Złotów [ˈzwɔtuf] is a town in northwestern Poland , with a population of 18,303 inhabitants (2011), seat of the Złotów County in the Greater Poland Voivodeship .
133-436: The town is located on the river Głomia and is surrounded by five lakes. It is part of the historic Greater Poland region. A railway line connects it to Piła and Chojnice , with buses operating locally. The local Metaplast windows fitting factory is the biggest industrial employer. The Euro Eco Meeting is organized regularly there each July. Złotów is the historical centre of the northern part of Krajna . Human activity in
266-653: 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
399-594: 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
532-471: 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
665-631: 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
798-579: 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
931-477: 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
1064-527: A high mortality rate. On the order of Heinrich Himmler , most of the camps were dissolved in 1943, and its surviving prisoners were sent to ghettos and death camps. Germany operated several prisoner-of-war camps , including Stalag XXI-B, Stalag XXI-C , Stalag XXI-D , Stalag XXI-E, Stalag 302, Oflag II-C , Oflag XXI-A, Oflag XXI-B , Oflag XXI-C and Oflag 64 , for Polish, French , British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, Belgian, Dutch, Serbian, American, Italian , South African and other Allied POWs in
1197-736: A larger area than the Greater Poland region itself, also taking in Masovia and Royal Prussia . (This division of Crown Poland into two entities called Greater and Lesser Poland had its roots in the Statutes of Casimir the Great of 1346–1362, where the laws of "Greater Poland" – the northern part of the country – were codified in the Piotrków statute, with those of "Lesser Poland" in the separate Wiślica statute.) In 1655, Greater Poland
1330-545: 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
1463-437: 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
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#17327719070181596-645: 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
1729-682: 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
1862-508: A result of the epidemic. After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Złotów was incorporated into Prussia . In 1784 a Protestant half-timbered church was built on the great market square, which during the time span 1829–31 was replaced by a modern church designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel . From 1772 to 1945, as part of Prussia and later Germany it was known as Flatow . The town was given county ( Kreis ) town status in 1818. It
1995-545: 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
2128-653: Is a Polish historical region of west-central Poland . Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz , the oldest city in Poland. The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history. Since the Late Middle Ages , Wielkopolska proper has been split into the Poznań and Kalisz voivodeships . In the wider sense, it also encompassed Sieradz , Łęczyca , Brześć Kujawski and Inowrocław voivodeships, which were situated further east, and
2261-527: Is produced in various places, especially in the Noteć and Warta river valleys in the north and west. Notable centers of honey production include Pszczew , Wałcz , Tuczno , Lubiszyn and Stare Drawsko in northern and western Greater Poland and Kopaszewo and Witosław in southern Greater Poland. The Saint Michael's Honey Fair is held annually in Gorzów Wielkopolski . Grodzisk Wielkopolski
2394-676: 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
2527-427: Is the most accomplished speedway team in Poland, and other accomplished teams in the region are Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski and Polonia Piła . Main handball clubs are MKS Kalisz , KPR Ostrovia Ostrów Wielkopolski , Nielba Wągrowiec , Stal Gorzów Wielkopolski , Grunwald Poznań and KPR Wolsztyniak Wolsztyn . Field hockey enjoys less popularity, however, the region is dominant in the sport in Poland, with 80 of
2660-641: Is the place of origin of the Grodziskie beer style. Other traditional Polish beers , officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland, are produced in Bojanowo , Czarnków , Miłosław , Nakło nad Notecią and Wschowa . Football and speedway enjoy the largest following in Greater Poland. The most accomplished football teams are Lech Poznań and Warta Poznań . 18-times Team Polish Champions (as of 2023), Unia Leszno ,
2793-650: 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
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#17327719070182926-694: 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
3059-568: The Cecylia choir , which is one of the oldest still existing choirs of Greater Poland and an agricultural and trade cooperative, all three of these entities operate to this day. In 1919, it was decided that the eastern part of the Flatow district would be ceded to Poland and the western part of the district, including the town of Flatow would remain in Germany . This caused huge protests from
3192-786: The Drzymała's wagon became a regional folk hero . In the Russian Partition, Russification policies were enacted, and Polish resistance was also active. The largest uprisings in Russian-controlled eastern Greater Poland were the November Uprising of 1830–31 and January Uprising of 1863–64. During World War I , Germany also occupied eastern Greater Poland, and in August 1914, the German Army carried out
