patriotism swept germany and all parties put differences aside and joined forces to pledge support for the war effort - TU's promised not to disrupt wartime production by strike action

the political truce became known as burgfriede and allowed a unanimous RS vote in favour of war credits

war progression in 1915 also encouraged support for siegfriede of post-war glory following land annexations by germany now

anti-war movements in 1916 increased as german public began to fear loss, over deaths, shortages and declining living standards saw an end to the jubilant 1914 spirit

after the failed 'spring offensive' lundendorff suggested the chancellor seek an armistice according to wilson's 14 point plan

KWII as prince max to form a govt. on 1st october and on 3rd october max asked US for armistice according to 14pp

23rd october wilson said allies will only accept armistice if total surrender and complete constitutional change occurred

increased calls for kaisers abdications

between october and november there were a series of naval mutinies, such as at kiel

15 nov - stinnes-leigen agreement: employers recognise legality of unions and introduce 8hour day; unions maintain production, end unofficial strikes and oppose influence of workers councils

defeat of spartacists did not end rebellion by left-wing, march 1919 there was another spartacist uprising in berlin

KPD boycotted january elections and encouraged worker agitation, germany was considered ripe for cominterm-backed activism by Marxists

between march 1919 and 1923, there were a wave of left-wing strikes in germany, some were put down by the freikorps and ended in death of workers

between 1919 and 1923, 354 right wing politician assassinations had occurred, such as walter rathenau, matthias erzberger and hugo haase

in 1922 the 5 year law 'for the protection of the republic' promised severe penalties on those involved in conspiracy to murder

created 'stab-in-the-back' legend, and theory of november criminals - betrayed by revolutionary disruption and politicians

hated the imposition of the treaty of versailles in 1919, and referred to it as 'diktat'

there were 22 political assassinations by left-wing opposition in this period

the kapp putsch in 1920 was a right-wing attempt by freikorps led by wolfgang kapp to set up a right-wing goverment with kapp as chancellor - regular army refused to fight the freikorps and the rising was put down after workers striked across germany

treaty of rappallo in 1922 between germany and USSR angered french and they invaded the ruhr with belgian troops in 1923 to take coal, steel and manufactured goods as reparations

passive resistance was german response but this resulted in inflationary pressures and violence from troops

gustav stresemann, the new chancellor, ended passive resistance in 1923

in november 1923, adolf hitler led the munich (beer hall) putsch which was put down by the police - it was supported by the Nazi party, and their paramilitary organisation the SA

Nazis were banned and hitler was imprisoned, sentenced to 5 years but let out after 9 months due to judicial leniency of the right-wing

only one defendant was punished following the kapp putsch due to judge leniency, this was similar to the limited effects of the 1922 law on assassinations due to judge leniency to right wings

elections of new republic in jan 1919 produced 76% in favour of moderate parties that wanted a representative democracy - the SDP dominated and formed coalition with DDP and Zentrum

by 1920 elections there was a move away from moderate parties to extreme left and right parties - caused by fear of commie revolution and hostility towards politicians that had signed the hated treaty of versailles

represented growth in polarisation due to political instability of the weimar republic - SPD seats fell from 163 in 1919 to 103 in 1920 while right-wing parties such as DVP rose from 19 to 65 and DNVP rose from 44 to 71

proportional representation led to coalition governments that could not agree on decisions and were weak

met demand for strike pay by printing more money, leading to hyperinflation, by end of 1923 german money was not worth the paper it was printed on

stresemann became chancellor in 1923 as leader of DVP, as part of a coalition with the Zentrum and SPD parties

coalition fell apart in november as SPD withdrew, but he continued to serve as foreign secretary for 7 further ministries

negotiated ending of passive resistance

appointed hjalmar schacht as head of reichsbank who bought in the rentenmark and stabilised the currency

1929 young plan - reduced reparations by 75%

ebert was the first president of the weimar republic and died in 1925, and was replaced by hindenburg until his death

the reichsbanner was set up in 1924 in order to 'honour the constitution' supported by SPD, Zentrum and DDP

six different coalitions govts between 1923 and 1928 - the grand coalition by herman muller was the longest to survive, being brought down by the wall street crash

circulation of paper money increased from 2000m marks worth to 45,000m worth and national debt grew from 5000m to 144,000m marks between 1913 to 1919

by 1919 the value of the currency was 20% less than its pre-war value

prices doubled between 1918 and 1919 and quadrupled between 1919 and 1920 - 14 times higher than in 1913

elites benefitted by taking short-term loans to invest into businesses

november 1923 - rentenmark introduced backed by land and industrial resources, supply was strictly limited

number of bankrupt companies in germany grew from 233 in 1923 to 6000 in 1924

stopped offering credit to industry, lending rates were controlled, new taxes on individuals and companies were introduced

august 1924 rentenmark became reichsmark - backed by german gold reserve maintained at 30% of the value of reichsmarks in circ.

young plan kept £6.6bn reps. but reduced level paid each year until 1929 - guaranteed US loan at 8000m marks

inflation fell below 0 in 1926 but unemployment reached a peak of more than 20%

by 1919, industrial production was little over a 1/3 of what it had been in 1913

output reached its pre-war levels in 1927 and exceeded them in 1928 and 1929

by 1927 coal production was 79% of its pre-war level pig-iron 68% and steel 86%

car and aeroplane industries expanded and cars remained a luxury industry too expensive for average germans

poor harvests followed in 1917-18

an epidemic of spanish flu hit germany, causing over a million deaths

hyperinflation hit many white-collar workers hard, as they lost out on savings and pensions and war bonds

hyperinflation benefitted those who had debts, mortgages or loans to pay off

farmers coped well as money was typically less important in the country side anyway, and food was in high demand

abortion remained illegal until 1926

all titles and legal privileges removed, prussian junker military aristocracy = undermined by demilitarisation

cultural hegemony - behavioral patterns set by elitist education

marriages remained within social class

army remained strong despite restrictions due to WR need to crush left-wing revolts and due to ebert-groener pact of 1918

more modern culture based on mass consumerism spread - ownership of radios, tv's and cars increased

municipal developments in cities - dance halls, libraries and pools, spectator sports boomed and cinemas increased - 500 by 1929

rural areas saw less change, remained traditional and deferential

removal of censorship was paired with the expansion of media - modernisation

govt. subsidised art exhibitions - otto dix and george grosz = neue sachlichkeit for art movement

youth culture reflected americanisation of society - cigarettes, gum, fashion and women with bobs