born Feb. 4, 1871, Heidelberg, Ger.
died Feb. 28, 1925, Berlin
German politician.
A journeyman saddler and trade unionist, he became chairman of the German Weimar Republic . Facing threats to the new government, he waged a civil war, assisted by the Freikorps , against Socialists and Communists and suppressed the Kapp Putsch . His authority was weakened in 1923 by the crisis over the Ruhr occupation , his party's withdrawal from the governing coalition, and Adolf Hitler 's abortive {{link=Beer Hall Putsch">Beer Hall Putsch . He died in office.