1920 in Germany
Encyclopedia
Events in the year 1920 in Germany
.
Chancellor
(and also certain internal territorial rearrangements which had taken place as the result of the revolution). By the Treaty of Versailles provinces had been severed from Germany in almost all directions.
The two most important cessions of territory were the loss of Alsace-Lorraine
to France
and of a large stretch of territory in West Prussia
, Posen
, and Upper Silesia
to Poland
. Of these, the territory ceded to Poland amounted to nearly 20000 square miles (51,799.8 km²), and, coupled with the establishment of Danzig
as an independent state, which was also imposed upon Germany, this loss had the effect of cutting off East Prussia
from the main territory of Germany.
Danzig and Memel were to be ceded to the Allies, their fate to be subsequently decided. A portion of Silesia was to be ceded to Czechoslovakia
. Also, apart from the actual cessions of territory, the treaty arranged that plebiscites should be held in certain areas to decide the destinies of the districts concerned. Certain districts of East Prussia and West Prussia were to poll to decide whether they should belong to Germany or to Poland. A third portion of Silesia, which was in dispute between Germany and Poland, was to exercise the right of self-determination. The small districts of Eupen
and Malmedy
were to decide whether they would belong to Belgium
or to Germany. The middle and southern districts of the province of Schleswig
, which had been annexed to Prussia
in 1866, were to decide their own destinies. Finally, the coal-producing valley of the Saarland, which had been provisionally separated from Germany, was to be the subject of a referendum after the lapse of fifteen years.
The Allied and Associated governments had assumed the task of revising territorial changes and arrangements dating back to the latter half of the eighteenth century. The conference cancelled completely the expansion of Germany over the past 150 years; but did not cancel the schism in Germany - the exclusion of Austria - which had been incidental to that expansion.
and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
. After the revolution there was a rapid reduction in the number of smaller states. Alsace-Lorraine was, of course, returned to France, and the two principalities of Reuss - the so-called Elder and Younger lines - united into a single state. The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha split into two halves; Coburg
voluntarily united itself with Bavaria, and Gotha later in the year 1919 entered into negotiations with a number of the other small states of central Germany to bring about a general union of the little republics concerned. Six states took part in these negotiations, which were brought to a successful conclusion at the end of December 1919. The states which thus agreed to unite were: (1) Schwarzburg, (2) Reuss, (3) Gotha, (4) Saxe-Weimar
, (5) Saxe-Meiningen
, and (6) Saxe-Altenburg
. The total population of the United States was just over 1,500,000, and their joint area was just over 4500 square miles (11,654.9 km²). The states took the name of Thuringia
(Einheitsstaat Thüringen). The town of Weimar
was made the capital of the new state.
It will be seen that owing to these various fusions and changes the twenty-six states of the German federation were reduced to eighteen.
in the time of the Empire. On Feb. 11, 1919, the new parliament elected Friedrich Ebert
as president of the German republic. Philipp Scheidemann
acted as minister-president
during the first half of 1919, but at the time of the signing of the treaty of peace in June he was succeeded by Gustav Bauer
, one of the best-known leaders of the Majority Social Democratic Party, who had not been a member of Scheidemann's government. The government persevered but the ministry and the parties which supported them were placed in an unstable and very difficult position. The government had to face the extreme hostility of the conservative party on the one side, who had been opposed from the beginning to the new republican institutions. On the other they faced the extreme revolutionaries on the other side, who, for entirely different reasons, had been opposed to the submission to the Entente, and desired an alliance with the Bolshevik forces of the Soviet Union. During 1919 the government had been placed in greater difficulties by the parties of the left than by the parties of the right, and the extreme Socialists had made several unsuccessful attempts at armed insurrection. The reactionary groups were also capable of making serious trouble for the government.
, who had once held office as president of East Prussia, and had been a founder of the Fatherland Party and an associate of the Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz
. During January and February Kapp entered into correspondence with the prime minister, Bauer, and brought complaints against the government. The chief of these complaints were that Ebert had remained in power too long, since according to the constitution the president ought to be elected by the whole nation, and not merely (as Ebert had been) by the National Assembly; that the ministry itself had likewise retained power too long, since it and the parliament which supported it were elected and established only for the purpose of concluding peace; that the government's administration had been inefficient and had failed to restore the economic position in the country, which had remained deplorable since the conclusion of the armistice. There was but little substance in any of these charges, except, perhaps, the first; and there is every reason to suspect that they were only put forward as a cover for different, and possibly sinister, designs. Ebert and Bauer naturally paid no attention to Dr. Kapp's demands; and in the middle of March the reactionaries seem to have thought that the time had arrived for them to come out into the open and declare opposition.
On March 12 Bauer appears to have obtained information regarding the plot, and possibly it was this which induced the conspirators to act earlier than they had intended and certainly prematurely. Kapp had obtained an important accomplice in the person of General Baron Walther von Lüttwitz
, who was the commander of the 1st Division of the Reichswehr
. Another commander of the Reichswehr, General Georg Maerker, also appears to have been very doubtful in his loyalty to the government. During the past twelve months both these soldiers had served well under the able, but ruthless, cruel, and traitorous war minister, Gustav Noske
, in the work of suppressing the insurrections of the Spartacists
, a group of anti-war German radicals. Repression of the German pacifists and internationalists, in would turn out, was an activity in which reactionaries and moderates could easily cooperate without friction.
in the previous year by fighting independently of any government), who were now stationed at Döberitz, by the former guard cavalry division, and by the Reichswehr troops whom General von Lüttwitz had led, Kapp advanced upon Berlin in the early hours of March 13. Realizing that the generals in command of the Reichswehr had betrayed their trust, Ebert and Bauer fled from Berlin to Dresden, and were fortunate in being able to escape before the Baltic troops arrived. Immediately after he reached Berlin, at 10 am, Dr. Kapp issued a proclamation declaring that the Ebert-Bauer administration had ceased to exist and that he was himself acting as imperial chancellor, and that General von Lüttwitz had been appointed minister of defense. The proclamation also stated that Dr. Kapp only regarded his administration as provisional, and that he would "restore constitutional conditions" by holding new elections. The new government disclaimed any intention of restoring the monarchy, but all Kapp's chief supporters were monarchists, and he had the old imperial colours - black, white, and red - hoisted in the capital. It was also perhaps significant that immediately after the coup d'état much coming and going was reported from ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II's Dutch home at Amerongen.
Ebert and his associates were not slow to decide upon the measures to be taken against the reactionaries. They issued an appeal to the working classes to engage in a drastic general strike. The appeal, which was signed by Ebert, Bauer, and Noske, read as follows:
The response to this appeal by the working classes was enthusiastic and almost universal. Except in East Prussia and to some extent in Pomerania and Silesia, the Kapp "government" obtained scarcely any support in the country; and the Saxon, Bavarian, Württemberg, and Baden governments all rallied to the support of President Ebert - though notwithstanding the loyalty of the Saxons, the president and the prime minister thought it advisable to remove from Dresden to Stuttgart. Kapp and von Lüttwitz met with the bitter hostility of the working classes in Berlin, who succeeded in bringing to a standstill the whole life of the capital.
It was, indeed, apparent after forty-eight hours that the extraordinary success of the general strike would make the new Kapp regime impossible. During the first two days there were rumours that in order to avoid civil war Ebert and Bauer were willing to compromise with the conspirators; but it soon became obvious that any such course would be unnecessary.
The feature which hampered Kapp fatally was the complete success of the strike in Berlin itself; and since his writ did not even run in the capital, the usurping chancellor felt compelled to resign on March 17. He endeavoured to cover up his failure, by alleging that his mission had been fulfilled, in that the government had now proclaimed that they would hold a general election within a few weeks, but his protestations notwithstanding, it was obvious to all the onlookers that his real designs had been to displace the old government altogether, and very probably to upset the entire republican regime. A meeting of the National Assembly was held at Stuttgart on March 18, and the prime minister made a long speech dealing with Kapp's escapade, but before then, the crisis had already passed - and had in fact given place to a crisis of a totally different kind. On March 18 some of the members of the government returned to Berlin, and on that day also Kapp's troops - who were known as the "Baltic" troops, although the name properly applied only to a section of them - left the capital. Their departure was unfortunately marked by a most disagreeable incident. As they marched through the streets towards the Brandenburg Gate, the populace which had always been entirely hostile to them, collected in great numbers and followed the soldiers, jeering vociferously. The legionaries were in an ill-humour at the failure of their coup, and being further aggravated by the behaviour of the crowds, when the last detachment reached the Brandenburg Gate they wheeled about, and fired several volleys into the mass of civilians who had followed them. A panic ensued, and a considerable number of persons were killed and wounded. Kapp himself fled to Sweden.
