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159-747: The Deutsche Reichsbahn , also known as the German National Railway, the German State Railway, German Reich Railway, and the German Imperial Railway, was the German national railway system created after the end of World War I from the regional railways of the individual states of the German Empire . The Deutsche Reichsbahn has been described as "the largest enterprise in the capitalist world in

318-653: A Free Socialist Republic was proclaimed at the Berlin Palace . The proclamation was issued by Karl Liebknecht , co-leader with Rosa Luxemburg of the communist Spartakusbund ( Spartacus League ), a group of a few hundred supporters of the Russian Revolution that had allied itself with the USPD in 1917. On the same day, in a move that was contrary to the constitution because only the Kaiser could appoint

477-640: A revolution , the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II , formal surrender to the Allies , and the proclamation of the Weimar Republic on 9 November 1918. In its initial years, grave problems beset the Republic, such as hyperinflation and political extremism , including political murders and two attempted seizures of power by contending paramilitaries ; internationally, it suffered isolation, reduced diplomatic standing and contentious relationships with

636-594: A " Working Committee of German Associations " was founded with representatives of many groups considered "fit for good society". In 1919 the Weimar National Assembly established a parliamentary committee to inquire into the events that had led to the "outbreak, prolongation and loss of the First World War". Its results were of questionable value due to a lack of cooperation from the civil service and military and to increasing interference from

795-471: A "war guilt lie". In line with national conservative and bourgeois right-wing parties, they accused the governing parties of having contributed to Germany's humiliation by signing the treaty and of denying it the right to self-determination. The young republic was exposed from the beginning to attacks from both the extreme right and extreme left. The Left accused the Social Democrats of betraying

954-708: A bill of eleven billion Goldmarks to be paid to the Allied powers, while its original capital was valued at fifteen billion Goldmarks. These terms were later amended in the Young Plan . Nevertheless, the Great Depression and the regular payment of war reparations (about 660 million Reichsmarks annually) put a considerable strain on the Reichsbahn. Not until the Lausanne Conference of 1932

1113-631: A chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, at Ebert's request, transferred his powers as chancellor to him. In view of the mass support for more radical reforms among the workers' councils, a coalition government called the Council of the People's Deputies ( Rat der Volksbeauftragten ) was established, consisting of three MSPD and three USPD members. Led by Ebert for the MSPD and Hugo Haase for the USPD, it governed Germany from November 1918 to January 1919. Although

1272-579: A coalition government; Hitler's far-right Nazi Party held two out of ten cabinet seats. Von Papen, as Vice-Chancellor and Hindenburg's confidant, was to serve as the éminence grise who would keep Hitler under control; these intentions severely underestimated Hitler's political abilities. By the end of March 1933, the Reichstag Fire Decree and the Enabling Act of 1933 were used in the perceived state of emergency to effectively grant

1431-689: A cover of legitimacy. Although it was de facto repealed by the Enabling Act of 1933 , the constitution remained technically in effect throughout the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945 and also during the Allied occupation of Germany from 1945 to 1949. It was then replaced by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany ( West Germany until 1990, then reunited Germany ) and the Constitution of

1590-521: A degree of parliamentary instability that in the end was fatal to the Republic. The government (cabinet) formulated decisions by majority vote; in the case of a tie, the president's vote was decisive. The Reichstag could accuse the president, chancellor, or any minister of willful violation of the constitution or Reich law, with the case to be tried in the Supreme Judicial Court. Section 4 consisted of Articles 60 to 67 and established

1749-451: A dignified life for all and securing the economic freedom of the individual. The Reich protected labor, intellectual creation, and the rights of authors, inventors, and artists. The right to form unions and to improve working conditions was guaranteed to every individual and to all occupations, and protection of the self-employed was established. Workers and employees were given the right to participate, on an equal footing with employers, in

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1908-477: A general strike. The putsch quickly failed due in large part to the refusal of the ministerial bureaucracy to obey Kapp's orders. The Reichswehr, however, proved itself to be unreliable. It adopted a wait-and-see attitude under General von Seeckt, the head of the Troop Office , who said that "Reichswehr do not fire on Reichswehr". Some among the working class did not limit themselves to passive resistance to

2067-545: A later date (Article 233). In the short term it was required to pay the equivalent of 20 billion gold marks in installments through April 1921 (Article 235). The most contentious article of the treaty, the so-called War Guilt Clause , did not use the word "guilt". It stated that Germany accepted full responsibility for all the loss and damage from a war that was imposed on the Allies by the aggression of Germany and its allies ( Article 231 ). The implications of Article 231 and

2226-462: A law was enacted providing for the establishment of a state-owned Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft ("German Imperial Railway Company", DRG) as a public holding company to operate the national railways. The aim was to earn profits which, under the Dawes Plan, were to be used to contribute to Germany's war reparations. At the same time as the Reichsbahn law was enacted, the company was handed

2385-586: A monarch or the people as sovereign. During July 1919, the National Assembly moved quickly through the draft constitution with most debates concluded within a single session and without public discussion of the issues. On 31 July the assembly adopted the new constitution by a vote of 262 to 75 with 1 abstention. Friedrich Ebert, the first president of Germany , signed the Weimar Constitution on 11 August 1919, and it became effective on

2544-531: A new constitution. Because conditions in Berlin were still unsettled, the delegates met at Weimar . Ebert wanted the victorious Allies to be reminded of Weimar Classicism , which included the writers Goethe and Schiller , while they were deliberating the terms of the Versailles Treaty . The initial draft of the constitution was written by the lawyer and liberal politician Hugo Preuss , who headed

2703-437: A parliamentary system. The rebellion caused great fear among supporters of the monarchy and in the middle classes because of the soviet-style aspirations of the councils. To centrist and conservative citizens, the country looked to be on the verge of a communist revolution. By 7 November, the revolution had reached Munich , resulting in the flight of King Ludwig III of Bavaria . The MSPD decided to make use of their support at

2862-556: A part of a person's name, and creation of noble titles was discontinued. A citizen of any of the German states was likewise a citizen of Germany. Germans had the right of mobility and residence, and the right to acquire property and pursue a trade. They had the right to emigrate and to government protection against foreign authorities. The "traditional development" ( volkstümliche Entwicklung ) of foreign language communities in Germany

3021-645: A peacetime army. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles , the new army, the Reichswehr , was limited to 100,000 men and the Reichsmarine (navy), to 15,000. The treaty prohibited an air force, submarines, large warships and armoured vehicles. The official formation of the Reichswehr took place on 1 January 1921, after the limitations had been met. The soldiers of the Reichswehr took their oath to

3180-411: A republican constitution and its authorities to enforce Reich law. Each state parliament ( Landtag ) was to be elected by equal, secret, direct and universal (both men and women) ballot according to the principles of proportional representation . Each state government (the "state ministry") could serve only so long as it had the confidence of the respective state parliament. Articles 20 to 40 described

3339-617: A result it was the leadership of the Reichswehr with its largely anti-democratic civil service personnel that, along with the Foreign Office, determined the portrayal of the war in the Weimar Republic. All in all, there was little objective and critical questioning of the causes of the war or of Germany's responsibility for it in academia, politics or the media during the Weimar period. The official view of history continued to follow

