Following the surrender of
the German Army, there were spontaneous demonstrations by “councils” of
soldiers and sailors in the armed forces and civilians in domestic cities.
The overregulation
of the government during the war and the impoverishment of small producers
and merchants angered the public. Citizens began taking matters into
their own hands.
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Image: Postage stamp of
Friedrich Ebert, First President of the Weimar Republic (1919-1925).
|
Amid the uncertainty immediately following the surrender and armistice,
the leading Social Democratic Party proclaimed Germany the Weimarer
Republik (Weimar Republic) on November 9, 1918; Freidrich Ebert was
named Chancellor.
On November
28, 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II formally abdicated and went into exile
in Holland. Imperial Germany of the prewar years was now a democratic
republic.
Leaders of the new Weimar Republic feared the turmoil in
the streets which was reminiscent of the Bolshevik Revolution. They
called upon
the army and the Freikorps (Free Corps, paramilitary groups
from the right) to quell disruption and restore the status quo.
The leaders of the Spartacists (German Bolsheviks) were Karl Liebknecht
and Rosa
Luxemburg. It is
significant to note that in the opening days of the Republic, the army
was called
upon to shore up the Republic against left-wing groups.
Elections
for delegates to the constitutional convention took place in January
1919 and resulted in a victory for the Weimar coalition
of Social Democrats,
the Centre Party, and the Democrats—collectively these groups polled
75% of the vote. |
