Germany Weimar Political And Govrnmental Flashcards
why was a new constitution necessary?
-revolution from above - german Kaiser abdicated new governemnt lef by Prince Max Baden installed as chancellor, tehy hoped teh new democratic govenmnet would bring sympathy when the war ended.
-the main parties SPD and central party demanded for a new ocnstitution that was more liberated
- the military led by Hinderburg and Ludendorff agreed that a new constitution would divert blame to the new gov
revolution from below- a left wing coaltion Ebert until elction held by National Constituent Assembly.
The Weimar Constitution
spd and zp won the largest number of seats in national constituent assembly and therefore had the greatest influence over the new constitution- created 1919
key features of the weimar constitution
universal suffrage
president was to be elected every 7 years
president appointed the chancellor
chancellor had to work with people in the elected representatives to pass laws
election to the reichstag were based on proportional represenation
people could pass laws directly through plebiscites
civil rights were enshrined in the constitution
right to work for workers
article 48 emergency powers
strengths of the new constitution
provided democratic freedom for people
unification of the army
union rights for collective bargaining
weaknesses of the constitution
the use of proportional representation meant that no party could ever gain a majority
the splits between the political parties and unwillingness to compromise meant that coalitions rarely lasted long
article 48 could be used unfairly the president also had power over the army
Hindenburg used the powers 60 times in 1932
how far was the failure of Weimar due to political parties?
it was the fragmentation between the political parties and refusal of other parties in working together created a tendency to have coalitions and there had been 20 seperate coalition governments and the longest gov was only 2yr
- the moderate parties were weak DVP led by Stresman only achieved 10% vote
some parties didnt support the republic at all like the extremist NSDAP and KPD
the rise of extremist parties- left
in nov 1932 KPD had gained 100 seats in Reichstag
the marxist party was collaborating with Stalin and USSR
teh red front had over 130000 members, there was numerous street fights with Nazi SA
the rise of extremist parties- right
in nov 1932 the NSDAP had 196 seats in Reichstag Hitler won 30% of vote in 1932 presidential election
nazism emerged from the defeat of the first world war
how did ebert strenghen the republic?
he worked with the Weimar system to improve pay and rights of germays workers
he made compromises with the army and right wing civil service and judiciary.
how did ebert weaken the republic?
his acceptance of tov and reperations were unpopular
ebert- groener pact gave the army too much independence
he used emergency powers toom any times 1923-24
died at a crucial time enabling a conservative nationalsit to take place
how did stresman strenghthen the republic ?
played a key role in salvaging the economy during the crisis in 1923-24
persauded the Peoples party to support the republic adopted policy of coopertion with Britain and France to make concessions
what concessions did Stresman achieve ?
the Dawes plan
the french withdrew from the ruhr
the locarno pact 1925
treaty of berlin 1926
young plan 1929
what weaknesses did Stresman have to his government?
his policies were not populr with the right wing at home. a public referendum was organised against the young plan 1929
what strengths did Hindenburg have to his gov?
played a key role in survival of weimar between 1925-29
he had the support of the right
he appointed Muller as chancellor whcih broke the suppose divisions in politics
what weaknesses did Hindnburg have to his gov?
was not fully convinced by the weimar republic
he was the president who appointed Hitler
