German Revolution
The sailors' revolt which took place during the night of 29 to 30 October 1918 in the naval port of Wilhelmshaven spread across the whole country within days and led to the proclamation of a republic on 9 November 1918 and to the announcement of the abdication of Kaiser Wilhelm II. After a renewed demand by the Supreme Command, the new German government headed by Friedrich Ebert accepted the harsh terms of the Entente for a truce.
Ebert was a Social Democrat, whilst Erzberger, who negotiated the armistice, was from the Catholic Centre Party. These parties had enjoyed an uneasy relationship with the Imperial government since Bismarck's era in the 1870s and 1880s. They were well represented in the Imperial Reichstag, which had little power over the government, and had been calling for a negotiated peace since 1917. Their prominence in the peace negotiations would cause the new Weimar Republic to lack legitimacy in right-wing and militarist eyes.
Read more about this topic: Armistice With Germany
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—Gertrude Atherton (1857–1948)
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