Glossary of the Weimar Republic

These are terms, concepts and ideas that are useful to understanding the political situation in the Weimar Republic. The term Weimar Republic ( ˈvaɪmarɐ repuˈbliːk is used by historians to signify the democratic and Republican period of Germany from 1919 to 1933 Some are particular to the period and government, while others were just in common usage but have a bearing on the Weimar milieu and political maneuvering.

Agrarian Bolshevism — an idea by several political parties, involving the expropriation of large estates (mostly those of junkers in Prussia) and passing them out to peasants. Junkers (English pronunciation ə German pronunciation kɐ were the Landed nobility of Prussia and eastern Germany.
Angestellte — White-collar employees
Barmat scandal — brothers Julius, Herschel, Solomon and Isaak, who owned a huge conglomerate of businesses and overextended themselves. Their bankruptcy involved millions of dollars and they bribed politicians on all levels of the Social Democratic party. It was a factor in the rise of Nazism.
- Barmat Committee — The Prussian Landtag set up a special fact-finding commission. Preußischer Landtag or Prussian Landtag was the Prussian diet which existed from the 15th century to the 20th century in various forms and states in the
Beamte — civil service employees
Best proclamation — the SA draft proclamation for the exigency when and if the communists would revolt after a Nazi electoral victory; found in the house of Dr. The, abbreviated SA, ( German for "Assault detachment" or "Assault section" usually translated as " stormtroop(ers Werner Best, legal advisor to the Nazi Party; became a major embarrassment for Hitler.
Black Reichswehr — another name for the Freikorps system
- 'black' soldiers — the ex-soldiers involved in Freikorps units
Bonzen — bosses; slang term for the Weimar system and those who enriched themselves at the expense of the workers.
Conservative Revolutionary movement — a German nationalist literary youth movement, prominent in the years following World War I. The Conservative Revolutionary movement was a German Nationalist literary youth movement prominent in the years following the First World War. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All
der eiserne Hindenburg — the Iron Hindenburg; Hindenburg was the epitome for solidness
der Krieg nach dem Krieg — "the war after the war"; the civil war that erupted in Germany after WWI; the turmoil of the Weimar Republic.
Dolchstoßlegende — "Stab in the back" legend; the idea that the German Army was betrayed by subversive elements at home; i. The stab-in-the-back legend ( German:, literally "Dagger stab legend" refers to a social Myth theory popular in Germany in the period after e. the socialists, pacifists, liberals and Jews.
Einwohnerwehren — civil guards; small civilian units established by General Maercker for the purpose of urban combat against communist revolutionaries; these civil units grew into the Orgesch.
Erbhöfe — hereditary; farms labelled as such were guaranteed to remain with the same family in perpetuity.
Ernährungsautarkie — agricultural self-sufficiency
freebooters — the men of the Freikorps
Freikorps — free corps; far-right paramilitary organizations made up of disillusioned WWI soldiers that sprung up around Germany as soldiers returned in defeat from World War I. The designation of Freikorps ( German for "Free Corps " was originally applied to voluntary armies formed in German lands from the middle of 18th century They were frequently involved in political brawls, especially against the communists.
Friedenssturm — Peace Offensive; term given by General Ludendorff to the last great offensive of WWI hoping to break Allied resolve.
Froschperspektive — frog's-eye view; the German ex-soldier's outlook of WWI; categorization of ex-soldiers' memoirs.
Honoratioren — important community leaders such as the major and village priest.
industrial rationalization — the furious pace of major technological, financial, and economic reorganization that German industry underwent between 1924 and 1929.
Inheritance
- Partible inheritance — inheritances such as farms can be broken up amongst heirs; the culture of Catholic Bavaria
- Impartible inheritance — inheritance passed only to the oldest son; family farmland prevented from being broken up amongst heirs. Partible inheritance is a general term applied to systems of Inheritance in which property may be apportioned among Heirs It contrasts in particular
Kapp Putsch — (also Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch) of March, 1920 was an attempted military coup of the extreme right-wing aimed at overthrowing the Weimar Republic. The Kapp Putsch — or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch — was a 1920 coup attempt during the German revolution aimed at overthrowing the It was a direct result of the Weimar government's acceptance of the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It failed when the army did not intervene and a general strike paralyzed the capital.
Kriegspiel — preliminary situation report; General von Schleicher made one about the military's incapability to meet civil unrest. This one convinced von Papen to resign.
Kriegserlebnis — (myth of the) war experience
Kuhhandel — cattle trading; German slang term for the political maneuverings in the parliament and in the Weimar government.
