Weimar Republic facts for kids

German Reich
Deutsches Reich
1919–1933
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen
Germany during the Weimar period.
Capital		Berlin
Languages		German
Government		Republic
President
•	1918-1925	Friedrich Ebert
•	1925-1933	Paul von Hindenburg
Chancellor
•	1919	Philipp Scheidemann (first)
•	1933	Adolf Hitler (last)
Legislature		Reichstag
•	State council	Reichsrat
Historical era		Interwar period
•	Established	9 November 1918 1919
•	Hitler takes office	30 January 1933
•	Reichstag fire	27 February 1933
•	Enabling Act	23 March 1933
Area
•	1925	468,787 km2 (181,000 sq mi)
Population
•	1925 est.	62,411,000
Density		133/km2 (345/sq mi)
Currency		Papiermark (1919-1923) Reichsmark (1924-1933)
Preceded by Succeeded by German Empire Nazi Germany

The Weimar Republic (German: Weimarer Republik) is the name now used for the republic that governed Germany from 1919 to 1933.

Origin

After the German Empire was defeated in World War I, Germany became a republic, but it was still called "Deutsches Reich" (German Empire). Today it is called the Weimar Republic and this period is called the Weimar period, because the constitution was made in the city of Weimar.

Beginning

On November 9, 1918, the Republic was proclaimed by Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag building in Berlin and two hours later a socialist republic was proclaimed around the corner at the Berlin Castle by Karl Liebknecht.

The Emperor, or Kaiser, Wilhelm II, went into exile in the Netherlands. The new Republic was declared even before the end of World War I.

Problems

The Weimar Republic had a lot of problems. The Treaty of Versailles made things very difficult for the economy. Inflation got completely out of hand. There were political problems because governments ruled only for a very short time, not long enough to be able to make important decisions. There were a lot of radical right and left extremists, for example monarchists (people who wanted back the monarchy) and communists, who believed that all things, especially property, land and money, should be shared.

Positives

The Weimar period is also known for its culture. Artists tried out modern ideas and used new things like film. The Bauhaus began in the 1920s too.

End

What we now call The Weimar Republic came to an end on 23 March 1933, when Chancellor Adolf Hitler installed the Enabling Act, which established the Third Reich.

Images for kids

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  The rebellion, November 1918.

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  Philipp Scheidemann addresses a crowd from a window of the Reich Chancellery, 9 November 1918.

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  Official postcard of the National Assembly.

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  One-million mark notes used as notepaper, October 1923.

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  50-million mark banknote issued in 1923, worth approximately one US dollar when issued. Nine years earlier, 50 million marks would have been worth approximately 12 million US dollars. Within a few weeks, inflation made the banknote practically worthless.

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  A disabled war veteran begging, Berlin, 1923.

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  Wilhelm Marx's Christmas broadcast, December 1923. Marx was the longest serving chancellor of the republic.

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  The "Golden Twenties" in Berlin: a jazz band plays for a tea dance at the hotel Esplanade, 1926.

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  The German army feeds the poor, Berlin, 1931.

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  Gross national product (inflation adjusted) and price index in Deutsches Reich 1926–1936. The period between 1930 and 1932 is marked by a severe deflation and recession.

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  Unemployment rate in Deutsches Reich between 1928 and 1935. During Brüning´s policy of deflation (marked in purple) the unemployment rate soared from 15.7% in 1930 to 30.8% in 1932.

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  Poster for the nationalist "Black–White–Red" coalition of Alfred Hugenberg (DNVP leader), Franz von Papen and Franz Seldte.