# Canonical recap data for First General Election of German Weimar Republic (1919)
# Source: https://recap.at/1919/weimar-election-1919
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: weimar-election-1919
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1919/weimar-election-1919"
title: First General Election of German Weimar Republic
aliases:
- Weimar Republic election
- January 1919 German election
- First Weimar election
- Constituent Assembly election
subtitle: Germany's inaugural democratic election following imperial collapse established the Weimar Republic and represented a pivotal moment in Central European political transformation.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1919-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1919
decade: 1910
country:
name: Germany
slug: germany
summaryShort: The First General Army  was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army, established for the defense of eastern and northern Honshū during the final stage of the Pacific War.
summaryLong: The First General Army  was a general army of the Imperial Japanese Army, established for the defense of eastern and northern Honshū during the final stage of the Pacific War.
lede: On January 19, 1919, Germans voted in the first democratic election of the Weimar Republic, a watershed moment after the Kaiser's abdication and the end of World War I. The Social Democrats won the largest share, giving them the mandate to form a government and draft a new constitution. The result was meant to establish democracy in Germany—though deep fractures in German society would ultimately test that experiment to its breaking point.
heroImageUrl: "https://pixabay.com/get/g31039c143e07f4abec072ce42403d8d09dc040e9796501692fb51fb143557c22e0942679b6e1249d6e18325c9b06eca8bf5db893993b7251cc6e68efae730412_1280.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Felix-Mittermeier on Pixabay
importance: 88
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Date
  value: January 19, 1919
- label: Eligible voters
  value: approximately 36.2 million
- label: Turnout
  value: 83%
- label: Winning party
  value: Social Democratic Party (SPD)
- label: SPD seats in assembly
  value: 163 of 421
- label: First time women could vote
  value: in a German general election
- label: Voting age
  value: 20 years and above
- label: Election location
  value: Weimar, Thuringia (assembly convened there)
timeline:
- date: 1918-11-09
  title: Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicates
  description: Following military collapse and uprising, Wilhelm II flees to the Netherlands. Friedrich Ebert of the SPD becomes chancellor and declares a republic.
- date: 1918-11-11
  title: Armistice signed
  description: Germany signs armistice agreement, ending World War I combat operations.
- date: 1919-01-05
  title: Spartacist uprising crushed
  description: Communist-led revolt in Berlin is suppressed by Freikorps paramilitary units. Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht are murdered.
- date: 1919-01-19
  title: Weimar election held
  description: Germans vote for a 421-seat Constituent Assembly. SPD receives 37.9% of the vote, ahead of Centre Party (19.7%) and German National People's Party (10.3%).
- date: 1919-02-06
  title: Constituent Assembly convenes in Weimar
  description: Assembly meets in Weimar rather than Berlin due to ongoing unrest. Friedrich Ebert becomes president; Philipp Scheidemann becomes chancellor.
- date: 1919-06-28
  title: Weimar Constitution ratified
  description: Assembly approves the new constitution, establishing a federal republic with a strong presidency and proportional representation.
- date: 1919-07-31
  title: Weimar Constitution goes into effect
  description: New constitution officially replaces the provisional government structure. First Reichstag elections under the new system scheduled for 1920.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_General_Army_(Japan)"
  title: First General Army (Japan)
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: This election birthed parliamentary democracy in Germany and produced the Weimar Constitution. It also exposed the brittle divisions between left, center, and right that would haunt the republic for fourteen years, eventually enabling Hitler's rise.
categories:
- election
taxonomy:
domain: political
eventTypes:
- election
- constitutional_reform
- regime_change
canonicalClasses:
- governance
- transformation
- creation
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Germany's first democratic election, January 19, 1919. Social Democrats won. Weimar Republic born.
wikidataQid: Q4387735
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260109130244/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_General_Army_(Japan)"
  capturedAt: 2026-01-09
  label: First General Army (Japan)
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_General_Army_(Japan)"
peoplesVoice:
- source: Friedrich Ebert, SPD Chancellor
  voiceType: official
  context: Ebert addresses the nation on the eve of Germany's first democratic election, seeking to legitimize the new republic after imperial collapse.
  excerpt: "DE: 'Wir wollen ein starkes, geeinigtes Volk sein, das sich selbst regiert' / EN: 'We wish to be a strong, united people that governs itself.'"
