A fact to ponder:
Adolf Hitler came to
power legally and
democratically
The End of the
First World War
Review: World War I
1914-1918
Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary,
Ottoman Empire) defeated by Allied Powers (France,
United Kingdom, Russia, US)
Effects on Germany
About 2.5 million dead; many more wounded
Political turmoil
Psychological shock – Germans didn’t expect to lose
the war
Dissent in Germany
By 1917, tide was turning
against Germany
Protests and political changes
Workers launched walkouts
and strikes
Leftist political parties began
to oppose the war
Mutinies in the armed forces
Challenges to monarchy and
Kaiser Wilhelm II
The End of the War
July 1918: US troops arrive in
France
Allied counterattacks push
Germany back
October 1918: Germany requests
an armistice based on Woodrow
Wilson’s Fourteen Points
November 10: Kaiser Wilhelm
abdicates
Armistice signed November 11
The Treaty of Versailles
Signed June 28, 1919
Treaty ending World War I with Germany
Germany was not allowed to negotiate – a diktat
Major provisions
Blame – the War Guilt Clause
Reparations – Germany owed money to the Allies
Army – severe limits on Germany’s military
Territory – Germany lost 13% of territory + all
colonies
German Territorial Losses after WWI
The War Guilt Clause
“The Allied and Associated Governments
affirm and Germany accepts the responsibility
of Germany and her allies for causing all the
loss and damage to which the Allied and
Associated Governments and their nationals
have been subjected as a consequence of the
war imposed upon them by the aggression of
Germany and her allies.”
The War Guilt Clause
June 28, 1919 (included in Treaty of Versailles)
Blamed Germany for WWI
Germans resented this provision
You’re halfway through. Here’s a
cat!
The Weimar Republic
Germany’s Democratic Experiment
November 10, 1918: Kaiser Wilhelm abdicates
debate over future government
January 1919: Germans vote for democratic parties
February 1919: new constitution drafted at Weimar
Reichstag – a parliament elected by the people
President – elected by the people; commander-in-chief
of military and able to exercise emergency powers
Chancellor – appointed by the President, approved by
the Reichstag; relatively weak
Three Problems
Bitterness and resentment about WWI
Political instability
Economic problems and hyperinflation
Bitterness and Resentment
“Stab in the back” theory
Limits on Germany’s army put
many soldiers out of work
Freikorps – literally “Free
Corps” – formed to crack
down on left-wing parties
Many extreme nationalist
parties formed, including the
National Socialist German
Workers’ Party
Political Instability
1920 elections: extremist parties take over 35% of
vote
Communists (20%) – support a workers’ revolution
German National People’s Party (15%) – support a
monarchy
Proportional representation gives extremist parties a
chance to join the Reichstag (more on this later)
Several coups (illegal attempts to take power)
Terrorism by ultra-nationalists against democrats
and leftists
Economic Problems
January 1920: reparations
fixed at $33 billion
Germany paid in goods as
well as cash
January 1923: French and
Belgian troops occupy the
Ruhr and seize assets
German workers strike,
refusing to cooperate
Hyperinflation
Date: 1921-1924
German government begins
printing money to help pay
reparations
Led to hyperinflation – rapid
decrease in the value of
money
The Impact of Hyperinflation
Middle-class people lost the value of their savings
Pensions for the elderly became worthless
Allies started demanding payment in goods rather
than currency
Money had to be spent immediately after being
earned
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