Weimar Germany: Birth, Crises and the Stresemann Era (1918–1929)

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A clause allowing the President to rule by emergency decree, bypassing the Reichstag (parliament). Used 136 times between 1930 and 1932, it effectively allowed presidential rule to replace democracy during the crisis years.

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The false claim that Germany's undefeated army was 'stabbed in the back' by civilian traitors in 1918. Used by right-wing nationalists to delegitimise the Weimar Republic and the politicians who signed the armistice.

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Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht led a communist attempt to seize power in Berlin. The government used the Freikorps (violent right-wing ex-soldiers) to crush it; both leaders were murdered. It showed the republic depended on forces hostile to it.

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It failed because workers launched a general strike, paralysing the country. The army refused to fire on the putschists. It revealed that the army was NOT loyal to the republic — civilian workers saved democracy, not the military.

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France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr (Germany's industrial heartland) after Germany defaulted on reparations. The German government called for passive resistance and printed money to pay striking workers, destroying the currency's value.

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He introduced the Rentenmark (a new currency backed by land and industrial assets), called off passive resistance in the Ruhr (ending money-printing), and stabilised public finances. Inflation stopped almost overnight.

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A US-brokered agreement that restructured German reparations payments to match Germany's ability to pay and opened the door to large American loans (about 25.5 billion marks by 1929). It funded Germany's economic recovery but made prosperity dependent on American capital.

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Both renegotiated reparations: the Dawes Plan restructured annual payments and brought in American loans; the Young Plan reduced the total bill further and extended the payment period to 1988. Neither cancelled reparations outright.

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Germany voluntarily accepted its western borders with France and Belgium. In return, France evacuated the Rhineland early and treated Germany as a diplomatic equal. Stresemann, Briand, and Chamberlain shared the Nobel Peace Prize. Eastern borders were left open.

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Economic recovery rested on short-term American loans that could be recalled at any time. Coalitions were still unstable (6 governments in 5 years). Extremist parties remained active. Agricultural workers were already suffering by 1927–28. One shock — the Wall Street Crash — exposed all the hidden weaknesses.

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Hitler and Ludendorff's failed attempt to seize power in Munich. Police dispersed it easily; Hitler received a lenient sentence of 5 years (served 9 months). It showed both that far-right threats existed and that the state could defeat them when it chose to act.

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In May 1928 the Nazis won only 2.6% of votes. By September 1930 they won 18.3%. The Wall Street Crash (October 1929) had recalled American loans, collapsed German banks, and driven unemployment to millions — turning economic desperation into Nazi votes.