Richard Lutjens 

Assistant Professor, Department of History, Texas Tech University 

"The Legacy of the Great War and the Fate of the Weimar Republic"

The Weimar Republic, Germany's first attempt at constructing a truly democratic republic, was born in the chaos of the lost war. Declared in November 1918, the republic survived little over a decade, before descending into Nazi tyranny in January 1933. Throughout its short life, the republic was plagued by memories of the lost war and its government repeatedly blamed by large portions of the German public for its devastating outcome. The consequences of such a loss would haunt the republic, undermine its credibility,and ultimately provide a key rhetorical tactic for the Nazis on their rise to power.