The Weimar Republic was established after World War 1 ended in 1918. The Kaiser, or King, of Germany abdicated from the throne because of his poor leadership during the war. The Weimar Republic, known as Germany at the time, existed until Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933.

Context

End of World War 1

At the end of World War 1, the Allies (Britain, France and the USA) effectively forced Germany to sign a treaty in 1919. This treaty was signed in Versailles, France, which is why it is called the Treaty of Versailles.

The Treaty of Versailles said that Germany:

Unsurprisingly, this treaty wasn’t very popular in Germany, but the German government signed the treaty anyway. Some people were glad that there was finally peace, whilst others thought that it was a “stab in the back” for Germany.

Creation of the Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic got it’s name because it was established in the city of Weimar, since there were riots in the capital Berlin at the time. The constitution set out how the German and state governments would work, and set out the rights that those in Germany had, including the right to vote for both men and women over 20 years old, among other things.

Political revolutions

From November 1918 until August 1919, there was political instability in Germany, with left- and right-wing forces trying to seize power. When the constitution had been written, these revolution attempts stopped, but not for very long. These revolution attempts stopped at the beginning of 1924.

Kapp Putsch

The Kapp Putsch was an attempt to overthrow the German government on the 13th November 1920. It was planned by supporters of the old German monarchy and led by Wolfgang Knapp and Walther von Lüttwitz. Supporters occupied government buildings in Berlin, causing the government to flee. Although it was suppressed by the military after a few days, the Putsch was one cause of the Ruhr uprising several weeks later.

Munich Putsch

The Munich Putsch, or the Beer Hall Putsch, was an attempt to get the German government’s attention by trapping local government officials on the 8-9 November 1923. It was led by Adolf Hitler and 2000 Nazis took part in the coup attempt. Hitler and his armed supporters surrounded the beer hall where the local government was meeting.

Culture

The 1920s was known as the “Golden Twenties” because of the economic growth, expansion of liberal values (democracy, equality, etc.) and new experiments in art. During the 1920s, Berlin was known as one of the main culture capitals in the world.

Economy

Hyperinflation

Hyperinflation is when the government prints so much money that the value of the money goes down substantially compared to other stable currencies, such as the US Dollar or the British Pound Sterling. This causes prices for basic items such as bread and milk to dramatically increase.

In the middle of 1921, the first payment of Germany’s war reparations was due. The German government decided that the best way to pay off these reparations would be to buy foreign currencies – at any price – and to use this currency to print more German money to pay off the reparations. This started off the process of hyperinflation, which would spiral out of control by 1923. By November 1922, the German mark was effectively worthless, meaning it couldn’t be used to buy other currencies.

For example, a loaf of bread in Berlin that cost 160 Marks in 1922 cost 200,000,000,000 Marks at the end of 1923. People carried the money needed to buy a loaf of bread in wheelbarrows!

A man carrying a large pile of money in a wheelbarrow.

Great Depression

Unlike the hyperinflation in 1923, the Great Depression that happened in 1929 affected the entire world – not just Germany. It started with the Wall Street Crash in the USA, where the value of stocks dropped dramatically. This meant the US government started to demand that Germany pay all of it’s loans back quickly.