This Weimar Timeline charts the chronology of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
, dating the pre-history before the adoption of the actual Weimar constitution. This timeline stops when Hitler establishes the Third Reich.
The timeline is color-coded:
*Black: Normal events of the Weimar republic and its pre-history.
*
Red: Events pertaining to Adolf Hitler.
*
Brown: Events regarding the German Workers' Party and the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
.
*All other events pertaining to the rise of
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
in Germany are emboldened.
For a chronology focusing on the rise of Nazism see
Early Nazi Timeline
The early timeline of Nazism begins with its origins and continues until Hitler's rise to power.
19th century influences
*1841: German economist Friedrich List publishes ''Das Nationale System der Politischen Ökonomie'' (National System o ...
.
End of the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
28 July 1914
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
breaks out.
*14 April 1917 Government announces reduction in bread rations.
*15 April 1917 200,000
Socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
s and
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
s stage major strikes in Germany
*13 July 1917 Dr.
Georg Michaelis
Georg Michaelis (8 September 1857 – 24 July 1936) was the chancellor of the German Empire for a few months in 1917. He was the first (and the only one of the German Empire) chancellor not of noble birth to hold the office. With an economic bac ...
replaces
Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg
Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was the chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry into World War I. According to biog ...
as
Chancellor of Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ge ...
.
*31 October 1917 Michaelis resigns, replaced by Count
Georg von Hertling
Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, (31 August 1843 – 4 January 1919) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of t ...
1918
*4 October 1918
Prince Maximilian of Baden
Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (''Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm''; 10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929),Almanach de Gotha. ''Haus Baden (Maison de Bade)''. Justus Perthes (publishing company), Justus Perthes, Gotha, 1944, p. 18, (French). a ...
replaces Count Georg von Hertling as Chancellor of Germany
*7 October – 3 November 1918 Naval mutinies (see
German Revolution of 1918–19
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
)
*4–6 November 1918 Establishments of soviets across Germany.
*4 November 1918 Sailors and
worker's councils declare
general strike
A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
s.
*5 November 1918 3rd Squadron revolts.
*7 November 1918 100,000 workers march on the Royal House of
Wittelsbach
The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...
. The
King of Bavaria
King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a kingdom, almost a thousand ...
flees.
*8 November 1918 All 22 of Germany's lesser kings, princes, grand dukes, and ruling dukes had been deposed.
*9 November 1918 Proclamation of the Republic by Philipp Scheidemann, some hours later: proclamation of the Socialist Republic by
Karl Liebknecht
Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German socialist and anti-militarist. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) beginning in 1900, he was one of its deputies in the Reichstag from ...
; also:
**Matthias Erzberger arrives at Allied HQ at Compiegne.
**
Kaiser Wilhelm told to abdicate, before he can decide Prince Max formally announces the abdication of Wilhelm.
**
Social Democrats
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
demand government from Prince Max.
**Kaiser abdicates
**
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925.
Eber ...
assumes the chancellery.
**First German Republic established.
*11 November 1918
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
ended.
Armistice signed with Allies.
*Mid December, 1918 First
Freikorps
(, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...
unit formed; Maercker Volunteer Rifles.
*23 December 1918 Lt. Dorrenbach with the
Volksmarinedivision The Volksmarinedivision (People's Navy Division) was an armed unit formed on 11 November 1918 during the November Revolution that broke out in Germany following its defeat in World War I. At its peak late that month, the People's Navy Division ...
declare gov. under arrest, surround the chancellery and occupy phone exchange.
*24 December 1918
Skirmish of the Berlin Schloss
The Skirmish of the Berlin Schloss (German: ''Weihnachtskämpfe'' or ''Weihnachtsaufstand'' i.e. Christmas eve struggle or rebellion ) was a small skirmish between the socialist revolutionary ''Volksmarinedivision'' and regular German army u ...
