1918–1945 → → Capital Stuttgart 1918–1920 (first) Wilhelm Blos | Flag Coat of arms (1922) Government Republic 1933–1945 (last) Christian Mergenthaler | |
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Similar Waldburg Zeil, Waldburg Wolfegg Zeil, Kingdom of Württemberg | ||
The Free People's State of Württemberg (German: Freier Volksstaat Württemberg) was a state in Württemberg, Germany, during the Weimar Republic.
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1918 revolution
As Germany underwent violent revolution near the end of World War I, the Kingdom of Württemberg was transformed from a monarchy to a democratic republic without bloodshed; its borders and internal administration remained unchanged. King Wilhelm II abdicated on 30 November 1918. Following the introduction of its new constitution and the Weimar Constitution in 1919, Württemberg was re-established as a member state of the German Reich.
In comparison to the political turmoil that plagued Weimar Germany, political development in Württemberg was driven by continuity and stability. The three legislative periods of the Württemberg parliament from 1920 to 1932 each ran the full prescribed length of four years, unlike at the federal level. The social democrats lost their influence in Württemberg early in the state’s history, with conservative coalitions forming government from 1924 to 1933. Despite the many financial crises that affected Germany during the 1920s and 1930s, the economic development of Württemberg proceeded better than in many other German states and its capital – Stuttgart – became a regional centre of finance and culture.
1933–1952
With the Nazi seizure of federal power in 1933 and the following elimination of all non-Nazi organisations (Gleichschaltung), Württemberg and all other German states were abolished, in spirit if not in law. It was merged briefly into the "gau" of Württemberg-Hohenzollern. After World War II, Württemberg was split between the US and French Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and became parts of two new states: Württemberg-Baden (run by the Americans) and a smaller Württemberg-Hohenzollern run by the French. These two states were merged with Baden in 1952 to form the modern German state of Baden-Württemberg.
The former Free People's State coat of arms was lately used by the Porsche family as inspiration to create the logo of Porsche company, moved from Austria to Stuttgart in the aftermath of World War II and the beginning of West German Miracle.