History Abitur - Beginnings of the Weimar Republic: November Revolution & Dual Proclamation of the Republic

A popular topic for the history Abitur exam is the Weimar Republic (1918–1933). Since it is a historically significant subject, students in the Abitur often have the choice between two major themes: the beginnings or the downfall of the Weimar Republic, often combined with the rise of the NSDAP.

In the exam, the task is often to analyze a political speech or an article. These may come from contemporary sources or be more recent. It is always important to keep in mind that the time when a speech was written can make a big difference. Today’s perspective on many of the problems of that time is completely different—both ideologically and politically.

The Weimar Republic is such an important topic because it was Germany’s first attempt at a democracy and marked the end of the Empire and thus the First World War.

It all began with the November Revolution of 1918: Germany’s defeat in the First World War was already practically certain—yet the Naval Command still issued an order for the fleet in Kiel. Since the sailors did not want to embark on a suicide mission, they mutinied on 3 November 1918. This uprising spread further and further until, on 9 November, the Republic was officially proclaimed in Berlin. The Empire was now history: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated, and Friedrich Ebert (SPD) assumed the office of Reich Chancellor.

This was an extremely turbulent time: the Republic was proclaimed twice—once by the Social Democrats through Philipp Scheidemann, and once by Karl Liebknecht (KPD). A provisional government followed—the so-called Council of People’s Representatives (SPD + USPD). On 11 November 1918, State Secretary Matthias Erzberger (Centre Party) signed the armistice in Compiègne. In December, preparations were made for the election of the National Assembly, and there were also violent street battles between the radical left and the right (the so-called Spartacist uprisings). During these events, Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg (KPD) were killed on 15 January 1919.

On 19 January 1919, the first elections to the National Assembly took place, in which, for the first time, women had the right to vote at the national level. On 6 February, the National Assembly convened in Weimar and on 11 February officially elected Friedrich Ebert as Reich President. Germany was now a parliamentary democracy.

However, many problems remained: the end of the First World War was not yet fully resolved. Germany also did not yet have an official constitution, as the parliamentary-democratic system was still very new.

In summary, the beginnings of the Weimar Republic were extremely rocky—and unfortunately, many of these early problems ultimately contributed to its downfall. The democratic system was very new and highly unfamiliar both to the population and to the new government. It was often said that the Weimar Republic was a “democracy without democrats”—a criticism that many old habits from the Empire were carried over into the politics of the Republic. You can find more information on this in the next article—about the Weimar Constitution and the Treaty of Versailles.

Pro Tip: In the history Abitur, it is often not about memorizing individual dates but about recognizing connections. For the Weimar Republic, it is particularly important to focus on the problems that ultimately led to its collapse. These lay above all in its constitution, its handling of the Treaty of Versailles, and the major economic difficulties.