very adequate for the economic crisis of 1929 onwards. -
Economic Crisis
Hyperinflation reached the point where one US dollar was worth 4.2 trillion German marks, leading to misery for many Germans. -
Ruhr Occupation
Military occupation of the industrialized Ruhr Valley by France and Belgium due to the default of Germany's reparation payments, worsening the economic crisis in Germany. Germany had passive reactions and non-cooperation by the Ruhr workers, hence production collapsed, leading to inflation and an anti-republicanism sense. -
Beer Hall Putsch
Unsuccessful coup d'état by Adolf Hitler and Erich Ludendorff against the Weimar Republic, that lead to Hitler's arrest and charge of treason, which allowed him to express his nationalist sentiment, and the writing of the Mein Kampf during jail time. -
Dawes Plan
Measure that was undertaken by the US and allowed Germany to reduce annual reparation payments and economic improvements, in exchange of ensuring the benefit of American export economy and the prevention of communism growth in Germany. Worthless marks were replaced by Retenmarks (later replaced by Reichsmark) and the confidence in the currency grew thanks to American loans. -
Locarno Pact
Series of agreements between Germany, France, Belgium, Great Britain, and Italy to assure peace in Europe by fixing frontiers, assuring the settlement of disputes in a peaceful manner, and establishing support from powers to countries. -
Germany in the League of Nations
After various attempts for the admission of Germany in the League of Nations by Gustav Stresemann (Foreign Minister of Germany), several treaties like the Locarno Pact allowed Germany to be accepted as a member with a permanent seat at the council. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Multilateral agreement that sought to ban war as efforts of national policy. Suggested by Frank B. Kellogg (Secretary of State of the US) and Aristide Briand (Foreign Minister of France), it was signed by many countries of the world, including Germany. -
Young Plan
Extension of the Dawes Plan revised by a committee chaired by Owen Young, in which it allowed Germany to reschedule the payment of its remaining annual war indemnity and its public debt as a result of many loans. -
Wall Street Crash
New York stock exchange fell, causing rapid sales and prices dropped, resulting in the fall of industrial production, bankruptcy, unemployment, lack of economic confidence, and the closing of American banks. Hence, American loans were cut-off from Germany and it found itself unable to pay back their loans, their external debts and to provide money and credit to people, German banks began to close.
