THE TROUBLED BIRTH OF
THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
"I have a bad feeling about this . . ."
HISTORICAL CONTEXT: The October Reforms
•
Sept. 28, 1918: Ludendorff
informed Wilhelm II the war
would be lost & representative
gov't should be formed (to meet
Wilson's demand for
negotiations)
•
October Reforms: Wilhelm II
appointed Prince Max of Baden
as Chancellor, at head of mixedparty cabinet (including SPD)
•
Prince Max's cabinet attempted
to begin negotiations with Allies
(as according to OHL plan)
•
Above: The OHL (Paul Von
Hindenburg, left, and Erich von
Ludendorff, right) talk war strategy with
Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1917. It was the
OHL that advised Wilhelm II in late
Sept. 1917 that Germany would be
beaten in WWI and should create a
parliamentary government headed by
Prince Max of Baden (seen at right).
Republicans or "November Criminals"?
POLITICAL CRISIS: The "German Revolution"
•
Philip Scheïdemann proclaims a
republic from a window (Nov. 9,
1918).
•
Mutinies broke out in late Oct. & early Nov. 1918 as
some army & navy commanders ordered renewed
offensives
•
Plus, hungry citizens disillusioned by realization of
imminent defeat
•
Wilhelm II abdicated (Nov. 9) amidst mass protest in
Berlin; Prince Max also resigned (handed
Chancellorship to SPD leader Friedrich Ebert)
•
Two different groups - one led by the SPD's Philip
Scheïdemann (to Ebert's dismay), the other led by
Spartacist Karl Liebknecht - thereafter declared
Germany to be a republic (Nov. 9)
•
A Council of People's Commissioners was formed as a
transition government that would be led by 3 SPD + 3
USPD reps (Spartacists protested this)
A "STAB IN THE BACK"?
The Slow Rise of a Potent Myth
The myth: The German military
was not really defeated in World
War I. Germany "lost" because leftwingers (socialists, liberals and Jews)
revolted against Wilhelm II to take
power in Oct./Nov. 1918, then
immediately made an armistice with
the Allies (stabbing the military in
the back). Otherwise, Germany
would've won.
•
The Reality: Although it could easily be proven as factually incorrect, the
legend grew over time (and was not discredited by military leaders, such as
Hindenburg and Ludendorff, who knew otherwise). It fueled distrust of the
Weimar government and aided the Nazis in their mass arrests of left-wing
party members (KPD, SPD) in 1933, following the Reichstag Fire.
Battles Among the Fractured Left
POLITICAL CRISIS: The Spartacist Revolt (Jan. 1919)
•
The SPD (Social Democratic Party)
supported WWI (a bit of a surprise to
some)
•
During WWI, the SPD split into 3
factions: majority SPD, USPD
(Independent Socialists, founded 1916),
Spartacists (more below)
LIEBKNECHT
LUXEMBURG
•
Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg created the Spartacus League in 1916,
opposing German involvement in the war and advocating a socialist revolution >
became the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) by Jan. 1, 1919.
•
Jan. 1919: The Spartacist Revolt began with a series of worker uprisings
encouraged by Liebknecht (but not Luxemburg) in Dec. 1918 that turned into a
ragged revolt in Berlin in Jan. 1919 that was defeated by the Freikorps (with the
support of SPD head Friedrich Ebert). Spartacist leaders were executed.
The Weimar Republic is Born
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY & PRESIDENT EBERT
•
Friedrich Ebert, head of the SPD,
was the first President of the republic
(serving from 1919-25).
•
Council of People's Representatives (SPD,
USPD) ruled Germany from Nov. 1918 to
Jan. 1919
•
Elections to the National Assembly were
held Jan. 19, 1919
•
The Assembly convened in Weimar in Feb.
1919 (due to the recent, ill-fated Spartacist
Revolt in Berlin and Munich Soviet
Republic) - hence Weimar Republic
•
Ebert was chosen as President (Feb. 1919)
and work began on new Weimar
constitution (went into effect in Aug. 1919).
The First Weimar Election
STRONG RESULTS FOR PRO-DEMOCRACY PARTIES
JAN. 1919 ELECTION RESULTS
Party
% Recv'd
SPD
37.9
Z
19.7
DDP
18.3
DNVP
10.3
USPD
7.6
DVP
4.4
•
The three pro-democracy parties that
were most supportive of the creation
of the Weimar Republic - the SPD
(moderate socialists), the Centre Party
(Z; center to center-right), and the
German Democratic Party
(traditional liberals) - collectively
tallied 76% of the vote.
•
These would be the best results of the
entire Weimar period for those
parties, demonstrating that most
Germans supported a left-center
democracy in early 1919 (but that
was before the Treaty of Versailles was
signed).