This podcast is the first of a series of five on developments in Germany in the inter-war period.  Here we explore the origins of the Weimar Republic and its troubled first five years.  It will look at how the Republic was created after the abdication of the Kaiser and the armistice to end the war.  It examines the strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar constitution set up by Friedrich Ebert.  It looks at the problems caused by the Treaty of Versailles for the new Republic.  The content then covers the challenges presented by the left wing Spartacists and right wing nationalists in Germany.  It finally considers the problems of 1923 when Germany was occupied by the French and Belgians in the Ruhr, passive resistance led to hyperinflation and Hitler sought to overthrow the government in the Munich Putsch.