Free State of Brunswick

The Free State of Brunswick (German: Freistaat Braunschweig) was a German state during the Weimar Republic (1918–1933) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). It was formed after the abolition of the Duchy of Brunswick in the early days of the German revolution of 1918–1919. Its capital was Braunschweig (Brunswick). The Free State was de facto abolished under the Nazis in 1933 and formally disestablished in November 1946, after the Second World War. Most of its territory became part of the new state of Lower Saxony, with two small areas going to Saxony-Anhalt.

Like most of Germany, Brunswick went through a period of unrest after the end of World War I. The last duke of Brunswick, Ernest Augustus, abdicated peacefully in November 1918, some violence continued into 1919 before the supporters of a republican state won out over members of the far left who wanted Brunswick to become a council republic. The Social Democrats were generally the strongest party in Brunswick's single-chamber parliament and provided the majority of its minister-presidents. The Nazi Party began gaining strength in 1930 and attained full control in 1933.