GCSE-ready- Home
- Lessons
- GCSE & IGCSE History
- The Weimar Republic, 1918 to 1923
The Weimar Republic, 1918 to 1923
🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.
Germany's first democracy was born out of defeat in the First World War. It faced crisis after crisis in its early years.
A new republic
The Kaiser abdicated in November 1918 and Germany signed the armistice on 11 November.
The new Weimar constitution (1919) used proportional representation, which led to many small parties and weak coalition governments.
Article 48 let the President rule by decree in an emergency.
The new Weimar constitution (1919) used proportional representation, which led to many small parties and weak coalition governments.
Article 48 let the President rule by decree in an emergency.
The Treaty of Versailles, 1919
Blame: Article 231, the war guilt clause.
Army: limited to 100,000 men; the Rhineland demilitarised.
Reparations: payments for war damage.
Territory: Germany lost land, including all its colonies.
Many Germans felt betrayed and called the politicians who signed it the "November Criminals".
Army: limited to 100,000 men; the Rhineland demilitarised.
Reparations: payments for war damage.
Territory: Germany lost land, including all its colonies.
Many Germans felt betrayed and called the politicians who signed it the "November Criminals".
Uprisings and hyperinflation
Left: the Spartacist uprising, January 1919.
Right: the Kapp Putsch, March 1920.
1923: France occupied the Ruhr when Germany missed reparations payments. Printing money caused hyperinflation.
In November 1923 Hitler's Munich Putsch failed.
Right: the Kapp Putsch, March 1920.
1923: France occupied the Ruhr when Germany missed reparations payments. Printing money caused hyperinflation.
In November 1923 Hitler's Munich Putsch failed.
Explain why the Treaty of Versailles weakened the Weimar Republic.
- Many Germans saw it as harsh and humiliating.
- The government that signed it was blamed as "November Criminals".
- This damaged trust in democracy from the very start.
Answer: The Republic was blamed for a hated treaty, so many Germans never accepted it.
Weimar began in defeat (1918) with a weak constitution. Versailles (1919) brought blame, army limits, reparations and land losses. Crises: Spartacists 1919, Kapp 1920, Ruhr and hyperinflation 1923, Munich Putsch November 1923.
Check you have got it
Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.