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German Revolution of 1918 and Kaiser Wilhelm II resigns
The German Revolution started on October 29, 1918 was a civil conflict in the German Empire at the end of WWI which resulted in the replacement of the German federal constitutional monarchy with the Weimar Republic on November 9, 1918, which is the date that Kaiser Wilhelm II resigned as well.
I chose the image because it shows the violence of the German Revolution. This is significant as it shows the effects that the German Revolution brought to German society. -
Ebert-Groener Pact
An agreement between Friedrich Ebert, a Social Democrat, and Wilhelm Groener, the Chancellor of Germany, signed on November 10, 1918. Groener promised Ebert the loyalty of armed forces and Ebert promised that the government would take actions against leftist uprisings.
I chose this mage because it portrays Groener (left) and Ebert (right) which is significant in terms of understanding what these individuals looked like. -
Armistice Ending WWI
The armistice that ended WWI was signed on November 11, 1918 which ended fighting on land, sea and air between the Allies and Germany.
I chose this image as it portrays the meeting that was held to create the armistice that ended WWI. It is significant as it depicts the seriousness and urgency of the situation through the body language of the individuals. -
Spartacism Revolt
On January 5, 1919, a left-wing uprising was designed to establish communism in Germany by destroying the Weimar Republic, led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht. The communists, or Separatists, wanted Germany to be run by the working class. The Spartacism Revolt was knocked down by Ebert.
I chose this image as it portrays the revolt which is significant in terms of gaining a visual on the intensity that the revolt brought within Germany. -
Bavarian Soviet Republic
On April 6, 1919, the Bavarian Soviet Republic was a socialist state in Bavaria that adopted the form of a workers’ council republic. This was significant as it was an unrecognized socialist state.
I chose this image because it portrays the socialist's as eager and excited to spread their beliefs and protest against communism. This illuminates the eagerness of these socialists within Bavaria. -
Treaty of Versailles and the results for Germany
The Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and the Allies on June 28, 1919, which formally ended WWI. The treaty was significant as it predominantly blamed Germany for the start of WWI and required that Germany paid financial reparations, disarm, lose a lot of its territory, and abandon all of its overseas colonies.
I chose this image as it portrays the meeting in which the treaty was signed. It introduces the intensity and severity of the situation as everyone appears tense. -
Formation of Weimar Republic/Constitution
On August 11, 1919, the Weimar Constitution was signed to be a law by President Elbert. The Weimar Constitution was significant as it caused a lot of tension throughout German society due to its weaknesses, such as Article 48 which gave the president the power to declare emergency decrees in order to protect the republic from chaos.
I chose this image because it portrays the front of the Weimar Constitution. It is significant as it contains many of the reasons that the Republic failed. -
Kapp Putsch
A coup d’état which tried to overthrow the Weimar Republic and replace it with an autocracy. This was caused by the attempted demobilization of the Freikorps soldiers. This photo shows the large support of overthrowing the Weimar republic which shows how citizens truly felt toward this republic and how they felt about the government preventing armed forces. -
(Red) Ruhr Uprising
A left-wing workers' revolt which was a response to the Kapp Putsch. The Freikorps were sent by the SPD to stop this revolt. Many were killed and the rising eventually ended April 12, 1920. This shows the Freikorps and the people they killed during this revolt. -
Rapallo Treaty
A treaty signed by the Weimar Republic and the Soviet to resolve any issues between the two republics. This shows how significant of an event this was as it was featured in a newspaper article. -
Grand Coalition of Weimar Germany
This was a coalition that constituted of the 4 major democratic parties within Germany. The first was the more moderate SPD, the next was the liberal and middle class DDP, the third was the centre-right Stresemann-led DVP, and the last was the Church-based Catholic Centre Party. This helped bring an end to the French invasion of the Ruhr, although this event also caused the SPD to leave the coalition, The coalition also led to the introduction of the Rentenmark to fight inflation. -
Occupation of the Ruhr by France and Belgium
Belgium and France militarily occupied the Ruhr, which was the most important region to Germany's economy as it contained factories. This was because Germany wasn’t paying reparations and it lasted until August 25, 1925. This shows all of the soldiers lined up. -
Hyperinflation Crisis
To get the workers to strike against France and Germany, the government printed more money to pay workers. This led to extreme reparations which caused the German currency to have very little value.This shows how worthless the German currency was at this time as children are playing with it. -
Beer Hall Putsch
An attempted coup d’état by the Nazi party. They stormed into the city center to take over the Bavarian government. This shows all of the Nazi party preparing for the coup d’état. -
Introduction of Rentenmark
This was basically a new currency that was introduced by chancelor Stressemann. This was used in attempts to help the economic crisis by replacing the paper mark that they had. I chose this image here because it is just what the rentemark looked like, also showing its significance because of the visual comparison and contrast of money. -
Weimar Golden Age
This was when Weimar was introduced to a better economy, social status, and political status. Culture flourished and the economy boomed and living standards were also better. This was basically all due to Gustav Stresemann and Charles Dawes, who created the Dawes plan to do this. I chose this picture because it was significant to the people who introduced the golden age to Weimar Germany who were Stresemann and Dawes. -
Dawes Plan
This was a plan to help the economy of Weimar Germany that was created by Charles G Dawes. This eventually allowed Germany to flourish and helped in the Golden Age of Germany. This picture was chosen because it demonstrates what Dawe's plan enlisted. -
Election of President Von Hindenburg
Hindenburg won presidency when the elections were held on April 26th, 1925. He was greatly supported by the right wing nationalists which included the DNVP. I chose this picture because it shows the President himself. -
Locarno Treaty
This treaty was used to secure territories after the first world war. It also got rid of the military at Ruhr and included Germany to the League of Nations. I chose this picture here because it demonstrates the different parties at the Locarno Treaty. -
Treaty of Berlin with Soviet Union
The idea that If the Soviet Union or Germany get attacked then they would agree to neutrality. This proved some benefits for Germany because it allowed them more time to do repairs on the relations between the countries. This picture was chosen because it demonstrates the Treaty of Rapallo which was intuitively the same thing. -
German Entrance into League of Nations
The Weimar Republic was allowed into the League because of a 1926 Resolution, made possible by Stresemann’s policy of fulfillment. This entry also allowed for the Locarno Treaty to come into operation. -
Young Plan
Following the 1924 Dawes Plan, the Young Plan was implemented to help settle Germany’s reparations following World War 1, dividing the amount of money owed into both theoretical totals and practical totals. However, the plan was stunted by the Wall Street Crash of 1929, as well as rising rates of nationalism. -
Beginning of the Great Depression
This was caused by the Wall Street Crash in October 1929, which eventually culminated into the Great Depression. This affected the entire world, but especially Germany’s Young Plan. Germany was affected along with the rest of Europe when America had to recall money from the other continent. The depression caused the rest of the international community to agree that Germany would be unable to pay off its reparations. -
Von Papen's Deal With Hitler
Authoritarian chancellor Von Papen was appointed due to the influence of General von Schleicher, but they came to disagree because the latter wanted to represent all Germans, and therefore backed democracy and opposed Von Papen. Von Schleicher used his influence to have ministers oppose Von Papen, who was forced to resign. As Hitler began steadily rising to power, a vengeful Von Papen made a deal with Hitler to make Hitler Chancellor and Von Papen Vice Chancellor. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor
After his deal with Hitler, Von Papen expected to use Hitler as a puppet do his own bidding as Hitler and the Nazi party were the minority in the cabinet. However, after his January 30, 1933 acceptance of the Chancellorship, he was able to manipulate article 48 and build up power and influence to become Germany’s absolute ruler and create Nazi Germany.