Germany, 1918–1923

Democracy · Republic · Western Europe · Interwar Years era

The republic proclaimed in 1918 survived the Kapp and Munich putsches and the killings of Erzberger and Rathenau, then the French occupation of the Ruhr and an inflation ended only by the currency reform of late 1923.

Defeat and revolution replaced the monarchy with a republic contested from both flanks – Spartacist risings, Freikorps violence and the Kapp putsch. Reparations and the occupation of the Ruhr triggered the 1923 hyperinflation, which destroyed cash savings. Bavaria hosted the failed Hitler–Ludendorff putsch that November. Currency reform and the Dawes plan opened a fragile stabilization.

Open Germany 1918–1923 in the interactive 3D atlas →

Dominant patterns

  • Democratization
  • Revolutionary Risk

Political-science factor profile

Each factor 0–100; higher = stronger authoritarian / crisis pole (except institutional stability, where higher = stronger institutions).

Centralization of Power22
Media Control17
Repression36
Nationalism74
Militarization30
Economic Stress47
External Conflict44
Cult of Personality20
Elite Fragmentation90
Institutions85
Social Polarization90
Corruption & Patrimonialism15
Ideological Mobilization21
External Sovereignty45

Economy & society

GDP per capita$4656 (intl-$)
GDP growth-1.6%/yr
Population64.2M people
Share of world population3.3%

Closest historical twins

The country-eras whose structural profile most resembles Germany 1918–1923, by similarity score (0–100).

  1. United States, 1860–1865 – similarity 77/100 · shared: Democratization, Revolutionary Risk
  2. Chile, 1932–1973 – similarity 73/100 · shared: Democratization, Revolutionary Risk
  3. Austria-Hungary, 1900–1918 – similarity 70/100 · shared: Revolutionary Risk
  4. United Kingdom, 1815–1837 – similarity 67/100 · shared: Democratization
  5. France, 2007–2024 – similarity 67/100 · shared: Democratization
  6. Germany, 2005–2024 – similarity 66/100 · shared: Democratization
  7. Czechoslovakia, 1918–1938 – similarity 65/100 · shared: Democratization
  8. France, 1789–1799 – similarity 64/100 · shared: Democratization, Revolutionary Risk

What followed

  • Hyperinflation and political violence.
  • Temporary stabilization in the mid-1920s.