Germany.
At the end of the First World War the W�rttemberg monarchy broke down: William II of W�rttemberg refused the crown � but also refused to abdicate � under pressure from revolutionaries who stormed the Wilhelm Palace. The Free State of W�rttemberg was established, as a part of the Weimar Republic. Stuttgart was proclaimed the capital.
In 1920 Stuttgart became the seat of the German National Government (after the administration fled from Berlin, see Kapp Putsch).
Under the Nazi regime, Stuttgart began the deportation of its Jewish inhabitants in 1939. Around sixty percent of the German Jewish population had fled by the time restrictions on their movement were imposed on 1 October 1941, at which point Jews living in W�rttemberg were forced to live in 'Jewish apartments' before being 'concentrated' on the former Trade Fair grounds in Killesberg. On 1 December 1941 the first deportation trains were organised to Riga. Only 180 Jews from W�rttemberg held in concentration camps survived.
During the period of Nazi rule, Stuttgart held the "honorary title" Stadt der Auslandsdeutschen (City of the Germans living outside of the Reich).
During World War II, the centre of Stuttgart was almost completely destroyed in Allied air raids. Some of the most severe bombing took place in 1944 carried out by Anglo-American bombers. The heaviest raid took place on 12 September 1944 when the Royal Air Force bombed the old town of Stuttgart dropping over 184,000 bombs including 75 blockbusters. More than 1000 people perished in the resulting firestorm. In total Stuttgart was subjected to 53 bombing raids, resulting in the destruction of 68% of all buildings and the deaths of 4477 people.
The Allied ground advance into Germany reached Stuttgart in April 1945. The French 5th Armored Division, French 2nd Moroccan Infantry Division and French 3rd Algerian Infantry Division, began their drive on Stuttgart on 18 April 1945. Two days later, the