*30 December 1918
Spartakusbund
The Spartacus League (German: ''Spartakusbund'') was a Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. It was founded in August 1914 as the "International Group" by Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht, Clara Zetkin, and other ...
splits from the Independent Socialists (later becomes the
KPD
The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...
).
1919
*January 1919 Independent Socialists and Spartacusbund stage large protests. Large sections of Berlin seized. Also:
**
"Free Workers' Committee for a fair Peace" renamed German Workers Party.
*6 January 1919 Spartacists launch an armed revolt against the government (known as January revolution/spartacist uprising) and were crushed
*10 January 1919 Battle of Berlin begins;
Counter-revolution
A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revoluti ...
*13 January 1919 Battle of Berlin finished.
*January 1919 Bremen seized. Also:
**German Gov. moved to the city of
Weimar
Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...
.
*15 January 1919
Rosa Luxemburg
Rosa Luxemburg (; ; pl, Róża Luksemburg or ; 5 March 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a Polish and naturalised-German revolutionary socialist, Marxist philosopher and anti-war activist. Successively, she was a member of the Proletariat party, ...
and
Karl Liebknecht
Karl Paul August Friedrich Liebknecht (; 13 August 1871 – 15 January 1919) was a German socialist and anti-militarist. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) beginning in 1900, he was one of its deputies in the Reichstag from ...
murdered by
Freikorps
(, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...
*6 February 1919 Fritz Ebert opens the
Reichstag in Weimar, Germany.
*11 February 1919
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925.
Eber ...
(
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
) leaves office. Also:
**
Philipp Scheidemann
Philipp Heinrich Scheidemann (26 July 1865 – 29 November 1939) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). In the first quarter of the 20th century he played a leading role in both his party and in the young Weimar ...
appointed chancellor.
*21 February 1919
Kurt Eisner
Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)"Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpageBritannica-KurtEisner. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre c ...
assassinated. Also:
**Attempted assassination of Erhard Auer.
*3 March 1919 2nd Battle for Berlin; Communists seize Berlin; Weimar government appoints
Gustav Noske
Gustav Noske (9 July 1868 – 30 November 1946) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the first Minister of Defence (''Reichswehrminister'') of the Weimar Republic between 1919 and 1920. Noske has been a cont ...
as German defense minister.
*7 March 1919 Communist Strike Committee withdraws proclamation and makes peace overtures to government.
*10 March 1919 Gustav Noske orders Peoples' Naval Division disbanded. Battle for Berlin over.
*March 1919
Adolf Hitler finishes job of guarding Russian prisoners.
*6–7 April 1919
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
declared a
Soviet Republic.
*14 April 1919 Freikorps suppress Communists in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
.
*18 April 1919 Freikorps suppress Communists in
Brunswick. Also:
**Battle of the Bavarian governments at
Dachau
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for =
, location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany
, built by = Germany
, operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS)
, original use = Political prison
, construction ...
. Communists defeat republican forces.
*27 April 1919 Battle for Munich between Communists and Freikorps units.
*29 April 1919 German representatives arrive in Paris.
*1 May 1919 Communist defences at Munich breached.
*2 May 1919 City of Munich taken; not declared secure until May 6; approximately 1200 Communists killed.
*7 May 1919 German Delegation presented with the terms of the Treaty Of Versailles
*10 May 1919 Freikorps suppress communists in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
.
*18 June 1919 Germany given ultimatum to sign Treaty of Versailles
*21 June 1919 Philipp Scheidemann (
SPD
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany.
Saskia Esken has been the ...
) leaves office
*22 June 1919 German Reichstag ratify the
Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
.
*28 June 1919 Versailles Treaty signed in the
Hall of Mirrors
The Hall of Mirrors (french: Grande Galerie, Galerie des Glaces, Galerie de Louis XIV) is a grand Baroque style gallery and one of the most emblematic rooms in the royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the hal ...
.
Weimar Republic
*11 August 1919 The Weimar Constitution is announced.
