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Period: to
Treaty Of Versailles
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Spartacist Revolution
The Spartacists wanted a violent Communist revolution and a wiping out of Capitalism but were rejected. In Jan. 1919 Luxemburg/ Liebnecht tried to take over and seize power by force, forcing Communism on Germany.
This event was significant because if the spartacists plan had not been ambushed the spartacists would have easily overthrown the government. -
Weimar Established
The Weimar Republic was a federal republic and a parliamentary democracy which replaced the imperial form of Government in Germany -
Germany Signs the Treaty of Versailles
When Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles, the Germans thought it was too harsh. This hurt Germany in the long run because of their lack of money which meant that many people suffered and became poor. -
Founding of the Nazi Party
The Nazi Party was a political party in Germany between 1920-1945.
The party was founded out of the movement and the violent anti-communist group called the Freikorps. -
Berlin Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch was a protest which took place in Berlin Germany in 1920 with the intention to overthrow the Weimar government which was doing little to help Germany and was seen as being 'weak'.
A Democratic Government deals with these groups by gaining the peoples support and having enough power to overthrow the terroists and political groups.If the Government does not have enough power it will not suceed. In this case, the 'Kapp Putsch' looked to overthrow the Weimar Government. -
Walter Rathenau Assassinated
Rathenau was assassinated two months after the signing the Treaty of Rapallo.Rathenau was a prominent man and a liberal. The organisation that killed him the so called "Organisation Consul" were was one of many ultranationalistic movements that had emerged after the war and wanted to destablize the repulic by public killings of influencial man. -
Stresemann becomes Chancellor
Streseman was appointed Chancellor and Foreign Minister on August 13th 1923. Streseman introduced the Rentenmark (Germany's new currency) Since Germany were not able to pay the workers wages. They printed more money but that only meant that prices went up. -
Berlin Riots on Hyperinflation
30,000 people rioted in Berlin on November 5th and 6th due to the misery caused by Hyperinflation. Many Germans blamed the Jews who they believed controlled the economy. -
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occured between November 8-9. The Beer Hall Putsch (led by Adolf Hitler) was an attempt to seize power in Munich, trying to overthrow the Weimar Republic. -
Dawes Plan
The Dawes plan had the same goal as the Young plan, to cut Germany's reparations bill. The amount was unpayable and with the fall of the economy it became impossible -
Friedrich Ebert Dies before Re-election
Ebert was the first President of Germany. Ebert was a member of the Social Democratic Party and was in office for 17 days before He died in Office. -
Hindenburg becomes President
Hindenburg was the 2nd president of Germany and took over after Eberts death. Hindenburg was a field marshall, statesman and a politician. He is remembered as the man who appointed Adolf Hitler as the Chancellor of Germany. -
Germany joins the League of Nations
Germany joined the League of Nations because they needed to be accepted back into the world; but not as a rebel. They also needed some kind of stability; even if it was only visual. -
The Young Plan
The Young Plan was put into place in 1928 to try and reach a settlement regarding Germany's reparations bill. The Young Plan reduced further payments to 112 billion Gold Marks. -
US: Wall Street Crash
in 1929, The market became top heavy, too many overvalued stocks and then the bottom fell out. All the people who bought on margin suddenly found themselves broke. The USA loaned Germany money, just as they had to Britain and France during WWI, so that Germany could pay the reperations. On 14th October 1929 (black Thursday) the Wall Street Crash occured. The USA recalled all loans, which meant that Germany was put into more debt, and was not able to fund it's government properly. -
5 million unemployed
After 1929, Germany faced massive unemployment. During the winter of 1929-30, more than three million Germans (14 percent of the population) were jobless. By the autumn of 1932, five million Germans were out of work, eroding support for the Weimar Republic. -
Elections
Federal elections were held in Germany on 31 July 1932, following the premature collapse of the Reichstag. The elections resulted in great gains by the Nazi party, who with 230 seats for the first time became the largest party in parliament. Neither the Nazi Party nor President Hindenburg had a governing majority and the other parties refused cooperation. -
Hitler named the last Weimar Chancellor
On January 30th, 1933, Adolf Hitler was named Weimar Chancellor. He acted quickly to destroy democratic institutions and to take away the rights of the individual. -
The Reichstag Fire
The Reichstag Fire was an arson attack on the Reichstag building in Berlin on 27 February 1933. The event is seen as pivotal in the establishment of Nazi Germany. In early March 1933, three men were arrested who were to play pivotal roles during the Leipzig Trial, known also as the "Reichstag Fire Trial". -
Weimar Republic Destroyed
The last Weimar elections were held in March, 1933. Using violence to intimidate their opponents, the Nazis still only received 44 percent of the vote.The only opposition came from the Social Democrats. Communist party members had already been arrested - both parties were subsequently banned.
They undermined them by:
They Manipulated the media to paint a poor picture for democracy and put forward benefits of communism. Authoritarian regimes are educating people that democracy is bad for you.
