Friedrich Ebert
Biography
The first president of the German republic, elected in Weimar, in a theatre, eleven days after he had opened the assembly that elected him.
The man who opened the session, 1919
Ebert came to Weimar as chairman of the Council of People's Deputies — the provisional authority that had taken over when the monarchy fell — and it was he who opened the constituent session of the National Assembly at 15.15 on 6 February 1919. The room was the auditorium of the Deutsches Nationaltheater, converted into a plenary chamber for the purpose.
Elected president in a theatre, 1919
On 11 February 1919, five days into its sitting, the assembly elected him Reichspräsident. A Social Democrat became head of state of a country that had had an emperor three months earlier — and it happened in a provincial playhouse, because the capital was too dangerous to meet in.
The signature that was not in Weimar, 1919–1925
The delegates carried the constitution in the Nationaltheater on 31 July 1919, but Ebert did not sign it there. He signed on 11 August at Schwarzburg, and it came into force on the 14th. He died in 1925; the republic he had opened in this town outlasted him.
Questions visitors ask
- What is Friedrich Ebert's connection to the National Theatre?
- He opened the constituent session of the National Assembly there at 15.15 on 6 February 1919, and the assembly elected him Reichspräsident in the same building five days later, on 11 February.
- Where did Friedrich Ebert sign the Weimar Constitution?
- Not in Weimar. The delegates approved it in the Nationaltheater on 31 July 1919, but Ebert signed it on 11 August at Schwarzburg; it came into force on 14 August.
- Can I visit where Ebert was elected president?
- Yes, the Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar, where the National Assembly met and elected him.
- How long did Friedrich Ebert serve as president?
- From his election in 1919 until his death in 1925 — the republic he had opened in Weimar outlasted him.
Notable Works & Achievements
Weimar Constitution
Opening Address to National Assembly (1919)
Connected Places in Weimar
Theaterplatz 2, 99423 Weimar
Opened the constituent session in this house at 15.15 on 6 February 1919, and was elected Reichspräsident here five days later.
Historical Context
Opened the assembly that gave the republic its constitution and was elected its first president in this town.
Germany's first democracy is named after this town for an almost accidental reason: in 1919 the capital was too dangerous to write a constitution in, and Weimar was quiet.
Read more about this period →Quick Facts
1871
1925
German
Events
Events
A weekend at the end of October, every year
First president of the republic declared here.
In Weimar's history
In Weimar's history
On 6 February 1919 the assembly elected to write Germany a constitution met for the first time, in a court theatre eleven years old. Weimar was chosen because Berlin was too dangerous.
As chairman of the Council of People's Deputies, Ebert opened the constituent session at 3.15 p.m. on 6 February 1919.
On 31 July 1919 the delegates voted Germany's first democratic constitution through in its final form, in the Nationaltheater. It was signed somewhere else entirely.
Ebert signed the constitution on 11 August 1919 at Schwarzburg, not in Weimar.