*11 September 1919
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
sent as ''Vertrauensmann'' to infiltrate the German Workers' Party
The German Workers' Party (german: Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, DAP) was a short-lived far-right political party established in Weimar Germany after World War I. It was the precursor of the Nazi Party, which was officially known as the National Soci ...
.
1920
*January 1920
The DAP grew to 190 members.
*4 February 1920 Allies demand 900 Germans be handed over for
war crimes.
*20 February 1920
DAP changes name to National Socialist German Workers’ Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
.
*February 1920
Inter-Allied Control Commission order 2/3 of Freikorps disbanded.
*24 February 1920
First public meeting of the NSDAP.
*13 March 1920
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch (), also known as the Kapp–Lüttwitz Putsch (), was an attempted coup against the German national government in Berlin on 13 March 1920. Named after its leaders Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz, its goal was to undo the ...
*14 March 1920 Communists seize demilitarized Ruhr; Dortmund, Remscheid, Hagen, Mülheim, Düsseldorf; 300 people killed (mostly policemen).
*17 March 1920 Kapp Putsch ends.
*27 March 1920
Gustav Bauer
Gustav Adolf Bauer (; 6 January 1870 – 16 September 1944) was a German Social Democratic Party leader and the chancellor of Germany from June 1919 to March 1920. He served as head of government for nine months. Prior to becoming head of gover ...
(SPD) leaves office
*31 March 1920
Adolf Hitler mustered out of the military.
*3 April 1920 21 different Freikorps units, under the command of General Baron
Oskar von Watter
Oskar Walther Gerhard Julius Freiherr von Watter (born 2 September 1861 in Ludwigsburg; died 23 August 1939 in Berlin) was a German ''Generalleutnant'' who came from an old Pomerania, Pomeranian noble family.
World War I
In April 1913, von Wat ...
, annihilate the Ruhr Communist uprising in five days; thousands killed.
*April 1920 Government stops paying Freikorps units.
*10 May 1920 Dr.
Joseph Wirth
Karl Joseph Wirth (6 September 1879 – 3 January 1956) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party who served for one year and six months as the chancellor of Germany from 1921 to 1922, as the finance minister from 1920 to 1921, as a ...
and
Walther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and liberal politician.
During the First World War of 1914–1918 he was involved in the organization of the German war economy. After the war, Rathenau s ...
announce their "Policy of Fulfillment"; not received well by nationalist groups.
*21 June 1920
Hermann Mueller (SPD) leaves office
*11 August 1920 National Disarmament Law takes effect; disbanded civil guards
*17 December 1920
NSDAP buys its first paper, the ''Voelkischer Beobachter''.
*December 1920
NSDAP total party membership comes to 2,000.
1921
*21 March 1921 Plebiscite in Upper Silesia. They vote to remain part of Germany.
*March, 1921 Allied Plebiscite Commission draws boundary based on plebiscite results, giving about 30% (1255/4265 square miles) of Upper Silesia to Poland. Large minority populations exist on both side of the boundary.
*27 April 1921 Allied Reparations Committee levels 33 billion dollars worth of war reparations debt onto Germany; commands the handing over of 26% of all exports for 42 years and puts the Germans immediately into 12 billion in arrears.
*3 May 1921 Polish insurgents under
Wojciech Korfanty
Wojciech Korfanty (; born Adalbert Korfanty; 20 April 1873 – 17 August 1939) was a Polish activist, journalist and politician, who served as a member of the German parliaments, the Reichstag and the Prussian Landtag, and later, in the Polish ' ...
rise up in
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia ( pl, Górny Śląsk; szl, Gůrny Ślůnsk, Gōrny Ślōnsk; cs, Horní Slezsko; german: Oberschlesien; Silesian German: ; la, Silesia Superior) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located ...
.
*5 May 1921 London Ultimatum which set the total sum of the war indemnity at 132 billion marks.
*10 May 1921
Constantin Fehrenbach
Constantin Fehrenbach, sometimes falsely,Bernd Braun: ''Constantin Fehrenbach (1852–1926)'', in: Reinhold Weber, Ines Mayer: ''Politische Köpfe aus Südwestdeutschland'', Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2005, p. 106. Konstantin Fehrenbach (11 January 185 ...
