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Birth of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, a small town along the Austrian-German border, to Alois Hitler and Klara Pölzl -
Start of World War I
Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife on July 28, tensions between European nations erupted and war broke out. -
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Stage 1: German Revolution
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Abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II
Due to the loss of support of the people, uprisings, and mutinies in the army, Kaiser Wilhelm II was forced to abdicate and seek exile in Holland. On the same day, Philip Schiedemann, member of the SPD, proclaimed the new Republic. -
Armistice on the Western Front (End of the War)
After four years of fighting, an armistice was signed in a carriage in Compiegne at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, which ended all combat in air, sea, and land. -
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Stage 2: The Crisis Years
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German Worker's Party (DAP)
On January 5th, 1919, Anton Drexler and Dietrich Ekart, both avid German nationalists, founded the German Worker's Party (DAP) as a "successor" to the Free Worker's Committee for a Good Peace. -
Start of the Spartacist Uprising
Led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, the Spartacists were a group of radical socialists who, in January, called for a general strike after the head of police, Emil Eichhorn, who was very popular in Berlin, was sacked from office. -
End of the Spartacist Uprising
The strike was highly improvised and the government called in the Freikorps (Paramilitary groups), who put an end to it. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was drafted in the Paris Peace Conference by the allied powers mainly the big four (George Clemenceau of France, David Lloyd George of England, Woodrow Wilson of the US, and Orlando Vitari for Italy). It included harsh punishments and completely humiliated Germany. -
Signing of the Weimar Constitution
Written and signed by the National Assembly, the constitution officially proclaimed the Weimar Republic, creating the first parliamentary democracy in Germany and the most modern democratic constitution of its day. -
Hitler Joins the DAP
Adolf Hitler, working for the army, was ordered to investigate a political party in Munich (The DAP), suspected to have communist tendencies. Instead of reporting it, however, Hitler became attracted to the party's ideals and would soon join them. -
National Socialist German Worker's Party (NSDAP)
After joining the party and quickly winning the support of the members, Hitler renamed the party to the National Socialist German Worker's Party (NSDAP) and presented the party's 25 point program. He would become its leader in 1921 -
Start of the Kapp Putsch
It was an attempted coup, led by General Luttwitz and Wolfang Kapp, which aimed to undo the German Revolution and establish an autocratic government instead. -
End of the Kapp Putsch
The army was highly supportive of the coup, as it was not loyal to the government, and a general strike had to be called to end the coup down. -
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Economic Crisis
After the postwar years, the value of the mark slowly deteriorated. This was due to the war payments, the slow revival of trade, and Germany's overall state after the war. As a way to combat this, the government started printing massive amounts of money to pay for its expenses; this culminated in hyperinflation. -
The Rapallo Treaty
Germany and the Soviet Union signed a treaty, in which both nations would drop all territorial and monetary claims against each other, establishing diplomatic relations and expansion in trade; something that terrified and shocked England and France -
Occupation of the Ruhr
As a response to the lack of payment of war reparations due to hyperinflation, the German industrial heartland was invaded by the French and Belgian army, to use the materials and industry found here as payment. -
Beer Hall Putsch
Led by the NSDAP party, especially by Adolf Hitler and Eric Ludendorff, it was an attempt to start an insurrection in Germany against the government. It was quickly put down by the police, but the trials that followed and the time in prison, of only 9 months, helped Hitler become famous, spread his ideology across Germany, and decide to achieve power through legal means. -
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Stage 3: The Golden Years
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Dawes Plan
Headed by the economist Charles G. Dawes, it sought to take Germany out of inflation and return its economy to some form of stability. The plan was based on the change of currency and stated that the Ruhr would be returned to Germany, reparation payments would e restructured to be made more "German friendly", the restructuring of the Reichsbank and an initial loan of 800 million marks to Germany. -
The Locarno Pact
It was an agreement signed between Germany, England, France, Belgium, and Italy. It secured borders of European nations after WWI, secured the permanent demilitarization of the Rhineland, and began negotiations for Germany to enter the League of Nations. -
Germany Joins the League of Nations
As one of the agreements of the Locarno Pact, Germany was allowed into the League of Nations and given great power, being a member of the League Council as a permanent member. -
The Kellogg-Briand Pact
Signed by Germany and 61 other countries, the pact outlawed aggressive war, with disputes being settled diplomatically. The pact failed due to the fact it had no means of enforcement, with the breaking of the pact going unpunished. -
Young Plan
Headed by Owen D. Young, served as an extension to the Dawes Plan, and shortened Germany's total reparations, giving it 59 years to pay these reparations. The plan also ordered for the evacuation of the Rhineland by the French. -
The Wall Street Crash
Beginning in September and ending in October, speculation of led to a distrust of the stock market, having stockholders sell great quantities of stocks and not buy any in return, destroying the stock market and the economy as a whole and starting the Great Depression. The US could no longer give loans to Germany and German's economy collapsed. -
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Stage 4: Decline
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Hitler is Appointed Chancellor
Gaining more and more support in every election, the Nazi party held a majority in the Reichstag, this along with pressure from pro-nazis in the government and thinking that he could control Hitler, made Hindenburg appoint Hitler as chancellor.
