Friedrich Ebert
1st President of Germany
In office February 11, 1919 – February 28, 1925
Succeeded by	Paul von Hindenburg
Chancellor of Germany
In office November 9, 1918 – February 11, 1919
Preceded by	Prince Maximilian of Baden
Succeeded by	Philipp Scheidemann
Born	February 4, 1871
Died	February 28, 1925
Political party	SPD

This is not the Friedrich Ebert involved in the founding of the GDR, but rather his father. For the son, see Friedrich Ebert junior

Friedrich Ebert (February 4, 1871 – February 28, 1925) was a German politician (SPD), who served as Chancellor of Germany and its first president during the Weimar period. Download high resolution version (552x789, 123 KB) This image is in the public domain in the United States and possibly other jurisdictions. ... The President of Germany (German: Bundespräsident, formerly Reichspräsident) is Germanys head of state. ... February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg, known universally as Paul von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German Field Marshal and statesman. ... The head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (German: Kanzler or Bundeskanzler meaning federal chancellor). ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Prince Maximilian of Baden (Max von Baden) (10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929) was the cousin and heir of Grand Duke Frederick II of Baden, and succeeded Frederick as head of the Grand Ducal House in 1928. ... Philipp Scheidemann ( 26 July 1865– 29 November 1939) was a German Social Democratic politician, who was responsible for the proclamation of the Republic on 9 November 1918, and who became the first Chancellor of the Weimar Republic. ... February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Social Democratic Party of Germany Spectral Power Density ... Disambiguation Page Global Depositary Receipt East Germany ... Friedrich Fritz Ebert (September 12, 1894 – December 4, 1979) was the son of Germanys first President Friedrich Ebert. ... February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... SPD redirects here. ... The head of government of Germany is called Chancellor (German: Kanzler or Bundeskanzler meaning federal chancellor). ... The President of Germany (German: Bundespräsident, formerly Reichspräsident) is Germanys head of state. ... Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler...

Born in Heidelberg as the son of a tailor, he himself was trained as a saddlemaker. He became involved in politics as a trade unionist and Social Democrat, and soon became a leader of the moderate revisionist wing of the Social Democratic Party, becoming Secretary-General in 1905, and party chairman in 1913. He also was a politician in Elberfeld (now Wuppertal). A view of the city from the castle (Schloss) A view of stone bridge from the castle (Schloss) The castle (Schloss) above the town Shopping district Heidelberg and the other cities of the Neckar valley View from the so called alley of philosophers (Philosophenweg) towards the Old Town, with Heidelberg... A Trade Union (Labour union) ... is a continuous association of wage-earners for the purpose of maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

In August 1914, Ebert led the party to vote almost unanimously in favour of war appropriations, accepting that a war was a necessary patriotic, defensive measure. The party's stance, under the leadership of Ebert and other revisionists like Scheidemann, in favour of the war eventually led to a split, with the more left wing elements in the party leaving in early 1917 to form the USPD. Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Philipp Scheidemann ( 26 July 1865– 29 November 1939) was a German Social Democratic politician, who was responsible for the proclamation of the Republic on 9 November 1918, and who became the first Chancellor of the Weimar Republic. ... Year 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... For the Independent Social Democratic Party of Romania, see Romanian Social Democratic Party (defunct). ...

When it became clear that the war was lost, a new government was formed by Prince Maximilian of Baden which included Ebert and other members of the SPD in October 1918. Following the outbreak of the German Revolution, Prince Max resigned on November 9, and handed his office over to Ebert. Though the Kaiser was declared to have abdicated, Ebert favoured retaining the monarchy under a different ruler. On the same day, however, Scheidemann proclaimed the German Republic, in response to the unrest in Berlin and in order to counter a declaration of the "Socialist Republic" by Karl Liebknecht later that day. This proclamation ended the German Monarchy and an entirely Socialist provisional government took power under Ebert's leadership. Prince Maximilian of Baden (Max von Baden) (10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929) was the cousin and heir of Grand Duke Frederick II of Baden, and succeeded Frederick as head of the Grand Ducal House in 1928. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Karl Liebknecht on 9 November 1918 in the Berliner Tiergarten The German November Revolution was one of many Revolutions across Europe at the end of World War I in 1918-1919. ... November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... William II or Wilhelm II,also known as Kaiser (born Frederick William Albert Victor; German: Friedrich Wilhelm Albert Victor) (27 January 1859–4 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (German: Deutscher Kaiser und König von Preußen), ruling both the German Empire and Prussia... ▶ (help· info) (August 13, 1871 - January 15, 1919) was a German socialist and a co-founder of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. ...

