In the early years of the Weimar Republic from 1918-1925: 1) Germany transitioned to a democratic republic after World War 1 and the abdication of the Kaiser in 1918. 2) The republic struggled with unrest like the Spartacist Uprising of 1919 and Kapp Putsch of 1920. 3) Hyperinflation crippled Germany's economy in 1923 until the introduction of the Rentenmark stabilized prices. 4) Under Stresemann, Germany's international relations and economy improved through agreements like the Dawes Plan and Locarno Treaties.

2. TIMELINE 1919-1925
In November 1918 Germany surrendered and World War
One was lost.
A revolution followed in which Germany became
a republic and a democracy.
The following timeline sets out the major events in the
new republic’s early life, up to the beginning of 1925.

3. 1918
9 November – the ruling
monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm
II, abdicated and Germany
became a republic.
11 November – World War
One ended when an
armistice was agreed with
the Allies (Britain, France
and the USA) and
Germany surrendered.

4. VIDEO: ESCAPE TO THE NETHERLANDS 1918

5. 1919
5-12 January – the Spartacist Uprising
occurred when 50,000 members of the
German Communist Party, known as
the Spartacists, rebelled in Berlin, led by
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht.
Late January – a group of members
elected to represent the German people,
a National Assembly, met to draw up a
new constitution (a set of rules and
laws) for Germany.

6. VIDEO: THE SPARTACISTS REVOLT 1919

7. 1919
28 June – the new
German government was
forced to sign a peace
settlement called the
Treaty of Versailles.
31 July – a new
constitution was agreed
by the National Assembly
and Ebert was appointed
Germany’s first President.

8. 1920
13-17 March – the right-wing nationalist Kapp led an
attempted putsch in Berlin. The government was only
saved when the workers of Berlin went on strike.
June - the first elections in what became known as the
Weimar Republic took place.
Soldiers marching with the Imperial Flag during the Kapp Putsch.

9. VIDEO: THE KAPP PUTSCH 1919

10. 1921
May – the amount of reparations
Germany had to pay was set at
£6.6 billion British pounds.

11. 1922
November – Germany was unable to make its
reparations payment as scheduled.

12. 1923
January – in response, France and Belgium sent troops into
Germany’s main industrial area, the Ruhr Valley. Their aim
was to confiscate industrial goods as reparations payments.
The German response – passive resistance – led to
hyperinflation.
August – with bank notes costing more to print than they were
worth, Chancellor Stresemann introduced a new currency
called the Rentenmark. This ended the hyperinflation crisis.
8 November – The fledgling Nazi Party attempted to gain
power in the Munich Putsch.

13. Hitler, during the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923

14. 1924
August – The Dawes Plan, rescheduling Germany’s
reparations payments, was agreed.
Charles G. Dawes (1865–1951)

15. THE WEIMAR CONSTITUTION
The Weimar Republic was set up as a representative democracy
which tried to give genuine power to all German adults. It had
major flaws that contributed to its downfall in 1933-34.

16. STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES
The strengths of the Republic served to ensure that it was a
representative democracy and on paper it looked marvellous.
However, hidden in the detail were two flaws that eventually
helped to destroy the Republic.

19. ECONOMIC RECOVERY
Stresemann’s single greatest achievement as Chancellor was to
end hyperinflation. He did this in just three months by:
• Calling off the ‘passive resistance’ of German workers in the
Ruhr. This helped Germany’s economy because goods were
back in production and the Government could stop printing
money to pay striking workers.
• Promising to begin reparations payments again. This
persuaded France and Belgium to end the occupation of the
Ruhr by 1925.

20. Gustav Stresemann

21. RENEGOTIATING REPARATIONS
The payment of reparations, which had caused the
hyperinflation crisis in the first place, had to resume, but
Stresemann’s decisive actions in the autumn of 1923 gained
Germany the sympathy of the Allies.
They agreed to renegotiate payments and this led to two new
repayment plans in the next five years.

22. VIDEO: HYPERINFLATION 1923

23. THE END OF HYPERINFLATION
•Introducing a new currency called the Rentenmark.
This stabilised prices as only a limited number were printed
meaning money rose in value. This helped to restore
confidence in the German economy.
•Reducing the amount of money the government spent
(700,000 government employees lost their jobs) so that its
budget deficit reduced.

26. WEIMAR ECONOMY REALLY RECOVER?
The years 1924 to 1929 have been referred to as
Weimar’s ‘Golden Years’, but historians disagree as to
just how much the German economy recovered from the
effects of World War One and hyperinflation.

28. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
After losing World War One, being forced to take the blame
for the conflict and the subsequent issues surrounding
payment of reparations, Germany was an international
outcast. Germans were still incredibly bitter about their
treatment in the Treaty of Versailles, where they also lost
territory on all sides.
As Foreign Minister Stresemann oversaw a dramatic
improvement in Germany’s relationship with the rest of
Europe between 1925 and 1928.
This is best illustrated by three events.

30. LOCARNO TREATIES 1925
In October 1925 Germany, France and Belgium agreed to
respect their post-Versailles borders, whilst Germany
agreed with Poland and Czechoslovakia to settle any border
disputes peacefully.
Germany had previously complained bitterly about their
loss of territory.

31. VIDEO: LOCARNO TREATIES 1925

32. LEAGUE OF NATIONS 1926
When the League of Nations was set up as part of the
Versailles agreement Germany was initially excluded.
By signing the Locarno Treaties Germany showed that it
was accepting the Versailles settlement and so a year
later was accepted as a permanent member of the
Council of League, making it one of the most powerful
countries in the League.

33. VIDEO: LEAGUE OF NATIONS 1926

34. KELLOGG-BRIAND PACT 1928
Germany was one of 62 countries that signed up to this
agreement, which committed its signatories to settling
disputes between all members peacefully.

35. VIDEO: KELLOGG-BRIAND PACT 1928

36. GERMANY ACCEPTED
These developments meant that Germany was accepted
into the emerging ‘international community’ that sought
to work together during the 1920s to avoid another
destructive war.
This ethos of collaboration and peaceful cooperation
only lasted until the onset of the Great Depression
following the Wall Street Crash of October 1929.