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1919
The French, British and US troops move into the Rhineland.
In January 1919, the Germans were not allowed to take part
in the Paris conference. They were not even told anything about the talks that
took place there. Lacking information, the Germans went on thinking that the
treaty of Versailles would be a fair one, Based on Wilson's Fourteen
points.
Their hopes were shattered on 7th May 1919 when the finished treaty was put
before the German Government. It was much harsher than they had expected.
The treaty blamed Germany for starting the First World War
and for causing all the Allies loss and damage. It ordered Germany to pay reparations
to the allies - that is the cost of repairing the war damage.
| Date |
Event |
| 5th January |
The Spartacists tried to
seize power, they occupied public buildings, organised a general strike
and formed a revolutionary committee. Groups of them roamed the streets,
firing guns and putting up red flags. |
| 10th January |
The Free Corps
attacked. |
| 11th January |
They captured a newspaper
building held by spartacists. |
| 13th January |
They catch the Spartacist
leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebnecht, and then murdered them. The
thus failed |
| 19th January |
30 million Germans went to
the polls to elect a new parliament. The most votes went to three parties
which supported the Social Democratic party. |
| 6th February |
The new parliament met, it
met on a south German town called Weimar. Its first action was to elect
Ebert as president of Germany. Its second was to make a constitution for
Germany. |
| 28th June |
Two German government ministers
went to the palace of Versailles and signed the treaties because the
generals had informed the government the army could not fight and win. |
In 1919 because of the treaty of Versailles Germany lost the Pink and Red
areas on the map below.
Click on the picture to see a video about the land Germany lost.
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