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3498-517: A rolling memorial to the thousands of youth and children who were deported from all over Europe, many via the Reichsbahn , to the camps. A certain amount of controversy has surrounded the train's tour through Germany, in part because of the apparent lack of cooperation on the part of Deutsche Bahn AG (DB AG) concerning such matters as compensation for the use of the DB AG's right of way (during

3657-618: A self-declared socialist state, the German Democratic Republic (commonly known as East Germany), on 7 October 1949. One month prior, on 7 September 1949, the railway systems in the three western zones (the Federal Republic of Germany ), were reunified and renamed the Deutsche Bundesbahn (DB – German Federal Railways). On the formation of East Germany on 7 October 1949, the railway system in

3816-545: A speech delivered by Adolf Hitler at a Nazi Party rally in Munich on 24 February 1929. A few weeks later, the term Weimarer Republik was first used again by Hitler in a newspaper article. Only during the 1930s did the term become mainstream, both within and outside Germany. According to historian Richard J. Evans : The continued use of the term 'German Empire', Deutsches Reich , by the Weimar Republic ... conjured up an image among educated Germans that resonated far beyond

3975-630: A very different purpose. Taking lead from the German Labor Front, the Deutsche Reichsbahn took part in the conflict of intermarriage in Germany. In August 1933 Robert Ley, leader of Reich Labor, demanded that those administrators working for the German Labor Front be married only to German individuals. The Deutsche Reichsbahn took the lead in discriminating against intermarried workers, firing German employees married to Jews and forbidding intermarried Germans from working there in

4134-553: Is derived from the city of Weimar , which hosted the constituent assembly that established its government. In English, the republic was usually simply called "Germany", with "Weimar Republic" (a term introduced by Adolf Hitler in 1929) not commonly used until the 1930s. The Weimar Republic had a semi-presidential system . At the end of the First World War (1914–1918), Germany was exhausted and sued for peace in desperate circumstances. Awareness of imminent defeat sparked

4293-608: Is so called because the Weimar National Assembly that adopted its constitution met in Weimar from 6 February to 11 August 1919, but the name only became mainstream after 1933. Even though the National Assembly chose to retain the old name Deutsches Reich (Art. 1 of the Constitution), hardly anyone used it during the Weimar period, and no single name for the new state gained widespread acceptance. To

4452-621: The Polnischen Staatsbahnen (PKP) , but from November 1939 by the Ostbahn (Generalgouvernement). In the campaigns against Poland , Denmark , France, Yugoslavia , Greece etc. the newly acquired standard gauge networks could be used without difficulty. By contrast, after the start of the invasion of Russia on 22 June 1941, the problem arose of transferring troops and materiel to Soviet broad gauge lines or converting them to German standard gauge. Confounding German plans,

4611-656: The Schienenzeppelin in its record run on 21 June 1931 when it reached a top speed of 230.2 km/h (143.0 mph). Before the Second World War the most important railway lines ran in an east–west direction. The high-speed lines at that time were on the Prussian Eastern Railway which ran through the Polish corridor (albeit slower there due to the poor state of the tracks),

4770-561: The Deutsche Reichsbahn Gesellschaft was placed under Reich sovereignty and was given the name Deutsche Reichsbahn . The Reichsbahn had an important logistic role in supporting the rapid movement of the troops of the Wehrmacht , for example: In all the occupied lands the Reichsbahn endeavoured to incorporate the captured railways (rolling stock and infrastructure) into their system. Even towards

4929-570: The Reichsbahn were crucial to the conduct of Germany's military offensives. The preparations for the invasion of Russia saw the greatest troop deployment by rail in history. Characteristic of the first six and a half years of this period was the exponential growth of the Deutsche Reichsbahn , which was almost exclusively due to the takeover of other national railways. This affected both parts of foreign state railways (in Austria

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5088-875: The Reichsbahn-Generaldirektion in the British Zone under Director General Max Leibbrand in Bielefeld. In the French Occupation Zone, the railways were grouped into the Operating Association of the Southwest German Railways ( Betriebsvereinigung der Südwestdeutschen Eisenbahnen ) with its headquarters in Speyer. The Operating Association included the railway divisions of Karlsruhe (in

5247-599: The 1848 German revolutions was named as the national flag in the Weimar Constitution . It was abolished after the entry into force of the Enabling Act of 1933, when the Nazi Party gained total power, in favour of two co-official national flags: the old black-white-red imperial tricolour and the flag of the Nazi Party . From 1935, the Nazi flag with the symbol offset became the sole national flag of

5406-572: The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (passed in 1949) and remain constitutional law in Germany today. Articles 142 to 150 guided the operation of educational institutions within the Reich. Public education was provided by state institutions and regulated by the government, with cooperation between federal, state and local authorities. Primary school was compulsory (eight years), with advanced schooling available to age 18 free of charge. The constitution also provided for private schooling, which

5565-641: The Black Reichswehr , a secret reserve networked within the Reichswehr and organised as labour battalions ( Arbeitskommandos ) to circumvent the Treaty of Versailles' 100,000 man limit on the German army. The Black Reichswehr was never involved in direct military action and was dissolved in 1923 after a group of its members attempted to overthrow the government in the Küstrin Putsch . The Reichswehr also developed far-reaching cooperation with

5724-541: The Bundesrat . In the wake of the stipulations of the Weimar Constitution of 11 August 1919, the state treaty on the foundation of the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen ("German Reich Railways") came into force on 1 April 1920. This resulted in the merger of the existing state railways ( Länderbahnen ) of Prussia , Bavaria , Saxony , Württemberg , Baden , Mecklenburg and Oldenburg under

5883-455: The Kiel mutiny on 3 November. Sailors, soldiers and workers began electing workers' and soldiers' councils ( Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte ) modelled after the soviets of the 1917 Russian Revolution . The revolution spread throughout Germany, and participants seized military and civil power in individual cities. The power takeovers were achieved everywhere without loss of life. At the time,

6042-639: The Red Army and Soviet railways managed to withdraw or destroy the majority of its rolling stock during its retreat . As a result, German standard gauge rolling stock had to be used for an additional logistic role within Russia; this required the laying of standard gauge track . The price was high: Reichsbahn railway staff and the railway troops of the Wehrmacht had to convert a total of 16,148 kilometres (10,034 mi) of Soviet trackage to German standard gauge track between 22 June and 8 October 1941. During

6201-545: The Reichsrat (State Council). The Reichsrat was the means by which the states participated in legislation at the national level. The number of members was based on the states' populations, with the restriction that no state could have more than two-fifths of the total – a provision that limited only Prussia 's influence since it had three-fifths of Germany's population. Members of the Reichsrat were required to be members

6360-639: The Reichswehr from the control of the Reichstag . Under Seeckt the Reichswehr developed into what many historians consider a "state within the state". During the 1920 Kapp Putsch , Seeckt refused to deploy the Reichswehr against the Freikorps involved in the putsch but immediately afterwards had the Ruhr Red Army brutally suppressed during the Ruhr uprising . In 1921 the Reichswehr organized

