Why was the Weimar Republic created and how was it structured?

Complete a series of activities to develop your understanding of this post war period.
What happened in Germany at the end of World War One?
BBC Schools Overview:
How WW1 ended

Germany had already been under political strain in 1914

There had been a political truce to support the Kaiser, however he was not a
good military strategist and the military high command had begun to rule
Germany as a military dictatorship.
The Reichstag still met but they ignored it.
When Germany began to collapse at the end of the war, General Ludendorff
(one of the military high command) suggested to the Kaiser that unrest might be
calmed by a change in government.
The rather cynical Revolution from above was put into place in 1917.
The army leadership stepped down, to avoid being overthrown by the people of
Germany.
A new government led by Prince Max of Baden was formed from the majority
parties in the Reichstag.

On 3rd October 1918, Prince Max of Germany asked the Allies for an armistice. While the Allies discussed this
(Britain and France were willing; the USA wanted to march to Berlin and force a surrender). German politics moved
on and some changes were made to alter the way Germany was run. Some argue this was to try and get a more
favourable peace for Germany (they were trying to make themselves look more democratic to gain sympathy,)
some argue this was genuine.

Prince Maxs government made some constitutional reforms. It gave the vote to all German men. It made both the
ministers and the army responsible to the government instead of the Kaiser. These were significant changes and
some people approved, however unrest and talk of revolution continued.
On 28th October, the governments official first day, the German navy refused to sail against the British fleet. This
set off strikes and mutinies across Germany. Others focused on what was unchanged; the country was still at war,
the Kaiser still ruled. Others, like the Spartacists, wanted a revolution like the one that had taken place in Russia in
1917. By the 6th November, workers and soldiers councils had been set up and taken control in many cities. Some
shared the communist ideals of Russian soviets. Others were less radical, but all still wanted change.

The Social Democrats were the largest party in the Reichstag. They were the party that the workers traditionally
voted for. On the 7th November they sent an ultimatum to the Kaiser that unless he abdicated they would join the
revolution. Prince Max was also urged to press the Kaiser to abdicate; the Kaiser refused. On 8th November,
Bavaria broke from Germany, declaring itself a republic. The Kaiser could not ignore his empire breaking up. He
finally abdicated and fled to Holland. Prince Maxs government had to resign. It had lasted less than a month.

The new government:

the Social Democrats

What was happening elsewhere in Europe at

the end of World War One?
The Europe that emerged after the First World
War was not the same as pre-war Europe.
Two great empires, the Russian Empire and
the German Empire, had been torn apart.
Russia was caught up in a civil war between
the Communist government and the forces
that wanted to overthrow it.
Britain and France had suffered during the
war but retained their old empires and their
democratic systems of government
although the growth of communism worried
both their governments.
Italy and Spain were both run as democracies immediately post-war, however, both had significant
social and economic problems. The political situation here was also precarious their democratic
governments faced strong opposition from right-wing parties and they also feared the growth of
Communism.

The Council of Peoples Representatives

On 10th November 1918, a new government was set up the Council of Peoples Representatives led by the
socialist groups that held power in the Reichstag. The most significant were the Social Democrats (SPD), led by
Freidrich Ebert and the Independent Social Democrats (USPD), led by Hugo Haase. Ebert became Chancellor
with a cabinet of SPD and USPD members. The new government now had to face all of the problems of the
previous one, but worsened by a month of disruption and unrest.
These problems forced Ebert to make the Ebert-Groener Pact with the army. This said that the army would
support the government as long as the government opposed the more left wing ideas of parties in the
Reichstag. The SPD and USPD could not agree, let alone gain the wholehearted support of smaller parties.
Ebert wanted to arrange for elections as soon as possible and leave any significant changes to the newly
elected National Assembly that would write the new constitution. Haase wanted to start social and economic
reforms at once, and wanted nothing to do with the army without reforming it first. What steps did the
government take? Their first move was to stop the war.
The End of the War
On 11th November, Matthias Erzberger of the German delegation signed the armistice on behalf of the
government. The Allies then told the Germans they could not take part in treaty negotiations. In the shadow of
this humiliation, parties began to form and reform, trying to gain enough votes to have a voice in the new
Reichstag. The government also made some social reforms in the hope of improving the unsettled political and
economic situation. They:
Set an eight-hour working day,
Allowed independent trade unions, set up help for ex-soldiers to find work
Widened health and unemployment benefit.
On 19th December, it fixed elections for 19th January 1919. Meanwhile the rift between the SPD and the USPD
over how radical their policies should be became so great that its council members resigned. Many USPD
members joined the German Communist Party instead (KPD.)

Armistice

An agreed truce, or pause in a war, to give time for negotiation for peace.

Spartacists

A Communist group led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg that wanted a
workers revolution in Germany.

Council

A small group representing workers (from factory workers to sailors) in place of

political parties, usual campaigning for reform.

Soviet

The Russian for council or committee. Russian workers soviets became part of the
revolutionary government.

Abdicate

To give up power and/or responsibility. In this case when a rule gives up their throne.