See also Kapp Putsch
.
risings occurred in many different places, especially in western Prussia, Bavaria
, Württemberg
, and Leipzig
. In Leipzig the rising was extremely serious, and in suppressing this local insurrection the government had to use aeroplanes over the streets of the city in order to intimidate the Communists. The Communist leaders decided to direct the strike, the power of which had been proved against Kapp, against the government itself. In Berlin, with the active assistance of the prime minister of Prussia, Paul Hirsch, the federal government were soon able to gain control of affairs; and in Saxony, Bavaria, and Württemberg the troops were also able to overcome speedily the insurrection. But in the west, in Westphalia and the Rhineland, the situation became extremely serious. The position was in this part of Germany complicated by the existence of the neutral zone lying between the territory occupied by the Entente, and the main part of Germany, where the government were of course free to move their forces as they pleased. Apart from a small force for police purposes, the German government were not allowed to send troops into the neutral zone. The military police in the zone were quite incapable of dealing with the Spartacist insurrection; and the insurgents speedily took possession of Essen, after a treacherous attack on the rear of the small government force. The revolutionists also seized Wesel
. The union of "Red" Germany with Bolshevik Russia was proclaimed. The government took alarm at the development of the Spartacist peril, and on March 23 it was even rumoured that a purely Socialist government - containing several members of the Independent Social Democratic Party
- was to be formed. This rumour proved to be untrue, but two of the ablest members of the cabinet, Noske and Matthias Erzberger
, who were specially obnoxious to the Communists, were asked by Bauer to resign. The resignation of these two ministers was in some sense a concession to the extremists, but the latter refused to consider compromise. Feeling overwhelmed with the difficulty of the situation, Bauer himself resigned on March 26. Fortunately Ebert had no difficulty in finding a statesman willing to undertake the burden of the chancellorship. The president asked Hermann Müller
, who had previously held the office of minister for foreign affairs, to form an administration. Within forty-eight hours it was announced that Müller had succeeded in forming a cabinet, which included (as did the previous administration) members of all the three moderate parties, the Clericals, the Democrats, and the Majority Social Democrats. The new cabinet was composed as follows:
Müller's tenure of the Foreign Office was only temporary, and before the middle of April he relinquished that position to Dr. Adolf Köster
. At the same time there was a reconstruction of the government of Prussia, Otto Braun
becoming premier. The new ministry was constituted on much the same lines as that of Germany, and including members of all the three moderate parties.
, Homburg
, and other neighbouring German towns, with the sanction of the Allies, during the period that the German troops were in the neutral zone. Owing to these differences of opinion between the Allied governments no quick decision was reached; in the meantime, the insurrection in the Ruhr Valley was becoming daily more serious. Moreover, the German government themselves hindered a settlement by indicating that they could not accept the French suggestion of a parallel occupation of Frankfurt by French troops. It was obvious that matters would soon reach a crisis, notwithstanding the conciliatory efforts of the British government It came as no great surprise, when, on April 3, German regular troops, of the Reichswehr, entered the neutral zone in force, although no permission for them to do so had been granted by the Entente. The troops were under the command of General von Watter, and they experienced no serious difficulty in dealing with the Spartacists, although the latter possessed some artillery. The revolutionary headquarters at Mülheim
were taken on April 4.
The Franco-British difference of opinion was, however, of short duration (see 1920 in France
); and it was soon made clear that whilst the British government were disposed to think that there had been a genuine necessity to send the German troops into the Ruhr valley, they were equally as determined as the French to see that the terms of the treaty were observed. And the extreme rapidity with which the German troops overcame the revolutionaries tended to bring the whole crisis to an end.
On April 12 Müller made a statement on the situation in the National Assembly at Berlin. He complained of French militarism, and in particular that Senegalese negroes should have been quartered in Frankfurt University. He laid the blame for the developments largely upon Kapp and his associates; and said that it was owing to the undermining of the loyalty of the Reichswehr by the reactionaries, that the working classes had now lost confidence in the republican army. The latest casualty list which had been received from the disturbed area proved the severity of the actions which had taken place; 160 officers and men had been killed and nearly 400 had been wounded. The advance of the German troops into the Ruhr had been necessary in order to protect the lives and property of peaceable citizens living in that district. It was true, said the speaker, that according to Articles 42 and 43 of the treaty of peace, the German government were not allowed to assemble armed forces in the neutral zone, because to do so would constitute a hostile act against the signatory powers; but, he asked, was this prescription laid down in order to prevent the reestablishment of public order? By an agreement of August 1919, the Entente had sanctioned the maintenance in the neutral zone of a military police force, and therefore the Entente, including France, had recognized that measures necessary for the preservation of order in the neutral zone did not constitute a violation of the treaty.
on April 19; and the Council had to deal, among other questions, with the German invasion of the Ruhr Valley, and with the problem of disarmament generally. David Lloyd George
, with the support of Francesco Saverio Nitti
, proposed that the German government should be invited to attend the conference; but this was strongly opposed by Alexandre Millerand
, and the proposal therefore lapsed. The result of the discussions at San Remo on the German question was that a note dealing with the question of disarmament was sent to the German government at the end of April. The note declared that so long as the German government was not taking serious steps to carry out the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, it was impossible for the Allied governments even to consider the German request that the permanent force of 100,000 men, allowed by the treaty, should be increased. Germany was not fulfilling her engagements either in the destruction of the materials of war, or in the reduction of the number of troops, or in the provision of coal, or with regard to reparation. The Allied governments intended to insist upon the carrying out of the terms of the treaty, though in cases where the German government were faced with unavoidable difficulties, the Allied governments would not necessarily insist upon a literal interpretation of the terms. It was not their intention to annex any portion of German territory.
So far as the occupation of the Ruhr valley was concerned the above note came almost after the event as the rapidity with which the Reichswehr overcame the insurgents made it possible for the German government to withdraw the troops within a few weeks. At the end of April the foreign minister, Dr. Köster, declared that the French ought now to evacuate Frankfurt, Darmstadt, and Homburg, because the German troops had been reduced to 17,500 which was permitted by the agreement of August 1919. On the Allied side, however, it was stated that the force must be reduced forthwith to twenty battalions, six squadrons, and two batteries; and that even this force would have to be replaced entirely by a body of 10,000 police by July 10. The German government made the necessary reductions, and on May 17 the French evacuated Frankfurt and the other occupied towns.
In January 1919, the Communists, presumably realizing their numerical insignificance, had refused to take part in the polling. On this occasion, however, they decided to enter the contest, and one of the remarkable features of the elections was the utter collapse of the Spartacists. The satisfaction which the rout of the Spartacists caused to most moderate Germans was, however, tempered by the success of the Independent Social Democrats, who had for months been growing increasingly more extreme in their views, and were now, indeed, one of the most extreme Socialist parties in all Europe, outside Russia. The total number of deputies in the new Reichstag was slightly greater than in the National Assembly, being about 470, the exact number being doubtful until the destinies of the plebiscite areas in West Prussia, East Prussia, and Silesia had been decided. The Spartacists won only two seats. The Independent Social Democrats, however, increased their membership of the house from twenty-two to eighty. The success of the Independent Social Democrats was gained, as might have been expected, chiefly at the expense of the Majority Social Democrats, who had been by far the largest party in the National Assembly. Indeed, the reduction in numbers of the Majority Social Democrats was almost exactly the same as the increase in numbers of the Minority Social Democrats. The total of the Majority Social Democrats fell from 165 to 110. The Clerical electorate, whose strength lay in the west and south, was as always a remarkably constant feature. The Clericals returned with eighty-eight deputies, as against ninety in the Assembly.
Passing to a consideration of the Liberal and Conservative parties, one finds that on the right wing of politics there had also been a remarkable change. The Democrats fared worse in the elections than any other party. The two parties of the right were returned in far greater strength than they had possessed in the National Assembly. The number of Democrats fell from 75 to 45, which was the more remarkable when the increased size of the house is considered. The German National Party, representing the old Conservatives, and still avowed monarchists, increased their strength from 43to 65. But the most remarkable gains were those of the German People's Party. This party - the old National Liberals - represented chiefly the great industrial interests and had been very influential, though not very numerous, under the Empire. In January 1919, they had been almost annihilated at the polls, and had won only twenty-two seats. Now, however, they returned with over sixty deputies.
