GERMANY 299 GERMANY 1919 was 93,719,974,200 marks. On Oc- tober 1, 1919, the total loan credits to the- German Government amounted to 90,- 400,000,000 marks. On April 1, 1920, the public debt was increased to 204,- 000,000,000 markb. The German war debt is 517,700,000,000 marks. The an- nual interest on this amounts to about 7,900,000,000 marks. Army. — The total mobilized strength of the army on the date of the armistice of November 11, 1918, was approxi- mately 6,000,000 men. This force was demobilized and toward the end of Jan- nary, 1919, the president of the republic was authorized to raise a provisional na- tional defense army, pending the crea- tion of a permanent defense force. On August 1, 1919, this force numbered 500,000 men. The Treaty of Versailles provided for a total number of effectives in the German army of not more than 200,000, on April 10, 1919. This was to be gradually reduced to 100,000 men. Universal compulsory service was abol- ished, as were the German General Staff and all similar organizations. The re- duction of the defense force began in August, 1919. During this year, how- ever, a number of organizations came into existence on a pretext that they were required to maintain public order. This included Public Safety Police, the Emergency Volunteers, and the Civic Guards. In all, they numbered about 500,000 men. The raising of these forces was contrary to the Treaty of Versailles, and after April 10, 1920, only civil guards and police forces, as existed in 1913, were permitted. Navy. — The Germ.an navy ceased to exist as a fighting force under the tenns of the treaty of peace. The sinking of the ships at Scapa Flow on June 21, 1919, practically put an end to what had been the German High Fleet. Ten bat- tleships, five battle cruisers, and five light cruisers were sunk. Three light cruisers were beached, and 30 destroyers were sunk and 18 were beached. The remaining vessels of the fleet were sur- rendered to the Allies. The Treaty of Peace permits the German government to maintain a navy on a volunteer basis. The fleet may consist of six battleships, six battle cruisers, 12 destroyers, but no submarines ai'e to be built. The total personnel must not exceed 15,000. Education. — Education is compulsory throughout the country. There are about 65,000 public elementary schools, with about 10,500,000 pupils. There are also about 500 private schools. Above the elementary schools rank the middle schools of the towns. Children of the working classes may continue their edu- cation at continuation school.^. The gymnasiums are fully equipped classical schools, preparing pupils in a nine-year course for the university and the profes- sions. There are also higher schools. There are eleven technical high schools, agricultural high schools, and other pro- fessional schools. There are in Germany 23 universities. Colonies. — Germany lost all her col- onies, either by conquest or as a result of the conditions of the Treaty of Peace. These include Togoland, Kamerun, Ger- man Southwest Africa, German East Africa, New Guinea, the Caroline Is- lands, the Marshall Islands, the Ladrone Islands, the German Samoan Islands, and Kiau-chau-China. These colonies had a total area of 1,139.877 sauare miles and a population of 12,968,32'9. Government. — On Nov. 9, 1918, the German Emperor abdicated and Ger« many became a republic from that date. For an account of the formation of the republic see History below. The consti- tution was adopted on July 31, 1919, by the National Assembly at Weimar and was promulgated on August 13, 1919. The constitution provides for a central and state legislature, the central author- ity to have power over foreign relations, defense, customs, duty, taxation, and railroad service, makes provision for an imperial council, to be formed of the rep- resentatives of the component states, and provides for suffrage. All bills, be- fore they are introduced into the Reichs- tag require the assent of the Reichsrat or the imperial council. The principle of the referendum is provided for in the con- stitution. Members of the Reichstag are elected by universal, equal, direct, and secret votes. The Reichstag is elected for four years. The president of the republic is elected bv the entire Ger- man people for a perfod of seven years. Declarations of war and peace are made by the central goveniment. The Reichs- rat consists of 63 members, and the Reichstag, in 1920, of 423 members. The National Assembly, on February 11, 1918, elected Friedrich Ebert president of the republic. History. — What is now the German republic was originally divided among a number of independent races — ^the Ale- manni, Franks, Saxons, Slavs, Avari, and others. Charlemagrie conquered these various tribes, and incorporated them in his vast empire, and the treaty of Verdun, signed in 843 by the sons of Louis-le-Debonnaire. gave Toii'th to the Kingdom of Germany. On the extinc- tion of the Carlovingian family, the mon- archy became elective, and the crown was conferred, in Pll on Conrad I., Duke of Franconia. Tho Saxons renewed, in the person of Otto the Great, the empire