3325-512: The Gestapo carried out arrests of Polish activists, teachers and entrepreneurs, closed various Polish organizations and enterprises and seized their funds. The Poles tried to resist German persecution, but some were forced to escape German arrest and thus fled to Poland. In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland starting World War II . During the attack the German army, Einsatzgruppen and Selbstschutz perpetrated various crimes against
3458-455: 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,
3591-457: 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
3724-678: The Polish resistance conducted espionage of German activity in the town. In the last months of the war, the town was captured by Polish troops in the Battle of Złotów [ pl ] on 31 January 1945 and was finally reintegrated with Poland. After World War II , the redrawn borders forced upon Germany and Poland by the Soviet Union in the Potsdam Agreement placed the town, once again, inside Poland. Its first post-war mayor
3857-580: The Polish–Teutonic War of 1431–1435 . In the reunited kingdom, and later in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , the country came to be divided into administrative units called voivodeships . In the case of the Greater Poland region these were Poznań Voivodeship and Kalisz Voivodeship . The Commonwealth also had larger subdivisions known as prowincja , one of which was named Greater Poland . However, this prowincja covered
3990-639: 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
4123-489: The Rogalin Landscape Park is famous for about 2000 monumental oak trees growing on the flood plain of the river Warta , among numerous ox-bow lakes . Greater Poland formed the heart of the 10th-century early Polish state , sometimes being called the "cradle of Poland". Poznań and Gniezno were early centres of royal power and the seats of Poland's first Catholic diocese, est. in Poznań in 968, and
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4256-462: The Santok Land , located to the northwest. The region in the proper sense roughly coincides with the present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship ( Polish : województwo wielkopolskie ). Like all the historical regions of Poland, i.e Pomerania , Warmia , Silesia , Mazovia or Lesser Poland and others, the Greater Poland region possesses its own folk costumes, architecture, cuisine, that make
4389-699: 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
4522-706: 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
4655-790: 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
4788-677: The destruction of Kalisz . Germany planned the annexation of eastern Greater Poland as part of the so-called " Polish Border Strip " and expulsion of its Polish inhabitants to make room for German colonization in accordance with the Lebensraum policy. Following the end of World War I , the Greater Poland uprising (1918–19) ensured that most of the region became part of the newly independent Polish state, forming most of Poznań Voivodeship (1921–1939) . Northern and some western parts of Greater Poland remained in Germany, where they formed much of
4921-656: The expulsion of Poles , now also in pre-war Polish territory, with the Special Staff for the Resettlement of Poles and Jews ( Sonderstab für die Aussiedlung von Polen und Juden ) established in Poznań in November 1939, soon renamed to Office for the Resettlement of Poles and Jews ( Amt für Umsiedlung der Polen und Juden ), and eventually to Central Bureau for Resettlement (UWZ, Umwandererzentralstelle ). The place of
5054-540: 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 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
5187-519: The 1980 strikes in various cities and towns, which led to the foundation of the Solidarity organization, which played a central role in the end of communist rule in Poland. With the reforms of 1975 it was divided into seven provinces, partially or wholly located in Greater Poland (the voivodeships of Bydgoszcz , Gorzów , Kalisz , Konin , Leszno , Piła and Poznań ). The present-day Greater Poland Voivodeship , again with Poznań as its capital,
5320-475: The 86 men's Polish Championships won by local teams (as of October 2023). The following table lists the cities in proper Greater Poland with a population greater than 25,000 (2015): 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
5453-477: The German army, rescued Polish children kidnapped by the Germans, and facilitated escapes of Allied prisoners of war from German POW camps. The Germans cracked down on the resistance several times, and even kidnapped children of the resistance members and sent them to a camp for Polish children in Łódź , nicknamed "little Auschwitz " due to its conditions, where many died. From August 1944 to January 1945,
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5586-697: 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
5719-605: The German police and Einsatzgruppe VI carried out mass public executions of some 300 Poles in various towns in the region, i.e. Gostyń , Kostrzyn , Kościan , Kórnik , Krobia , Książ Wielkopolski , Leszno , Mosina , Osieczna , Poniec , Śmigiel , Śrem , Środa and Włoszakowice , to terrorize and pacify the Poles. The Polish and Jewish population was classified by Nazis as subhuman and subjected to organized genocide, involving mass murder and ethnic cleansing, with many former officials and others considered potential enemies by