Ebert accepted this position only reluctantly. He was a supporter of the monarchy until the abdication of the Kaiser ("If the Kaiser abdicates, the social revolution is inevitable. But I do not want it, I hate it like sin", he said to Max von Baden on November 7), and when Scheidemann proclaimed the Republic he responded: "Is that true? You have no right to proclaim the Republic!" By this he meant that the decision was to be made by an elected national assembly, even if that decision would be the restoration of the monarchy.

Ebert led the new government for the next several months, notably using the army to suppress the Spartacist uprising, commonly identified with Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, even though many of its members were centrist SPD supporters. (Ironically, years later, Ebert's son, Friedrich "Fritz" Ebert, became a Communist, served as Mayor of East Berlin, and briefly acted as East German interim head of state.) When the Constituent Assembly met in Weimar in February, 1919, Ebert was chosen to be the first president of the German Republic. The Spartacist uprising, also known as the January uprising, was a general strike (and the armed battles accompanying it) in Germany from January 5 to January 12, 1919. ... Rosa Luxemburg Rosa Luxemburg (March 5, 1870 or 1871 – January 15, 1919, in Polish Róża Luksemburg) was a Polish-born German Marxist political theorist, socialist philosopher, and revolutionary. ... â–¶ (help· info) (August 13, 1871 - January 15, 1919) was a German socialist and a co-founder of the Spartacist League and the Communist Party of Germany. ... A constituent assembly is a body elected with the purpose of drafting, and in some cases, adopting a constitution. ... For the locality in Texas called Weimar see Weimar, Texas, there is also Weimar bei Kassel and Weimar in Marburg-Biedenkopf. ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler...

In spite of Ebert's support for the violent suppression of revolutionary uprisings, the German workers protected his government from the Kapp Putsch in 1920 by means of a nationwide general strike. After the strike was over, however, Ebert's government again recruited the Freikorps and the soldiers who had wanted to overthrow him in order to quell remaining uprisings in western Germany. The Putsch —or more accurately the Kapp-Lüttwitz Putsch —was an attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic, based in opposition to the imposed Treaty of Versailles at the end of World War I. It was branded right-wing, monarchist and reactionary afterwards. ...

While hundreds of civilians were killed (including many who had nothing to do with the uprising), most of the putschists were treated leniently. Some of the Freikorps already used the swastika as their symbol of resistance against the "red pack" at the time, and many of them as well as right-wing members of the Reichswehr would later become influential national socialists. In November 1923, Ebert rebuked his own party for leaving the coalition government of Gustav Stresemann. For the town in Ontario, see Swastika, Ontario. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Gustav Stresemann (May 10, 1878 – October 3, 1929) was a German liberal politician and statesman who served as Chancellor and Foreign Secretary during the Weimar Republic. ...

Legacy

Ebert remains a somewhat controversial figure to this day. While the SPD recognizes him as one of the founders and keepers of German democracy whose death in office in February 1925 was a great loss, communists and others on the far left argue that he paved the way for fascism by supporting the ultra-right Freikorps and their violent suppression of Marxist urprisings. Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ... Labor rights or workers rights are a group of legal rights and claimed human rights having to do with labor relations between workers and their employers. ... It has been suggested that Welfare capitalism be merged into this article or section. ... This box:  • • A mixed economy is an economy that has a mix of economic systems. ... Certified Fairtrade quinoa producers in Ecuador. ... This is a list of parties in the world that consider themselves to be upholding the principles and values of social democracy. ... The official symbol of Socialist International The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of social democratic, labor, and democratic socialist political parties. ... The Party of European Socialists (PES) is a European political party whose members are 33 social democratic, socialist and labour parties of the European Union member states as well as Norway. ... The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is the worlds largest trade union federation. ... Eduard Bernstein Eduard Bernstein (January 6, 1850 - December 18, 1932) was a German social democratic theoretician and politician, member of the SPD, and founder of evolutionary socialism or reformism. ... Hjalmar Branting (November 23, 1860 – February 24, 1925) was a Swedish statesman and the countrys chief Social Democratic leader. ... Jean Jaurès. ... Léon Blum Léon Blum (9 April 1872 - 30 March 1950), was the Prime Minister of France three times: from 1936 to 1937, for one month in 1938, and from December 1946 to January 1947. ... Karl Kautsky (October 18, 1854 - October 17, 1938) was a leading theoretician of social democracy. ... James Ramsay MacDonald (12 October 1866 – 9 November 1937) was a British politician and three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ... Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, FRS, PC (3 January 1883 – 8 October 1967) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1945 to 1951. ... The designation of Freikorps (German for Free Corps, i. ...

