Weimar Republic
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Weimar Republic (German: Weimarer Republik) is the name we now use for the republic that governed Germany from 1919 to 1933.
After the German Empire was defeated in World War I, Germany became a republic, but it was still called "Deutsches Reich" (German Empire). Today it is called the Weimar Republic and this period is called the Weimar period, because the constitution was made in the city of Weimar.
On November 9, 1918, the Republic was proclaimed by Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag building in Berlin and two hours later a socialist republic was proclaimed around the corner at the Berlin Castle by Karl Liebknecht.
The Emperor Wilhelm II went into exile in the Netherlands. The new Republic was declared even before the end of World War I.
The Weimar Republic had a lot of problems. The Treaty of Versailles made things very difficult for the economy. Inflation got completely out of hand. There were political problems because governments ruled only for a very short time, not long enough to be able to make important decisions. There were a lot of radical right and left extremists, for example monarchists (people who wanted back the monarchy) and communists, who made a lot of trouble.
The Weimar period is also known for its culture. Artists tried out modern ideas and used new things like film.
What we now call The Weimar Republic came to an end on the 30. January 1933, when Hitler became chancellor.