6519-699: The Silesian Uprisings and the Greater Poland uprising in the German Province of Posen , which became part of the Second Polish Republic under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. In the four years following the First World War, the situation of most German civilians remained dire. The post-war economic crisis was a result of lost pre-war industrial exports, the loss of imported raw materials and foodstuffs due to

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6678-653: The Spartacus League and the left wing of the USPD. In January, the Spartacus League, in what was known as the Spartacist uprising , took advantage of a large strike in Berlin and attempted to establish a communist government. The uprising was put down by paramilitary Freikorps units consisting of volunteer soldiers. Following bloody street fights, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht were summarily killed after their arrests on 15 January. With

6837-582: The Weimar Constitution . The commander-in-chief was the Reich president , while the Reich minister of the armed forces exercised command authority. Military right of command ( Kommandogewalt ) was in the hands of the OHL. The resulting dualism between civilian power and military command was to become a heavy burden on the Republic. Whereas Reichswehr Minister Otto Gessler was content with limited political and administrative duties during his tenure (1920–1928), Colonel General Hans von Seeckt , Chief of Army Command from 1920 to 1926, succeeded in largely removing

6996-409: The Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazi Germany . The preamble to the Constitution reads: The German people united in every respect and inspired by the determination to restore and confirm the Reich in liberty and justice, to serve peace at home and peace abroad, and to further social progress, has given itself this constitution. The first part of the constitution specified the organization of

7155-406: The 14th. A federal election was held on 6 June 1920 for the new Reichstag . The Weimar Constitution was divided into two main parts or chapters. They in turn were divided into seven and five sections respectively. In all, there were 181 articles in the constitution. Some of the more noteworthy provisions are described below, including those provisions which proved significant in the demise of

7314-502: The 1919 Treaty of Versailles and committing never to go to war. The following year, it joined the League of Nations , which marked its reintegration into the international community. Nevertheless, especially on the political right, there remained strong and widespread resentment against the treaty and those who had signed and supported it. The Great Depression of October 1929 severely impacted Germany's tenuous progress; high unemployment and subsequent social and political unrest led to

7473-452: The DR on its territory and continued to use the traditional name Deutsche Reichsbahn , while the railway in West Germany became the Deutsche Bundesbahn ("German Federal Railway", DB). The Austrian Österreichische Bundesbahnen ("Austrian Federal Railways", ÖBB) was founded in 1945, and was given its present name in 1947. In January 1994, following German reunification , the East German Deutsche Reichsbahn merged with

7632-492: The DRG's company regulations. It was responsible for the electrification of many lines, following the commencement of electric power generation to the railways at the Walchensee Power Plant , and for the independent trialling and procurement of locomotives and passenger coaches. The Group Administration introduced, for example, the Class E 32 locomotive and Class ET 85 railcar into service. Bavaria also continued to use its own signalling system for many years after

7791-406: The German Democratic Republic ( East Germany ). The constitution's title was the same as the Constitution of the German Empire that preceded it. The German state's official name was German Reich ( Deutsches Reich ) until 1949. After the end of World War I , the government of Imperial Germany collapsed during the early days of the German revolution of 1918–1919 . In the following months,

7950-505: The German officer class. A rift developed between the MSPD and USPD after Ebert called upon the OHL for troops to put down a mutiny by a leftist military unit on 23/24 December 1918 in which members of the Volksmarinedivision (People's Navy Division) captured the city's garrison commander Otto Wels of the MSPD and occupied the Reich Chancellery where the Council of the People's Deputies had its offices. The ensuing street fighting left 11 Volksmarinedivision members and 56 members of

8109-469: The Kaiser that Germany needed to pursue an armistice and that the majority parties in the Reichstag, not the OHL, had to take responsibility for it. Although in retreat, the German armies were still on French and Belgian territory when the war ended on 11 November. Ludendorf and Paul von Hindenburg then began proclaiming that it was the defeatism of the civilian population – especially the socialists – that had made defeat inevitable. The stab-in-the-back myth

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8268-417: The Kapp Putsch. Especially in the Ruhr , where dissatisfaction with the lack of nationalisation of key industries was particularly high, councils were formed that sought to seize local power. In the Ruhr uprising , civil war-like fighting broke when the Ruhr Red Army , made up of some 50,000 armed workers, mostly adherents of the KPD and USPD, used the disruption caused by the general strike to take control of

8427-399: The Kiel barracks. The sailors and soldiers welcomed him, and he was able to defuse the situation. On 9 November 1918, the German Republic was proclaimed by MSPD member Philipp Scheidemann at the Reichstag building in Berlin, angering Friedrich Ebert , the leader of the MSPD, who thought that the question of monarchy or republic should be answered by a national assembly. Two hours later,

8586-745: The Left and supporters of the former empire led to political violence and extremism . The young republic found itself in a nearly constant economic and political crisis until 1924. The Treaty of Versailles ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied powers and set the conditions for peace. It was signed 28 June 1919 and can be divided into four main categories: territorial issues, disarmament, reparations and assignment of guilt. Territorially, Germany had to renounce sovereignty over its colonies and in Europe lost 65,000 sq km (25,000 sq mi) or about 13% of its former territory – including 48% of its iron and 10% of its coal resources – along with 7 million people, or 12% of its population. The Saarland

8745-403: The March 1920 Kapp Putsch , Freikorps units under General von Lüttwitz occupied the government quarter in Berlin. In an attempt to reverse the revolution and install an autocratic government, the former Prussian civil servant Wolfgang Kapp appointed himself Reich chancellor and Lüttwitz Reichswehr minister and commander-in-chief of the Reichswehr. The legal government fled Berlin and called for

8904-404: The Ministry of the Interior. He based his draft in large part on the Frankfurt Constitution of 1849 which was written after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and intended for a unified Germany that did not come to pass at the time. He was influenced as well by Robert Redslob's theory of parliamentarianism, which called for a balance between the executive and legislative branches under either

9063-426: The National Assembly convened in the city of Weimar , giving the future Republic its unofficial name. The Weimar Constitution created a parliamentary republic with the Reichstag elected by proportional representation . During the debates in Weimar, fighting continued sporadically across Germany. On 7 April 1919 the Bavarian Soviet Republic was declared in Munich but quickly put down by Freikorps and remnants of

9222-429: The National Assembly voted to approve the treaty on 23 June. It was signed in Paris five days later. Explaining the rise of extreme nationalist movements in Germany shortly after the war, British historian Ian Kershaw pointed to the "national disgrace" that was "felt throughout Germany at the humiliating terms imposed by the victorious Allies and reflected in the Versailles Treaty...with its confiscation of territory on

9381-422: The Railways of the American and British Occupation Regions ( Hauptverwaltung der Eisenbahnen des amerikanischen und britischen Besatzungsgebiets ) was created. In 1947 it moved its headquarters to Offenbach am Main and called itself the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the United Economic Region ( Deutsche Reichsbahn im Vereinigten Wirtschaftsgebiet ). Following the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany , it

