Multi-Millionaire Murderers: Escalated Tension in the Weimar Republic

By: Bella Kephart

The political climate in the Weimar Republic only continues to escalate as tensions grow between the Social Democratic Party and its dissenting parties, including the Industrialist Party and the Centre. Earlier today, President Friedrich Ebert was brutally assassinated when his house was detonated. After an investigation, the assassin was revealed to be multi-millionaire Hugo Stinnes, a member of a dissenting party. “...[The President] was consolidating power in a manner that was not conducive to a democratic government,” Stinnes replied when asked about his motives behind the assassination. 

While Stinnes’ sentence was being decided by the committee, the assassination of Eduard Bernstein was reported, another member of the Social Democratic Party. The assassin of Bernstein was quickly revealed to be Gustav Stressman, a dissenter. His reasons were almost identical to Stinnes’: “I saw the SDP becoming more corrupt, so I decided to slowly chip away at it until everyone was dead.” The sentences of both Stinnes and Stressman are still being determined. Stressman denied having any involvement with Ebert’s murder, insisting that he had worked alone. 

The assassinations of Ebert and Bernstein followed an assassination attempt on another party member, Rosa Luxemburg, who survived. The reasons for Luxemburg’s assassination are unclear, rather than an apparent dislike for her party affiliation and values. The violent acts arose out of a directive that was passed earlier in the day granting more power to the chancellor, and the SDP by default. Peace does not seem to be on the horizon for the Weimar Republic, who remains in the midst of electing a new president and dealing with hunger strikes from the German citizens. 

The violence in the Weimar Republic is ironic considering the pacifistic nature of the Marxist Social Democratic Party, who split from a pro-war counterpart during World War I. The SPD generally prefers addressing issues using union empowerment and incremental change rather than resort to violent revolution. The dissenting parties, on the other hand, disagree with a peaceful approach to government; this stark contrast between the parties has given rise to endless strife which has impeded political productivity severely. The International Press Corps wishes them the best in their political endeavors.

Weimar Republic Moving Forward

By: Allison Gerth

During the very first committee in which political figure heads and government officials of the Weimar Republic convened, there were multiple assassination attempts, heated debates, and more. After over an hour of standstill in the committee between different political groups engaging in conflict, a directive that was finally proposed by President Fredrich Erbert was passed. The directive was “democratically elected through universal suffrage,” in the words of the President, Fredrich Erbert, and it included a list of twelve voters who would vote on all matters to pass resolutions and directives. These voters included six people of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, while the other six people were made up of different smaller parties like the Industrialists and the Centre. However, before this directive passed, other people in this crisis room were plotting against Rosa Luxemburg. Both hit men hired failed to kill Rosa Luxemburg. While one got away, the other was killed before he could disclose who `killed him”. One hitman shot a 1.2 millimeter toxin from an umbrella attempting to poison her, but failed. During this commotion with Luxembourg one of her hired bodyguards was tragically shot and killed. After the attempted assassination took place, Ms. Luxemburg stated, “I am very happy to still be alive today, and I hope to keep fighting for change.” One thing that Luxemburg does not know is that there are people working against her. Karl Helfferich and Joseph Wirth were working together in the means of assassinating Luxemburg. Helfferich and Wirth worked together in order to come up with the idea to shoot the toxin out of the umbrella. Even though this attempt failed, people are in the process of still trying to assassinate Luxemburg. She needs to hire new body guards before it’s too late.