Crisis Phase (September 30, 1918-May 12, 1925): Chancellor Georg von Hertling resigned on September 30, 1918, and Prince Max of Baden formed a government as chancellor in Berlin on October 4, 1918. Government sailors mutinied at Kiel on October 28, 1918. Kurt Eisner led a rebellion in Munich on November 7, 1918, and proclaimed a socialist republic in Bavaria on November 8, 1918. Emperor William II abdicated on November 9, 1918, and Prince Max proclaimed the Republic of Germany. Friedrich Ebert formed a government as chancellor in Berlin on November 10, 1918. The Spartacist League, a revolutionary socialist organization headed by Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht, rebelled against the government in Berlin on January 5, 1919. Government troops commanded by Gustav Noske suppressed the Spartacist rebellion on January 15, 1919, resulting in the deaths of some 1,200 individuals. Rosa Luxembourg and Karl Liebknecht were killed by government police on January 16, 1919. Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held on January 19, 1919, and the socialists won 164 seats in the Constituent Assembly. The Christian People’s Party (CPP) won 91 seats in the Constituent Assembly. The communists boycotted the elections.
The Constituent Assembly convened in Weimar beginning on February 4, 1919. Chancellor Ebert, leader of the Social Democrat Party (SDP), was elected president by the Constituent Assembly on February 11, 1919. Philipp Scheidmann formed a centrist government as chancellor on February 13, 1919. Prime Minister Eisner of Bavaria was assassinated in Munich on February 21, 1919. German troops led by General Ernst von Oven and some 30,000 Bavarian volunteers (Freikorps) led by Johannes Hoffman overthrew the socialist government in Munich on May 1, 1919. Some 68 soldiers were killed during the conflict, and some 577 individuals were killed in the violence following conflict. Some 1,500 individuals were killed during a general strike and rebellion in Berlin on March 3-13, 1919. A soviet republic was established in Bavaria on April 4, 1919, but the government was overthrown on May 1, 1919. Gustav Bauer formed a government as chancellor on June 23, 1919. The Constituent Assembly approved the Weimar Constitution on July 31, 1919, and President Ebert signed the constitution on August 11, 1919. Adolf Hitler announced the establishment of the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NSDAP) or Nazi Party on February 20, 1920. Wolfgang von Kapp and General Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz led a right-wing rebellion (Kapp Putsch) against the government in Berlin on March 13, 1920, but the rebellion was suppressed by members of trade unions on March 17, 1920. Chancellor Bauer resigned on March 26, 1920, and Hermann Muller formed a government as chancellor on March 27, 1920. Government troops suppressed a rebellion in the Ruhr between March 19 and April 3, 1920. Parliamentary elections were held on June 6, 1920, and the SDP won a plurality of the vote. Chancellor Muller resigned on June 8, 1920, and Konstantin Fehrenbach, the leader of the Center Party (CP) formed a government as chancellor on June 25, 1920. Chancellor Fehrenbach resigned on May 4, 1921, and Joseph Wirth formed a government as chancellor on May 10, 1921. Chancellor Wirth resigned on November 14, 1922, and Wilhelm Cuno formed a government as chancellor on November 15, 1922. Chancellor Cuno resigned on August 12, 1923, and Gustav Stresemann, leader of the German People’s Party (GPP), formed a coalition government as chancellor on August 13, 1923. General Erich Ludendorff and Adolf Hitler led the Beer Hall Putsch in Munich, Bavaria on November 8-9, 1923, but the rebellion was suppressed by government police. Adolf Hilter was sentenced to nine months in prison. Eighteen Nazis and three government policemen were killed in the rebellion. Chancellor Stresemann resigned on November 23, 1923, and Wilhelm Marx of the Center Party (CP) formed a coalition government as chancellor on November 24, 1923. Parliamentary elections were held on March 4, 1924, and Wilhelm Marx formed a government as chancellor on May 28, 1924. Parliamentary elections were held on December 7, 1924, and the SDP won 131 seats in the parliament (Reichstag). Hans Luther formed a government as chancellor on January 15, 1925. President Ebert died on February 28, 1925. Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg was elected president on April 26, 1925, and he was inaugurated as president on May 12, 1925. Some 5,000 individuals were killed during the crisis.
