A major flaw in the Weimar constitution was the proportional representation electoral system, which was an attempt to become more democratic. Democracy comes at the price of a strong government as it is usually difficult to form a stable government in a democracy. This can be manifested by the fact that in the mere period of 14 years, there were 21 different governments and 13 chancellors. This shows that the Weimar government lacked stability and strength which would make it almost impossible for the government to be effective and tackle the problems. How could the government solve the difficult troubles that Germany was facing, when they could not even manage to cooperate and unite? Since, proportional representation is one of the fairest electoral systems, it was impossible to form a strong single party government who had a good hold in the Reichstag and only weak coalitions which could not agree upon a decision was formed. Weak coalitions meant ineffective and incompetent governments. On the other hand, it could be said that the Weimar governments were not as unstable as it is claimed to be. The Weimar constitution has produced effective and stable governments such as the grand coalition which was seen as a strong government and it stood for the longest amount of time. Also, despite the numerous changes in government, the base parties of…
The Weimar Republic faced several problems during the years 1919-24, one being the Spartacist uprising. The Spartacists, a very communist party, were a threat to the Weimar, and became troublesome, making retaliation inevitable. The Weimar government however could not defend themselves in any physical way, so had to depend on the Freikorp, a more right wing group, to defend them and fight off the Spartacists. This proved instability through the government, as they had to rely on someone else to fight their battle.…
Document 10, written by Heinrich Mann, describes the spirits of the German People. He says that their spirits are so worn down because of the conditions that they don’t really care about a democracy anymore because they are so tired and worn down. If no one cares about the democracy than no one is supporting it and that creates instability. Document 3 where a major communist leader calls the Weimar Republic "bloody class terror of the bourgeoisie." Though she is a communist and has very extreme views other in Germany may have had these views of the bourgeoisie as well, such as the lower classes because of their miserable conditions. Clara Zetkin, who was a Communist, has these views and is writing this editorial because she has communist views and believes in a communist state. She would not want a new democracy in Germany; she would want a Communist state. In Document 5 an artist shows how working class misery had the people "arising in armed revolution”. A revolution of the lower class is exactly how the communist believed a Communist state would eventually come to power. Both the picture and the editorial are offering those in the lower classes a view of the world if the communists came to power. Because of the misery of the lower class at the time people did not like the democracy and instead favored the equality and better life of a Nazi ruled Germany…
The new Weimer Republic lacked support from to run a proper democracy, they relied heavily on the Reichswehr and the Freikorps. Although the Reichswehr fought against the communists, they were not loyal to the democratic republic. They believed that they were “Stabbed in the back”, when Ebert’s government (November Criminals) signed the Treaty of Versailles. The population did not recognise the fact that they would not have lasted the end of the war without being entirely crushed. The Reichswehr supported the right, so during the beer hall putsch they refused to defend the new government, they stated “Reichswehr does not fire on Reichswehr. The new government was in between the left and right, however after the war the working class (the majority of the population) tended to support the two extremes, conservative and communist. The new government forced a new constitution to be drawn up, this included article 48- which could suspend the fundamental rights of the citizens if public order and security were seriously disturbed. The new government was due to the treaty of Versailles and the revolution.…
Democracy was a foreign concept to the German people, whose authoritarian tradition had deep psychological and social roots. On 9 November 1918, when the Kaiser’s abdication was announced, and Friedrich Ebert the leader of the Social Democratic Party was entrusted with the German Empire, “The old and rotten – the monarchy – has broken down. Long live the new! Long live the German Republic!” was shouted towards the public. However, familiarity of authoritarian rule and therefore the traditional expectation for the government to take control, make strong decisive decisions and stand as a unified front, was not a feature replicated in the new republican government. One of the problems lay in the new republican constitution of 1919, which guaranteed the basic rights of the German people but also contained weaknesses that undermined its functionality as a democratic constitution. The voting system based on proportional representation was one such weakness. With a…