Those were the same people who spread the Dolchstoßlegende, the idea that the socialists were responsible for Germany's defeat in World War I. This was a particularly perfidious claim, as the socialists had entered the ceasefire negotiations on request of the military leadership, after the generals had decided that the war could no longer be won. To the generals, the Weimar Republic was a temporary, necessary evil to divert blame from themselves and prepare for the next war, and Ebert is viewed by his critics as playing exactly the role that the military wanted him to play. Magazine title from 1924, example of a propaganda illustration in support of the legend The Dolchstoßlegende, (German dagger-thrust legend, often translated in English as stab-in-the-back legend) refers to a social mythos and persecution-propaganda theory popular in post-World War I Germany. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz...

Some historians have defended Ebert's actions as unfortunate but inevitable to prevent the creation of a communist state (which they view as unacceptable). Leftist historians like Bernt Engelmann have argued that many of the workers were in fact centrist SPD supporters, and that the communist party was not yet politically relevant (in part because of the assassination of Liebknecht and Luxemburg). However, the actions of Ebert and his Minister of Defense, Gustav Noske, against the workers contributed to their radicalization and to increasing support for communist ideas. This article is about a form of government in which the state operates under the control of a Communist Party. ... Noske and Ebert Gustav Noske (July 9, 1868 - November 30, 1946) was a German administrator. ...

The creation of elected workers' councils, which Ebert had tolerated in the early days of the republic, was viewed by moderate workers as a legitimate centrist instrument to oversee the democratic government, when many government officials were reactionaries who yearned for a return of the monarchy, and when workers still enjoyed little protection from exploitation, so that strikes were frequently ended with machine guns. Ebert's critics view him as a knowing or unknowing agent of the reaction who made the wrong decisions in shaping post-war Germany by giving power and influence to those who had already sought German world domination in World War I and preventing the creation of a united, progressive political party. Anti-SPD slogans such as "Wer hat uns verraten? Sozialdemokraten!" ("Who betrayed us? Social democrats!") were born out of the experiences of Ebert's era. A German Grammar School located in Hamburg (Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium) was named after Friedrich-Ebert. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Franz...

See also

• Ebert-Groener pact

Presidents of Weimar Germany (1919–1933)
Friedrich Ebert • Walter Simons (acting) • Paul von Hindenburg

v • d • e Chancellors of Germany

German Empire (1871–1918): Otto von Bismarck | Leo von Caprivi | Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst | Bernhard von Bülow | Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg | Georg Michaelis | Georg von Hertling | Prince Maximilian of Baden •  Weimar Republic (1919–1933): Friedrich Ebert | Philipp Scheidemann | Gustav Bauer | Hermann Müller | Konstantin Fehrenbach | Joseph Wirth | Wilhelm Cuno | Gustav Stresemann | Wilhelm Marx | Hans Luther | Wilhelm Marx | Hermann Müller | Heinrich Brüning | Franz von Papen | Kurt von Schleicher •  Nazi Germany (1933–1945): Adolf Hitler | Joseph Goebbels | Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk •  Federal Republic of Germany (1949–): Konrad Adenauer | Ludwig Erhard | Kurt Georg Kiesinger | Willy Brandt | Helmut Schmidt | Helmut Kohl | Gerhard Schröder | Angela Merkel

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Friedrich Ebert