Chapter 7 Flashcards
Overall political trend 1924-28
The years 1924 to 1928 were much calmer than the immediate post-war years.
Political violence receded, extremist parties attracted less support in elections and the trauma of hyper-inflation had been successfully treated. In 1925, Hindenburg, a staunch opponent of the republic, was elected as its President.
Outcomes of 1924 elections
There were two elections in 1924. These elections indicated a return of greater support for the parties that supported the Weimar Republic - the SPD, DDP, DVP and Centre:
• Over 61 per cent voted for pro-republican parties in May 1924, and 67 per cent in December.
The May 1924 election was the first contested by the Nazis, when they won 6.5 per cent of the vote. By December the Nazis’ vote share was down to
3 per cent.
• On the left, the Communist Party also saw its fortunes fall after May 1924.
• Whilst the nationalist political parties of the right began to accept the republic and work within it, rather than against it, they found their electoral position weakening from December 1924. The conservative right-wing DNVP joined a Reich coalition government for the first time in January 1925.
What did the 1924 elections show?
Even so, the political developments of 1924 showed that the democratic parties were struggling to provide stable governments that commanded widespread support. Right-wing anti-republican parties were still in a position to do political damage to the Republic.
Outcome of 1928 election
In the 1928 election, support for extremist and anti-republican parties declined even further. The Nazis (NSDAP) made little impression on the national political scene in 1928. Their share of the vote went down even lower than in
1924. With 2.6 per cent of the vote and winning only 12 seats. the NSDAP trailed behind obscure minor parties such as the Bavarian People’s Party and the Reich party of the German Middle Class. The previously unheard-of Christian National Peasants and Farmers’ Party did almost as well as the Nazis, winning nine seats.
The communist KPD, however, saw a revival of its electoral support in 1928.
KPD deputies elected in Reichstag May 1924 vs 1928
May 1924:62
1928:54
SPD deputies elected in Reichstag May 1924 vs 1928
100-153
Coalition governments during the period
There were seven coalition cabinets between November 1923 and March 1930 (see Table 2). Governments in the Weimar Republic’s so-called ‘golden age, therefore, were scarcely more stable than those in the years 1919-23, despite the fact that support for the anti-democratic parties of the extreme left and extreme right was falling. Coalition governments throughout the short history of the Weimar Republic were inherently unstable.
How many governments between 1919 and 1932 had had majority support in the Reichstag?
Only six of the twenty-three cabinets between 1919 and 1932 had majority support in the Reichstag and many minority governments only survived as long as there was some semblance of unity between the parties that made up the coalitions.
Effect on policy of political system
In this situation, governments could not plan for the long term. Instead, they tended to muddle along from issue to issue. The historian Gordon Craig has written that government in the Weimar Republic resembled an endless cabinet crisis, with more time and energy expended on the task of filling ministerial chairs than in governing the country:
What was the flag controversy?
Sometimes, seemingly trivial issues could wreck a coalition cabinet. In 1926, for example, the government of Luther collapsed after a dispute over flags. When President Hindenburg ordered that the old imperial flag, with its black, white and red colours should be flown alongside the new republican tricolour (black, red and gold) at all German consulates in other countries, the resulting dispute led to the collapse
of the government.
The German flag
The Weimar Republic adopted a new flag when it was established in 1919.
This was a tricolour flag of black, red and gold. It replaced the old imperial flag of black, white and red. Flags became a symbol of political allegiance in the Weimar years, with anti-Weimar, nationalist groups continuing to use the old imperial flag.
Who was Hermann Muller?
Hermann Muller (1876-1931) was an SPD politician who had been
Foreign Minister from 1919 to 1920 and Chancellor in 1928. As Foreign Minister, he was one of the German signatories of the Treaty of Versailles. He had a reputation for being a calm, hard-working politician but he lacked charisma.
Conflict between parties
The problems of establishing and sustaining a stable coalition government arose because the number of workable combinations of parties was limited.
The SPD and the DNVP would not serve in the same cabinet and the more moderate parties did not have enough seats to command a Reichstag majority. The formation of the broadly based Grand Coalition in 1928, led by Hermann Müller of the SPD, appeared to offer the potential for a more stable government. It was, indeed, one of the longest-lived coalitions of the Weimar era, remaining in office until March 1930. Even this coalition, however, was fraught with divisions. Although the government was established in June 1928, it was not until the spring of 1929 that the parties involved finally agreed on the government’s policies. There were ongoing disputes over the budget and over foreign policy, and the government only survived because of the strong working relationship between Müller and Stresemann, the Foreign Minister.
What opportunity did political parties have in this period?
The quieter and more prosperous conditions of the years 1924-28 provided the pro-democracy parties with an opportunity to try to establish a stable democratic system that could be supported by the majority of
Germans.
Why did political parties fail to establish a stable democratic system during this period?
That they largely failed to do so was due to a number of factors:
-Firstly, deputies in the Reichstag did not represent a particular constituency; instead, under proportional representation, deputies were chosen from party lists to collectively represent a large area. There was thus no direct connection between a deputy and his or her constituents. -Secondly, the party list system gave party committees control over Reichstag deputies. Deputies were not allowed to display any individuality but had to behave according to the dictates of their party bureaucracies. The result was that the Reichstag became a rather sterile debating chamber remote from the concerns of ordinary voters.