9540-434: The Reich president at his discretion could call for a referendum or let the proposed law die. If the Reichstag voted to overrule the Reichsrat's objection by a two-thirds majority, the Reich president was obligated to either proclaim the law into force or to call for a referendum. Constitutional amendments were proposed as ordinary legislation, but for such an amendment to take effect, it was required that two-thirds or more of

9699-470: The Reich president, and new elections had to be held not more than 60 days after the date of dissolution. Members of the Reichstag and of the state parliaments were immune from arrest or investigation of a criminal offense except with the approval of the legislative body to which the person belonged. The same approval was required for any other restriction on personal freedom which might harm the member's ability to fulfil his duties. Articles 41 to 59 describe

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9858-429: The Reichsrat of proposed legislation or administrative regulations to permit the Reichsrat to voice objections. Article 61 stated that " German Austria , after union with the German Reich, shall be represented in the Reichsrat by votes corresponding in number to its population". The Republic of German-Austria had been established after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary from the predominantly German-speaking regions of

10017-596: The Reichstag members be present and that at least two-thirds of the members present vote in favor of the legislation. The Reich government had the authority to establish administrative regulations unless Reich law specified otherwise. Articles 78 to 101 described the methods by which the Reich government administered the constitution and laws, particularly in the areas where the Reich government had exclusive jurisdiction – foreign relations, colonial affairs, defence, taxation and customs, merchant shipping and waterways, railroads and so forth. Articles 102 to 108 established

10176-410: The Rhineland and 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of the river demolished. Germany was prohibited from having an air force, tanks, poison gas, heavy artillery, submarines or dreadnoughts . A large number of its ships and all of its air-related armaments were to be surrendered. Germany had to compensate the Allied Powers for the losses and damages of the war, with the exact amount left to be determined at

10335-571: The Soviet Red Army , leading among other things to the secret training of German military pilots in clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles. With Seeckt's fall in 1926, the Reichswehr made a change in course for which Colonel (later General) Kurt von Schleicher was primarily responsible. The goal was to arouse broad social support for rearmament and to militarize society itself for the purpose of future warfare. Under Paul von Hindenburg's Reich presidency, Reichswehr leadership gained increasing political influence and eventually helped determine

10494-409: The Soviet Zone retained the name Deutsche Reichsbahn (DR), despite the connotations of the word "Reich". This was due to the designation of the Reichsbahn in postwar treaties and military protocols as the railway operator in West Berlin , a role it retained until the creation of the unified DBAG at the beginning of 1994. To conform to the formation of the Bizone in 1946 the Head Office of

10653-404: The Third Reich, and after World War II, both the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic readopted the black-red-gold flag. The coat of arms was initially based on the Reichsadler ("imperial eagle") introduced by the Paulskirche Constitution of 1849, and announced in November 1919. In 1928, a new design by Karl-Tobias Schwab was adopted as national coat of arms, which

10812-414: The US Zone), Mainz and Saarbrücken. After the Saarland was transferred from the French Zone and was given its own state railway – the Railways of the Saarland ( Eisenbahnen des Saarlandes ) – the rest of the network of the Saarbrücken division went into the new Trier division. After the Deutsche Bundesbahn was formed this Operating Association was merged with it. The Soviet zone of occupation became

10971-470: The Weimar Constitution provided for the orderly transition to the new constitution and stipulated in some cases when the various provisions of the new constitution were to take effect. In cases where legislation had yet to be passed (such as the laws governing the new Supreme Judicial Court), the articles stipulated how the constitutional authority would be exercised in the interim by existing institutions. The section also stipulated that new bodies established by

11130-550: The West German Deutsche Bundesbahn to form Germany's new national carrier, Deutsche Bahn AG ("German Rail", DBAG), technically no longer a government agency but still a 100% state-owned joint stock company . The first railways to be owned by the German Empire , which was founded in 1871, were the Imperial Railways in Alsace-Lorraine , whose Imperial General Division of Railways in Alsace-Lorraine ( Kaiserliche General-Direktion der Eisenbahnen in Elsass-Lothringen ) had its headquarters in Straßburg (now Strasbourg). It

11289-438: The Workers' and Soldiers' Council of Greater Berlin called for a National Congress of Councils ( Reichsrätekongress ) which took place from 16 to 21 December 1918. Against the opposition of the more radical members who demanded a socialist republic, Ebert, backed by the large MSPD majority at the Congress, was able to schedule the election for a provisional National Assembly that would act as an interim parliament and be given

11448-477: The abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II was announced, marking the end of Imperial Germany and the beginning of the Weimar Republic. The armistice that ended the fighting was signed on 11 November. Germany lost the war because its allies were facing defeat and its economic resources were running out, while by late summer 1918 fresh American troops were arriving in France at the rate of 10,000 per day. Support among

11607-411: The affirmation of Ebert, those responsible were not tried before a court-martial, leading to lenient sentences, which made Ebert unpopular among radical leftists. The National Assembly election , in which women were allowed to vote for the first time, took place on 19 January 1919. The MSPD won the largest share of the votes at 37.9%, with the USPD fifth at 7.6%. To avoid the ongoing fights in Berlin,

11766-647: The argument issued by the OHL in 1914 that Germany had been threatened by invasion and encirclement. Revising the conditions of the Versailles Treaty became the main goal of German foreign policy. The consensus opposing the "war guilt clause" did much to promote agitation against foreign countries and the Weimar Constitution. Both the DNVP and, in particular, the NSDAP questioned the entire post-war order and propagated

11925-533: The basic key – price controlled key – was that Jews were going to be shipped to Treblinka , were going to be shipped to Auschwitz , Sobibor ... so long as the railroads were paid by the track kilometer, so many pfennigs per mile. The rate was the same throughout the war, with children under ten going at half-fare and children under four going free. Payment had to be made for only one way. The guards of course had to have return fare paid for them because they were going back to their place of origin ... Conditions in

12084-431: The basis for the Reichstag Fire Decree , legally swept away most of the key the civil liberties granted in the Weimar Constitution and thereby facilitated the establishment of a dictatorship. The president had supreme command over the military and appointed and removed the chancellor and, on the chancellor's recommendation, the members of the cabinet. The chancellor determined the political guidelines of his government and

12243-470: The collapse of Chancellor Hermann Müller's grand coalition and the beginning of the presidential cabinets . From March 1930 onwards, President Paul von Hindenburg used emergency powers to back Chancellors Heinrich Brüning , Franz von Papen and General Kurt von Schleicher . The Great Depression, exacerbated by Brüning's policy of deflation , led to a surge in unemployment . On 30 January 1933, Hindenburg appointed Adolf Hitler as Chancellor to head

12402-424: The composition of the Reich governments. As a result, the Reichswehr contributed significantly to the development of an authoritarian presidential system during the final phase of the Weimar Republic. After Adolf Hitler announced the "regaining of military sovereignty" (reintroduction of conscription etc.) in 1935, two years after his rise to power , the Reichswehr was absorbed into the new Wehrmacht . It