5852-441: The Germans used hundreds of thousands of Poles as forced labour to build fortifications in the region ahead of the advancing Eastern Front . In January 1945, before and during their retreat, the Germans committed several further massacres of Polish civilians, prisoners and Polish and other Allied POWs, including at Pleszew , Marchwacz , Żabikowo, Łomnica and Kuźnica Żelichowska and perpetrated several death marches . Poznań
5985-469: 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
6118-417: 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
6251-399: 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,
6384-745: 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
6517-403: 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
6650-435: The Museum of Polish State Origins in Gniezno, and the National Museum and Wielkopolska Museum of Independence in Poznań. Several castles and palaces house museums, such as those in Dobrzyca, Gołuchów , Jarocin , Kołaczkowo , Koźmin Wielkopolski , Kórnik, Poznań , Rogalin and Śmiełów . Poland's largest church, the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń , is located in the region. The oldest preserved European signpost beyond
6783-426: 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
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#17327719070186916-429: 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
7049-470: The Nazis being imprisoned or executed, including at the notorious Fort VII concentration camp in Poznań. Major sites of massacres of Poles in the region included Dopiewiec , Dębienko , Winiary , Mędzisko , Paterek , Łobżenica , Górka Klasztorna , Kobylniki and Bukowiec . During Aktion T4 , the SS-Sonderkommandos gassed over 2,700 mentally ill people from the psychiatric hospitals in Owińska , Dziekanka and Kościan . The Germans continued
7182-482: The Older Poland to contrast with Lesser Poland (Polish Małopolska , Latin Polonia Minor ), a region in south-eastern Poland with its capital at Kraków that later became the main centre of the state. Greater Poland comprises much of the area drained by the Warta River and its tributaries, including the Noteć River . The region is distinguished from Lesser Poland with the lowland landscape, and from both Lesser Poland and Mazovia with its numerous lakes. In
7315-410: The Pious issued the Statute of Kalisz in the region. It was a unique protective privilege for Jews during their persecution in Western Europe , which in the following centuries made Poland the destination of Jewish migration from other countries. From the late 13th century, the region experienced first German invasions and occupations. In the late 13th century, the northwestern part of Greater Poland
7448-420: The Poles was taken by German colonists in accordance with the Lebensraum policy. Many Poles were also enslaved as forced labour and either sent to forced labour camps or German colonists in the region or deported to Germany and other German-occupied countries. Over 270,000 Polish children aged 10–18 were subjected to forced labour in Greater Poland, which, in addition to German profits of 500 million marks ,
7581-600: The Polish people in the occupied areas, whereas the persecution of Poles of northern and western Greater Poland reached its climax with mass arrests of Polish activists, who were detained in temporary camps in Piła and Lipka , and then deported to concentration camps , expulsions and closure of Polish schools and enterprises. The invading troops committed multiple massacres of Polish civilians and prisoners of war , including at Kłecko , Zdziechowa , Mogilno , Trzemeszno , Niewolno , Winiary , Wągrowiec , Mielno , Jankowo Dolne , Podlesie Kościelne and Obora . Afterwards,
7714-534: The Polish-Catholic School Society. Local Poles managed to establish a Polish school, preschool, library and the Sparta Złotów football club (multi-section club after the war). Polish press was still issued in the town. The Polish school was devastated by the Germans in the 1930s, and the local synagogue was destroyed during the Kristallnacht in 1938. In 1939, shortly before the invasion of Poland , local Polish activists and teachers were arrested and later imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps . During World War II ,
7847-407: The Prussian Partition, western Greater Poland became the Grand Duchy of Posen (Poznań), which theoretically held some autonomy. Following an unrealized uprising in 1846 , and the more substantial but still unsuccessful uprising of 1848 (during the Spring of Nations ), the Grand Duchy was replaced by the Province of Posen . The authorities made efforts to Germanize the region, particularly after
7980-405: 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 the great powers. By 1924, a great deal of monetary and political stability was restored, and the republic enjoyed relative prosperity for
8113-410: 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
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#17327719070188246-571: 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
8379-404: 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
8512-438: 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
8645-424: 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
8778-411: 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,
8911-427: 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
