The timeline of the Weimar Republic lists in chronological order the major events of the Weimar Republic, beginning with the final month of the German Empire and ending with the Enabling Act of 1933 that concentrated all power in the hands of Adolf Hitler. A second chronological section lists important cultural, scientific and commercial events during the Weimar era.
23 October: In a diplomatic note, President Wilson implies that in order for an armistice to be negotiated, Emperor Wilhelm II must be stripped of power and Germany become more democratic.[3]
28 November: Emperor Wilhelm II formally abdicates.[13]
30 November: The Council of People's Deputies announces elections for a constituent national assembly that will write a constitution for the new republic.[14]
6 February: The first meeting of the National Assembly takes place in Weimar, the city associated with Goethe and Schiller that will give the new republic its informal name. Berlin is considered too politically unstable to be the meeting place.[23]
11 February: The Weimar National Assembly elects Friedrich Ebert of the SPD as president of Germany.[24]
13 February: President Friedrich Ebert appoints Philipp Scheidemann of the SPD minister president (similar to chancellor).[25]
3–13 March: In the Berlin March Battles, supporters of the Communist Party of Germany expand a general strike into an armed uprising intended to set up a council republic. The revolt is put down by government and Freikorps troops.[27]
16 June: The German government receives an ultimatum from the Allied Powers demanding that they accept the Treaty of Versailles or risk being invaded.[30]
20 June: After Minister President Philipp Scheidemann refuses to accept the Treaty of Versailles, he and his cabinet step down.[31] On the following day, Gustav Bauer, also of the SPD, takes Scheidemann's place.[32]
23 June: Confronted with another Allied ultimatum, the Weimar National Assembly approves the Treaty of Versailles with no conditions.[30]
28 June: The Treaty of Versailles is formally approved in the Hall of Mirrors.[29]
Members of a Freikorps unit with swastikas on their helmets distributing leaflets during the Kapp Putsch
13–17 March: The Kapp Putsch, an attempt by a group of right-wing extremists to take power in Berlin, forces the government to flee the city but then quickly fails.[39]
13 March–12 April: An uprising of workers in the Ruhr industrial district leads to battles with Freikorps and regular troops in a failed attempt to set up a council republic. Other workers' uprisings take place across central Germany.[40]
11 July: In the East Prussian plebiscite, voters in parts of West Prussia and East Prussia return large majorities in favour of remaining with Germany rather than becoming part of Poland (92.4 percent and 97.9 percent respectively).[42]
1 October: Germany completes its withdrawal from the demilitarized zone stretching 50 kilometres east of the Rhine as required by the Treaty of Versailles.[44]
1921
Matthias Erzberger, who was murdered by members of a right-wing terrorist group
24–29 January: The Paris Conference establishes German reparations obligations at 226 billion gold marks.[45]
1–7 March: At the London Conference on reparations, Germany refuses to accept the terms of the Paris Conference and walks out.[45]
8 March: French troops occupy Ruhrort, Duisburg and Düsseldorf in response to the German walkout at the London Conference.[45]
20 March: The Upper Silesia plebiscite is held to determine whether the ethnically mixed region will stay part of Germany or join Poland. Sixty percent of the vote favours Germany.[46]
3 May: In the Third Silesian Uprising, Polish irregulars reacting to the outcome of the Upper Silesia plebiscite of 20 March begin an armed uprising to force union with Poland. The League of Nations resolves the issue by dividing the region between Germany and Poland on 15 May 1922.[46]
16 April: Germany and Russia sign the Treaty of Rapallo that mutually renounces all territorial and financial claims and normalizes relations between Walther Rathenau, the German foreign minister who was assassinated in June 1922the two countries.[51]
18 July: The Law for the Protection of the Republic, written in response to the assassination of Walther Rathenau, is approved by the Reichstag. It allows the banning anti-republican printed material, gatherings and associations.[53]
2 January: In a sign of growing inflation, it costs 7,525 marks to buy one U.S. dollar.[55]
11 January: The Occupation of the Ruhr by French and Belgian troops begins after Germany is declared to be in default on its reparations payments. Two days later the German government reacts with a call for passive resistance.[56]
26 September: The German government ends passive resistance.[58]
27 September: Gustav Ritter von Kahr is declared General State Commissioner for Bavaria with executive power. In response, Berlin declares a nationwide state of emergency.[59]
1 October: The Küstrin Putsch, a failed attempt by the Black Reichswehr to overthrow the Weimar Republic, takes place in Küstrin, on the border with Poland.[60]
28 February: President Friedrich Ebert ends the state of emergency that he had declared on 27 September 1923. It remains in effect only in Bavaria.[64]
20 December: Adolf Hitler is released from prison after being pardoned by the Bavarian Supreme Court. He had served less than 8 months of his 5-year sentence for his part in the Beer Hall Putsch.[70]
14 July: French and Belgian troops start their evacuation of the Ruhr, marking the beginning of the end of the occupation of the Ruhr that had begun on 11 January 1923.[73]
1 December: The Treaty of Locarno, which guaranteed Germany's western border but allowed for negotiations on the eastern, is formally ratified.[74]
1926
24 April: Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Treaty of Berlin, which guarantees Germany's neutrality in any war between the Soviet Union and a third country.[75]
12 May: The Luther government falls as a result of its support for a modified imperial flag for use at the Republic's foreign missions.[76]Wilhelm Marx of the Centre Party again becomes chancellor.[32]
20 June: A popular referendum to expropriate the property of the former German princes without compensation fails due to low voter turnout.[77]
10 September: Germany is admitted to the League of Nations with a permanent seat on its council.[78]
1 May: In the May Day Blutmai (Blood May), the Berlin police try to prevent Communist Party of Germany demonstrators from marching into the city centre. About 30 are killed and 200 hurt.[85]
7 June: The Young Plan proposes reducing Germany's total reparations payments to 121 billion Reichsmarks, with the final payment due in 1988.[86]
16–18 July: After the Reichstag rejects Chancellor Brüning's budget bill, he enacts it by emergency decree, then dissolves the Reichstag when they vote to rescind his decree.[93]
20 July: In the Prussian coup d'état, President Hindenburg appoints Chancellor Papen Reich commissar of Prussia. Papen ousts the democratically elected Prussian government, which was led by the Social Democrats.[106]
12 September: The Reichstag is again dissolved.[108]
6 November: In the second Reichstag election of the year, the Nazis, Social Democrats, and Communists are again the top three vote winners, although the Nazi's share dropped by 4%.[109]
23 March: The Enabling Act of 1933 passes the Reichstag. It gives the chancellor and cabinet the power to write and enforce laws without the involvement of the Reichstag or the German president. It essentially marked the end of the Weimar Republic.[114]
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Cultural, scientific and commercial
1919
Max Planck, the first of fifteen Germans to win a Nobel Prize during the Weimar Republic
Timeline of the Weimar Republic (Note: click on "Gesamte Ereignisse ansehen" to see the full details for an individual month. The site is otherwise in English.)
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