The Jews in Weimar Germany

The Jews were less than one percent of the population of Germany during the Weimar Republic. The Weimar Republic was the period from the end of World War I to the rise of National Socialism.

Under the Weimar Republic, 1919–1933, Jews for the first time played a major role in politics and diplomacy, and strengthened their position in financial, economic, and cultural affairs. Hugo Preuß was Interior Minister under the first post-imperial regime and wrote the first draft of the liberal Weimar Constitution.Walther Rathenau, the chairman of General Electric (AEG) and head of the German Democratic Party (DDP), served as foreign minister in 1922, when he negotiated the important Treaty of Rapallo. He was assassinated two months later.

Already by 1914, the Jews were well represented among the wealthy, including 24 percent of the richest men in Prussia, and eight percent of the university students.[45]

See also Weimar Culture