In November 1918, a parliamentary republic was proclaimed in Germany. The Weimar Republic, as it came to be known after the town in which its constitution was developed, was associated with a progressive political system, and a set of social compromises including a relatively advanced welfare state. Yet it was born out of turmoil and defeat, under near civil-war conditions; it was hampered by a harsh peace settlement, and an unstable economy; it was consistently subjected to attacks from both left and right, as large numbers of Germans rejected democracy as a form of government; and little over fourteen years after its inception, the Weimar Republic was ended when Adolf Hitler, as a constitutionally appointed chancellor, inaugurated one of the worst regimes known in human history. The disastrous demise of Weimar democracy has cast an inevitable shadow over interpretations of its course: whatever one may make of long-term interpretations of German history, it is in the Weimar Republic that the immediate causation of Hitler's rise to power has to be sought. Some accounts tend to suggest Weimar democracy was foredoomed from the start; others place far greater weight on the mistakes and decisions of individuals in the closing months in 1932–3, or on the effects of the slump after 1929. Some historians emphasise the contribution of individuals; others stress the importance of constraining, structural factors, and the limitations placed on freedom of manoeuvre and decision-making, particularly in the closing stages.