The Last Years of the War

Germany – The Early Years of the Weimar Republic, 1918-23

In this course, Dr Nadine Rossol (University of Essex) explores the early years of the Weimar Republic (1918-23). In the first module, we trace events in the final years in the First World War up to the events in Kiel in late October/early November 1918. In the second and third modules, we explore the events of the German Revolution, before turning in the fourth module to the drafting of the new Weimar Constitution by the German National Assembly. In the fifth module, we think about the Treaty of Versailles, signed by representatives of the new government in June 1919, before turning to the national conservative reaction to the Weimar Republic in the period 1920-22, including the Kapp Putsch (1920) and the assassination Walther Rathenau by ultra-nationalists (1922). In the seventh module, we think about the events of 1923, including the problem of hyperinflation, the Franco-Belgian occupation of the Ruhr Valley, and Adolf Hitler's Beer Hall Putsch, before moving on in the eighth and final module to offer some concluding remarks about the period as a whole. In short: how did Weimar manage to survive this period at all?

The Last Years of the War

In this module, we trace events in the final years of the First World War, focusing in particular on: (i) the enthusiasm with which Germany had entered the First World War in 1914, and the extent to which that enthusiasm had all but disappeared by 1918; (ii) the severe food shortages in Germany; (iii) the extent to which political power in the country had shifted to the German High Command, in particular the figures of Paul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff; (iv) the extent to which the political establishment supported Germany's continued participation in the war; (v) the split of the SDP in December 1915; (vi) the deteriorating military situation and the attempts by German to negotiate a peace settlement; (vii) the extent to which the Kaiser was seen as an obstacle to peace by 1918; (viii) the increasing unrest in the cities by 1918; and (ix) the Kiel mutiny.