Tag Archives: treaty of versailles

First, a quick history lesson. The Weimar Republic was born following the end of World War One. The armistice forced Germany’s monarch, Kaiser Wilhelm, to abdicate and leave the country. In the civil chaos and revolution that followed, other major leaders, like the King of Bavaria, also were forced out of power. A semi-coalition government drew up a new constitution in the town of Weimar, hence the name.

The Weimar Republic got off to a shaky start due largely to the financial penalties imposed upon Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. To pay the Allied Powers, mostly Britain and France, France and Belgium even sent troops into Germany to force them to pay. Germany fired up the printing presses and cranked out worthless currency to pay the tab. After a few years of hyperinflation, the Weimar Republic elected a new chancellor, as well as a new head of the Reichsbank, and after November 1923 or so, the economy began to stabilize. But the social unrest was still prevalent. More