(Center) leaves office
*23 May 1921 German Freikorps smash Polish forces at St. Annaberg.
*24 May 1921 Under Allied pressure, all Freikorps units outlawed.
*11 July 1921
Adolf Hitler resigns from the party to force the hand of Anton Drexler
Anton Drexler (13 June 1884 – 24 February 1942) was a German far-right political agitator for the Völkisch movement in the 1920s. He founded the pan-German and anti-Semitic German Workers' Party (DAP), the antecedent of the Nazi Party (NSDAP). ...
not to unite with the DSP.
*25 July 1921
Adolf Hitler rejoins the party.
*29 July 1921
Adolf Hitler assumes leadership of the NSDAP. He becomes "Der Fuehrer".
*26 August 1921
Matthias Erzberger
Matthias Erzberger (20 September 1875 – 26 August 1921) was a German writer and politician (Centre Party), the minister of Finance from 1919 to 1920.
Prominent in the Catholic Centre Party, he spoke out against World War I from 1917 and as a ...
, (finance minister of 1920) gunned down by OC killers
*17 September 1921
Hitler and SA disrupt speech by Otto Ballestedt of the Bayernbund; beaten badly; Hitler with others arrested.
*26 October 1921 Dr.
Joseph Wirth
Karl Joseph Wirth (6 September 1879 – 3 January 1956) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party who served for one year and six months as the chancellor of Germany from 1921 to 1922, as the finance minister from 1920 to 1921, as a ...
(Center) forms 2nd cabinet
1922
*12 January 1922
Adolf Hitler sentenced to eight months.
*24 June 1922
Hitler Incarcerated. Also:
**
Walther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau (29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and liberal politician.
During the First World War of 1914–1918 he was involved in the organization of the German war economy. After the war, Rathenau s ...
assassinated.
**
German mark
The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...
was 272 to 1
American dollar
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
*27 July 1922
Hitler released.
*July 1922 670 marks = 1 US dollar
*August 1922 2,000 marks = 1 US dollar
*27 October 1922
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
establishes his
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
dictatorship in Italy.
*October 1922 45,000 marks = 1 US dollar
*22 November 1922 Dr. Wirth leaves office
*November 1922 100,000 marks = 1 US dollar
*27 December 1922 France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr to ensure payment of war reparations in kind. The Weimar government responds by funding 'passive resistance' of the workers through printing Papiermarks, further fueling hyperinflation.
*30 December 1922 500,000 marks = 1 US dollar
1923
*February 1923
Reichsbank
The ''Reichsbank'' (; 'Bank of the Reich, Bank of the Realm') was the central bank of the German Reich from 1876 until 1945.
History until 1933
The Reichsbank was founded on 1 January 1876, shortly after the establishment of the German Empi ...
buys back Papiermark; stabilizes value at 20,000 to 1 US dollar
*May 4, 1923 ℳ 40,000 = 1 US dollar
*May 27, 1923
Albert Leo Schlageter
Albert Leo Schlageter (; 12 August 1894 – 26 May 1923) was a World War I veteran and German ''Freikorps'' member who became famous for acts of post-war sabotage against French occupation forces. Schlageter was arrested for sabotaging a secti ...
, a German freebooter and saboteur, was executed by a French firing squad in the Ruhr. Hitler declared him a hero that the German nation was not worthy to possess.
*June 1, 1923 ℳ 70,000 =1 US dollar
*June 30, 1923 ℳ 150,000 = 1 US dollar
*August 1-August 7, 1923 ℳ 3,500,000 = 1 US Dollar
*August 13, 1923 Dr.
Wilhelm Cuno
Wilhelm Carl Josef Cuno (2 July 1876 – 3 January 1933) was a German businessman and politician who was the chancellor of Germany from 1922 to 1923, for a total of 264 days. His tenure included the episode known as the Occupation of the Ruh ...
