The story in brief
A republic is born on a balcony in 1918 and dies in an opera house in 1933. In between: a lie about a lost war, money that turns to paper, a coup in a beer hall, six million out of work and a deal in a banker’s house. Then a fire, a vote under guard, and the road to broken glass.
The chapters
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Chapter 1 · 5 min · Free
The Stab in the Back
A man steps onto a balcony and shouts a republic into being. The generals who lost the war have already found someone to blame.
Sources: The Weimar Constitution (1919); The Treaty of Versailles (1919); Hindenburg before the Reichstag committee (1919)
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Chapter 2 · 5 min · Free
A Trillion Marks
Money turns to wallpaper, a coup in a beer hall collapses in a morning, and a prisoner writes a book. Then, for five years, Germany is happy.
Sources: The judgment of the Munich People’s Court (1924); Der Angriff (1928)
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Chapter 3 · 5 min
Thirty-Seven Percent
Six million out of work, a president who rules by decree, and a party that never wins a majority. Then a few men make a deal.
Sources: The elections of 1930 and 1932; Dorothy Thompson, I Saw Hitler! (1932)
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Chapter 4 · 5 min
The Enabling Act
A fire, a decree and a vote under guard. In fifty-two days a parliament votes itself out of existence, and a year later the army swears an oath to one man.
Sources: The Reichstag Fire Decree (1933); The Reichstag record, 23 March 1933; The Enabling Act (1933)
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Chapter 5 · 6 min
Broken Glass
Step by legal step, Germany’s Jews lose their jobs, their rights and their homes. Then one November night, the synagogues burn, and few countries open their doors.
Sources: Heine, Almansor (1823); The Nuremberg Laws (1935); The German-Soviet pact (1939)
Who’s who
The people you meet. Each one is a hero card you can collect.
- Friedrich EbertSaddler · Social Democrat · First President of the Republic
- Gustav StresemannChancellor of 1923 · Foreign Minister · Nobel Peace Prize
- Dorothy ThompsonReporter · Wrong About Hitler · Then His Loudest Critic
- Otto WelsSocial Democrat · The Last Free Speech · Exile
- Victor KlempererProfessor · Diarist · Witness
- Carl von OssietzkyEditor · Prisoner · Nobel Peace Prize
What you’ll be able to tell
This story belongs to the journey “The Roots”. By the end of it, you can tell why there were two sides at all, and how a democracy can vote and deal itself out of existence.
Stories in this journey
- 1917: The Russian Revolution
- Hitler: How a Democracy Died
Sources
- The Weimar Constitution
- The Treaty of Versailles
- The Reichstag’s records
- Dorothy Thompson, I Saw Hitler!
- The Enabling Act
- Heine, Almansor
