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Weimar Germany (Treaty of versailes (The Treaty of Versailles was a…
Weimar Germany
Treaty of versailes
The Treaty of Versailles was a compromise between President Wilson's Fourteen Points and his desire to make a "just peace", and the French leader Clemenceau's desire for revenge.
Germany had to accept responsibility for starting the war, and had to agree to pay for the cost of the damage (set at £6.6 billion in 1921).
Germany's army was reduced to 100,000 men. Germany's navy had to be handed over to the victorious Allies, and Germany was not allowed to manufacture war planes or tanks in the future.
No German troops were allowed in the Rhineland, the area of Germany closest to France.
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The newly created state of Poland was given the German territories of West Prussia and Posen. The port of Danzig was placed under the control of the League of Nations. As a result of these changes, East Prussia was cut off from the rest of Germany by what became known as the "Polish Corridor".
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Germany was not allowed to unite with Austria (this was known as Anschluss, and it was forbidden).
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Spartacist
In January 1919, the Weimar Government led by President Friedrich Ebert and his Social Democratic Party, was challenged by a group of revolutionaries called the Spartacists.
The Spartacists were communists, who wanted Germany to be run by the working classes. They believed that power and wealth should be shared equally among the population.
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establishing soviets (workers’ and soldiers’ councils) in place of central government in German towns and cities
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The revolt
In January 1919, 50,000 workers went on strike and demonstrated in the centre of Berlin. This demonstration was taken over by the Spartacist leadership. Newspaper and communication buildings were seized and the demonstrators armed themselves. However, many protesters returned home frustrated at the lack of planning by the Spartacists.
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The Weimar Constitution
After Germany lost the First World War, the Kaiser fled and a new democratic government of Germany was declared in February 1919 at the small town of Weimar. It was too dangerous to make a declaration in Berlin where there had just been a revolt by a Communist group called the Spartacists. The Weimar Republic was a genuine attempt to create a perfect democratic country.
The Weimar Republic looked like the perfect democracy, but it had two great weaknesses - proportional representation and Article 48.
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