Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times
Episode One: Treaty of Discord
It’s common knowledge that Germany lost the First World War. It’s also commonly understood that the post-war treaty was incredibly unreasonable. But what’s less known is how these circumstances affected the average German—ordinary men and women. There were signs, though.
Germany at the End of the War
For much of the war, Germany performed well militarily; overrunning Belgium, sweeping through Russia, and holding a mostly successful defensive position in the West. However, cracks began to appear due to the Allied naval blockade, labor shortages at home, and a lack of foreign trade. Shortages ranged from milk to medicine, and the army even resorted to melting down the nation’s metal infrastructure to keep producing shells.
The Allied blockade also prevented importing food, causing mass starvation and malnutrition. As if that wasn’t enough, the Spanish Influenza crossed no-man’s land with the Allies and returned to Germany, devastating the population—especially targeting otherwise healthy young people.
Finally, in 1918, there was a glimmer of hope: Germany’s victory over Russia in March brought millions of square miles and millions more people under German control.
The Fall of the Kaiser and the End of the War
Eight months later, on Saturday, November 9, Emperor (Kaiser) Wilhelm II abdicated and fled Berlin, fearing for his life. Rumors quickly replaced fact. Confusion reigned. No one knew what would happen next. Would the Emperor’s son assume the throne?
He didn’t. So Germany faced a new reality.
Unbeknownst to most Germans, a revolution took place in Berlin. Unlike other revolutions, most people were passive spectators as small factions vied for power. As described by Sebastian Haffner, a young Berlin resident, this was the result of the collapse of military and imperial legitimacy, much as had happened in Russia the year before.
The day after the revolution, on Sunday, November 10, street battles raged between factions in Berlin. Residents were glued to their windows, straining to hear where the fighting was happening. Importantly, the war in France was still ongoing—hostilities had not yet ended.
The German army posted bulletins daily in police stations, and people checked them for the latest news from the front. On November 9 and 10, the bulletins reported the usual stalemate. But on November 11, there was no bulletin at all.
That day, German soldier Rolf Johannesson, still in the trenches, learned all at once that the Kaiser had abdicated, a republic was proclaimed, and Germany had requested an armistice with the Allies. His entire world collapsed. Germans had lived under a single emperor since 1872, and for soldiers like Johannesson, this was all they knew. For Prussians, it was what their ancestors had known for generations. Suddenly, everything changed.
The Armistice and Its Aftermath
To make matters worse, the terms of the armistice were harsh. Germany had to withdraw to the eastern side of the Rhine, leaving behind heavy weapons and supplies. They were required to release all Allied POWs, while German prisoners remained in captivity until a formal treaty was signed. These were just some of the conditions imposed.
One of the enduring myths propagated by the military high command was that Germany was never defeated on the battlefield. While untrue, this lie was credible enough to the average person that it would later haunt the world.
Germany in Ruins
So, to sum up: the war was over, and the first German Republic faced enormous challenges:
- Unemployed soldiers returning from the trenches
- Little working infrastructure
- Little money in the treasury
- A massive Spanish flu epidemic
- Mass starvation and malnutrition caused by years of poor harvests and the Allied naval blockade
Let’s put ourselves in the midst of this situation. Imagine living in a middle-class apartment block, fifteen pounds lighter than when the war began, and constantly hungry. Civilian rations amounted to about a thousand calories per day—well below the 2,500 calories recommended for an active person, and in 1918 Europe, daily routines required physical activity.
Your nephew has been in French captivity for two years and cannot return home until a formal peace treaty is signed. There’s only enough coal to heat one room for the week, and getting more is nearly impossible. You volunteer at the orphanage, trying to help babies get enough to eat, but there simply isn’t enough food; some of them die.
The government you’ve known your entire life is gone, and the one replacing it is bankrupt. And, thanks to the Treaty of Versailles, life is about to become even more difficult.
The Treaty of Versailles
About 94% of the treaty’s terms were punitive toward Germany. The country was forbidden from possessing an air force, tanks, submarines, or heavy warships—essentially anything that could be used to wage war. Inspectors were assigned to ensure compliance.
Germany was also forced to relinquish all territory gained from Russia. Land was carved out for Belgium and France, and a significant portion was granted to the new Polish state on Germany’s eastern frontier, including the port city of Danzig. Danzig was placed under the League of Nations, giving Poland access to the sea without the city itself being absorbed. This divided Germany in two and became a particularly contentious issue.