It will be seen that the elections apparently revealed two diametrically opposite tendencies: a drift from the moderates to the extreme left, and a drift from the moderates to the extreme right. These two tendencies had affected adversely the Majority Social Democrats and Democrats respectively. To some extent this possibly reflected popular discontent with the existing government, with a tendency for the Democrats to vote for the German People's Party and the Majority Social Democrats to drift to the Independent Social Democrats. The exception in this drift to the political extremes was to be found, with the supporters of the Clerical Party, whose political fidelity was proverbial. It was not the most extreme parties, the German Nationals and the Communists, who profited by the ministerial discontent, but the German People's Party and the Independent Social Democrats.
The Majority Social Democrats were still the largest party in the country, as in the house, and secured about 5,500,000 votes - nearly 1,000,000 more than the respective totals of the Independent Social Democrats and the Clericals, whose strength was about equal. The Democrats secured a little over 2,000,000 votes; whilst the two parties of the right together secured over 7,000,000 votes, about equally divided between them.
The two parties of the right had increased their total vote by some 3,500,000, and the democratic vote had sunk by about the same number. The total poll of the Majority Social Democrats had sunk by some 5,500,000, whilst the poll of the Minority Social Democrats had risen by more than 2,500,000. When allowance is made for the decrease in the total poll, there was virtually no difference in the Clerical poll, as compared with January 1919. It will be seen that as between the non-Socialists and the Socialists as a whole, the position of the non-Socialists had markedly improved, and they had, in fact, slightly increased their aggregate poll, notwithstanding the diminution of the total number of electors who exercised their rights.
, one of the most respected leaders of the Clerical Party, succeeded in doing so. What might have been an extremely unstable parliamentary position was avoided by the good sense shown by the German People's Party, who were led by Gustav Stresemann
. The German People's Party decided to abandon their position of opposition and their association with the Conservatives, and agreed to unite with the Clericals and Democrats to form a government. The Majority Social Democrats would not actually join a ministry which included the German People's Party, but they agreed to lend the new government their general support in the Reichstag. Thus it came about that twenty months after the revolution an entirely non-Socialist government came into power in Germany, though it was true that the new government depended partly upon the support of the Majority Social Democrats, whose moderation, however, made them more comparable to the Radical-Socialists of France and to Radicals in other countries, than to the Socialist parties of most other countries in Europe. Fehrenbach was born in 1852 and entered the Bavarian parliament as a Catholic and a representative of Freiburg when he was about thirty years of age. He was elected to the Reichstag in 1903 and he became president of that house in 1918. And in 1919 he became president of the National Assembly.
Fehrenbach was able to form a strong cabinet from the personal point of view. Rudolf Heinze
became vice-chancellor and minister for justice, Dr. Walter Simons
became foreign minister, Joseph Wirth
became minister of finance, Erich Koch-Weser
was minister of the interior, and Johannes Giesberts was minister of posts. Noske was not a member of the new cabinet.
The new chancellor made his first declaration to the Reichstag on June 28, and declared that so long as the formerly hostile states refused to modify the Treaty of Versailles, the German government could have no other policy than to endeavour to the best of their ability to carry out the terms of that treaty.
, in Belgium, in order to settle the questions relating to disarmament and reparations which arose under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Spa conference was held during the first half of July, and Fehrenbach himself attended the conference at which Lloyd George and Millerand were also present. Before going into the conference with the Germans the Allies agreed amongst themselves as to the proportions of the total German reparation which should be allotted to each of the Allied countries. Thus France was to receive 52%, the British Empire 22%, Italy 10%, Belgium 8%, and Serbia 5%, the small remaining proportion to be divided amongst other claimants. Apart from her 8% Belgium was to have the privilege of transferring her entire war debt to Germany's shoulders, and she was also to have a prior claim upon the first £100,000,000 paid by Germany. These proportions were settled, but the total amount to be paid by Germany was not decided.
The conference was to have been opened on July 5, and a preliminary sitting was in fact held on that day, but owing to the non-arrival of Otto Gessler
, the German minister of defense, it was not possible to proceed with the serious consideration of the first subject on the agenda, which was the question of German disarmament. The conference was held under the presidency of the Belgian prime minister, Léon Delacroix
, and the Belgian foreign minister, Paul Hymans
, also attended. The British representatives, in addition to Lloyd George himself, were Lord Curzon and Sir Laming Worthington-Evans
. The chief Italian representative was Count Sforza, the distinguished and successful foreign minister. The German chancellor was accompanied by Simons and Wirth.
On the following day Gessler arrived, and he proceeded at once to make a formal request that the 100,000 men, which was the limit of the German army allowed by the treaty, should continue to be exceeded, on the ground that it was impossible for the government to keep order with such a small force. Lloyd George then explained the reasons for the Allies' anxiety. He said that the treaty allowed Germany 100,000 men, 100,000 rifles, and 2,000 machine guns. Germany, however, still possessed a regular army of 200,000 men, and also possessed 50,000 machine guns, and 12,000 guns. Moreover, she had only surrendered 1,500,000 rifles, although it was obvious that there must be millions of rifles in the country. During the discussions on the following days it transpired from statements made by the chief of the General Staff himself, General von Seeckt, that in addition to the Reichswehr there were various other organized forces in Germany such as the Einwohnerwehr and the Sicherheitspolizei. The Einwohnerwehr alone appear to have numbered over 500,000 men. General von Seeckt proposed that the regular army should be reduced gradually to 100,000 men by October 1921. A discussion upon this matter took place between the Allies, and it was decided that Germany should be given until January 1, 1921, to reduce the strength of the Reichswehr to the treaty figure of 100,000 men. The exact conditions laid down were that Germany should reduce the Reichswehr to 150,000 men by October 1, withdraw the arms of the Einwohnerwehr and the Sicherheitspolizei, and issue a proclamation demanding the surrender of all arms in the hands of the civilian population, with effective penalties in the event of default. On July 9 the German delegates signed the agreement embodying these stipulations in regard to disarmament.
The later sittings of the conference were concerned with the question of the trial of the German "war criminals", the delivery of coal as a form of reparation, and various other financial matters. It was the question of coal which required the closest attention, largely owing to the extreme need of France for supplies of coal, and the agreement relating to this matter was signed on July 16. It was decided that for six months after August 1 the German government should deliver up 2,000,000 tons of coal per month.
The question of the war criminals referred to above had been under discussion since the beginning of the year. The Treaty of Versailles had required that certain persons with an especially evil record in the war should be handed over to the Allies. Lists of the chief persons coming under the heading of "war criminals" were published by the Allied governments at the end of January. The lists included a number of very well known persons, such as the Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, Field Marshal August von Mackensen
, General von Kluck, Admiral von Tirpitz, and Admiral von Capelle. However, the ex-Emperor Wilhelm had fled to Holland, and since the Dutch government definitely declined to hand him over to the Allies, it was generally held, especially in Britain, that it was difficult to press forward very vigorously with the punishment of those who, however important their positions, had only been the emperor's servants. It was therefore subsequently decided that the German government itself should be instructed to proceed with the punishment of the war criminals concerned. But it transpired at Spa that the German government had been extremely dilatory in taking the necessary proceedings.
The financial position of the country remained extremely serious. The total national debt (funded debt and floating debt) amounted to 200,000,000,000 marks, that is, £10,000,000,000 sterling at the old prewar rate of exchange. The anticipated revenue for the year 1920-21 was 27,950,000,000 marks, and the anticipated ordinary expenditure was 23,800,000,000 marks. There was, however, also an anticipated extraordinary expenditure of no less than 11,600,000,000 marks. A heavy deficit on the railways was also expected. The exchange value
of the mark had fallen disastrously since the armistice, and though it rose towards the end of the year, the mark was still reckoned at over 200 to the pound sterling in December.
Various statistics of population were published during the year. Among other significant features, it was stated that the number of children under five years of age, in the whole of the territories of the former Hohenzollern empire, had sunk from 8,000,000 in 1911 to 5,000,000 in 1919.
After resigning from the cabinet, Noske became president of the province of Hannover.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
National level
President- Friedrich EbertFriedrich EbertFriedrich Ebert was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .When Ebert was elected as the leader of the SPD after the death of August Bebel, the party members of the SPD were deeply divided because of the party's support for World War I. Ebert supported the Burgfrieden and...
(Social DemocratsSocial Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
)
Chancellor
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...
- Gustav BauerGustav Bauer' was a German Social Democratic Party leader and Chancellor of Germany from 1919 to 1920.Born in Darkehmen near Königsberg in East Prussia, Bauer, who rose to notice through his leadership of a white-collar trade union, served from 1908 to 1918 as chairman of the General Commission of Trade...
