The Golden Age Of The Weimar Republic, 1924-28 - Political Devlopments And The Working Of Democracy

Question 1

What happened in the May and December 1924 election?

Answer 1

• 61% of the electorate voted for pro-republican parties in May and this rose to 67% in December
• the Nazi party contested but only gained 6.5% of the vote in May and 3% in December
• the communist party fortune fell whilst nationalists found their electoral position weaken

Question 2

How many seats (deputies) did key parties win in 1924?

Question 3

What happened in the 1928 elections?

Answer 3

• support for some extremists and anti-republicans decreased further - the Nazi party made little impression and the NSDAP only won 12 seats with 2.6% of the vote, lower than that of 1924.
• however, the communist party (KPD) saw a revival of electoral support, winning 54 seats
• previously unheard parties such as the ‘Christian national Peasants and farmers party thrived, beating the Nazi Party that won 9 seats

Question 4

How many seats (deputies) did key parties win in 1928?

Question 5

What problems did democratic parties face from 1924-28?

Answer 5

They were struggling to form stable governments, meaning right wing anti-republicans could cause political damage

Question 6

What were the problems of coalition governments in this period from 1923-28?

Answer 6

Governments couldn’t plan for the long term as there was an ‘endless cabinet crisis’ with ‘trivial issues’ e.g. in 1926, the government of Luther (DDP, Z, DNVP, DVP, BVP) collapsed due to a dispute over the Weimar Republic flag or the Old imperial flag which was ordered to be kept by president Hindenburg

Question 7

Who was Herman Müller?

Answer 7

He was the leader of the SDP, founded the 1928 Grand Coalition which remained until March 1930, showing the potential for stable governments

Question 8

What were the setbacks of the 1928 Grand coalition?

Answer 8

Parties in this coalition had ongoing disputes over the budget, foreign policy etc and it was not until spring 1929 that every aspect of policy was agreed, despite the coalition being established in June 1928. Also, it only really survived due to Müller and Stresemann’s relationship

Question 9

What were the features and developments of the SDP?

Answer 9

they remained the largest single party from 1924 - 1928 yet were only involved in 1/6 coalitions, they retained the Marxist rhetoric from the 1860s and had close links with TU’s, therefore mainly appealing to industrial workers and gaining no support from the Mittlestand or farmers

Question 10

What were the features and developments of the Centre party?

Answer 10

• Its priority remained on defending the interests of the Roman Catholic Church in the German Empire which was supported by industrial workers and landlords mainly
• no coalition was formed without them as they were more pragmatic and flexible than the SPD

Question 11

Who was Henrich Brüning?

Answer 11

He became the leader of the Centre Party in 1928 and was less committed to parliamentary democracy than Marx

Question 12

What were the features and developments of the DDP?

Answer 12

They were in decline by the mid 1920s, its appeal mainly to academies and professional groups. They were committed to the success of parliamentary democracy and participated in all coalition governments of this period, however were increasingly riven by internal disputes

Question 13

What were the features and developments of the DVP?

Answer 13

• They were committed to parliamentary democracy and participated in all coalition cabinets
• Their supports mainly came from industrialists
• they provided the leading politician from 1924-29 in Gustav Stresemann however after this death they drifted to the right

Question 14

What were the features and developments of the DNVP?

Answer 14

• by the mid 1920s, they had attracted support from industrialists, professional groups and even industrial workers, with their main aims being to restore the monarchy and abandon the Treaty of Versailles
• they joined the Luther cabinet in 1926 and the Marx cabinet in 1927, however this led to a significant loss of support in 1928 which caused them to go back to being anti-democratic
• Hugenburg became leader in 1928 and shifted the party to the right

Question 15

What did Hugenburg do when he became leader of the DNVP?

Answer 15

In 1929, he led them into an alliance with the Nazi’s, against the Young Plan

Question 16

What were the features and developments of the NSDAP (Nazi party)?

Answer 16

• They declined after the 1923 Munich putsch as Hitler went to jail and stormtroopers were banned - even when he was released, he wasn’t allowed to speak in public until 1927
• at the end of 1927, the NSDAP only had 75000 members and 7 deputies in the Reichstag
• in 1928, 18% their vote share came from rural areas, however they lost 100000 votes in total
• in October 1929, party membership grew to 150000

Question 17

What were the features and developments of the KDP?

Answer 17

• They were heavily influenced by the communist party of the Soviet Union, e.g. in 1923, KDP leadership was told by Moscow to launch a communist revolution in Germany (Hamburg and saxony) however these were ruthlessly suppressed by the army
• after 1924, Soviet leadership said the KDP’s main priority was to attack the SPD for betraying the working class

Question 18

When did Ebert die?

Answer 18

28th February 1925

Question 19

How was the new president elected after ebert’s death?

Answer 19

They were elected by a full national election - in the first round, no candidate gained a majority but Jarred won. In the second round, Jarred stood down for Hindenburg and SPD voters were encouraged to vote for Marx in order to beat hindenburg. Despite this, Hindenburg won with 48.3%, Marx came second with 45.3% whilst Thãlmann was reduced to only 6.4%

Question 20

What was the impact of Hindenburg’s election?

Answer 20

It led to some anti-democratic parties gaining more influence however he played a constructive role in retaining parliamentary democracy, but by the 1930s, Hindenburg was becoming impatient with political parties so he ended up using article 48 regularly. Democrats and left wing supporters dislike his presidency

Question 21

What part was Wilhelm Marx leader of and how many coalitions did he lead?

Answer 21

He was the leader of the Centre party and led 4 coalitions

Question 22

What party did Gustav Stresemann lead and how many coalitions?

Answer 22

He led the DVP from august 1923 and led 1 coalition in this period

Question 23

Who was Hans Luther?

Answer 23

He was chancellor from Jan 1925-26 and identified with no party but led a centre right coalition

Question 24

What was the discrepancy for % of support for pro-Weimar parties from 1919-1928?

Answer 24

Their seats decreased from 83%-50% from 1919-24 however from Dec 1924 - May 1928 it saw a resurgence from 50%-58%

Question 25

What were Hindenburgs political views?

Answer 25

He was a symbol of the past, authoritarian and very right wing and his election veered away from parliamentary democracy

Question 26

Which Chancellor spent the longest time in office?

Answer 26

Joseph Wirth of the Centre Party formed a coalition with the SPD, Z and DDP which lasted 1 year, 188 days

Question 27

Which Chancellor spent the shortest time in office?

Answer 27

Hermann Müller of the USPD spent only 86 days from 27th March 1920 - 21st June 1920 and his coalition included the SPD, DDP and Z