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The allies promised a fair peace settlement if Germany became a democracy. The Kaiser initially tried to hang on but faced with a revolution and mutiny he decides to abdicate.
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The Germans and the Allies agree an armistice (ceasefire)
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During this period Germany went from being a Monarchy under the Kaiser to being a democracy run by a President, Chancellor and Reichstag. The early Republic suffered a lot of violence but things settled down between 1924 and 1929 - 'the Streseman Years'. However, in 1929 Germany decended into crisis as the Great Depression brought on by teh Wall Street crash led to mass unemployment and an increasein support for the Nazi PArty.
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Sailors in Kiel refused to obey orders and engage in battle with the British Navy. This was the event which sparked the German Revolution which led eventually to the Kaiser's abdication.
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Ebert's Government gets help from the Freikorps to put down the communist revolt led by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebernecht.
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Signed in Paris. Germany were forced to accept it. The treay saw German lose territory & colonies. She was forced to accept responsibility for WW1 and would have to pay reparations of 32Billion gold marks.
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Kapp and the Freikorps take over Berlin for one week. Ebert is forced to flee but a workers strike stops Kapp and he flees to Sweden.
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Freikorps units annihilate the Ruhr Communist uprising in five days; thousands are killed.
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Hitler replaces Anton Drexler as the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP). The party was nicknamed 'the Nazis'.
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Walter Rathenau was the German Foreign Minister. He was murdered by Organisation Consul. 356 Weimar politicians were murdered by right-wing groups between 1919 and 1923.
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France invades the Ruhr area as Germany refuses to pay reparations. The German government instructs German workers to show "Passive Resistance" towards the invaders. As a result thousands of workers are expelled from the Ruhr region by the French.
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His first action is to call off Passive Resistance in the Ruhr
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Stresemann's government ends hyperinflation by introducing a new currency - the Rentenmark.
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- The French would leave the Ruhr
- Reparation payments would begin at “one billion marks the first year, increasing to two and a half billion marks annually after five years
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Hitler is released after serving only 8 months of his sentence.
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This organisation had been set up by the Versailles Treaty. Initially Germany had not been allowed to join. Allowing Germany to join was a sign that things were starting to get back to normal in Europe.
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This reduced the reparation repayments and gave Germany a longer time period to pay them back. Germany was also told that they would only have to pay the yearly payments if she could afford to do so.
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On a day remebered as 'Black Thursday' the value of shares in the New York stock exchange collapses. US banks begn to call in loans made to other countries including Germany.
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Nazis win 107 seats (up from 12 seats in 1928)
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Hitler runs Hindenburg close in the election winning 13million votes. The Nazis election campaign saw them use an aeroplane to transport Hitler to mass rallies across Germany - a publicity stunt dubbed "Hitler over Germany".
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Nazis become the largest party with 230 seats. Hitler demanded the Chancellorship but Hindenburg refuses and appoints Papen instead.
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196 seats - Nazis still the largest party although they lose some seats.
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Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor by President Hindenburg. Franz von Papen is made Vice-Chancellor. Hindenburg hopes that he and Von Papen can use Hitler's popularity to get the Reichstag under control.
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Hitler declares that the fire was part of a Communist plot to take over Germany. He uses it to frighten Hindenburg who agrees to decree "The Law for the Protection of the People and the State" which Hitler then uses to attack his enemy - the communists.
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Despite intimidation of opponenets Hitler fails to get a majority (288seats - 43%) but the German Nationalist joins with the Nazis to give them the majority they needed to push through the Enabling Law.
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This law allowed Hitler to rule as a dictator for 4 years. On the day the bill was signed all Communist members of the Reichstag were in prison. The SA had surrounded the Kroll Opera House where the Reichstag was meeting and intimidated non-Nazi deputies. Only the Social Democrats voted against the bill. After this point Germany ceased to be a democracy. It was now a dictatorship.