(Social Democrats) to 27 March, then Hermann MüllerHermann MüllerHermann Müller may refer to:* Hermann Müller , German botanist with whom Darwin corresponded* Hermann Müller , Swiss botanist...
(1st term) (Social Democrats) to 25 June, then Constantin Fehrenbach (CentreCentre Party (Germany)The German Centre Party was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. Formed in 1870, it battled the Kulturkampf which the Prussian government launched to reduce the power of the Catholic Church...
)
Overview
Consider first the territorial changes which had been brought about by the Treaty of VersaillesTreaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
(and also certain internal territorial rearrangements which had taken place as the result of the revolution). By the Treaty of Versailles provinces had been severed from Germany in almost all directions.
The two most important cessions of territory were the loss of Alsace-Lorraine
Alsace-Lorraine
The Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War. The Alsatian part lay in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east...
to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and of a large stretch of territory in West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
, Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
, and Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia
Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...
to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Of these, the territory ceded to Poland amounted to nearly 20000 square miles (51,799.8 km²), and, coupled with the establishment of Danzig
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
as an independent state, which was also imposed upon Germany, this loss had the effect of cutting off East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
from the main territory of Germany.
Danzig and Memel were to be ceded to the Allies, their fate to be subsequently decided. A portion of Silesia was to be ceded to Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. Also, apart from the actual cessions of territory, the treaty arranged that plebiscites should be held in certain areas to decide the destinies of the districts concerned. Certain districts of East Prussia and West Prussia were to poll to decide whether they should belong to Germany or to Poland. A third portion of Silesia, which was in dispute between Germany and Poland, was to exercise the right of self-determination. The small districts of Eupen
Eupen
Eupen is a municipality in the Belgian province of Liège, from the German border , from the Dutch border and from the "High Fens" nature reserve...
and Malmedy
Malmedy
Malmedy is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region, Province of Liège. It belongs to the French Community of Belgium, within which it is French-speaking with facilities for German-speakers. On January 1, 2006 Malmedy had a total population of 11,829...
were to decide whether they would belong to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
or to Germany. The middle and southern districts of the province of Schleswig
Schleswig
Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...
, which had been annexed to Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
in 1866, were to decide their own destinies. Finally, the coal-producing valley of the Saarland, which had been provisionally separated from Germany, was to be the subject of a referendum after the lapse of fifteen years.
The Allied and Associated governments had assumed the task of revising territorial changes and arrangements dating back to the latter half of the eighteenth century. The conference cancelled completely the expansion of Germany over the past 150 years; but did not cancel the schism in Germany - the exclusion of Austria - which had been incidental to that expansion.
Internal territorial changes
The following describes the internal territorial rearrangements which were made after the establishment of the German republic. During the period of the Hohenzollern empire there had been twenty-six states within the German federation. During the war the number had been reduced by one by the fusion of the principalities of Schwarzburg-RudolstadtSchwarzburg-Rudolstadt
Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany with its capital at Rudolstadt.-History:Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of Schwarzburg dynasty lands...
and Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen
Schwarzburg-Sondershausen was a small principality in Germany, in the present day state of Thuringia, with capital at Sondershausen.-History:...
. After the revolution there was a rapid reduction in the number of smaller states. Alsace-Lorraine was, of course, returned to France, and the two principalities of Reuss - the so-called Elder and Younger lines - united into a single state. The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha split into two halves; Coburg
Coburg (district)
Coburg is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Kronach, Lichtenfels, Bamberg and Haßberge, and by the state of Thuringia . The district is surrounding, but not including the city of Coburg.- History :The history of the district is largely influenced by the city of Coburg...
voluntarily united itself with Bavaria, and Gotha later in the year 1919 entered into negotiations with a number of the other small states of central Germany to bring about a general union of the little republics concerned. Six states took part in these negotiations, which were brought to a successful conclusion at the end of December 1919. The states which thus agreed to unite were: (1) Schwarzburg, (2) Reuss, (3) Gotha, (4) Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar
Saxe-Weimar was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar.-Division of Leipzig:...
, (5) Saxe-Meiningen
Saxe-Meiningen
The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia....
, and (6) Saxe-Altenburg
Saxe-Altenburg
Saxe-Altenburg was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia.-History:The duchy originated from the medieval Burgraviate of Altenburg in the Imperial Pleissnerland , a possession of the Wettin Margraves of Meissen since 1243...
. The total population of the United States was just over 1,500,000, and their joint area was just over 4500 square miles (11,654.9 km²). The states took the name of Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
(Einheitsstaat Thüringen). The town of Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
was made the capital of the new state.
It will be seen that owing to these various fusions and changes the twenty-six states of the German federation were reduced to eighteen.
Political situation at the beginning of the year
Now to consider the general political situation in the country at the beginning of 1920, it may be remembered that from the time of the revolution until the end of 1919 the Liberal and Radical parties in combination with the so-called Majority Social Democratic Party had held power continuously, and had been strikingly confirmed in their position by the general election held in January 1919. The chief point of interest in the general election had been the close correspondence of the results with those that used to be obtained in the elections for the old ReichstagReichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
in the time of the Empire. On Feb. 11, 1919, the new parliament elected Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert
Friedrich Ebert was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany .When Ebert was elected as the leader of the SPD after the death of August Bebel, the party members of the SPD were deeply divided because of the party's support for World War I. Ebert supported the Burgfrieden and...
as president of the German republic. Philipp Scheidemann
Philipp Scheidemann
Philipp Scheidemann was a German Social Democratic politician, who proclaimed the Republic on 9 November 1918, and who became the second Chancellor of the Weimar Republic....
acted as minister-president
Minister-President
A minister-president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments, in which a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government prevails, who presides over the council of ministers...
during the first half of 1919, but at the time of the signing of the treaty of peace in June he was succeeded by Gustav Bauer
Gustav Bauer
' was a German Social Democratic Party leader and Chancellor of Germany from 1919 to 1920.Born in Darkehmen near Königsberg in East Prussia, Bauer, who rose to notice through his leadership of a white-collar trade union, served from 1908 to 1918 as chairman of the General Commission of Trade...
, one of the best-known leaders of the Majority Social Democratic Party, who had not been a member of Scheidemann's government. The government persevered but the ministry and the parties which supported them were placed in an unstable and very difficult position. The government had to face the extreme hostility of the conservative party on the one side, who had been opposed from the beginning to the new republican institutions. On the other they faced the extreme revolutionaries on the other side, who, for entirely different reasons, had been opposed to the submission to the Entente, and desired an alliance with the Bolshevik forces of the Soviet Union. During 1919 the government had been placed in greater difficulties by the parties of the left than by the parties of the right, and the extreme Socialists had made several unsuccessful attempts at armed insurrection. The reactionary groups were also capable of making serious trouble for the government.
Anti-government agitation
During January and February there were no events of first-class importance, but in March there were kaleidoscopic changes in Berlin, which illustrated dramatically the difficulty of the position of the moderate German government, placed as it was, between the extremists of the right and of the left. During the early weeks of the year certain people in the conservative party were agitating actively against the government, and were endeavouring to find some pretext - preferably a democratic pretext - for taking action against them. One of the most prominent persons in this movement was Dr. Wolfgang KappWolfgang Kapp
Wolfgang Kapp was a Prussian civil servant and journalist. He was a strict nationalist, and a nominal leader of the so-called Kapp Putsch.-Early life:...
, who had once held office as president of East Prussia, and had been a founder of the Fatherland Party and an associate of the Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz
Alfred von Tirpitz was a German Admiral, Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office, the powerful administrative branch of the German Imperial Navy from 1897 until 1916. Prussia never had a major navy, nor did the other German states before the German Empire was formed in 1871...
. During January and February Kapp entered into correspondence with the prime minister, Bauer, and brought complaints against the government. The chief of these complaints were that Ebert had remained in power too long, since according to the constitution the president ought to be elected by the whole nation, and not merely (as Ebert had been) by the National Assembly; that the ministry itself had likewise retained power too long, since it and the parliament which supported it were elected and established only for the purpose of concluding peace; that the government's administration had been inefficient and had failed to restore the economic position in the country, which had remained deplorable since the conclusion of the armistice. There was but little substance in any of these charges, except, perhaps, the first; and there is every reason to suspect that they were only put forward as a cover for different, and possibly sinister, designs. Ebert and Bauer naturally paid no attention to Dr. Kapp's demands; and in the middle of March the reactionaries seem to have thought that the time had arrived for them to come out into the open and declare opposition.