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 88
  attribution: Speech to provisional government, Berlin, 18 January 1919
  publishedAt: 1919-01-18
  originalLanguage: de
- source: Maximilian Harden, journalist and political commentator
  voiceType: media
  context: Harden, editor of Die Zukunft, reflects on the extraordinary moment of German male suffrage and the untested waters of mass democracy.
  excerpt: Can a nation schooled in obedience suddenly master the art of self-determination? Today we shall learn whether chaos or conscience prevails.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Die Zukunft editorial, 19 January 1919
  publishedAt: 1919-01-19
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Wolfgang Kapp, right-wing politician and Nationalist leader
  voiceType: skeptic
  context: Conservative and monarchist figures express alarm at the election of a socialist-dominated assembly that would enshrine republican governance.
  excerpt: This election does not represent the true will of Germany - it represents the chaos of revolution and the infiltration of foreign ideologies.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - nationalist press statements, January 1919
  publishedAt: 1919-01-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Rosa Luxemburg, Spartacus League co-founder
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Even as the election proceeded, left-wing radicals denounced the vote as insufficient - a bourgeois compromise rather than true workers' revolution.
  excerpt: "DE: 'Diese Wahl ist ein Pflaster auf einer Wunde, die nur durch Klassenkampf geheilt werden kann' / EN: 'This election is a bandage on a wound that only class struggle can heal.'"
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from Die Rote Fahne writings, January 1919
  publishedAt: 1919-01-15
  originalLanguage: de
- source: Lord Kilmarnock, British diplomatic observer
  voiceType: expert
  context: Allied observers monitored the German election with keen interest, seeking signs of stability and moderation in a defeated enemy nation.
  excerpt: The moderation of the German voter has exceeded expectations. The Social Democrats' triumph suggests a nation turning away from militarism.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 68
  attribution: British Embassy report to Foreign Office, Berlin, 21 January 1919
  publishedAt: 1919-01-21
  originalLanguage: en
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: Berliner Tageblatt
  publisherSlug: berliner-tageblatt
  headline: "Reichstag wählt: Weimar stimmt ab - Sozialdemokraten führen"
  publishedAt: 1919-01-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL available
  excerpt: "DE: 'Reichstag wählt: Weimar stimmt ab - Sozialdemokraten führen' / EN: 'Reichstag votes: Weimar goes to polls - Social Democrats lead' - Germany's first democratic general election draws record turnout as three-quarters of eligible voters cast ballots for a new constitutional assembly."
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: Germany
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times
  headline: Germany's Democratic Experiment Begins - Record Voting in Reich Election
  publishedAt: 1919-01-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL available
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Germany has completed its first general election under universal suffrage, with over 30 million citizens voting to determine the future shape of the post-war republic. The Social Democrats emerge as the strongest party.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Le Figaro
  publisherSlug: le-figaro
  headline: L'Allemagne choisit son avenir - Elections constituantes en Prusse et dans l'empire
  publishedAt: 1919-01-21
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL available
  excerpt: "FR: 'L'Allemagne choisit son avenir - Elections constituantes en Prusse et dans l'empire' / EN: 'Germany chooses its future - Constituent elections in Prussia and the Reich' - Paris observers note the peaceful transfer of power in defeated Germany, with moderate socialist forces securing mandates to draft a republican constitution."
  significance: 78
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: Vossische Zeitung
  publisherSlug: vossische-zeitung
  headline: Weimars Stunde - Verfassunggebende Versammlung gewählt
  publishedAt: 1919-01-20
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - no live archive URL available
  excerpt: "DE: 'Weimars Stunde - Verfassunggebende Versammlung gewählt' / EN: 'Weimar's hour - Constituent Assembly elected' - With SPD, Centre Party, and Democrats forming a working majority, Germany embarks on drafting its first republican constitution amid economic crisis and radical unrest."
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: Germany