To add insult to injury, Germany had to hand over livestock, horses, train cars, and a large share of future harvests to the victorious Allies. The country also lost its colonies in Africa and the Pacific, which it had possessed for a generation before World War I.
But perhaps the worst part was the requirement to pay 132 billion marks in war reparations to France and Britain, all backed by gold. This was an enormous burden, especially with the treasury nearly empty after years of war spending.
Germany’s Dilemma
A.J.P. Taylor noted in his book Origins of the Second World War that Germany could have refused to sign the treaty but that would have meant resuming the war. Germany’s navy and air force were still intact, millions of veterans were returning home—veterans who no longer believed in the war that began in 1914. But this wouldn’t have been the same war; this new fight would be for terms. Allied armies were demobilizing and their societies were weary and on the brink of revolution. While Germany would likely have lost in a fair fight, it was possible to bluff for better terms.
The government was almost unanimously opposed to signing, and as historian William Shirer wrote in Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, “Behind the government stood the overwhelming majority of citizens, from right to left.” Ultimately, though, Germany signed the treaty at the last minute, under tremendous pressure from the Allies.
Aftermath: Instability and Violence
Signing the treaty did not resolve Germany’s problems; it was just the beginning. Revolutionary factions began fighting each other, with Communists battling the new government and other liberal groups. The government used the Freikorps, paramilitary groups that were not part of the army, to suppress far-left uprisings. After their victories, summary executions occurred with the approval of Berlin’s government.
Ironically, the Freikorps later tried to overthrow the Weimar government in the Kapp Putsch. The government granted them amnesty for their role in the coup, a mercy not extended to the Left.
Life for Ordinary Germans
Life in Germany remained unstable for some time: violence and street battles, chronic food shortages, and millions suffering from undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The society was anything but stable.
Coal shortages meant schools had to share classrooms, with younger children attending in the morning and older ones in the afternoon. Inflation was relentless. The economy collapsed, and money quickly lost its value. With no credit systems like today, cash was king. Soon, even cash became worthless.
Imagine having $200 cash in your drawer and another $100,000 in savings at the bank, only to wake up and find that your cash can’t buy a Coca-Cola and your bank balance can’t cover the rent. Yet, you do what you always do: go to work—only to find the doors padlocked and a sign that simply reads: “Closed.” There are no wages, no severance, no income. Unemployment as we know it didn’t exist except for a small number of white-collar professionals. Even then, only about a third had coverage during the worst inflation.
Thousands of families were thrown into the streets or forced to drastically reduce their standard of living. Low-income tenements lacked even basic health standards. We’ve all heard the stories of people bringing wheelbarrows full of cash to buy bread, or using paper bills as firewood because it was cheaper than buying wood.
These anecdotes may sound comical, but the reality was harsh for those whose lives were falling apart.
When British journalist Violet Carter arrived in Germany in the fall of 1923, she exchanged two British pounds for two hundred thousand German marks packed in two bundles so heavy she could barely carry them. At this point, people started trading jewelry, artwork, and furniture for food. Many traveled from cities like Frankfurt and Dresden to nearby farms, pockets full of silverware or coal, to barter for meat or produce.
Some, desperate or resourceful, found more creative ways to earn money. Young Gottfried Fahrmann and his friends cut open toothpaste tubes to sell the leftover paste as chalk. This kind of ingenuity was born of necessity.
Even those whose employers stayed in business saw their expenses rise with each wave of inflation, but income never kept up enough to keep up with the true cost of living. Some bosses offered “inflation bonuses” in the form of extra food, clothing, soap, or butter; small things that sometimes meant the difference between life and death.
Food was such a sensitive topic that theaters banned the enactment of meals on stage, “lest a comedy become a tearful melodrama.” Bread was sometimes made with sawdust or dirt mixed into the dough to maintain its size, and if you were lucky, some turnip jelly provided a bit of flavor. Violet Carter wrote about how some middle-class families, having nothing left to sell, chose to end their lives rather than starve to death.
The Psychological Toll
Enduring long-term scarcity of food, safety, and shelter can severely narrow cognitive thinking—a phenomenon known as “cognitive tunneling,” where the brain focuses solely on immediate survival.
With a broken economy, mass unemployment, unreliable heating, and a powerless government, people naturally started looking for hope. Eventually, some stability returned: food became more available, jobs reappeared, but daily life remained a struggle for survival.
Looking Ahead
Next time on Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Times, we’ll continue our journey into the Weimar Republic. Events in a country far to the south will have a profound impact on Germans—especially a corporal from Bavaria.
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