1.3. Weimar Constitution Flashcards
Who won the January 1919 elections with what percentage of the vote?
SPD (38%)
Who were the 2nd and 3rd parties after the 1919 election?
Z (20%)
DDP (19%)
What was the turnout of the January 1919 elections?
83%
Who was Germany’s first President?
Friedrich Ebert
Why could Weimar claim to be the most democratic country in Europe?
Universal Suffrage
Proportional Representation
Why was Weimar Germany named such?
Because the assembly met in Weimar due to the instability in the capital caused by the January revolution
What did the workers’ and soldiers’ councils do upon the formation of the Weimar Assembly?
Handed over their power
What did the new Weimar Constitution begin by saying?
‘Political Authority derives from the people’
What was Article 54?
Guaranteed judicial independence
What was Article 48
Gave the President the power to rule by decree
How often did Ebert use Article 48 whilst in power?
136 times
What personal rights were protected under the Weimar Constitution?
"All Germans are equal before the law" "Personal liberty is inviolable" "The right of property is guaranteed" "Full religious freedom" "Censorship is forbidden"
How many Länder was Weimar made up of?
17
Why couldn’t Prussia dominate Weimar?
It was shrunk to roughly the same size as other Länder full local democracy meant more autonomy separate from other districts
No state had more than 40% of seats in the Reichsrat
In what circumstances could referendums be called?
By the President, the Reichstag or 1/10th of the people
Give 3 weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution
Proportional Representation
Rule by Presidential decree
Survival of undemocratic institutions
Why was proportional representation bad?
Impossible to win a majority of seats made it difficult to govern which destabilised the country
How many coalitions did Weimar have?
20
Which surviving institutions were undemocratic?
Civil Service
Judiciary
Army
How was the civil service undemocratic?
Retained right to freedom of opinion
Generally were opponents of Weimar
Recruited mainly from the aristocracy
Civil Servants wielded enormous power within fractured coalition governments
How was the judiciary undemocratic?
Judges normally monarchists
Bias against left wing criminals
How as the army undemocratic?
Army Corps right wing
Military put down left wing revolts but stood back from right wing revolts
Hans Von Seeckt, Army commander in Chief, believed the army did not owe loyalty to Weimar but the German Reich (temporary Vs permanent)
