republic · Germany and Central Europe
Free State of Saxony
Origins
King Frederick Augustus III abdicated in November 1918, and workers' and soldiers' councils briefly took power. A Landtag was elected in 1919, and in 1920 a constitution established Saxony as a free state within the Weimar Republic, with Dresden as capital.
Rule and society
Saxony's industry made it a stronghold of the Social Democrats and Communists. In 1923 the government of Erich Zeigner, including Communists, was deposed by the federal government with troops. The Nazis took control in 1933, with Martin Mutschmann as Reich governor. Dresden was devastated by Allied bombing in February 1945, and Saxony fell in the Soviet occupation zone.
Decline and legacy
After 1945 Saxony was restored as a Land in the Soviet zone and in 1949 in the German Democratic Republic. In 1952 the GDR abolished the Länder, dividing Saxony into the districts of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz (renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1953); it was re-established in 1990.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Free State of Saxony was part of Weimar Republic1918 CE – 1933 CE
- Free State of Saxony was part of Nazi Germany1933 CE – 1945 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Free State of Saxony. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-state-of-saxony
- MLA
- “Free State of Saxony.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-state-of-saxony. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Free State of Saxony.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-state-of-saxony.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Free State of Saxony’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-state-of-saxony (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