9044-456: The boundaries of the former Roman Empire is located in Konin . In addition to traditional nationwide Polish cuisine , Greater Poland is known for its variety of regional and local traditional foods and drinks, which include especially various meat products (incl. various types of kiełbasa ), cheeses , honeys , beverages and various dishes and meals, officially protected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland . Among
9177-470: 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
9310-424: 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
9443-445: 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
9576-699: 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
9709-501: 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
9842-417: 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
9975-480: 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
10108-589: The first archdiocese, est. in Gniezno in 1000, but following devastation of the region by pagan rebellion in the 1030s, and the invasion of Bretislaus I of Bohemia in 1038, the capital was moved by Casimir I the Restorer from Gniezno to Kraków . In the Testament of Bolesław III Wrymouth , which initiated the period of fragmentation of Poland (1138–1320), the western part of Greater Poland (including Poznań)
10241-476: The first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclaimed itself, as the German Republic . The period's informal name 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
10374-591: The founding of Germany in 1871, and from 1886 onwards the Prussian Settlement Commission was active in increasing German land ownership in formerly Polish areas. The Germans imposed Germanisation and Kulturkampf policies, and the Poles organized resistance . In the early 20th century, the Września children strike against Germanisation started, which quickly spread to other places in Greater Poland and beyond, whereas Michał Drzymała with
10507-544: 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
10640-421: 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
10773-465: 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
10906-558: 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
11039-511: The large Polish minority of the town (approx. 12%) and the surrounding rural lands. From 1922 until 1938, Flatow was part of the newly formed Province of Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia inside Germany. When this province was dissolved on 1 October 1938, Flatow was integrated into the Province of Pomerania . Despite this, the town became the seat of local branches of the Union of Poles in Germany and
11172-407: 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
11305-504: The leading and fastest developing regions of Poland, with municipal rights modeled after Poznań and Kalisz becoming the basis of municipal form of government for several towns in the region, as two of five local Polish variants of medieval town rights. The region came under the control of Władysław I the Elbow-high in 1314, and thus became part of the reunited Poland of which Władyslaw was crowned king in 1320. In 1264, Duke Bolesław
11438-525: 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
11571-492: The most known local snacks are the St. Martin's croissant from Poznań and Kalisz andruts . Notable centers of traditional meat production include Grodzisk Wielkopolski , Krotoszyn , Kruszewnia , Nowy Tomyśl , Rawicz , Trzcianka and Złotniki , whereas centers of traditional cheese and quark production include Wągrowiec , Gniezno , Oborniki , Witkowo , Witoldzin and Września . A plethora of traditional Polish honey
11704-511: 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
11837-529: 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
11970-565: 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 the 1919 Treaty of Versailles and committing never to go to war. The following year, it joined
12103-538: The north, Ostrów Wielkopolski to the south-east, Gniezno (the earliest capital of Poland) to the north-east, and Leszno to the south-west. An area of 75.84 square kilometres (29.28 sq mi) of forest and lakeland south of Poznań is designated the Wielkopolska National Park ( Wielkopolski Park Narodowy ), established in 1957. The region also contains part of Drawa National Park , and several designated Landscape Parks . For example,
12236-795: The northwestern and northern outskirts remained part of Prussia. However, following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Greater Poland was again partitioned, with the western part (including Poznań) going to Prussia. The eastern part (including Kalisz) joined the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland , where it formed the Kalisz Voivodeship until 1837, then the Kalisz Governorate (merged into the Warsaw Governorate between 1844 and 1867). Within
12369-719: The occupiers launched the Intelligenzaktion genocidal campaign against the Polish population, and annexed the entire region into Nazi Germany . Administratively, most of Greater Poland was included within the Reichsgau Posen , later renamed Reichsgau Wartheland ( Warthe being the German name for the Warta river), whereas northern and western parts were located in the provinces of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia , Pomerania and Brandenburg . On 20–23 October 1939,
12502-399: 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
