Nature of government Flashcards
What principle governed the structure of government in the Weimar Republic?
System of proportional representation-meant members in the reichstag corresponded to party votes
What powers did the president have in the Weimar Republic?
-The authority to exercise considerable amounts of power under article 48
-head of state & supreme commander of the armed forces
-Power to dismiss the reichstag and call new elections
How long was a presidential term in the WR?
7 years
How often were the reichstag re-elected in the WR?
4 years
What powers did the reichstag have in the WR? How many votes were needed for representation?
1-power to pass laws
2-parties got one seat for every 60,000 votes (democracy)
What were the powers of the chancellor in the WR?
-Head of gov
-chooses ministers to run the country
-presents laws to the Reichstag (yet needs a majority to pass these)
What were the Reichsrat and what could they do in the WR?
-Members of the 18 Lander
-Can veto a law passed by the Reichstag unless it has a 2/3 majority or more
What was the Lander? What was their administrative purpose?
-18 local regions, each of which has a local parliament (Land). Runs education, police and judiciary. (eg Bavaria, & Prussia)
-Federal laws overrule the laws of the Land if they conflict
What kind of state was the Weimar Republic?
A federal state (Federal structure of governance)
Describe administration in the Weimar Republic
decentralised
What individual rights were protected in the Bill of rights?
-Freedom of association, speech and religion
-forbidden censorship
-equality before the law
-Freedom of expression
What social rights were protected in the bill of rights?
-The right to work: the gov should ensure financial stability & employment
-welfare provision for housing, the disabled and orphans
What was another positive feature of the Weimar constitution (Other than rights)?
-It contained checks and balances to try and make sure that no part of the political system could become too powerful
-It was very democratic with an elected head of state and a parliament elected by proportional representation
What principles of control or criticisms are there regarding the Weimar constitution?
-Nature of presidents power was extreme, with article 48 allowing them to suspend civil rights in an emergency
-proportional representation led to a fractionating party system
What evidence is there of principle’s of control being evident in the Weimar government’s actions?
The use of the Reichswehr/Friekorps to mitigate political opposition
What principle dictated the Nazi’s governmental structure?
Fuhrerprinzip- There remained a strict hierarchical order. At each level of gov from Hitler down, there was one person clearly in charge. They had power over everyone else on that level and took responsibility for problems, then reported up.
How many decisions were made by Hitler himself?
He personally issued 34 decrees in his 12 years in power
How was the policy of Fuhrerprinzip central in substantiating Hitlers control?
It was essential in meaning people were restricted from making their own decisions or initiative.
Describe the principle of ‘Working towards the Fuhrer’
Those working under Hitler needed to conform to the broad principles of what Hitler wanted, and run their office/ministry/sphere accordingly
-Those who demonstrated the most loyalty to Hitler were given more power and responsibility, such as Joseph Goebbels (Minister of propaganda)
-This helped Hitler preserve his own authority
Were there similarities in the structure of Nazi gov to that of the WR? Give an example
-Government structures from the previous WR operated in the years of Nazi rule, but their power was illusory
-The Reichstag remained but it only passed 7 laws from 1934-45
-Hitler also kept the cabinet of ministers and the ministries from the WR (nice level of continuity)
What ministers from the WR did Hitler keep?
-Foreign minister from chancellor Von papen and chancellor Von Schleicher’s governments- Von Neurath
How were the power of former weimar ministers and ministries restricted in Nazi Gov?
Old ministries ran alongside the new ministries and offices of the Führer chancellory.
eg from 1934 the Büro Ribbentrop operated alongside Von Neurath’s Foreign ministry, and loyal Nazi’s such as Von Ribbentrop were entrusted with diplomatic missions, not Neurath
What evidence is there of Hitler preventing groups of people from working together?
-Hitler abolished cabinet meetings, and ministers worked individually, sending draft laws and policies to each other on paper.
-The cabinet met 72 times in 1933, but only 4 times in 1936, last time in 1938
Who largely ran the administration of Nazi government?
The civil service, under their new minister, William Frick, in the ministry of the interior
-Frick’s civil service frequently came into conflict with the Fuhrer chancellory