Unified Germany and its capital Berlin

In the above view of 1919 two Berlin landmarks are pictured that became symbols of German unity:
the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag.

As a consequence of the 2^nd Reich's defeat in World War I the Social-Democrat
Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a republic on November 9, 1918, addressing a crowd from one of the Reichstag's balconies. This first German republic became known as the Republic of Weimar (Pictures right and left).

It was in this small but well known Thuringian town - fearing revolutionary upheaval in the capital Berlin - where an assembly conferred about Germany's new constitution. The National Assembly eventually adopted the so called Weimar Constitution on August 11, 1919. Although this first Republic only lasted 14 years, its constitution was very modern if not progressive in establishing the women's right of vote.

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