On March 12 Bauer appears to have obtained information regarding the plot, and possibly it was this which induced the conspirators to act earlier than they had intended and certainly prematurely. Kapp had obtained an important accomplice in the person of General Baron Walther von Lüttwitz
Walther von Lüttwitz
Walther von Lüttwitz was a German general known for his involvement in the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch.Lüttwitz was born in Bodland near Kreuzburg in Upper Silesia. During World War I, Lüttwitz held several high military ranks...
, who was the commander of the 1st Division of the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
. Another commander of the Reichswehr, General Georg Maerker, also appears to have been very doubtful in his loyalty to the government. During the past twelve months both these soldiers had served well under the able, but ruthless, cruel, and traitorous war minister, Gustav Noske
Gustav Noske
Gustav Noske was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany . He served as the first Minister of Defence of Germany between 1919 and 1920.-Biography:...
, in the work of suppressing the insurrections of the Spartacists
Spartacist League
The Spartacus League was a left-wing Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. The League was named after Spartacus, leader of the largest slave rebellion of the Roman Republic...
, a group of anti-war German radicals. Repression of the German pacifists and internationalists, in would turn out, was an activity in which reactionaries and moderates could easily cooperate without friction.
Coup in Berlin
Finding that his plot was discovered, Dr. Kapp attempted a sudden coup d'état in Berlin, which met with fleeting success. Supported by the Marine Brigade Erhardt (the first paramilitary group to use the swastika as its emblem), by the irregular "Baltic" troops (the German troops who had occasioned trouble in CourlandCourland
Courland is one of the historical and cultural regions of Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland.- Geography and climate :...
in the previous year by fighting independently of any government), who were now stationed at Döberitz, by the former guard cavalry division, and by the Reichswehr troops whom General von Lüttwitz had led, Kapp advanced upon Berlin in the early hours of March 13. Realizing that the generals in command of the Reichswehr had betrayed their trust, Ebert and Bauer fled from Berlin to Dresden, and were fortunate in being able to escape before the Baltic troops arrived. Immediately after he reached Berlin, at 10 am, Dr. Kapp issued a proclamation declaring that the Ebert-Bauer administration had ceased to exist and that he was himself acting as imperial chancellor, and that General von Lüttwitz had been appointed minister of defense. The proclamation also stated that Dr. Kapp only regarded his administration as provisional, and that he would "restore constitutional conditions" by holding new elections. The new government disclaimed any intention of restoring the monarchy, but all Kapp's chief supporters were monarchists, and he had the old imperial colours - black, white, and red - hoisted in the capital. It was also perhaps significant that immediately after the coup d'état much coming and going was reported from ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II's Dutch home at Amerongen.
Ebert and his associates were not slow to decide upon the measures to be taken against the reactionaries. They issued an appeal to the working classes to engage in a drastic general strike. The appeal, which was signed by Ebert, Bauer, and Noske, read as follows:
- The military revolt has come. EhrhardtHermann EhrhardtHermann Ehrhardt was a German Freikorps commander during the period of turmoil in Weimar Republic Germany from 1918 to 1920, he commanded the famous II.Marine Brigade, better known as the Ehrhardt Brigade or Marinebrigade Ehrhardt.Born in Diersburg, now part of Hohberg, Baden-Württemberg, he later...
's naval brigadeMarinebrigade EhrhardtThe Marinebrigade Ehrhardt was a Free Corps group of around 6,000 men formed by Captain Hermann Ehrhardt in the aftermath of World War I, also known as II Marine Brigade or the Ehrhardt Brigade...
is advancing on Berlin to overthrow the government. These servants of the state, who fear the dissolution of the army, desire to put reactionaries in the seat of the government. We refuse to bend before military compulsion. We did not make the revolution in order to have again to recognize militarism. We will not cooperate with the criminals of the Baltic states. We should be ashamed of ourselves, did we act otherwise.
- A thousand times, No! Cease work! Stifle the opportunity of this military dictatorship! Fight with all the means at your command to retain the republic. Put all differences of opinion aside.
- Only one means exists against the return of Wilhelm II. That is the cessation of all means of communication. No hand may be moved. No proletarian may assist the dictator. Strike along the whole line.
The response to this appeal by the working classes was enthusiastic and almost universal. Except in East Prussia and to some extent in Pomerania and Silesia, the Kapp "government" obtained scarcely any support in the country; and the Saxon, Bavarian, Württemberg, and Baden governments all rallied to the support of President Ebert - though notwithstanding the loyalty of the Saxons, the president and the prime minister thought it advisable to remove from Dresden to Stuttgart. Kapp and von Lüttwitz met with the bitter hostility of the working classes in Berlin, who succeeded in bringing to a standstill the whole life of the capital.
It was, indeed, apparent after forty-eight hours that the extraordinary success of the general strike would make the new Kapp regime impossible. During the first two days there were rumours that in order to avoid civil war Ebert and Bauer were willing to compromise with the conspirators; but it soon became obvious that any such course would be unnecessary.
The feature which hampered Kapp fatally was the complete success of the strike in Berlin itself; and since his writ did not even run in the capital, the usurping chancellor felt compelled to resign on March 17. He endeavoured to cover up his failure, by alleging that his mission had been fulfilled, in that the government had now proclaimed that they would hold a general election within a few weeks, but his protestations notwithstanding, it was obvious to all the onlookers that his real designs had been to displace the old government altogether, and very probably to upset the entire republican regime. A meeting of the National Assembly was held at Stuttgart on March 18, and the prime minister made a long speech dealing with Kapp's escapade, but before then, the crisis had already passed - and had in fact given place to a crisis of a totally different kind. On March 18 some of the members of the government returned to Berlin, and on that day also Kapp's troops - who were known as the "Baltic" troops, although the name properly applied only to a section of them - left the capital. Their departure was unfortunately marked by a most disagreeable incident. As they marched through the streets towards the Brandenburg Gate, the populace which had always been entirely hostile to them, collected in great numbers and followed the soldiers, jeering vociferously. The legionaries were in an ill-humour at the failure of their coup, and being further aggravated by the behaviour of the crowds, when the last detachment reached the Brandenburg Gate they wheeled about, and fired several volleys into the mass of civilians who had followed them. A panic ensued, and a considerable number of persons were killed and wounded. Kapp himself fled to Sweden.
See also Kapp Putsch
Kapp Putsch
The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German Revolution of 1918–1919 aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic...
.
Return of government
When the government returned to the capital, they found that the strike which they had utilized to overcome Kapp had now got beyond control; and indeed in the east end of Berlin, Soviets were being declared, and Daunig had declared himself president of a new German Communist republic. The government called off the strike, but a large number of the strikers refused to return to work. On March 19 SpartacistSpartacist League
The Spartacus League was a left-wing Marxist revolutionary movement organized in Germany during World War I. The League was named after Spartacus, leader of the largest slave rebellion of the Roman Republic...
risings occurred in many different places, especially in western Prussia, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
, and Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. In Leipzig the rising was extremely serious, and in suppressing this local insurrection the government had to use aeroplanes over the streets of the city in order to intimidate the Communists. The Communist leaders decided to direct the strike, the power of which had been proved against Kapp, against the government itself. In Berlin, with the active assistance of the prime minister of Prussia, Paul Hirsch, the federal government were soon able to gain control of affairs; and in Saxony, Bavaria, and Württemberg the troops were also able to overcome speedily the insurrection. But in the west, in Westphalia and the Rhineland, the situation became extremely serious. The position was in this part of Germany complicated by the existence of the neutral zone lying between the territory occupied by the Entente, and the main part of Germany, where the government were of course free to move their forces as they pleased. Apart from a small force for police purposes, the German government were not allowed to send troops into the neutral zone. The military police in the zone were quite incapable of dealing with the Spartacist insurrection; and the insurgents speedily took possession of Essen, after a treacherous attack on the rear of the small government force. The revolutionists also seized Wesel
Wesel
Wesel is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district.-Division of the town:Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighoven, Ginderich, Feldmark,Fusternberg, Büderich, Flüren and Blumenkamp.-History:...
. The union of "Red" Germany with Bolshevik Russia was proclaimed. The government took alarm at the development of the Spartacist peril, and on March 23 it was even rumoured that a purely Socialist government - containing several members of the Independent Social Democratic Party
Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany was a short-lived political party in Germany during the Second Reich and the Weimar Republic. The organization was established in 1917 as the result of a split of left wing members of the Social Democratic Party of Germany...
- was to be formed. This rumour proved to be untrue, but two of the ablest members of the cabinet, Noske and Matthias Erzberger
Matthias Erzberger
Matthias Erzberger was a German politician. Prominent in the Centre Party, he spoke out against the First World War from 1917 and eventually signed the Armistice with Germany for the German Empire...