12561-478: The constitution was being debated in the National Assembly.) Section 1 also established that generally recognized principles of international law were binding on Germany and gave the Reich government exclusive jurisdiction of: Articles 7 through 11 listed many more areas in which the Reich was allowed to either legislate or prescribe fundamental principles, notably "taxation and other revenues in so far as they are claimed in whole or in part for its purposes". With

12720-445: The continental blockade, the loss of Germany's overseas colonies and the worsening debt balances that had been exacerbated by Germany's heavy reliance on bonds to pay for the war. The economic losses can be attributed in part to the extension of the Allied blockade of Germany until the Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919. It is estimated that between 100,000 and 250,000 German civilians died of disease or starvation between

12879-731: The director general of the Reichsbahn by his office. Dorpmüller, who since 1937 was also in charge of the Reich Ministry of Transport , continued in office as the director general after 1939 under this new legal framework. With the Act for the New Regulation of the Conditions of the Reichsbank and the Deutsche Reichsbahn ( Gesetz zur Neuregelung der Verhältnisse der Reichsbank und der Deutschen Reichsbahn ) of 10 February 1937

13038-464: The duties of the president, including the qualifications for the office. They also explain his relationship to the national ministry (cabinet) and the chancellor . The president served a term of seven years and could be re-elected once. He could be removed from office by referendum following a vote of two-thirds of the Reichstag. Rejection of the measure by the voters would act as a re-election of

13197-699: The east bank near Cologne , Mainz and Koblenz . In addition, the Rhineland and an area stretching 50 kilometers east of the Rhine was to be demilitarized. France had demanded the occupation both to protect itself from a renewed German attack and as collateral for German reparations. The occupation was to last 5 years in the British zone, 10 in the American and 15 years in the French and Belgian zones, until 1934, but

13356-433: The eastern border and even more so its 'guilt clause'." Adolf Hitler repeatedly blamed the Republic and its democracy for accepting the oppressive terms of the treaty. Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty was widely perceived not only as a legal legitimisation of reparations but also as a moral condemnation of Germany, and it triggered a storm of indignation among the German public. The hostility towards it came from across

13515-576: The end of the 1930s. They included, for example, the Prussian P ;8 (BR 38.10-40), Prussian P 10 (BR 39), Prussian G 12 (BR 58.10) and the Prussian T ;20 (BR 95). The Bavarian S 3/6 (BR 18.5) express locomotive even continued in production until 1930. Not until the procurement programme for the wartime Kriegslokomotiven were new goods locomotives built in large numbers, but of course now for

13674-417: The end of the war and the signing of the treaty. Many German civilians expected life to return to pre-war normality after it was lifted, but the severe food shortages continued. In 1922, for example, meat consumption had not increased since the war years. At 22 kilograms per person per year, it was less than half of the 52 kilograms consumed in 1913. German citizens felt the food shortages more deeply than during

13833-681: The end of the war the Reichsbahn continued to move military formations. For example, in the last great offensive, the Battle of the Bulge (from 16 December 1944), tank formations were transported from Hungary to the Ardennes . The railways managed by the "Eastern Railway Division" ( Generaldirektion der Ostbahn ) were initially run from that part of the Polish State Railways within the so-called General Government -assigned part of

13992-480: The enormous fall in the Papiermark 's value. After four years of war and famine, many German workers were disenchanted with the capitalist system and hoped for a new era under socialism or communism. Socialists dominated the new revolutionary government in Berlin, and numerous short-lived council republics were set up in cities across Germany. Even after they were suppressed, ideological conflicts between

14151-577: The entire state railway ) in the countries annexed by the Deutsche Reich, as well as private railways in Germany and in other countries: The logistics of the Reichsbahn were also an important factor during the Holocaust . Jews were transported like cattle to the concentration and extermination camps by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in trains of covered goods wagons , now known as Holocaust trains . These movements using cattle wagons from

14310-480: The event of a serious threat to public safety or security. Since Article 50 required all of the president's decrees to be counter-signed by the chancellor or "competent national minister", use of Article 48 required agreement between president and chancellor. The president was also required to inform the Reichstag of the use of such measures, and the Reichstag could nullify the decree. In 1933 President Paul von Hindenburg and Chancellor Adolf Hitler , using Article 48 as

14469-402: The exceptions of the subjects for which the Reich government had exclusive jurisdiction, the states could pass legislation for their respective territories as they saw fit. Reich law superseded or nullified state law in the event of a conflict. Adjudication of conflicts between a state and the Reich government fell under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Judicial Court. States were required to have

14628-494: The far left parties that fought to establish a soviet republic were defeated by those of the moderate left that wanted a parliamentary republic. The victorious parties, led by Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democrats (SPD), scheduled an election on 19 January 1919 – in which women for the first time had equal voting rights with men – for a national assembly that was to act as Germany's interim parliament and draft

14787-557: The former empire. Hugo Preuss publicly criticised the Triple Entente 's decision in the Treaty of Versailles to prohibit the unification of " Greater Germany ", saying that it was a contradiction of the Wilsonian principle of the self-determination of peoples. Articles 68 to 77 specified how legislation was to be passed into law. Laws could be proposed by a member of the Reichstag or by the Reich government and were passed on

14946-460: The future, starting in November 1933. In 1935 the railway network had a total of 68,728 kilometres (42,706 mi) of line, of which 30,330 km (18,850 mi) was main line railway , 27,209 km (16,907 mi) were branch lines and 10,496 km (6,522 mi) were light railways . In the latter part of the 1930s, the development of high-speed trains like the "Flying Hamburger"

15105-454: The goods station of the great Frankfurt Market Hall , for example, thus played a significant role in the genocide within the extermination machinery of the Holocaust . In 1997, the market erected a memorial plaque in recognition of this dark period of history. The following is an excerpt from the testimony of Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg : The Reichsbahn was ready to ship in principle any cargo in return for payment. And therefore,

15264-544: The government, which wanted to prevent a German admission of guilt before the world public. The committee met until 1932. During the course of World War I, war reporting was the responsibility of the German General Staff and after 1918 of the Potsdam Reich Archives founded by General Hans von Seeckt , which dedicated itself to the task of "disproving" German war guilt and war crimes. As

15423-421: The grassroots level and put themselves at the front of the movement. They joined the calls for Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicate, and when he refused, Chancellor Maximilian of Baden made a public announcement that the Kaiser and Crown Prince Wilhelm had already done so. Gustav Noske (MSPD) was sent to Kiel to prevent any further unrest and took on the task of controlling the mutinous sailors and their supporters in

15582-607: The great powers. By 1924, a great deal of monetary and political stability was restored, and the republic enjoyed relative prosperity for the next five years; this period, sometimes known as the Golden Twenties , was characterised by significant cultural flourishing, social progress, and gradual improvement in foreign relations. Under the Locarno Treaties of 1925, Germany moved toward normalising relations with its neighbours, recognising most territorial changes under

15741-465: The ideals of the labour movement because of their alliance with the old elites; the Right held the supporters of the Republic responsible for Germany's defeat in the First World War, denigrating them as "November criminals" and insinuating that the German army, which was still fighting on enemy soil when the war ended, had been stabbed in the back by them and the revolution (the stab-in-the-back myth ). In

