Mourning card portrait of German President Ebert
The flames of revolution had begun to spread across Germany before the Armistice of 11 November brought the First World War to an end. State Government after State Government collapsed and, finally, realising that his monarchy had lost control, the Kaiser abdicated. On 9 November he handed over power to the moderate socialists, led by Friedrich Ebert. That same day a German Republic was proclaimed. In order to maintain order Ebert sought the aid of the army and, with its help, put down a number of workers uprisings, which earned him the hatred of the far left. However, his actions demonstrated the central leadership that the National Assembly felt was essential to Germanys survival and on 11 February 1919 at Weimar he was elected president of the Republic. He died of appendicitis on 28 February 1925 and was succeeded by von Hindenburg