, who were specially obnoxious to the Communists, were asked by Bauer to resign. The resignation of these two ministers was in some sense a concession to the extremists, but the latter refused to consider compromise. Feeling overwhelmed with the difficulty of the situation, Bauer himself resigned on March 26. Fortunately Ebert had no difficulty in finding a statesman willing to undertake the burden of the chancellorship. The president asked Hermann Müller
Hermann Müller (politician)
' , born in Mannheim, was a German Social Democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister , and twice as Chancellor of Germany under the Weimar Republic...
, who had previously held the office of minister for foreign affairs, to form an administration. Within forty-eight hours it was announced that Müller had succeeded in forming a cabinet, which included (as did the previous administration) members of all the three moderate parties, the Clericals, the Democrats, and the Majority Social Democrats. The new cabinet was composed as follows:
| Chancellor and Minister for Foreign Affairs | Hermann Müller Hermann Müller (politician) ' , born in Mannheim, was a German Social Democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister , and twice as Chancellor of Germany under the Weimar Republic... |
| Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs | von Haniel |
| Minister of the Interior and Vice-Chancellor | Erich Koch-Weser Erich Koch-Weser Erich Koch-Weser was a German lawyer and liberal politician... |
| Minister of Posts | Johannes Giesberts |
| Minister of Finance | Joseph Wirth Joseph Wirth Karl Joseph Wirth, known as Joseph Wirth, was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1921 to 1922.-Biography:... |
| Minister of Transport | Johannes Bell |
| Minister of Justice | Andreas Blunck Andreas Blunck Max Andreas Blunck was a politician of the liberal German Democratic Party.Blunck was born in Krempe and studied law and the Chinese language. He worked as lawyer in Hamburg. From 1912 he was parliament member of the Reichstag... |
| Minister of Labour | Alexander Schlicke |
| Minister of Economics | Robert Schmidt Robert Schmidt Robert Schmidt was a German politician and member of the SPD.Schmidt, born in Berlin, learned the profession of piano manufacturer. From 1893 to 1902 he was editor for the social-democratic newspaper Vorwärts.... |
| Minister of Defense | Otto Gessler Otto Gessler Otto Karl Gessler was a German politician during the Weimar Republic. From 1910 until 1914, he was mayor of Regensburg and from 1913 to 1919 mayor of Nuremberg. He served in Weimar cabinets from 1919 until 1928, usually as Minister of Defence.-Biography:Gessler was born in Ludwigsburg in the... |
| Minister of Food | Andreas Hermes Andreas Hermes Andreas Hermes was a German Christian Democratic Union politician, agricultural scientist, Finance Minister of the Weimar Republic, and a member of the resistance to Nazism.- Life :... |
| Minister without Portfolio | Eduard David Eduard David Eduard Heinrich Rudolph David was a German politician. During the Weimar Republic he was the Minister of the Interior from 21 June 1919 to 3 October 1919.... |
| President of the Treasury | Gustav Bauer Gustav Bauer ' was a German Social Democratic Party leader and Chancellor of Germany from 1919 to 1920.Born in Darkehmen near Königsberg in East Prussia, Bauer, who rose to notice through his leadership of a white-collar trade union, served from 1908 to 1918 as chairman of the General Commission of Trade... |
Müller's tenure of the Foreign Office was only temporary, and before the middle of April he relinquished that position to Dr. Adolf Köster
Adolf Köster
Adolf Köster was a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister of Germany and Interior Minister of Germany .-Background:...
. At the same time there was a reconstruction of the government of Prussia, Otto Braun
Otto Braun
This article is about the Prime Minister of Prussia. For the German Communist and once the Comintern military adviser to the Chinese Communist revolution see Otto Braun ....
becoming premier. The new ministry was constituted on much the same lines as that of Germany, and including members of all the three moderate parties.
Ruhr Uprising
As soon as he assumed office Müller had to deal with the pressing problem of the insurrection in the Ruhr valley, and the neutral zone generally. The German government applied to the Allies for permission to send troops into the disturbed districts in excess of the numbers allowed by the Treaty of Versailles. It appears that in view of the situation which had arisen the British and Italian governments made various suggestions for a temporary modification of these particular provisions of the Treaty of Versailles (Articles 42 to 44). It was proposed, for instance, that German forces might be allowed to occupy the Ruhr valley under whatever guarantees Marshal Foch might think necessary; or that the German troops should be accompanied by Allied officers; or that the matter should be left in the hands of the German government with a warning that if the neutral zone were not re-evacuated as soon as practicable, a further district of Germany would be occupied by the Entente. The French government, however, raised difficulties; and declared that if the Germans were allowed to send forces into the Ruhr District, they (the French) should be allowed to occupy FrankfurtFrankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Homburg
Homburg, Saarland
Homburg is a town in Saarland, Germany, the administrative seat of the Saarpfalz district. With a population of c. 44,000 inhabitants, is the third city in its federal state. The medical department of the University of Saarland is situated here. The city is also home to the Karlsberg beer brewery...
, and other neighbouring German towns, with the sanction of the Allies, during the period that the German troops were in the neutral zone. Owing to these differences of opinion between the Allied governments no quick decision was reached; in the meantime, the insurrection in the Ruhr Valley was becoming daily more serious. Moreover, the German government themselves hindered a settlement by indicating that they could not accept the French suggestion of a parallel occupation of Frankfurt by French troops. It was obvious that matters would soon reach a crisis, notwithstanding the conciliatory efforts of the British government It came as no great surprise, when, on April 3, German regular troops, of the Reichswehr, entered the neutral zone in force, although no permission for them to do so had been granted by the Entente. The troops were under the command of General von Watter, and they experienced no serious difficulty in dealing with the Spartacists, although the latter possessed some artillery. The revolutionary headquarters at Mülheim
Mülheim
Mülheim an der Ruhr, also called "City on the River", is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is located in the Ruhr Area between Duisburg, Essen, Oberhausen and Ratingen...
were taken on April 4.
International intervention
These incidents led to somewhat sensational developments between the French, British, and German governments. Immediately after the German troops crossed the line, the French government itself gave orders to its own troops to advance, and Frankfurt was occupied on April 6 and Homburg on the following day. The French government proclaimed the necessity of this move on the ground that Articles 42 to 44 of the Treaty of Versailles had been broken by the Germans. The French advance occasioned extreme bitterness of feeling in Germany, more particularly as some of the occupying troops were black; and the attitude of the crowds in Frankfurt became so hostile, that on one occasion the French troops brought a machine-gun into action, and a number of civilians were killed and wounded. The British government also disapproved of the French action, partly because they regarded the advance as an extreme measure which should only have been adopted in the last resort, and still more so because the French move had been made independently, and without the sanction of the other Allied governments. The British held that the enforcement of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was an affair for the Allies collectively, and not for any single Allied government.The Franco-British difference of opinion was, however, of short duration (see 1920 in France
1920 in France
See also:1919 in France,other events of 1920,1921 in France.----Events from the year 1920 in France.-Events:At the opening of the year 1920, France was in a stronger position than she had been in for several generations...
); and it was soon made clear that whilst the British government were disposed to think that there had been a genuine necessity to send the German troops into the Ruhr valley, they were equally as determined as the French to see that the terms of the treaty were observed. And the extreme rapidity with which the German troops overcame the revolutionaries tended to bring the whole crisis to an end.
On April 12 Müller made a statement on the situation in the National Assembly at Berlin. He complained of French militarism, and in particular that Senegalese negroes should have been quartered in Frankfurt University. He laid the blame for the developments largely upon Kapp and his associates; and said that it was owing to the undermining of the loyalty of the Reichswehr by the reactionaries, that the working classes had now lost confidence in the republican army. The latest casualty list which had been received from the disturbed area proved the severity of the actions which had taken place; 160 officers and men had been killed and nearly 400 had been wounded. The advance of the German troops into the Ruhr had been necessary in order to protect the lives and property of peaceable citizens living in that district. It was true, said the speaker, that according to Articles 42 and 43 of the treaty of peace, the German government were not allowed to assemble armed forces in the neutral zone, because to do so would constitute a hostile act against the signatory powers; but, he asked, was this prescription laid down in order to prevent the reestablishment of public order? By an agreement of August 1919, the Entente had sanctioned the maintenance in the neutral zone of a military police force, and therefore the Entente, including France, had recognized that measures necessary for the preservation of order in the neutral zone did not constitute a violation of the treaty.