15900-417: The industrial district. After bloody battles in which an estimated 1,000 insurgents and 200 soldiers died, Reichswehr and Freikorps units suppressed the revolt in early April. Weimar Constitution The constitution contained a number of weaknesses which, under the difficult conditions of the interwar period, failed to prevent Adolf Hitler from setting up a Nazi dictatorship using the constitution as

16059-558: The institutional structures Bismarck created: the successor to the Roman Empire ; the vision of God's Empire here on earth; the universality of its claim to suzerainty ; and a more prosaic but no less powerful sense, the concept of a German state that would include all German speakers in Central Europe ;– 'one People, one Reich, one Leader', as the Nazi slogan was to put it. The black-red-gold tricolour of

16218-435: The justice system of the Weimar Republic. The principal provision mandated judicial independence  – judges were responsible only to the law. Extraordinary courts were prohibited and military courts allowed only during wartime and aboard warships. The section required that laws be promulgated to establish a Supreme Judicial Court and administrative courts to adjudicate disputes between citizens and administrative offices of

16377-407: The last foreign troops evacuated the Rhineland on 30 June 1930. The treaty's disarmament provisions were intended to make the future German army incapable of offensive action. It was limited to no more than 100,000 men with only 4,000 officers and no general staff; the navy could have at most 15,000 men and 1,500 officers. The Rhineland was to be demilitarized and occupied and all fortifications in

16536-645: The lines from Berlin to Hamburg , via Hanover to the Ruhrgebiet , via Frankfurt am Main to southwest Germany, on which the diesel express trains ran, and the Silesian Railway from Berlin to Breslau (now Wrocław). Within the state of Bavaria , the Bavarian Group Administration ( Gruppenverwaltung Bayern ) had its head office ( Zentrales Maschinen- und Bauamt ) and was largely independent by § III 14 of

16695-418: The majority vote of the Reichstag. Proposed legislation had to be presented to the Reichsrat, and the latter body's objections were required to be presented to the Reichstag. The Reich president had the power to decree that a proposed law be presented to the voters as a referendum before taking effect. The Reichsrat was entitled to object to laws passed by the Reichstag. If the objection could not be resolved,

16854-680: The merger. In 1933 the Group Administration was disbanded and administration of the railways in Bavaria was taken over by the Deutsche Reichsbahn. At the head of the Reichsbahn was a director general ( Generaldirektor ). The office holders were: From 1925, the director general had a permanent deputy. These were: As a result of the Reichsbahn Act of 11 July 1939, the Reich Transport Minister became

17013-525: The mid-1920s, most Germans referred to their government informally as the Deutsche Republik , but for many, especially on the right, the word " Republik " was a painful reminder of a government structure that they believed had been imposed by foreign statesmen and of the expulsion of Emperor Wilhelm II in the wake of a massive national humiliation. The first recorded mention of the term Republik von Weimar (Republic of Weimar) came during

17172-467: The national parliament, the Reichstag , which was seated in the capital, Berlin. The Reichstag was composed of representatives elected by the German people by an equal and secret ballot open to all Germans over 20 years of age. Proportional representation principles governed Reichstag elections. Members of the Reichstag represented the entire nation and were bound only to their own conscience. Members served for four years. The Reichstag could be dissolved by

17331-524: The new Deutsche Bahn . Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic , officially known as the German Reich , was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclaimed itself, as the German Republic . The period's informal name

17490-511: The new Chancellor broad power to act outside parliamentary control. Hitler promptly used these powers to thwart constitutional governance and suspend civil liberties, which brought about the swift collapse of democracy at the federal and state level, and the creation of a one-party dictatorship under his leadership. Until the end of World War II in Europe in 1945, the Nazis governed Germany under

17649-733: The new German borders laid down in the Potsdam Agreement were transferred to the ownership and administration of the states in whose territory they were situated. For example, on 27 April 1945, the Austrian railways became independent again as the Austrian State Railway ( Österreichische Staatseisenbahn or ÖStB), later renamed as the Austrian Federal Railways ( Österreichische Bundesbahnen or ÖBB ) on 5 August 1947. Operational control of

17808-529: The new government was confirmed by the Berlin Workers' and Soldiers' Council, it was opposed by the Spartacus League. On 11 November 1918, an armistice was signed at Compiègne by German representatives. It effectively ended military operations between the Allies and Germany. It amounted to a German capitulation, without any concessions by the Allies; the naval blockade was to continue until complete peace terms were agreed on. The Executive Council of

17967-570: The newly formed German Reich . The state railways that merged were the: Initially called the Reichseisenbahnen or Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen , the company was formally given the name "Deutsche Reichsbahn" by decree of the Reich Minister of Transport, Wilhelm Groener , on 27 June 1921. In 1922 the old railway divisions ( Eisenbahndirektionen ) were renamed as Reich railway divisions ( Reichsbahndirektionen ). Among

18126-399: The officer corps, while Groener pledged that the military would be loyal to the government and that it would help it in its fight against left-wing revolutionaries. The agreement marked the acceptance of the new government by the military, but the new Reichswehr armed forces, limited by the Treaty of Versailles to 100,000 army soldiers and 15,000 sailors, remained fully under the control of

18285-565: The permanent way or rail track. The Allied forces of Occupation were put in charge and instantly had myriad problems regarding food, lack of housing, fuel, displaced persons and people on the move. The Engineering Corps of British and American forces oversaw the partial rebuilding of the lines and cars with local labour from prisoners of war, rubble women , and de-mobilized soldiers. Temporary wooden bridges were put up over destroyed spans. Multiple tracks were disassembled into one smaller working line, equipment assessed and rebuilt. In three months,

18444-678: The political spectrum, from the far right to the moderate governing parties to the KPD. After the treaty came into force, the Foreign Office continued the state's control of the debate over war guilt. The War Guilt Department financed and directed the Centre for the Study of the Causes of the War , which was to provide "scientific" support for the "campaign of innocence" abroad. For war-innocence propaganda at home,

18603-478: The population had begun to crumble in 1916, and by mid-1918 many Germans wanted an end to the war. Increasing numbers of them began to associate with the political left, such as the Social Democratic Party and the more radical Independent Social Democratic Party , which demanded an end to the war. When it became obvious to the generals that defeat was at hand, General Erich Ludendorff convinced

18762-401: The president and cause the Reichstag to be dissolved. If a state failed to fulfil its obligations under the constitution or Reich law, the president could use armed force to compel the state to do so under a Reichsexekution . Article 48 gave the president the power to take measures – including the use of armed force and/or the suspension of civil rights – to restore law and order in

18921-496: The pretense that all the extraordinary measures and laws they implemented were constitutional; notably, there was never an attempt to replace or substantially amend the Weimar constitution . Nevertheless, Hitler's seizure of power ( Machtergreifung ) had effectively ended the republic, replacing its constitutional framework with Führerprinzip , the principle that "the Führer's word is above all written law". The Weimar Republic

19080-440: The provisions of the 1924 Dawes Plan was a plan to utilize the state railway completely for the payment of war reparations . Following the plan's publication, on 12 February 1924, the Reich government announced the creation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn as a state enterprise under the Reich Ministry of Transport ( German : Reichsverkehrsministerium ). As this was not enough to satisfy the reparations creditors, on 30 August 1924