(No party affiliation) Leaves office
*August 15, 1923 ℳ 4,000,000 = 1 US Dollar
*September 1, 1923 ℳ 10,000,000 = 1 US Dollar
*Around September 10 to September 25, 1923 Prices reportedly rise hourly in several German cities.
*September 24, 1923 Chancellor Stresemann ends the passive resistance in the Ruhr; infuriates the nationalists.
*September 30, 1923 Major
Fedor von Bock
Moritz Albrecht Franz Friedrich Fedor von Bock (3 December 1880 – 4 May 1945) was a German who served in the German Army during the Second World War. Bock served as the commander of Army Group North during the Invasion of Poland in ...
crushes a coup attempt by the Black Reichswehr. Also:
**ℳ 60,000,000 = 1 US Dollar
*October 6, 1923 Dr.
Gustav Stresemann
Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as chancellor in 1923 (for 102 days) and as foreign minister from 1923 to 1929, during the Weimar Republic.
His most notable achievement was the reconci ...
(People's) forms 2nd cabinet
*October 20, 1923 General Alfred Mueller marches on
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
to prevent a communist takeover. Also:
**General
Otto von Lossow
Otto Hermann von Lossow (15 January 1868 – 25 November 1938) was a Bavarian Army and then German Army officer who played a prominent role in the events surrounding the attempted Beer Hall Putsch by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in November 19 ...
in Bavaria is relieved of command by Berlin; he refuses.
*October 23, 1923 Communist takeover of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
*October 25, 1923
Hamburg Uprising
The Hamburg Uprising (german: Hamburger Aufstand) was an insurrection during the Weimar Republic in Germany as part of the so-called German October communist revolution attempt. It was started on 23 October 1923 by one of the most militant sect ...
suppressed
*November 8, 1923
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch,Dan Moorhouse, ed schoolshistory.org.uk, accessed 2008-05-31.Known in German as the or was a failed coup d'état by Nazi Party ( or NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler, Erich Ludendorff and othe ...
*November 9, 1923 Beer Hall Putsch quelled.
*November 12, 1923 Dr.
Hjalmar Schacht
Hjalmar Schacht (born Horace Greeley Hjalmar Schacht; 22 January 1877 – 3 June 1970, ) was a German economist, banker, centre-right politician, and co-founder in 1918 of the German Democratic Party. He served as the Currency Commissioner a ...
was named ''Reichswaehrungskommissar''.
*November 15, 1923 ''
Rentenmark
The Rentenmark (; RM) was a currency issued on 15 October 1923 to stop the hyperinflation of 1922 and 1923 in Weimar Germany, after the previously used "paper" Mark had become almost worthless. It was subdivided into 100 ''Rentenpfennig'' and ...
'' issued, with value backed by mortgage payments on state property; Rentenmark 4.2 = 1 US dollar; at this time:
**Papiermark 4,200,000,000 = 1 US dollar
*November 30, 1923 Dr. Stresemann leaves office.
1924
*February 26, 1924
Hitlerputsch trial begins.
*June 3, 1924 Dr.
Wilhelm Marx
Wilhelm Marx (15 January 1863 – 5 August 1946) was a German lawyer, Catholic politician and a member of the Centre Party. He was the chancellor of Germany twice, from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1926 to 1928, and he also served briefly as the ...
(Center) forms 2nd cabinet
*August 29, 1924
Dawes Plan
The Dawes Plan (as proposed by the Dawes Committee, chaired by Charles G. Dawes) was a plan in 1924 that successfully resolved the issue of World War I reparations that Germany had to pay. It ended a crisis in European diplomacy following Wor ...
agreed by Reichstag.
*December 20, 1924
Hitler released from Landsberg Prison
Landsberg Prison is a penal facility in the town of Landsberg am Lech in the southwest of the German state of Bavaria, about west-southwest of Munich and south of Augsburg. It is best known as the prison where Adolf Hitler was held in 1924, a ...
