It’s November 1918 and German officials have just signed the armistice,
bringing an end to the First World War.
With the Kaiser having abdicated,
they now face the challenge of trying to sort out a new way of governing Germany.
The next few months aren’t going to be easy.
1918-19: The National Assembly & Setting Up the Weimar Republic
Ebert, the current German chancellor, takes several steps
to try and increase people’s confidence in the republic they’re setting up
and to try and keep everyone on side.
Firstly, he arranges for civil servants (those who work for the government in some way or another),
who have worked under the Kaiser, to keep their same jobs.
They are also instructed to work alongside soldiers’ and workers’ councils,
where these had been set up.
All this helps to make sure the day to day things keep running,
so schools stay open and taxes keep coming in.
To keep the army on side,
Ebert assures General Groener that
there won’t be any changes to the army and officers will keep their ranks.
In return, Groener agrees to use the army to help keep the new Republic in power.
Ebert also reassures leaders of industry,
including people like Hugo Stinnes (a coal and shipping entrepreneur),
that no land or factories will be confiscated by the new Republic
and there will be no nationalisation of private industries
(where the government takes over the running of an industry).
All of this helps to ensure that businesses stay open and the economy continues to function.
Ebert wins over the support of the trade unions (workers organisations)
by promising their leader, Carl Legien, that
the new Republic will try to achieve and 8 hour workday.
However, Ebert is unable to win over everyone and many are unhappy with his efforts,
particularly the radical left and far right.
Riots and demonstrations remain common in major cities,
with Germany still at risk of plunging into chaos.
Since earlier in the month of November,
Germany has been temporarily under the control of the Council of the People’s Representatives.
To ensure this is only temporary,
Ebert announces that there will be elections to choose a National Assembly.
The National Assembly will, in turn, create a new constitution for Germany.
A constitution is the framework by which a country is governed.
In January 1919, these elections take place,
and a sizeable 82% of the electorate (people eligible to vote) show up.
Moderate parties win most of the seats,
with the SPD (Ebert’s party) winning 40% and the centre party winning 20% .
In February, the Assembly meets for the first time.
However, due to the unrest in Berlin,
they have to meet in the town of Weimar, 250km away.
After 6 months the Assembly finally reaches an agreement on a new constitution,
and they pass it on 31 July 1919, by 262 votes to 75.
The new Republic is now governed by the constitution agreed in Weimar
and thus gets the name, the ‘Weimar Republic’.
1918-19: The National Assembly & Setting Up th e Weimar Republic
Thanks for watching don’t forget to like, subscribe and tell all your friends!
A big thank you to my patreons for making this possible!
You can join that wonderful group of people if you wish to!
There's a link in the description and in the corner :)
I also want to try out something a little bit new and see if we can get some debate going in the comments, so...
Which of these thing that we've discussed here that Ebert did
do you think was the most important in increasing people's confidence in the new Republic?
I'm going to leave a comment to start a thread
and you can respond to that comment with what you think the answer to that question is.
Byeeeee :D