1) Germany before the Fuhrer. Germany’s defeat at the end of World War I left the nation socially, politically, and economically shattered. The reparation agreements inflicted upon Germany without its’ consent at the end of the war meant that the nation was in complete financial ruin. In the wake of Germany’s defeat, public decent climaxed on the 9th November 1918 during the revolution that took place on Berlin’s Postdamer Platz. This revolution transpired as a result of the public’s culminating discontent towards the imperial monarchy, and lasted up until August 1919, which saw the establishment of the Weimar Republic. In attempts to guide Germany out of economic depression, hostilities grew towards the Weimar due to their failure to fulfil communist revolutionary prophecy. They were also perceived by the Right Wing as those who betrayed Germany by accepting the terms in the Treaty of Versailles. After Germany’s defeat in WWI the nations sentiment was becoming increasingly nationalistic; the people were looking for a leader who would promise economic recovery as well as a restoration of German pride. Hitler and his national socialist party were, in many German opinions, the hard lined party who would deliver such promises.…
A significant problem with the Weimar republic was the fact that it was constitutionally weak; the very nature of the PR system proves this, due to the failure to form a majority government. Parties only needed 2% of votes in order to gain seats. There were also a lot of elections, for example in 1932 there were…
The Weimar Constitution was the biggest threat to the Weimar Republic, because it eventually lead to many problems that would affect the Republic. These were: Hitler’s rise to power against the Weimar Republic, the downfall of the Reichsrat, the passage of the Enabling Act, use of proportional representation, political extremism and the institution of the Reichspräsident. Hitler’s Chancellorship eventually led to the downfall of the Reichsrat and also the passing of the Enabling Act. This would lead to Hitler gaining full control of Germany and the end of the Weimar Republic.…
The National Socialist Party came to power through a series of swift, ruthless and devastating actions which firmly established Germany as a fascist state. The centralisation of power in Germany, known as 'co-ordination' (Gleichschaltung), was initiated on the day of the election and was carried out with such clinical efficiency, that the German state was completely transformed within a matter of months.…
The Weimar Republic, a parliamentary democracy established in Germany after World War I, came to an end when the Nazi Socialists rose to power. Soon after Hitler became the…
This poem immediately begins with the differences in the paths of the two sisters. Maud may have been the achiever, the one chosen to excel and become a success. Maud was the sister who, if not the brightest, was certainly the least adventuresome, and the more dutiful, of the two. The connotation that Sadie stayed at home could be interpreted in a number of ways. Did Sadie live at home with her parents and do nothing as Maud went to college Did she merely stay in their hometown but lived independent of their parents’ home? There is no indication that Maud went away to college and attained any measure of independence just that she attended college and Sadie did not. Maud does not strike one as the type to leave home.…
1923 – Beer Hall Putsch: successful example of Mussolini and weaknesses of Weimar: a) hostility of elites (top army brass, aristocracy, industry); b) limited popular support, and economic problems. c) Nostalgia for Kaiser and Imperial Germany, not used to democracy d) Economic problems: costs of WWI and debts, reparations, new welfare benefits provided by State (health insurance, housing), hyperinflation because of Ruhr crisis. e) Association with defeat in war – Treaty of Versailles, November criminals and stab in the back myth.…
To What Extent Did the Collapse Of the Weimar Republic Lead To The Rise Of Hitler and The Nazi Party?…
There were many different political parties within the Reichstag with opposing views and opinions. There was the Centre Party, with strong catholic values and supporters, this again links back to the tensions within the minorities and a religion also as this was a fairly popular party during this time. There was also the Free Conservative Reich party who were extremely conservative supported by the landowners, the Junkers, and the industrialists, therefore having large support, as well as the Wilhelmine society being predominantly conservative. Then there was the Social Democratic Society (SPD) supported by the workers, this became increasingly the most popular party. Its growing recognition within the Whilhelmine population caused tensions because up until 1980 socialism had been outlawed, however by 1912 it was the largest party in the Reichstag as the urban/industrial Germany was increasing. The standard of living was low o the workers looked to the socialists, essentially a Marxist party they looked for revolution. The want for revolution and the mass support for this party scared the Kaiser causing underlying tensions within the Reichstag. However the SPD were reducing their want for revolution and manifested as trade unions and strikes, although this still caused problems for the Kaiser. Wilhelm II didn’t consult the…
Weimar Republic - the new government (or nation) of Germany established in 1919 out of anger toward the results of WWI. The republic came to an end in 1933.…