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
How did the Nazi’s centralise administration?
1934 Law for the reconstruction of the Reich officially terminated the Lander, saying the German people had a unity that overrode regional differences
How was administration partially decentralised under Nazi rule during the War?
-11 new Reichsgau were set up to oversee the Germanisation programme’s implemented in new territories
-Gaultiers (party leaders of regional branches of the NSDAP) became increasingly powerful, they were given control of civil defence measures
-in 1944 Gaultier’s were given control over the local bureaucracy, giving them powers over local businesses
What kind of state was Nazi Germany?
A police state
How did the Nazi gov impose tight levels of control over political matters?
-By using the Gestapo- The secret police set up by Goering in 1933 (absorbed into Himmler’s SS in 1936)
How did the Gestapo and SS extend their level of control?
They established their own judiciary (The peoples courts), that ran alongside the existing court system for political offences
What were the first 3 Gestapo controlled concentration camps established in 1933?
Dachau, Buchenwald & Sachsenhausen
What were the primary functions of the SS?
-intelligence gathering
-policing
-military action
-creating the new order
How did the Gestapo maintain high levels of social and political control?
-Arrested Nazi opponents
-relied on block wardens & informers for info
-upheld the regime with surveillance and repression
What was the principle of Volksgemeinschaft?
The peoples community- The German nation as a racially united body that worked for the common good of the Nation. Individuals were expected to obey the Nazi government and make sacrifices for the nation.
How were seats allocated in the FRG?
Half were allocated via proportional representation. The other half were allocated on a first past the post system
How was the Bundestag elected? What was its function?
-Elected by universal suffrage in elections held every 4 years
-it debated and passed laws
What was the role of the chancellor in the FRG?
The chancellor was head of gov and the most powerful politician- they were appointed by the President and needed the approval of the Bundestag
What was the federal convention composed of?
Half members of the Bundestag, half members of local state parliaments
Describe the powers of the president in the FRG
Mainly ceremonial and symbolic. The president was appointed by a federal convention for a maximum of 2 five year terms
What kind of state was the FRG?
A democratic and social federal state- derived authority from the people (Article 20)
Describe the role of the ACC on administration of gov in the FRG 1945-49
The ACC retained a veto on German law and the new state was not free to determine its foreign policy
How did Adenauer keep coalitions working together?
Via forceful management and working to exclude political opposition- 1953 &1957 he changed voter allocations to make it harder for smaller parties to gain representation
What was so controversial about administration in the FRG?
Year zero approach: kept ex-Nazi’s in federal and regional civil service
What was Adenauer criticised for?
appointing weak ministers whom he treated as political advisors rather than equals
What happened to administration in the FRG?
It once again became decentralised, with the Lander being re-instated & the Bundesrat helping to form laws (had a veto)
How was the SPD-FDP coalition undermined under Brandt?
political infighting
What was the function of the federal constitutional courts in the FRG?
-Upheld basic civil right
-could rule on what was constitutional
-could rule on whether government actions were illegal
what did parties need to gain representation in the Bundestag?
5% of the vote
What civil rights were enshrined in the basic law?
- Equal rights to all German citizens regardless of sex, race, political views, and religion
-Free speech
-Freedom to form unions
-Free assembly, no censorship
-state education for all
How did article 21 serve to preserve democracy?
By dissolving parties deemed unconstitutional and running counter to the democratic nature of the basic law- Adenauer used to dissolve the socialist reich party and the KPD (1952 and 1956 respectively)
Why was Adenauer regarded as running a ‘Chancellor democracy’
1961- Attempts to establish a state controlled TV station
1962- supported the arrests of Der Spiegel journalists
How did the Emergency law of 1968 serve to reduce personal liberties?
allowed greater powers of arrest & surveillance, which could defy constitutional rights
What gained more control during the years of the Second World War?
The SS took over the government administration. SS numbers rose from 250,000 in 1939 to over a million in 1944. The SS also ran Hitler’s ‘racial policy’ of eliminating non-Aryan races from the third reich
What happened to governance at a regional level during WW2? What was the increase?
13 military districts were formed under the leadership of the Reich Defence Commissioners (RVK’s) during peace time
They ran all the Home front activities in the local areas including civil defence, rationing and the Volkssturm.
At the start of the war, there were fifteen Districts in Germany. Two Austrian Districts had been added after the Anschluss of 1938. During the war, four were added, and some Districts had territory added to them from other countries conquered by Germany.
What was the Volkssturm?
The Nazi Home Guard, formed in October 1944. Boys, old-men and those physically unfit for the war were recruited to the Volkssturm
What was established in 1939 that marked an alteration In Nazi structure of Government?
The Ministerial council for the defence of the reich was established to coordinate domestic efforts to support the war effort. It was chaired by Hermann Goering. It was disbanded by November 1939 due to Hitler’s dislike of group meetings.
How was the army’s power in nazi structure of governance elevated in 1939?
Their own ministry to coordinate supplies, troops, etc. Their work was coordinated by the new high commander of the armed forces Wilhelm Keitel
How many prisoners were held in concentration camps during the war?
September 1939: 35,000
December 1942: 88,000
January 1945: 714,211
How did the invasion of the USSR destabilise the Nazi’s control during the war?
-In June 1941, the Nazis turned on the USSR and invaded the Soviet Union. The USSR did not collapse, as intended, and the Nazi’s were forced to fight on two fronts
When did the USA join the war?
1941, December
How can a decline in Nazi control be evidenced by rations?
Rationing became tighter during the years of the War (eg in 1939, an adult was allowed 9.6kg of bread year- this decreased during wartime)
When did Allied forces begin to mitigate Germany’s national control?
In June 1944, Allied forces landed in Normandy and and promptly began to acquire German-occupied territory
What were the Military districts know as?
Wehrkreise- administrative territorial units
