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

Results of 1928 elections:

Answer 2

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, 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

Question 3

What problems did democratic parties face from 1924-28?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

What trivial issues did the government of Luther face and what did these problems prevent?

Answer 4

In 1926, the government of Luther collapsed due to a dispute over the Weimar Republic flag or the Old imperial flag which was ordered to be kept by president Hindenburg. These ‘trivial issues’ meant governments couldn’t plan for the long term as most struggled to last over a year

Question 5

Who was Herman Müller and what did he prove?

Answer 5

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

Question 6

What were the setbacks of the 1928 Grand coalition?

Answer 6

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 and it only really survived due to Müller and Stresemann’s relationship

Question 7

What were the features and developments of the SDP?

Answer 7

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 8

What were the features and developments of the Centre party?

Answer 8

• 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 9

Henrich Brüning

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Who did the DDP appeal to and why was their support in decline?

Answer 10

Its appeal was mainly to academies and professional groups and 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 11

What were the features of the DVP and how did gustav stresemann help them?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Who did the DVNP mainly attract support from and why did they go back to being anti democratic after 1928?

Answer 12

• 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 13

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

Answer 13

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

Question 14

How did the Munich putsch cause the NSDAP to decline?

Answer 14

They declined after the 1923 Munich putsch as Hitler went to jail and stormtroopers were banned and even when he was released, he wasn’t allowed to speak in public until 1927

Question 15

How were the KDP influenced by the Soviet Union?

Answer 15

• 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 16

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

Answer 16

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 17

What was the impact of Hindenburg’s election?

Answer 17

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 18

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

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Who was Hans Luther?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

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

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What were Hindenburgs political views?

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Which Chancellor spent the longest time in office?

Answer 22

Wilheim Marx of the centre party spent 2 years 26 days in office from May 1926 - June 1928

Question 23

What was the shortest period a chancellor was in office for?

Answer 23

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

Question 24

When was the grand coalition formed?

Answer 24

June 1928

Question 25

What roles had hindenburg played before in political life?

Answer 25

He was regarded by the right as a war hero and national treasure after the batter of Somme, and he was a field Marshall and reached supreme commander

Question 26

Why was hindenburg given the nickname ‘erzatkaiser’ after the election?

Answer 26

Him in office seemed a major step away from Parliamentary democracy

Question 27

How did Hindenburg have a stabilising influence?

Question 28

How did Hindenburg have a destabilising impact?