19239-405: The provisions of the earlier constitution of 1848 . Articles 109 to 118 set forth the individual rights of Germans, the principal tenet being that every German was equal before the law. Men and women had "in principle" the same civil rights and duties. Privileges based on birth or rank – that is, the German nobility – were abolished. Official recognition of the titles of nobility ceased, except as

19398-472: The railway was working again in a rudimentary form. The Armies of Occupation needed the railways to move coal and the soon to be gathered agricultural harvest. Deutschebahn had a critical shortage of wagons, carriages and locomotives, so much so that the US gave war surplus engines to ensure the movement of freight. With the end of the Second World War in 1945 those parts of the Deutsche Reichsbahn that were outside

19557-546: The regular army dead. The USPD leaders were angered by what they believed was treachery by the MSPD, which in their view had joined with the anti-communist military to suppress the revolution. As a result, the USPD left the Council of the People's Deputies after only seven weeks. On 30 December, the split deepened when the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) was formed out of a number of radical left-wing groups, including

19716-617: The regular army. The fall of the Munich Soviet Republic to these units, many of which were on the extreme right, resulted in the growth of far-right, antisemitic movements and organisations in Bavaria , including Organisation Consul , the Nazi Party , and societies of exiled Russian monarchists. Revolutionary sentiment also arose in the eastern states where interethnic discontent between Germans and minority Poles led to

19875-412: The regulation of wages and working conditions as well as in economic development. The Reich reserved the right to "transfer to public ownership private economic enterprises suitable for socialization". It undertook to provide comprehensive insurance for health, maternity and old age. Workers were to be given legal representation on factory workers' councils. The final 16 articles (Articles 166 to 181) of

20034-855: The rest of the DR was devolved to the respective zones of occupation so that the Reichsbahn legally existed in four parts until 1949. In the American Zone the Reichsbahn divisions of Augsburg, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Munich, Regensburg and Stuttgart (for the railways in Württemberg-Baden ) were subordinated to the Senior Control Office US Zone ( Oberbetriebsleitung United States Zone ) in Frankfurt. The Reichsbahn divisions of Essen, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Münster (Westfalen) and Wuppertal were grouped into

20193-423: The right of the spectrum, the politically engaged rejected the new democratic model and were appalled to see the honour of the traditional word Reich associated with it. The Catholic Centre Party favoured the term Deutscher Volksstaat (German People's State), while on the moderate left, Chancellor Friedrich Ebert 's Social Democratic Party of Germany preferred Deutsche Republik (German Republic). By

20352-598: The socialist movement, which represented mostly labourers, was split among two major left-wing parties: the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD), which called for immediate peace negotiations and favoured a soviet-style command economy, and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), also known as the Majority Social Democratic Party of Germany (MSPD), which had supported the war and favoured

20511-526: The state ministries, with the exception again of Prussia, half of whose members had to be appointed from among the Prussian provincial administrative authorities. Although not specified in the constitution, members – except for the Prussians who were provincial representatives – were considered to be bound by the instructions of their respective state governments. Government ministers were required to inform

20670-600: The state. The law to set up the Supreme Judicial Court ( Staatsgerichtshof für das Deutsche Reich ) was passed in July 1921. The second part of the Weimar Constitution laid out the basic rights and obligations of Germans. The German Civil Code of 1900, which included sections on personal rights and domestic relations, remained in effect. The constitution guaranteed individual rights such as freedom of speech and assembly to each citizen. They were based on

20829-489: The task of writing a democratic constitution for a parliamentary government. To ensure that the fledgling government maintained control over the country, Ebert and General Wilhelm Groener , Ludendorff's successor as leader of the Supreme Army Command (OHL), concluded the secret Ebert–Groener pact on 10 November. Over the telephone, Ebert promised that he would allow sole command of the troops to remain with

20988-461: The territorial losses especially angered the Germans. The treaty was reviled as a dictated rather than a negotiated peace. Philipp Scheidemann , then minister president of Germany, said to the Weimar National Assembly on 12 May 1919, "What hand should not wither that puts this fetter on itself and on us?" He resigned rather than accept the terms, but after the Allies threatened to resume hostilities,

21147-530: The tour) and the stationing of the train, during its visit to Berlin , at the Ostbahnhof station instead of the more centrally located Hauptbahnhof main railway station. The tour was scheduled to end on 8 May 2008 (the 63rd anniversary of the end of the European portion of World War II) when the train arrived at Auschwitz. However, it continued to make appearances through 2009, and as of January 2010

21306-534: The usage of the Reich in the name of the railway; the monarchical term was Deutsches Kaiserreich ), took national control of the German railways, which had previously been run by the German states ( Länderbahnen ). In 1924 it was reorganised under the aegis of the Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft ("German Imperial Railway Company", DRG), a nominally private railway company, which

21465-575: The various parts of the federal government. Section 1 consisted of Articles 1 to 19 and established the German Reich as a republic whose power derived from the people. The Reich was defined as the region encompassed by the German states; other regions could be incorporated into the Reich based on popular self-determination and corresponding Reich legislation. (Germany received the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which reduced its land area and population by 13% and 12% respectively, on 7 May 1919, while

21624-506: The various state railways and comprised a great number of designs, many of them quite old. In fact, the DRG was unable to procure new stock in the numbers it wanted to both for financial reasons and due to delays in upgrading the lines to carry higher axle loads . The locomotive classes taken over from the old state railways, especially those from the Prussia, continued to dominate the scene until

21783-448: The wagons were inhumane because no water or food was provided, and sanitary arrangements were minimal, usually a bucket in a corner of the wagon. Although each wagon was intended to hold about 50 people, they were frequently overcrowded and holding 100 to 150 people. No heating was provided, so people could freeze in winter and overheat in summer. Deaths in the wagons were frequent among the young, old, sick, and disabled, especially as travel

21942-852: The war because the reality contrasted so starkly with their expectations. Immediate post-war industrial production fell to the levels of the 1880s, or 57 percent of its value in 1913. The 1919 per capita GDP was only 73 percent of the comparable 1913 figure. Controlled demobilisation kept unemployment initially at around one million. By January 1922, the unemployment rate had sunk to just 0.9%, but inflation caused most workers' real wages to be significantly lower than they were in 1913. The hyperinflation that peaked in late 1923 had its worst effects on government workers, whose wages did not keep pace with private sector workers, and on middle class Germans who had invested in war bonds or who relied on savings, investments or pensions for their living. What had once been substantial savings became essentially worthless due to

22101-469: The war, locomotives in the war zones were sometimes given camouflage livery. In addition, locomotives were painted with the Hoheitsadler symbol (the eagle, Germany's traditional symbol of national sovereignty ) holding a swastika . On goods wagons the name " Deutsche Reichsbahn " was replaced by the letters "DR". Postal coaches continued to bear the name " Deutsche Reichspost ". The logistics of