.
1925
*January 4. 1925
Hitler begins his political comeback by meeting with new ministers and President of Bavaria.
*January 15, 1925 Dr. Marx leaves office.
*February 27, 1925
Nazi party refounded;
Hitler gives his first speech since release from prison.
*February 28, 1925 Reichspresident
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert (; 4 February 187128 February 1925) was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and the first President of Germany (1919–1945), president of Germany from 1919 until his death in office in 1925.
Eber ...
dies.
*March 29, 1925 First round of presidential elections: no candidate receives absolute majority.
*April 25, 1925 Second round of presidential elections:
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fro ...
, the candidate of the right wing parties, wins over
Wilhelm Marx
Wilhelm Marx (15 January 1863 – 5 August 1946) was a German lawyer, Catholic politician and a member of the Centre Party. He was the chancellor of Germany twice, from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1926 to 1928, and he also served briefly as the ...
, candidate of the
Centre party
*July 1925 French and Belgian troops evacuate the Ruhr completely.
*November 22, 1925
Strasser wing of Nazi party goes into rebellion.
*October 5–16, 1925
Locarno Treaties
The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, during 5 to 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 1 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of Central an ...
negotiated.
*December 1, 1925
Locarno Treaties
The Locarno Treaties were seven agreements negotiated at Locarno, Switzerland, during 5 to 16 October 1925 and formally signed in London on 1 December, in which the First World War Western European Allied powers and the new states of Central an ...
signed.
1926
*January 20, 1926 Dr.
Hans Luther
Hans Luther () (10 March 1879 – 11 May 1962) was a German politician and Chancellor of Germany for 482 days in 1925 to 1926. As Minister of Finance he helped stabilize the Mark during the hyperinflation of 1923. From 1930 to 1933, Luther was h ...
(No party affiliation) forms 2nd cabinet
*February 14, 1926 Bamberg conference begins.
*April 24, 1926 Germany and
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
sign
Berlin Treaty.
*May 12, 1926 Dr. Luther leaves office over flag dispute
*May 16, 1926 Marx cabinet of the Center, BVP, DDP, DVP.
*June 20, 1926 Referendum on expropriation of princely families.
*September 8, 1926 Germany admitted to the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
1927
*January 29, 1927 Marx's 3rd cabinet leaves office
*July 16, 1927 Unemployment Insurance Law passed.
1928
*May 1928
Adolf Hitler speaking ban lifted in Bavaria.
*29 June 1928 Marx's 4th cabinet leaves office
*27 August 1928
Kellogg–Briand Pact
The Kellogg–Briand Pact or Pact of Paris – officially the General Treaty for Renunciation of War as an Instrument of National Policy – is a 1928 international agreement on peace in which signatory states promised not to use war to ...
signed
*20 October 1928
Alfred Hugenberg
Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg (19 June 1865 – 12 March 1951) was an influential German businessman and politician. An important figure in nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, Hugenbe ...
becomes head of DNVP
*8 December 1928 Prelate Kaas becomes head of Center party.
1929
*7 June 1929
Young Plan
The Young Plan was a program for settling Germany's World War I reparations. It was written in August 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. It was presented by the committee headed (1929–30) by American industrialist Owen D. Young, founder and for ...
resets reparations amount, and allows it to be paid in installations over a period of 58.5 years.
*3 October 1929 Foreign minister
Gustav Stresemann
Gustav Ernst Stresemann (; 10 May 1878 – 3 October 1929) was a German statesman who served as chancellor in 1923 (for 102 days) and as foreign minister from 1923 to 1929, during the Weimar Republic.
His most notable achievement was the reconci ...
dies.
*24 October 1929
Black Tuesday
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
stock market crash
A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock
In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especia ...
, start of world economic collapse.
*22 December 1929
Liberty Law
The Young Plan was a program for settling Germany's World War I reparations. It was written in August 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. It was presented by the committee headed (1929–30) by American industrialist Owen D. Young, founder and for ...
referendum to reject Young Plan fails due to extremely low turnout (14.9–50% was required for it to be valid.)