Post-Crisis Phase (May 13, 1925-April 12, 1932): Germany preliminarily agreed to sign the Locarno Treaties in Locarno, Switzerland on October 16, 1925, and Germany formally signed the treaties in London on December 1, 1925. Chancellor Luther resigned on December 5, 1925, but formed a new government as chancellor on January 20, 1926. Chancellor Luther resigned on May 12, 1926, and Wilhelm Marx formed a new government as chancellor on May 16, 1926. Chancellor Marx resigned on December 17, 1926, but formed a coalition government as chancellor on January 31, 1927. Parliamentary elections were held on May 20, 1928. Chancellor Marx resigned on June 13, 1928, and Herman Muller, leader of the SDP, formed a government as chancellor in July 1928. Chancellor Muller resigned on March 27, 1930, and Heinrich Bruning, leader of the CP, formed a government as chancellor on March 28, 1930. Parliamentary elections were held on September 14, 1930, and the SDP won 143 seats in the Reichstag. Presidential elections were held on March 13 and April 10, 1932, and President Hindenburg defeated Adolf Hitler, leader of the NSDAP, by a margin of 53 to 37 percent.
Crisis Phase (April 13, 1932-May 23, 1949): Chancellor Bruning banned the Nazi storm troopers, on April 13, 1932. Chancellor Bruning resigned on May 30, 1932, and Franz von Papen, a member of the CP, formed a government as chancellor on June 2, 1932. President Hindenburg dissolved the Reichstag on June 4, 1932. Chancellor Franz von Papen lifted the ban on Nazi storm troopers on June 16, 1932. Chancellor Franz von Papen proclaimed martial law in Berlin and Brandenburg on July 20, 1932. Parliamentary elections were held on July 30, 1932, and the NSDAP won 230 seats in the Reichstag. The Reichstag convened on August 30, 1932. The Reichstag approved a no-confidence motion against the government of Chancellor Franz von Papen on September 12, 1932. Parliamentary elections were held on November 6, 1932, and the NSDAP won a plurality of 196 seats in the Reichstag. Chancellor Franz von Papen resigned on November 17, 1932, and General Kurt von Schleicher formed a government on December 2, 1932. Chancellor Schleicher resigned on January 28, 1933. President Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as chancellor and Franz von Papen as vice-chancellor on January 30, 1933. The Reichstag building was destroyed in a fire on February 27, 1933. On February 28, 1933, Chancellor Hitler issued an emergency decree to suppress domestic opposition to Nazi rule. Parliamentary elections were held on March 5, 1933, and the NSDAP won 288 seats in the Reichstag. Germany withdrew from the League of Nations (LON) on October 14, 1933. Parliamentary elections were held on November 12, 1933, and the Nazis received 92 percent of the vote. Some 400 individuals were killed in a Nazi purge on June 30-July 1, 1934. President Hindenburg died on August 2, 1934, and Adolf Hitler assumed the role of head-of-state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Some 100 Jewish Germans were killed during a pogrom (Kristallnacht) on November 9, 1938. Some 400,000 Germans fled as refugees from the country between 1933 and 1939. Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939. Adolf Hitler suppressed an attempt military rebellion on July 20, 1944, and some 5,000 individuals were executed for their alleged involvement in the rebellion. Adolf Hitler committed suicide in Berlin on April 30, 1945. Germany surrendered to Allied troops on May 8, 1945. Some 210,000 out of 240,000 German Jews were killed during the Second World War. Germany was divided into four occupation zones administered by the Soviet Union, US, France, and Britain. Several German military and political leaders were tried during war crimes trials in Nuremberg from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946, and some 275 Germans were executed for their involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity. Local elections were held in the US zone on January 27, 1946. Elections for a constituent assembly were held in the US zone on June 30, 1946. A new constitution (Grundgesetz) was approved on May 8, 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was formally established on May 23, 1949. Some 250,000 individuals were killed, and some 400,000 individuals were displaced during the crisis.
[Sources: Clodfelter, 1992, 588-589, 591, 593; Fulbrook 1992; Gilbert 1997; Halborn, 1969, 533-818; Keesing’s Record of World Events, June 30-July 7, 1951; Langer, 1972, 1004-1013, 1192-1194; Survey of International Affairs (SIA), 1932, 598, 1933, 587-589.]