Kultur — culture
Landtag — state legislature
Landespolizei — state police
- Green police — another term for police (as opposed to the "police" of various paramilitary groups), because they wore green uniforms
London Ultimatum — set the total sum of war damages to the Allies at 132 billion marks. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic A Landtag ( Diet) is a representative assembly or Parliament in German-speaking countries with some legislative authority
Lusanne Agreement — Allies in order to forstall a Nazi government practically abolished the German reparations burden; major foreign policy success for Chancellor von Papen; July 9, 1932.
Marstall — stables; ordered to be cleared during the Battle of the Schloss.
Ministeramt — ministerial office
Nahrungsfreiheit — self-sufficiency in nourishment.
New Middle Class — white collar workers; consisted of the service and clerical (bookkeeping) occupations for management, industry and government
Old Middle Class — consisted of self-employed farmers, shopkeepers, merchants and artisans
Orgesch — Organisation Escherich; the civil guards that grew into the reserve militia for the German Army under the command of Major Dr. Forstrat Georg Escherich.
Osthilfe — the 1931 government assistance programs for large eastern German estates. It made available 1. 5 billion marks for farmers to make debt conversion and lowered local taxes and freight rates.
Quasselbude — "twaddling shop"; Nazi slang term given to the German parliament
Räterepublik — workers councils or "soviet" republics; the communist revolutions in Berlin and Munich
Red terror — violence of the communist uprisings (see also White Terror)
Reichsheer — = army of the Reichswehr
Reichswährungskommissar — national currency commissioner
Reichswehr — the German armed forces 1921-1934
Rentenmark Miracle — Dr. A workers' council is a Deliberative assembly, composed of Working class members intended to institute Workers' self-management or Workers' control The German Army ( Deutsches Heer) was the name given the combined armed forces of the German Empire, also known as the Imperial Army ( Reichsheer) or The Reichswehr ( German for "National Defence" formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935 when it was The Reichswehr ( German for "National Defence" formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935 when it was Hjalmar Schacht issued the Rentenmark which was pegged to the price of gold and had an exchange rate of 4. Dr Hjalmar Horace Greeley Schacht (22 January 1877 – 3 June 1970 was the Currency Commissioner and President of the Reichsbank under the Weimar Republic, and President 2 marks per dollar. It ushered in five years (1924-1929) of economic stability and a new period of prosperity for the Weimar Republic.
Saupreiss — Prussian swine; Bavarian slang term for Prussians because of their domination of German politics and culture. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state Bavaria ( German:, with an area of 70553 Km² (27241 square miles and almost 12
Stahlhelm, Bund der Frontsoldaten — (Steel Helmet, League of Front Soldiers) ; the largest of the paramilitary Freikorps organizations that arose after World War I. The Stahlhelm Bund der Frontsoldaten ( English: Steel Helmet League of Frontline Soldiers was one of the many Paramilitary organizations that arose after the defeat It was an accumulation point for nationalistic and anti-Weimar Republic elements.
Schloss — castle
- Battle of the Schloss — The Volksmarine Division led by Lt. Dorrenbach seized the Kaiser's castle and stables which defeated an army unit sent to dislodge them.
Vertrauensmann — low-level political agent; Reichwehr sent agents to infiltrate political parties; The Bavarian unit sent Hitler as a Vertrauensmann to the Deutsche Arbeiterpartei.
von — an aristocratic appellation to German names, though it does not always signify that class. In German, von is a Preposition which approximately means of or from.
Wahlkreise — Weimar electoral districts.
Wehrkreis — military districts within Weimar Germany
Weimar Coalition — the first solid majoritarian parties; the Social Democratic Party (37. Military districts are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army which are responsible for a certain area of territory 9%), the Catholic Center Party (19. 7%), the liberal Democratic Party (18. 6%).
Wehrverbände — volunteer defense units
White terror — violence of the counter-revolutionary and anti-communist forces, i. A counter-revolutionary is anyone who opposes a Revolution, particularly those who act after a revolution to try to overturn or reverse it in full or in part e. the Freikorps. (see also Red Terror)
Young Plan — the new reparations agreement negotiated by Gustav Stresemann at the Hague;
- anti-Young coalition — Alfred Hugenberg with the Nationalist Party; Stahlhelm; the Pan-German League and Dr. ( May 10, 1878 &ndash October 3, 1929) was a German liberal politician and statesman who served as Chancellor and Foreign Minister Alfred Hugenberg (19 June 1865 - 12 March 1951 was an influential German Businessman and Politician. Schacht of the Reichsbank; the campaign began in September 1929.
Zusammenstösse — clashs, gang fights; the brawls between the various political paramilitary groups

See also