12635-874: The only monument in Poland to Piast the Wheelwright , the semi-legendary founder of the Piast dynasty , was unveiled in Złotów. In 1961 the Regional Museum was established. From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively located in the Piła Voivodeship . The local women's volleyball team, Sparta Złotów , plays in the third national league. Złotów is twinned with: There has also been some cooperation with: Greater Poland Greater Poland , often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska ( pronounced [vjɛlkɔˈpɔlska] ; Latin : Polonia Maior ),
12768-678: 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,
12901-478: 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
13034-496: 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
13167-837: The province of Posen-West Prussia (1922–1938), whose capital was Schneidemühl ( Piła ). To maintain contact with the Poles of German-controlled northern and western Greater Poland, Poland opened a consulate in Piła in 1922. From 1933, the Polish Głos Pogranicza i Kaszub newspaper was issued in Złotów . Under the Nazi government , repressions of Poles intensified. In January 1939, Germany resumed expulsions of Poles and many were also forced to flee. The Sturmabteilung , Schutzstaffel , Hitler Youth and Bund Deutscher Osten launched attacks on Polish institutions, schools and activists. In mid-1939
13300-686: The province of South Prussia . It remained so in spite of the first Greater Poland uprising (1794) , part of the unsuccessful Kościuszko Uprising directed chiefly against Russia . More successful was the Greater Poland Uprising of 1806 , which led to the bulk of Greater Poland becoming part of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw (forming the Poznań Department and parts of the Kalisz and Bydgoszcz Departments), whereas
13433-563: The region goes as far back as the 8th century BC. Around 700 AD, a hill fort on the shore of the Baba lake was the residence of a Pomeranian tribal chief. The land belonged to the dukes of Gdańsk Pomerania from the house of the Samborides within partitioned Poland and after the last duke Mestwin II died in 1294 it passed under direct rule of the Piast dynasty . In the early 14th century it
13566-555: The region touristically and culturally interesting. Due to the fact that Greater Poland was the settlement area of the Polans and the core of the early Polish state , the region was at times simply called "Poland" (Latin Polonia ). The more specific name is first recorded in the Latin form Polonia Maior in 1257 and in Polish w Wielkej Polszcze in 1449. Its original meaning was
13699-832: The region. There were also multiple forced labour subcamps of the Stalag II-B , Stalag II-D and Stalag XX-A POW camps in the region, a subcamp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp in Owińska, a subcamp of the Stutthof concentration camp in Obrzycko , a subcamp of the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Kalisz Pomorski , and a camp for Sinti and Romani people in Piła. A particularly notorious prison camp
13832-491: 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
13965-617: 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
14098-758: The remainder of Brandenburg-annexed northwestern Greater Poland, which in 1373 became part of the Bohemian (Czech) Crown , ruled by the House of Luxembourg . In 1402, Poland and the Luxembourgs reached an agreement, according to which Poland was to buy and re-incorporate the afforementioned territory, but eventually the Luxembourgs sold it to the Teutonic Order. Allied Poles and Czech Hussites captured several towns of Teutonic-held northwestern Greater Poland, including Dobiegniew and Strzelce Krajeńskie , during
14231-423: 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
14364-598: 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
14497-463: The strict meaning, it covers an area of about 33,000 square kilometres (13,000 sq mi), and has a population of 3.5 million. In the wider sense, it has almost 60,000 square kilometres (23,000 sq mi), and 7 million inhabitants. The region's main metropolis is Poznań , near the centre of the region, on the Warta. Other cities are Kalisz to the south-east, Konin to the east, Piła to
14630-489: 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
14763-406: 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,
14896-852: 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
15029-429: The war, while the fate of many remains unknown to this day. Jews from the region were also expelled and deported to other locations, including to Nazi ghettos , concentration camps and forced labour camps. From 1940, the occupiers also operated several forced labour camps for Jews in the region. Due to poor feeding and sanitary conditions, epidemics spread in those camps, which, combined with frequent executions, led to
15162-611: 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
15295-585: Was Jan Kocik [ pl ] , leading pre-war Polish activist in Złotów, who was imprisoned by the Germans in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during the war. Already in 1945, new Polish schools were founded, and both the Sparta Złotów sports club and the "Cecylia" choir resumed their activities. The Culture Center was established in 1946 and the Municipal Library in 1947. In 1957,
15428-641: Was invaded by Sweden , and several battles were fought in the region, including at Ujście , Kłecko and Kcynia . In the 18th century kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland often resided in Wschowa , and sessions of the Senate of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were held there, thus the town being dubbed the "unofficial capital of Poland". In 1768 a new Gniezno Voivodeship
