<P> Germany lost the war because the country ran out of allies and its economic resources were running out; support among the population began to crumble in 1916 and by mid-1918 there was support for the war only among the die - hard monarchists and conservatives . The decisive blow came with the entry of the United States into the conflict, which made its vast industrial resources available to the beleaguered Allies . By late summer 1918 the German reserves were exhausted while fresh American troops arrived in France at the rate of 10,000 a day . Retreat and defeat were at hand, and the Army told the Kaiser to abdicate for it could no longer support him . Although in retreat, the German armies were still on French and Belgian territory when the war ended on 11 November . Ludendorf and Hindenburg soon proclaimed that it was the defeatism of the civilian population that had made defeat inevitable . The die - hard nationalists then blamed the civilians for betraying the army and the surrender . This was the "Stab - in - the - back myth" that was unceasingly propagated by the right in the 1920s and ensured that many monarchists and conservatives would refuse to support the government of what they called the "November criminals". </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (October 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The growing post-war economic crisis was a result of lost pre-war industrial exports, the loss of supplies in raw materials and foodstuffs due to the continental blocus, and the loss of the colonies, along with worsening debt balances, but above all, the result of an exorbitant issue of promissory notes raising money to pay for the war . Military - industrial activity had almost ceased, although controlled demobilisation kept unemployment at around one million . In part, the economic losses can also be attributed to the Allied blockade of Germany until the Treaty of Versailles . </P>

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