22260-609: The website requests visitors to look for further travel plans at the end of February. German railways were heavily bombed by Allied RAF and USAAF bombers. Marshalling yards, bridges, repair shops, and service facilities were all destroyed. Fighter-bombers targeted locomotives and bombed them. As a result, trains were at a standstill in the spring of 1945. The cities of Hamburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Frankfurt, Dusseldorf, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden and others were affected. Stations were completely destroyed and wagons and carriage set on fire and destroyed. Bomb craters and blast seriously damaged

22419-664: The world, the final Allied offensive began in August 1918, and the position of Germany and the Central Powers deteriorated, leading them to sue for peace. After initial offers were rejected by the Allied Powers, the hunger and privation of the war years came together with the awareness of an impending military defeat to help spark the German Revolution . On 9 November 1918, a republic was proclaimed , and

22578-502: The years between 1920 and 1932"; nevertheless, its importance "arises primarily from the fact that the Reichsbahn was at the center of events in a period of great turmoil in German history". The company was founded on 1 April 1920 as the Deutsche Reichseisenbahnen ("German Imperial Railways") when the Weimar Republic , which still used the nation-state term of the previous monarchy, Deutsches Reich (German Reich, hence

22737-509: Was 100% owned by the German state. In 1937 the railway was reorganised again as a state authority and given the name Deutsche Reichsbahn ("German Imperial Railway", DRB). After the Anschluss in 1938 the DR also took over the Bundesbahn Österreich ("Federal Railway of Austria", BBÖ). The East and West German states were founded in 1949. East Germany took over the control of

22896-470: Was accelerated. Before that streamlined steam engines had been built, but they were not as economical as the high-speed diesel and electric railcars. Although the Borsig streamlined steam engine, the no. 05 002 reached a speed of 200.4 km/h (124.5 mph) during a demonstration run, the Reichsbahn preferred fast railcars on its high speed network. The potential of these express trains was demonstrated by

23055-632: Was carried out in the 1950s. Gradually, however, they were replaced by the more economical and easier-to-maintain diesel and electric classes. In general this happened rather later than in the West. In 1970, the DR renumbered its locomotives in order to conform to new computerised data standards. On 3 October 1990, the GDR states acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. Initially the two railway administrations continued to operate separately, albeit with increasing cooperation, and in 1994 they were merged to form

23214-651: Was ceded to the Allied powers, and Danzig went to the League of Nations as the Free City of Danzig . The Polish Corridor left East Prussia physically separated from the rest of Germany. Under the terms of both the Armistice of 1918 and of the Treaty of Versailles, French, British, Belgian and American troops occupied the Rhineland , the area of Germany on the west bank of the Rhine river , together with bridgeheads on

23373-425: Was formed after France had ceded the territory of Alsace-Lorraine in 1871 to the German Empire and the newly created Third French Republic had formally purchased the French Eastern Railway Company ( French : Compagnie des chemins de fer de l'Est or German : Französische Ostbahn-Gesellschaft ) and then sold it again to the German Empire. After the end of the First World War this national "imperial railway"

23532-425: Was guaranteed and protected by the state. No state church was established. The exercise of civil and civic rights and admission to state office were independent of one's religious beliefs. Public declaration of religious beliefs was not required, and no one was forced to join in a religious act or swear a religious oath. Five articles from this section of the Constitution (Nos. 136–139 and 141) were incorporated into

23691-406: Was likewise regulated by the government. In private schools operated by religious communities, religious instruction could take place in accordance with the religious community's principles. Constitutional provisions about economic affairs were given in Articles 151 to 165. One of the fundamental principles was that economic life should conform to the principles of justice, with the goal of achieving

23850-441: Was protected, including the right to use their native language in education, administration, and the judicial system. Other specific articles stated that: Articles 119 to 134 guided Germans' interaction with the community and established, among other provisions, that: The religious rights of Germans were enumerated in Articles 135 to 141. Residents of Germany were granted freedom of belief and conscience. Free practice of religion

24009-430: Was put under the control of the League of Nations for 15 years, and the output of the area's coal mines went to France. Alsace–Lorraine , which Prussia had annexed following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71, once again became French. The northern part of Schleswig-Holstein went to Denmark following a plebiscite. In the east, a significant amount of territory was lost to a restored Poland . The Memel Territory

24168-566: Was renamed Deutsche Bundesbahn . In the post-war years, the DR in East Germany continued to develop independently of the DB, but very much in parallel. The locomotive classification scheme , based on that of the DRG , was extended. The production, conversion and development of steam locomotives initially continued in earnest; older, especially ex- Länderbahn classes being rationalised and withdrawn from service. A major conversion ( Rekonstruktion ) programme to update steam locomotives and rectify flawed, mainly wartime austerity , classes

24327-435: Was responsible to the Reichstag. The chancellor and ministers were compelled to resign in the event the Reichstag passed a vote of no confidence . It was not, however, a constructive vote of no confidence , which requires that there be a positive majority for a prospective successor before confidence can be withdrawn. Under the Weimar Constitution, the vote of no confidence often resulted in difficulty forming new coalitions and

24486-421: Was slow and often lasted many days since the trains had low priority on the tracks. Their small amount of luggage was stored separately, sometimes at the station and never left with the train, but examined for valuables which were stolen or resold for profit. Beginning in November 2007, a museum train, the "Train of Commemoration" ( Zug der Erinnerung ), began a 3,000 km (1,900 mi) tour of Germany as

24645-437: Was spread by the Right throughout the 1920s and ensured that many monarchists and conservatives would refuse to support the government of what they called the "November criminals". The destabilising effect of the stab-in-the-back myth on the Weimar democracy was an important factor in the rise of National Socialism . On 29 October 1918, a rebellion broke out among sailors at Wilhelmshaven ; similar unrest then spread to become

24804-416: Was taken back by France. In the remaining German states, by contrast, the existing state railways continued to be subject to their respective sovereigns, despite the fact that Otto von Bismarck had tried in vain to purchase the main railway lines for the Empire. A similar attempt failed in 1875 as a result of opposition from the middle powers when Albert von Maybach presented a draft Reich Railway Act to

24963-441: Was the Reichsbahn released from its financial obligations. In total, about 3.87 billion Goldmarks was paid in reparations to the Allied powers. During the DRG period the following milestones occurred: The beginning of the DRG was characterised by the acquisition of new rolling stock built to standard types, such as the standard steam locomotives ( Einheitsdampflokomotiven ). The stock already in use had been inherited from

25122-449: Was the unified armed forces of the Nazi regime. Germany and the Central Powers fought the Allies of WWI between 28 July 1914 and 11 November 1918. The war ended with 20 million military and civilian deaths, including 2,037,000 German soldiers and from 424,000 to 763,000 civilians, many of them from disease and starvation as a result of the Allied blockade of Germany . After four years of war on multiple fronts in Europe and around

25281-407: Was used until being replaced by the Nazi Reichsadler in 1935, and readopted by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1950. Following Germany's defeat in World War I, several million soldiers of the Imperial German Army either simply dispersed on their own or were formally demobilized. The provisional civilian government and the Supreme Army Command (OHL) planned to transfer the remaining units to

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