-The leaderships of the main pro-democracy parties were also at fault.
Factional rivalries weakened many parties. When leading party members became ministers in coalition cabinets, party committees would not allow them any flexibility to operate on their own initiative. Party leaders often gave higher priority to protecting the interests of their own party, and the interest groups they represented, than to the wider national interest. This brought the parliamentary system into disrepute and support for democratic institutions suffered as a result.
SPD during this period
Through the years 1924-28, the left-wing SPD remained the largest single party in the Reichstag. It was the party that had taken the leading role in the revolution of 1918 and the establishment of the Weimar Republic. It therefore had a vital interest in the success of democratic government. Yet the SPD participated in only one of the six coalition cabinets that were established in these years. Although it had been in the process of becoming a thoroughly reformist, moderate party since the 1890s, it could not let go of the revolutionary Marxist rhetoric that had been its trademark since its foundation in the 1860s. This hangover from the past tended to make the SPD rather inflexible on important issues and unwilling to make the kind of compromises that participation in coalition governments involved. It therefore tended to be a party that was more comfortable in opposition than in government. The SPD had close links with the trade unions and appealed mainly to industrial workers. It had limited appeal to young people and to women, and had no support among farmers, agricultural workers or the Mittelstand.
Centre Party during this period
The Centre Party had been established to defend the interests of the Roman Catholic Church in the German Empire and this remained its priority in the Weimar Republic. As a party based on religious affiliation, however, its appeal crossed class and occupational boundaries. It was supported by industrial workers and industrialists, farmers and their landlords, together with professional groups such as teachers. This broad-based appeal made the party more flexible and pragmatic than the SPD, but also tended to cause divisions over social and economic issues. The Centre Party was vital to the success of Weimar democracy and no coalition government was formed without its participation. There was an important leadership change in 1928, however, which reflected a growing drift to the right. The new leader, Heinrich Brüning, was less committed to parliamentary democracy than Marx, his predecessor.
The DDP during this period
The liberal DDP was in decline by the mid-1920s. Its appeal was mainly to academics and professional groups, and it gave an impression of being composed of worthy intellectuals who had limited political experience. It was also increasingly riven by internal disputes and had great difficulty in conveying clearly and unequivocally what it stood for. It was, nevertheless, a party committed to the success of parliamentary democracy and participated in all of the coalition governments of this period.
How much did the SPD participate in gov 1924-28?
The SPD participated in only one of the six coalition cabinets that were established in these years.
The DVP during this period
The conservative DVP, like the DDR, was committed to parliamentary democracy and also participated in all the coalition cabinets of the period. It had support amongst academics but its main support came from industrialists.
The DVP provided the leading politician from 1924 to 1929, Gustav Stresemann, but after his death in 1929 the party drifted to the right and increasingly became a narrow pressure group promoting the interests of big
business.
How did the DNVP increase influence?
The conservative, nationalist DNVP broadened its appeal in the 1920s beyond its traditional base amongst landowners in the east of Germany. By the mid-1920s, it had attracted support from industrialists, professional groups and even some industrial workers. It was anti-democratic and nationalist, with its main aims being restoration of the monarchy and dismantling of the Treaty of Versailles. As an anti-Weimar party, the DNVP refused to join coalitions most of the time. However, growing diversity in the party led to increased divisions over policy and tactics, with many of its newer and younger members being willing to compromise with democratic parties. The decisions to join the Luther cabinet in 1926 and the Marx cabinet in 1927 were, therefore, a significant change in the party’s tactics.
Limits to increases in DNVP influence
In the 1928 Reichstag election, however, the DNVP suffered a significant loss of support, which encouraged the right in the party to return to their anti-democratic ways. When Hugenberg was chosen as party leader in 1928, the shift to the right was confirmed. It was Hugenberg who, in 1929, led the DNVP into an alliance with the Nazis and paramilitary groups in the campaign against the Young Plan. Henceforth, the DNVP returned to its blind opposition to the Weimar Republic.
What was Mein Kampf?
(meaning ‘My Struggle’)
Hitler’s autobiography and a statement of his beliefs; it became required reading for all members of the Nazi Party
The NSDAP (Nazi Party) 1923-27
After the failure of the Munich Putsch in 1923, the Nazi Party entered a period of decline, but also of reflection and reorganisation. While Hitler was in prison he wrote Mein Kampf and also took the opportunity to think about Nazi Party tactics. He came to the conclusion that the route to power was not through an armed overthrow of the Weimar Republic - even though paramilitary violence was still to be an essential component of the Nazis tactics - but through winning mass support. The Nazis could not hope to win power if they did not have the support, or at least the acquiescence, of the army and other key groups among the elite.
Hitler was released from prison early and set about rebuilding the party, although he was severely hampered by the fact that the party and its Stormtroopers were banned organisations. Until 1927 he was not allowed to speak in public. He used the time to assert his undisputed control over the Nazi Party, to reorganise it and to re-orientate its campaigning.
