Hugo Preuss

The city of Weimar lent its name to the Weimar Republic, Germany's experiment in democracy between World War I and the Nazi era. In November 1918 the German monarchy collapsed, and in early 1919 political leaders chose Weimar – a calm, central location – to convene the National Assembly that drafted a new constitution. In August 1919, the "Weimar Constitution" was signed in the Deutsches Nationaltheater, making Weimar synonymous with Germany's first republic. Friedrich Ebert, a Social Democrat, served as the Republic's first president. The period was marked by political turmoil but also cultural innovation. Weimar, as capital of the new state of Thuringia (formed 1920), saw progressive and reactionary forces struggle for influence. Modern artists and intellectuals like those of the Bauhaus (founded in Weimar in 1919) thrived under initial left-leaning governments, while right-wing elements (völkisch nationalists) grew in opposition. By the late 1920s, conservative and extremist forces gained the upper hand in Thuringia. In 1926 Weimar hosted a Nazi Party rally, and in 1930 Thuringia appointed Germany's first Nazi minister, signaling the Republic's destabilization. Despite economic crises (like hyperinflation) and political violence, the Weimar Republic era fostered a dynamic cultural life. It ended as Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, but the democratic ideals born in Weimar left a complex legacy in German history.