Failure Of Democracy In The Weimar Republic

Question 1

Germany had been defeated at the end of WW1 and a new democracy came into being in Germany. Elections were held in which all Germans over the age of 20 had the vote. There were separate elections for the ________ and for Head Of State, ________. The leader of the Reichstag was called the __________.

Answer 1

Reichstag
President
Chancellor

Question 2

Why did the Democratic Weimar Republic fail? (3)

Answer 2

1. )Germany did have a history of democracy. It had been ruled by a Kaiser and Germany was used to authoritarian leadership.
2. )The system of democracy was not fully supported by many judges, the powerful military and big business.
3. )There were many Political parties in Germany. No party could win a complete majority of seats in the Reichstag. Between 1919 and 1932 there were 15 chancellors. This meant the government did have a strong enough governmental to deal with Germany’s problems.

Question 3

Why were people unhappy with Weimar? And who did they turn to?

Answer 3

They could not cope with economic crisis and many Germans blamed it for the poor economy. So some turned to Hitler’s Nazi Party and it came to an end when Hitler took over power in 1933.