1930
*30 March 1930 Hermann Mueller's (SPD) 2nd cabinet leaves office
*30 June 1930 French troops leave the Rhineland ahead of schedule.
*16 July 1930 Reichstag dissolved; first emergency decree by Reichspresident.
*August 1930
SA commander in Berlin Walter Stennes
Walter Franz Maria Stennes (12 April 1895 – 19 May 1983) was a leader of the (SA, stormtroopers, or "brownshirts") of the Nazi Party in Berlin and the surrounding area. In August 1930 he led the Stennes Revolt against Adolf Hitler, the lead ...
calls for SA general strike against Nazi Party.
*14 September 1930 Reichstag elections; gains by NSDAP who become the second-largest party (behind the SPD.)
*September 1930
Hitler at trial of 3 SA Lieutenants disavows the SA goals of replacing the army and hence appeases the German army.
1931
*11 May 1931
Austrian Kreditanstalt collapses
*May 1931 Four million unemployed in Germany.
*20 June 1931
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...
puts moratorium on reparations.
*13 July 1931 German bank crisis.
*11 October 1931 Harzburg Front formed of coalition between DNVP, Stahlhelm, and Nazi Party
1932
*10 April 1932
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fro ...
reelected
President of Germany
The president of Germany, officially the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: link=no, Bundespräsident der Bundesrepublik Deutschland),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international corres ...
.
*30 May 1932 Henrich Bruening (Center) leaves office.
*1 June 1932
Franz von Papen
Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany i ...
cabinet
*16 June – 9 July 1932 Lausanne conference
*20 July 1932 Von Papen dissolves Prussian government.
*31 July 1932 Reichstag elections where Nazi party becomes the largest party.
*6 November 1932 Reichstag elections; Nazis lose votes.
*17 November 1932 Franz von Papen (Center) leaves office
*3 December 1932
Kurt von Schleicher
Kurt Ferdinand Friedrich Hermann von Schleicher (; 7 April 1882 – 30 June 1934) was a German general and the last chancellor of Germany (before Adolf Hitler) during the Weimar Republic. A rival for power with Hitler, Schleicher was murdered by ...
cabinet
1933
*28 January 1933 Kurt von Schleicher (no party affiliation) leaves office
*30 January 1933
Adolf Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.
*23 March 1933
Adolf Hitler establishes the Third Reich (
Enabling Act of 1933
The Enabling Act (German: ') of 1933, officially titled ' (), was a law that gave the German Cabinet – most importantly, the Chancellor – the powers to make and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or Weimar Presi ...
).
See also
*
Weimar culture
Weimar culture was the emergence of the arts and sciences that happened in Germany during the Weimar Republic, the latter during that part of the interwar period between Germany's defeat in World War I in 1918 and Hitler's rise to power in 193 ...
*
Weimar political parties
In the fourteen years the Weimar Republic was in existence, some forty parties were represented in the '' Reichstag''. This fragmentation of political power was in part due to the use of a peculiar proportional representation electoral system tha ...
*
Glossary of the Weimar Republic
References
* Halperin, S. William. ''Germany Tried Democracy: A Political History of the Reich from 1918 to 1933'' (1946
online
*''Why Hitler, The Genesis of the Nazi Reich'',
Samuel W. Mitcham
Samuel W. Mitcham Jr. is an American author and military historian who specializes in the German war effort during World War II and the Confederate war effort during the American Civil War. He is the author of more than 40 books and has collabo ...
, Praeger, Westport, CT, 1996. pg 28.
*''The Logic of Evil, The Social Origins of the Nazi Party, 1925-1933'', William Brustein, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. 1996. pp 191–193.
Related media
* Audio: Educational rapsong about The Weimar Republic by Johnathan Pagel,
OGG format(2,14Mb
MP3(4.33Mb)
{{Portal bar, Germany, History, 1920s, World War II
.
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is al ...