After the First World War, the German Reich was the loser. Foreign policy difficulties lead to revolution:Germany experiences a democratic spring. But the young republic was not under a lucky star right from the start.
Sole responsibility for the war and the terms of the Treaty of Versailles prove to be a heavy burden. Left-wing and right-wing radical currents are gaining momentum. Economic crises, inflation and unemployment shake people's confidence in the young democracy.
Germany on the edge
In the autumn of 1918, in the final days of the First World War, the High Command, the Kaiser and the generals found themselves in a military and political impasse.
After four years of cruel material battles, Germany is at the end of its strength and can no longer withstand the pressure of the Allies, who are slowly pushing the German front back into the country. Defeat is inevitable, surrender is only a matter of time.
It is difficult enough for the leaders of the Reich and Army to admit defeat to themselves. Proclaiming them to the German people, who are suffering from severe deprivation, is something we prefer to leave to others.
The others are the members of the civilian government, the hated parliamentarians. You must now take political responsibility for a war committed by the Imperial generals.
Many were unemployed in the Weimar Republic
But the irresponsibility of the imperial elite gave rise to the first democratic republic on German soil. Even under Chancellor Bismarck there were strong democratic efforts in parliament.
But only now, on the eve of the capitulation, is the first parliamentary democracy anchored in the German Reich. The parties are the bearers of political power.
November Revolution 1918
On November 4, 1918, sailors mutinied in Wilhelmshaven and Kiel. They are to be burned up in a senseless final battle, that is the intention of the Naval War Staff.
A wave of uprisings spread across the country from Kiel, joined by other sailors, soldiers and workers. Workers' and soldiers' councils are formed, the call for the Kaiser's abdication and the establishment of a republic becomes louder.
Under the pressure of the domestic political unrest, events are overturning. On the morning of November 9, 1918, the revolutionary movement reached Berlin.
The chancellor, Prince Max von Baden, appointed by Kaiser Wilhelm II, declares the Kaiser's abdication on his own authority and, with the following words, transfers his office to the Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert, who has chaired the SPD since 1913, i.e. the strongest party in the Reichstag:"Mr. Ebert , I commend the German Reich to you."
Ebert plans to convene a national assembly as soon as possible to draw up a constitution and determine the future form of government for the German Empire:a parliamentary republic or monarchy.
But the most important goal for the SPD is initially control over the revolutionary upheavals in the country. Under no circumstances do they want to leave the field to those loyal to Moscow who are trying to overthrow the situation along Soviet lines.
Under all circumstances, an agreement must be reached with the leaders of the USPD, the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany, which split from the SPD during the war and regrouped further to the left, in order to isolate the radical left and guarantee the unity of the labor movement.
Then the SPD got the rumor that Karl Liebknecht, leader of the extreme left-wing Spartacists, wants to proclaim the socialist republic.
The new republic
At noon on November 9, 1918, masses in a revolutionary spirit gathered in front of the Reichstag. Philipp Scheidemann, member of the SPD board, is urged by his people to anticipate Liebknecht and speak to the people at the window.
Scheidemann begins his speech, but deeply touched by the excitement of the historic moment, Scheidemann goes much further than just proclaiming the end of the old order.
At 12 noon, Scheidemann proclaimed the "German Republic" in the German Reichstag. His party friend Ebert is appalled:"You have no right to proclaim the republic! A constituent assembly (=constituent assembly) decides what becomes of Germany, whether it becomes a republic or something else."
But Scheidemann is two hours ahead of Karl Liebknecht, when he proclaims the "free socialist republic of Germany" at 2:00 p.m. from the balcony of the Berlin City Palace.
Philipp Scheidemann announces the beginning of a new era
On the same day, the Realpolitiker Friedrich Ebert set about forming a government. In order to integrate the radical left forces, Ebert makes major concessions to the USPD. The formation of a Soviet Republic is to be prevented at all costs.
Ebert succeeds in forming a provisional transitional government, the so-called Council of People's Representatives. It consists of three members each from the SPD and the USPD. The council unanimously decides on the elections to the National Assembly on January 19, 1919.
On November 10, the Emperor goes into exile. On the evening of November 10, the majority of moderate socialists successfully prevailed against a left-wing radical minority, setting the course for the formation of a parliamentary democracy.
Oppressive legacy issues
On November 11, 1918, Matthias Erzberger, a representative of the Center Party, signs the armistice. The German Reich is in shock.
The First World War claimed ten million dead and 20 million injured. Almost two million German soldiers were killed, more than four million injured and maimed.
Civil war is raging on the streets. Chaos and hunger determine people's lives, eight million soldiers have to be demobilized and reintegrated, the revolutionary uprisings slowed down.
In addition to the turbulent domestic political situation, there is pressure from the victorious powers' claims for damages. With the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was faced with heavy economic compensation payments, the so-called reparations.
In 1921, an Allied commission set the total amount of compensation payments at 132 billion gold marks, which Germany had to pay within 30 years. An almost immeasurable sum that the drained country can hardly afford.
Democratic new beginning
Free elections are held in Germany on January 19, 1919, and women are allowed to vote for the first time. Voter turnout is very high at 83 percent.
The Germans elect the National Assembly. Because there are fears of unrest in Berlin, it meets in Weimar. Weimar gave the young German republic a constitution and its name. Germany is now a parliamentary democracy.
The SPD becomes the strongest party in the Reichstag with 37.9 percent. Friedrich Ebert becomes President of the Reich, he holds the highest office in the state.
As one of the most important politicians of the Weimar Republic, Ebert strongly advocated that the young German democracy find its way out of the grueling aftermath of the First World War.
Ebert succeeds in closing ranks with the bourgeois elite, he successfully pursues the reintegration of German soldiers into society.
But the hour of birth of the first German republic is not under a lucky star. The lost war is blamed on them from the start, and the leaders of the democratic parties have to answer for the defeat before the people and the fatherland.
On February 6, 1919, the National Assembly met for the first time
The German people, who were powerless to accept the harsh terms of the Versailles Agreement, became susceptible to the greatest propaganda lie of the Weimar Republic:the stab in the back legend.
The former imperial leadership deliberately spread the rumor that the German army had remained "undefeated in the field" during World War I and had received the deadly "stab in the back" from those responsible for the November Revolution of 1918.
The large number of very different parties makes it clear how deeply divided German society is. The moderate parties of the center are flanked by those loyal to the Kaiser who want to restore pre-war conditions, the radical right-wing who are striving for a dictatorship and the radical left-wing who want to proclaim a Soviet republic in Germany.
In fact, there is widespread contempt for parliamentarianism, and Weimar is often described as a "democracy without democrats". Large parts of the elite do not accept the republic - for example the Reichswehr - but they initially behave in accordance with the constitution.
The Weimar Republic was able to assert itself for 14 years. 14 years characterized by economic crises, almost insurmountable political problems and social upheavals, but also supported by hopes, brilliant diplomatic achievements and democratic convictions.