Germany

GERMANY (137-182)

In 1914 the Germans were a proud people:
• The Kaiser was celebrated for his achievements
• Their army was the finest in the world
• There was a prospering business
• The workforce was well-educated and well-fed
But the war destroyed much of Germany, the country was crippled in all aspects:
• The proud German army was defeated
• People were starving• A flu epidemic was sweeping the country, killing thousands of people

In autumn 1918 the Allies had clearly won the war. Germany was in chaos. The Allies offered Germany peace but under strict conditions, and one of these was that the country should become more democratic. The Kaiser refused so many mutinies and revolts took place and the Socialists led uprisings of workers and soldiers. In1918 the Kaiser abdicated his throne and left Germany for the Netherlands.
The Socialist leader, Friedrich Ebert, became the new leader of the Republic of Germany. He signed an armistice with the Allies and said to the people that the new republic was giving them freedom of speech and worship and better working conditions. A new constitution was drawn up.
The success of the new government depended onthe German people accepting an almost instant change from the traditional, autocratic German system of government to this new democratic system
Ebert had opposition from both left and right:
• Right wing opponents: Kaiser’s former advisers that remained in the positions in the army, judiciary, civil service and industry, restricted what the government could do and hoped for the return of theKaiser. These were people who had grown up in the successful days of the Kaiser’s Germany. They had liked the Kaiser’s dictatorial style of government, Germany having a strong army, had been proud of German’s powerful industry and wanted Germany to expand its territory, have an empire.
• Left wing opponents: communists that believed that Germany needed a Communist revolution
-Spartacists: led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg. Wanted Germany to be led by worker’s councils or soviets. In 1919, joined by soldiers and sailors, they set up soviets
- Freikorps: anti-Communist ex-soldiers who had formed themselves into vigilante groups
In January 1919 free elections took place. Ebert’s party won a majority and he became president of the Weimar Republic (in Weimar becauseBerlin was violent and unstable)

Left wing opponents:
Ebert made an agreement so the army and the Freikorps put down the rebellion. Fighting took place between the Spartacists and the Freikorps. Both sides were heavily armed, casualties were high. The Freikorps won. Liebknecht and Luxemburg were murdered.
In February 1919, Kurt Eisner, Ebert’s ally who led Bavaria, and independent Socialist state,was murdered by political opponents. The Communists in Bavaria seized the opportunity to declare a soviet republic in Bavaria, but the Freikorps moved in to crush the revolt in may 1919. 600 Communists were killed.
In 1920 there was more Communist agitation in the Ruhr industrial area. Police, army and Freikorps clashed with Communists: there were 2000 casualties.

The Treaty of Versailles:
In May1919 the terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced. Germany lost:
• 10 per cent of its land
• All of its overseas colonies
• 12.5 per cent of its population
• 16 per cent of its coal and 48 per cent of its iron industry
• Its army was reduced to a 100000; it was not allowed to have an air force; its navy was reduced
• Germany had to accept the blame for starting thewar and was forced to pay reparations
Most Germans were appalled. Supporters of the Weimar government felt betrayed by the Allies. Ebert was very reluctant to sign the Treaty but he had no choice. The injustice of the Treaty became a rallying point for all Ebert’s opponents. They believed that the German army had been “stabbed on the back”, that it had not been beaten on the battlefield, but...