San Remo meeting
A meeting of the Supreme Council, consisting of the British, French, and Italian prime ministers, was opened at San RemoSanremo
Sanremo or San Remo is a city with about 57,000 inhabitants on the Mediterranean coast of western Liguria in north-western Italy. Founded in Roman times, the city is best known as a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera. It hosts numerous cultural events, such as the Sanremo Music Festival...
on April 19; and the Council had to deal, among other questions, with the German invasion of the Ruhr Valley, and with the problem of disarmament generally. David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British Liberal politician and statesman...
, with the support of Francesco Saverio Nitti
Francesco Saverio Nitti
Francesco Saverio Vincenzo de Paola Nitti was an Italian economist and political figure. A Radical, he served as the 36th Prime Minister of Italy between 1919 and 1920....
, proposed that the German government should be invited to attend the conference; but this was strongly opposed by Alexandre Millerand
Alexandre Millerand
Alexandre Millerand was a French socialist politician. He was President of France from 23 September 1920 to 11 June 1924 and Prime Minister of France 20 January to 23 September 1920...
, and the proposal therefore lapsed. The result of the discussions at San Remo on the German question was that a note dealing with the question of disarmament was sent to the German government at the end of April. The note declared that so long as the German government was not taking serious steps to carry out the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles, it was impossible for the Allied governments even to consider the German request that the permanent force of 100,000 men, allowed by the treaty, should be increased. Germany was not fulfilling her engagements either in the destruction of the materials of war, or in the reduction of the number of troops, or in the provision of coal, or with regard to reparation. The Allied governments intended to insist upon the carrying out of the terms of the treaty, though in cases where the German government were faced with unavoidable difficulties, the Allied governments would not necessarily insist upon a literal interpretation of the terms. It was not their intention to annex any portion of German territory.
So far as the occupation of the Ruhr valley was concerned the above note came almost after the event as the rapidity with which the Reichswehr overcame the insurgents made it possible for the German government to withdraw the troops within a few weeks. At the end of April the foreign minister, Dr. Köster, declared that the French ought now to evacuate Frankfurt, Darmstadt, and Homburg, because the German troops had been reduced to 17,500 which was permitted by the agreement of August 1919. On the Allied side, however, it was stated that the force must be reduced forthwith to twenty battalions, six squadrons, and two batteries; and that even this force would have to be replaced entirely by a body of 10,000 police by July 10. The German government made the necessary reductions, and on May 17 the French evacuated Frankfurt and the other occupied towns.
General election
The reactionary and Spartacist insurrections having been thus quelled, the German government proceeded, in accordance with their declarations, to make the necessary preparations for holding the general election. The elections were fixed for Sunday, June 6. All the parties undertook active campaigns, but the general public showed less interest in these elections for the new Reichstag than they had shown in the elections for the temporary National Assembly in January 1919. The total number of electors was about 32,000,000, approximately 15,000,000 men and 17,000,000 women; but only about 80% of the voters exercised their rights. In the elections of 1919, the results had been strikingly in accord with the last general election for the Reichstag before the war; and had therefore constituted a remarkable popular confirmation of the attitude of the Reichstag bloc during the war. The present elections yielded different results. The three moderate parties had been in an overwhelming majority both in the last imperial Reichstag and also in the new republican National Assembly. They were again returned with a majority over the right and left political wings combined, but the majority was now very small. The German political parties were now grouped, from right to left, as follows: the National Party (the old Conservatives), the German People's Party (the old National Liberals); the Democrats (the old Radicals); the Clericals (the old Centre, which now included Protestant as well as Catholic Clericals); the Majority Social Democrats; the Minority or Independent Social Democrats; and lastly the Communists or Spartacists, whose opinions were comparable with those of the Bolsheviks of Russia.In January 1919, the Communists, presumably realizing their numerical insignificance, had refused to take part in the polling. On this occasion, however, they decided to enter the contest, and one of the remarkable features of the elections was the utter collapse of the Spartacists. The satisfaction which the rout of the Spartacists caused to most moderate Germans was, however, tempered by the success of the Independent Social Democrats, who had for months been growing increasingly more extreme in their views, and were now, indeed, one of the most extreme Socialist parties in all Europe, outside Russia. The total number of deputies in the new Reichstag was slightly greater than in the National Assembly, being about 470, the exact number being doubtful until the destinies of the plebiscite areas in West Prussia, East Prussia, and Silesia had been decided. The Spartacists won only two seats. The Independent Social Democrats, however, increased their membership of the house from twenty-two to eighty. The success of the Independent Social Democrats was gained, as might have been expected, chiefly at the expense of the Majority Social Democrats, who had been by far the largest party in the National Assembly. Indeed, the reduction in numbers of the Majority Social Democrats was almost exactly the same as the increase in numbers of the Minority Social Democrats. The total of the Majority Social Democrats fell from 165 to 110. The Clerical electorate, whose strength lay in the west and south, was as always a remarkably constant feature. The Clericals returned with eighty-eight deputies, as against ninety in the Assembly.
Passing to a consideration of the Liberal and Conservative parties, one finds that on the right wing of politics there had also been a remarkable change. The Democrats fared worse in the elections than any other party. The two parties of the right were returned in far greater strength than they had possessed in the National Assembly. The number of Democrats fell from 75 to 45, which was the more remarkable when the increased size of the house is considered. The German National Party, representing the old Conservatives, and still avowed monarchists, increased their strength from 43to 65. But the most remarkable gains were those of the German People's Party. This party - the old National Liberals - represented chiefly the great industrial interests and had been very influential, though not very numerous, under the Empire. In January 1919, they had been almost annihilated at the polls, and had won only twenty-two seats. Now, however, they returned with over sixty deputies.
It will be seen that the elections apparently revealed two diametrically opposite tendencies: a drift from the moderates to the extreme left, and a drift from the moderates to the extreme right. These two tendencies had affected adversely the Majority Social Democrats and Democrats respectively. To some extent this possibly reflected popular discontent with the existing government, with a tendency for the Democrats to vote for the German People's Party and the Majority Social Democrats to drift to the Independent Social Democrats. The exception in this drift to the political extremes was to be found, with the supporters of the Clerical Party, whose political fidelity was proverbial. It was not the most extreme parties, the German Nationals and the Communists, who profited by the ministerial discontent, but the German People's Party and the Independent Social Democrats.
The Majority Social Democrats were still the largest party in the country, as in the house, and secured about 5,500,000 votes - nearly 1,000,000 more than the respective totals of the Independent Social Democrats and the Clericals, whose strength was about equal. The Democrats secured a little over 2,000,000 votes; whilst the two parties of the right together secured over 7,000,000 votes, about equally divided between them.
The two parties of the right had increased their total vote by some 3,500,000, and the democratic vote had sunk by about the same number. The total poll of the Majority Social Democrats had sunk by some 5,500,000, whilst the poll of the Minority Social Democrats had risen by more than 2,500,000. When allowance is made for the decrease in the total poll, there was virtually no difference in the Clerical poll, as compared with January 1919. It will be seen that as between the non-Socialists and the Socialists as a whole, the position of the non-Socialists had markedly improved, and they had, in fact, slightly increased their aggregate poll, notwithstanding the diminution of the total number of electors who exercised their rights.
New cabinet
Owing to the changes in the relative strength of parties, it was several weeks before a cabinet could be formed; and after several politicians had attempted in vain to form a new cabinet, Konstantin FehrenbachKonstantin Fehrenbach
Constantin Fehrenbach was a German Catholic politician who was one of the major leaders of the Centre Party. He served as President of the Reichstag in 1918, and then as President of the Weimar National Assembly from 1919 to 1920...
, one of the most respected leaders of the Clerical Party, succeeded in doing so. What might have been an extremely unstable parliamentary position was avoided by the good sense shown by the German People's Party, who were led by Gustav Stresemann
Gustav Stresemann
was a German politician and statesman who served as Chancellor and Foreign Minister during the Weimar Republic. He was co-laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1926.Stresemann's politics defy easy categorization...
. The German People's Party decided to abandon their position of opposition and their association with the Conservatives, and agreed to unite with the Clericals and Democrats to form a government. The Majority Social Democrats would not actually join a ministry which included the German People's Party, but they agreed to lend the new government their general support in the Reichstag. Thus it came about that twenty months after the revolution an entirely non-Socialist government came into power in Germany, though it was true that the new government depended partly upon the support of the Majority Social Democrats, whose moderation, however, made them more comparable to the Radical-Socialists of France and to Radicals in other countries, than to the Socialist parties of most other countries in Europe. Fehrenbach was born in 1852 and entered the Bavarian parliament as a Catholic and a representative of Freiburg when he was about thirty years of age. He was elected to the Reichstag in 1903 and he became president of that house in 1918. And in 1919 he became president of the National Assembly.
