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Treaty of Versailles and the End of World War I
A political campaign leaflet in support of the Social Democratic Party describing German inflation after the Treaty of Versailles, 1932.

A political campaign leaflet in support of the Social Democratic Party describing German inflation after the Treaty of Versailles, 1932.

This election campaign leaflet supports the Marxist SPD (Sozialdemokratic üdernahm, or Social Democratic Party) in the 1932 Reichstag, or German parliamentary, elections. Note the line of individuals waiting for food and the high prices of bread, margarine, and coffee. The SPD inherited a suffering Germany, devastated by the reparations they owed to the Allied Powers and mired in massive debt as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1933, increasingly powerful Chancellor Adolf Hitler used the Enabling Act, a law that allowed him to bypass the Reichstag when making decisions, to ban the SPD.

English Translation:

The Social Democracy (Party) took over a "well-ordered" Empire in 1918.

[[object Object]]

[[object Object]]

Ration Card 32055

in the amount of

1/2 Pound of Margarine

from a Berlin Magistrate trusted/approved City Margarine Seller location

Valid until the 29th of February 1916

Whosoever procures a ration card through dishonest means is in danger of punishment. The transfer of this ration card or the goods allotted thereby is forbidden.

[[object Object]]

Valid in Berlin

the County of Teltow

Amount of Ration

1/2 Pound Coffee

Merchant's Stamp

Non-Transferrable! Details on back!

XI 03162

Coffee = Replacement = Card

Valid in Berlin, the neighboring cities and

the County of Teltow and Niederbarnim

Amount of Ration

1/2 Pound of Coffee=Replacement

Merchant's Stamp

Non-Transferrable! Details on back!

XI 03162

[[object Object]]

Greater Berlin

Butter Card

for

[[object Object]]

until the 8th Week

Valid on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, [[object Object]]

Not transferable.

Details on the back!

XLV

[[object Object]]

1/4 Pound Butter Valid from the 10.April until the 16.April

1/4 Pound Butter Valid from the 17.May until the 23.May

1/4 Pound Butter Valid from the 24.June until the 30.June

1/4 Pound Butter Valid from the 1.July until the 7.July

1/4 Pound Butter Valid from the 8?.August until the 14.August?

[[object Object]]

Potato Card

for Berlin and Neighboring Areas

Valid for the period of the 21st of January until the 17th of February 1918?

Details on back!

XX 97740

[[object Object]]

[[object Object]]

Daylong waiting for 100 grams of meet or 1/4 of margarine.

[[object Object]]

95 Million Marks (currency) funded Debt (War Bonds)

35 Million Marks fluctuating Debt

130 Million in Debt on the 31st of October 1918

Show full description
Citation Information
Becker, Heinrich, “Die Sozialdemokratic üdernahm 1918 ein Wolhgeordnetes Reich,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/12aa9c107efcbf95019a56319c8d9505.
Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.
Courtesy of Western Michigan University Libraries via Michigan Service Hub.

Tips for Students

For this source, consider:

  • the author's point of view
  • the author's purpose
  • historical context
  • audience

Item 14 of 15 in the Primary Source Set Treaty of Versailles and the End of World War I

Previous ItemNext Item
A painting of German chancellor Otto Von Bismarck meeting French diplomats at Versailles after the Franco-Prussian War, ca. 1871.
An excerpt from a pamphlet featuring President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, 1919.
A clip of video footage of Armistice Day, November 11, 1918.
An excerpt from a speech by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge to the US Senate urging caution about the League of Nations, August 12, 1919.
An excerpt from a speech by President Woodrow Wilson in support of the League of Nations, September 5, 1919.
An advertisement for a mass meeting about the League of Nations titled “Give Her the Key and Lock Him Up,” 1919.
A 1919 map of new national boundaries in Europe as proposed by the Treaty of Versailles.
A clip of newsreel footage of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and soldiers returning home from the Great War, 1919.
A photograph of German delegates listening to the terms of the treaty at the Trianon Palace Hotel, 1919.
A photograph of German diplomats Hermann Mueller and Johannes Bell leaving Versailles after signing the Treaty of Versailles, 1919.
A political cartoon about German attitudes towards the treaty titled “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” 1919.
An excerpt from a pamphlet titled “What Everyone Should Know about the Treaty of Peace,” issued by Berlin’s National Citizens Council, 1921.
A postcard titled “A German Matter of Existence,” 1934.
A political campaign leaflet in support of the Social Democratic Party describing German inflation after the Treaty of Versailles, 1932.
A postcard titled “Never Forget the Shameful Peace at Versailles!,” 1930s.

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