15561-487: Was aimed at the children's biological destruction. The Germans also operated Germanisation camps for Polish children taken away from their parents in Kalisz, Poznań, Puszczykowo and Zaniemyśl . The children were given new German names and surnames, and were punished for any use of the Polish language, even with death. After their stay in the camp, the children were deported to Germany; only some returned to Poland after
15694-704: 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
15827-471: Was created in 1999, however, parts of Greater Poland are located in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian , Lubusz , Łódź and West Pomeranian voivodeships. The region is rich in historical architecture of various styles from Romanesque and Gothic through Renaissance and Baroque to Neoclassical and Art Nouveau . Greater Poland boasts 13 Historic Monuments of Poland : Major museums include
15960-425: Was declared a fortress in the closing stages of the war, being taken by the Red Army in the Battle of Poznań , which ended on 22 February 1945. After the war, Greater Poland was fully reintegrated with Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s. The region experienced several waves of anti-communist protests and strikes, including the 1956 Poznań protests and
16093-439: Was destroyed by the Teutonic Knights in 1455 during the Thirteen Years' War . The town later belonged to the Potulicki family which provided it with a new Gothic castle in Renaissance style at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1619, Jan Potulicki issued a founding document for the church and parish of the Holy Assumption of Mary. Later it passed to the Grudziński family. In 1665 the town still had Magdeburg rights. The castle
16226-451: Was destroyed during the Swedish invasion in 1657 . The bombardment also destroyed other parts of the city including the town hall . A new church, still standing today, was founded there in 1664 by Andrzej Karol Grudziński. After the rule of the Grudziński family came to an end in 1688, the Działyński family came into power. From 1709 to 1711, a plague beset the area. According to incomplete church records, approximately 1,650 people died as
16359-454: Was established in Poznań. Activities included secret Polish schooling , secret Catholic services, printing and distribution of Polish underground press , sabotage actions, espionage of German activity, military trainings, production of false documents, preparations for a planned uprising, and even secret football games. The Polish resistance provided aid to people in need, including prisoners, escapees from camps and ghettos and deserters from
16492-400: Was formed out of the northern part of Kalisz Voivodeship. However more far-reaching changes would come with the Partitions of Poland . In the first partition (1772), northern parts of Greater Poland along the Noteć (German Netze ) were taken over by Prussia , becoming the Netze District . In the second partition (1793) the whole of Greater Poland was absorbed by Prussia, becoming part of
16625-402: Was granted to Mieszko III the Old . The eastern part, with Gniezno and Kalisz , was part of the Seniorate Province centered in Kraków , granted to Władysław II . However, for most of the period the two parts were under a single ruler, and were known as the Duchy of Greater Poland (although at times there were separately ruled duchies of Poznań, Gniezno, Kalisz and Ujście ). It was one of
16758-498: Was occupied by the Margraviate of Brandenburg . In 1331, during the Polish–Teutonic War of 1326–1332 , the Teutonic Knights invaded central and eastern Greater Poland, however, the Poles defeated the invaders at Kalisz and an indecisive battle was fought at Konin . The Teutonic Knights soon retreated. King Casimir III the Great regained parts of northwestern Greater Poland, including Drezdenko in 1365 and Wałcz , Czaplinek and Człopa in 1368. Poland still attempted to recover
16891-421: Was occupied by the Teutonic Knights . Złotów was mentioned in 1370 in the chronicle of Jan of Czarnków . In 1370, Złotów was granted Magdeburg rights while under Polish rule. According to the last will of Polish king Casimir III the Great after his death in 1370 his grandson, Casimir IV, Duke of Pomerania , was to inherit the lands of Dobrzyń , Bydgoszcz , Kruszwica , Złotów and Wałcz as fiefs . Złotów
17024-467: Was operated in Żabikowo , where mostly Poles were imprisoned, but also Luxembourgers, Dutch, Hungarians, Slovaks, Americans, Russians and deserters from the Wehrmacht , and many were tortured and executed. The Polish resistance movement was active in the region, including the Union of Armed Struggle , Bataliony Chłopskie , Gray Ranks and Home Army . The Polish Underground State was organized, and in July 1940, even an underground Polish parliament
17157-413: Was part of the Flatow district in the Prussian Province of West Prussia . In 1871, a railway line from Piła (then Schneidemühl ) was completed. Around this time many local people emigrated to America, including many members of the local Polish community. Despite the Germanisation policy of the Prussian authorities, local Poles founded several organizations, including the People's Bank ( Bank Ludowy ),
17290-430: 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
17423-437: 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
17556-449: 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
17689-407: 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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