Fehrenbach was able to form a strong cabinet from the personal point of view. Rudolf Heinze
Rudolf Heinze
Karl Rudolf Heinze was a German jurist and politician. He was Vice-Chancellor of Germany and Minister of Justice from 1922 to 1923 under Wilhelm Cuno....
became vice-chancellor and minister for justice, Dr. Walter Simons
Walter Simons
Walter Simons was a German lawyer and politician. He served as president of the Reichsgericht from 1922 to 1929.-Biography:Walter Simons was a student of the jurist Rudolph Sohm, and was influenced by Humanism and Lutheran Pietism...
became foreign minister, Joseph Wirth
Joseph Wirth
Karl Joseph Wirth, known as Joseph Wirth, was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1921 to 1922.-Biography:...
became minister of finance, Erich Koch-Weser
Erich Koch-Weser
Erich Koch-Weser was a German lawyer and liberal politician...
was minister of the interior, and Johannes Giesberts was minister of posts. Noske was not a member of the new cabinet.
The new chancellor made his first declaration to the Reichstag on June 28, and declared that so long as the formerly hostile states refused to modify the Treaty of Versailles, the German government could have no other policy than to endeavour to the best of their ability to carry out the terms of that treaty.
Spa conference
At the meeting of the Supreme Council at San Remo in April it was decided to invite the German government to a conference at SpaSpa, Belgium
Spa is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liège. It is situated in a valley in the Ardennes mountain chain, some southeast of Liège, and southwest of Aachen. As of 1 January 2006, Spa had a total population of 10,543...
, in Belgium, in order to settle the questions relating to disarmament and reparations which arose under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. The Spa conference was held during the first half of July, and Fehrenbach himself attended the conference at which Lloyd George and Millerand were also present. Before going into the conference with the Germans the Allies agreed amongst themselves as to the proportions of the total German reparation which should be allotted to each of the Allied countries. Thus France was to receive 52%, the British Empire 22%, Italy 10%, Belgium 8%, and Serbia 5%, the small remaining proportion to be divided amongst other claimants. Apart from her 8% Belgium was to have the privilege of transferring her entire war debt to Germany's shoulders, and she was also to have a prior claim upon the first £100,000,000 paid by Germany. These proportions were settled, but the total amount to be paid by Germany was not decided.
The conference was to have been opened on July 5, and a preliminary sitting was in fact held on that day, but owing to the non-arrival of Otto Gessler
Otto Gessler
Otto Karl Gessler was a German politician during the Weimar Republic. From 1910 until 1914, he was mayor of Regensburg and from 1913 to 1919 mayor of Nuremberg. He served in Weimar cabinets from 1919 until 1928, usually as Minister of Defence.-Biography:Gessler was born in Ludwigsburg in the...
, the German minister of defense, it was not possible to proceed with the serious consideration of the first subject on the agenda, which was the question of German disarmament. The conference was held under the presidency of the Belgian prime minister, Léon Delacroix
Léon Delacroix
Léon Frédéric Gustave Delacroix was a Belgian statesman. Before entering politics, he was a renowned lawyer, and served as president of the Belgian Court of Cassation from 1917 to 1918. In the context of reconstruction after World War I, he was appointed the 22nd Prime Minister and served from...
, and the Belgian foreign minister, Paul Hymans
Paul Hymans
Paul Louis Adrien Henri Hymans , was a Belgian politician associated with the Liberal Party. He was the first President of the League of Nations, and served again as its president in 1932-33....
, also attended. The British representatives, in addition to Lloyd George himself, were Lord Curzon and Sir Laming Worthington-Evans
Laming Worthington-Evans
Sir Worthington Laming Worthington-Evans, 1st Baronet GBE, PC was a British Conservative politician.-Background and education:Born Laming Evans, he was the son of Worthington Evans and Susanah Laming...
. The chief Italian representative was Count Sforza, the distinguished and successful foreign minister. The German chancellor was accompanied by Simons and Wirth.
On the following day Gessler arrived, and he proceeded at once to make a formal request that the 100,000 men, which was the limit of the German army allowed by the treaty, should continue to be exceeded, on the ground that it was impossible for the government to keep order with such a small force. Lloyd George then explained the reasons for the Allies' anxiety. He said that the treaty allowed Germany 100,000 men, 100,000 rifles, and 2,000 machine guns. Germany, however, still possessed a regular army of 200,000 men, and also possessed 50,000 machine guns, and 12,000 guns. Moreover, she had only surrendered 1,500,000 rifles, although it was obvious that there must be millions of rifles in the country. During the discussions on the following days it transpired from statements made by the chief of the General Staff himself, General von Seeckt, that in addition to the Reichswehr there were various other organized forces in Germany such as the Einwohnerwehr and the Sicherheitspolizei. The Einwohnerwehr alone appear to have numbered over 500,000 men. General von Seeckt proposed that the regular army should be reduced gradually to 100,000 men by October 1921. A discussion upon this matter took place between the Allies, and it was decided that Germany should be given until January 1, 1921, to reduce the strength of the Reichswehr to the treaty figure of 100,000 men. The exact conditions laid down were that Germany should reduce the Reichswehr to 150,000 men by October 1, withdraw the arms of the Einwohnerwehr and the Sicherheitspolizei, and issue a proclamation demanding the surrender of all arms in the hands of the civilian population, with effective penalties in the event of default. On July 9 the German delegates signed the agreement embodying these stipulations in regard to disarmament.
The later sittings of the conference were concerned with the question of the trial of the German "war criminals", the delivery of coal as a form of reparation, and various other financial matters. It was the question of coal which required the closest attention, largely owing to the extreme need of France for supplies of coal, and the agreement relating to this matter was signed on July 16. It was decided that for six months after August 1 the German government should deliver up 2,000,000 tons of coal per month.
The question of the war criminals referred to above had been under discussion since the beginning of the year. The Treaty of Versailles had required that certain persons with an especially evil record in the war should be handed over to the Allies. Lists of the chief persons coming under the heading of "war criminals" were published by the Allied governments at the end of January. The lists included a number of very well known persons, such as the Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, Field Marshal August von Mackensen
August von Mackensen
Anton Ludwig August von Mackensen , born August Mackensen, was a German soldier and field marshal. He commanded with success during the First World War and became one of the German Empire's most prominent military leaders. After the Armistice, Mackensen was interned for a year...
, General von Kluck, Admiral von Tirpitz, and Admiral von Capelle. However, the ex-Emperor Wilhelm had fled to Holland, and since the Dutch government definitely declined to hand him over to the Allies, it was generally held, especially in Britain, that it was difficult to press forward very vigorously with the punishment of those who, however important their positions, had only been the emperor's servants. It was therefore subsequently decided that the German government itself should be instructed to proceed with the punishment of the war criminals concerned. But it transpired at Spa that the German government had been extremely dilatory in taking the necessary proceedings.
Rest of 1920
The last five months of the year were much less eventful in Germany. The country was still suffering from a shortage of food, though not in the acute degree which was so painfully characteristic of Austria and also of some of the other countries farther east. The German government appear to have made serious efforts to comply with their treaty obligations regarding disarmament and reparation. Thus, in the three weeks following the Spa conference over 4,000 heavy guns and field guns were destroyed; and measures were taken to obtain the very large number of arms which existed all over the country in the hands of the civilian population. Great numbers of livestock were also handed over to the Allies. Thus France received from Germany (up to November 30) over 30,000 horses, over 65,000 cattle, and over 100,000 sheep. Belgium received, up to the same date, 6,000 horses, 67,000 cattle, and 35,000 sheep.The financial position of the country remained extremely serious. The total national debt (funded debt and floating debt) amounted to 200,000,000,000 marks, that is, £10,000,000,000 sterling at the old prewar rate of exchange. The anticipated revenue for the year 1920-21 was 27,950,000,000 marks, and the anticipated ordinary expenditure was 23,800,000,000 marks. There was, however, also an anticipated extraordinary expenditure of no less than 11,600,000,000 marks. A heavy deficit on the railways was also expected. The exchange value
Exchange value
In political economy and especially Marxian economics, exchange value refers to one of four major attributes of a commodity, i.e., an item or service produced for, and sold on the market...
of the mark had fallen disastrously since the armistice, and though it rose towards the end of the year, the mark was still reckoned at over 200 to the pound sterling in December.
Various statistics of population were published during the year. Among other significant features, it was stated that the number of children under five years of age, in the whole of the territories of the former Hohenzollern empire, had sunk from 8,000,000 in 1911 to 5,000,000 in 1919.
After resigning from the cabinet, Noske became president of the province of Hannover.