In October, 1918 sailors at the naval base at Wilhelmshaven and Kiel mutinied
Soldiers’ and workers’ council were quickly set up
Soldiers’ and workers’ councils were quickly established in cities across Germany, for example Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Munich and Berlin
In Munich, a Workers’ and Soldiers’ Council forced the King of Bavaria to abdicate and on November 7th, Kurt Eisner declared a Bavarian Soviet Republic in Munich
On November 9th, the Kaiser abdicated and went into exile in Holland the next day
Friedrich Ebert, leader of the SPD, announced that Germany was a republic
But at the same time, on November 9th, Karl Liebknecht had proclaimed a socialist republic
On the evening of November 9th, Ebert and General Groener made a pact: the Ebert-Groener Pact, agreeing to cooperate so as to ensure order
On November 11th the new government signed the Armistice
But there was still widespread social unrest and violence on the streets
In Berlin, the Spartacists led demonstrations and unrest in December and attempted a coup in January which was only suppressed with help from the Freikorps
There was fear that communism might spread throughout Germany
Elections were held on January 19th, 1919 for a National Assembly which would draw up a new constitution
As there was unrest in Berlin, the National Assembly met at Weimar
On April 6th-7th a second Bavarian Soviet Republic was briefly established but was swiftly and ruthlessly put down, once more with help from the Freikorps
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were handed to the Germans at Versailles on May 7th, 1919.
Because the National Assembly met at Weimar, the constitution drawn up was called the Weimar Constitution
It was passed on July 31st, 1919, and ratified by the newly elected President on August 11th