The weimar constitution 1 Flashcards
IGCSE MOCK REV
WW1 lasted from when to when
1914 to 1918
fighting ended with the
armistice
when was the armistice
November 11th 1918
why did the kaiser in germany abdicate
due to winning countries request
what was the name of the kaiser
Whilhelm II
when did the german people elect the weimar government
19 january 1919
how did the german public feel about signing the armistice
they resented admitting defeat to the allies
who was the first president
Friedrich Ebert
in the weimar government, the president would be elected every what years
7
what is the president allowed to do in the weimar government
- choses their own chancellor and head of army
- can dissolve the reichstag, call new elections and suspend the constitution
the new government has a structure of
proportional representation
could the president pass any laws he wanted in weimar germany
no, the reichstag needed to approve them
by who was the president elected
the people of germany ( anyone over 21)
what is proportional representation
when you get the same percentage of seats that you got votes ( if 25% voted for you, then you would have a 25% say in things)
did the president play a part in day to day politics ?
who did
no it was the chancellor
what did the chancellor do
chose all government ministers
head of government in weimar republic
what is article 48
the president could trigger article 48 in an emergency and it would enable the chancellor to pass their own laws without getting the approval of the reichstag
what was the cabinet and what did they do
they were the main decision making body of the government and it was the most important ministers which worked alongside the chancellor
did state governments exist
yes, in every region
who would vote on new laws and how much % would be needed for a law to pass
the parties, and over 50%
what was the parliament made up of
2 houses
the parliament was elected by ___ ____ every ___ years
proportional representation
4
who were the electorate
men and women over 21 that voted
strengths of the weimar constitution (3)
- people gained more rights ( voting,)
- Proportional representation ensured the Reichstag represented smaller parties.
- system was designed to stop someone from taking ultimate power
-the Reichstag and the Reichsrat worked together.
weaknesses of the weimar constitution (4)
- An increase in elections weakened the public’s enthusiasm for voting.
The use of proportional representation meant no single party won a majority in the Reichstag and coalitions were much more common
- Article 48 meant the chancellor could ask the president to pass emergency laws without the support of the Reichstag. ( could be abused)
- The new constitution did not subdue the extremist political parties.
what were the 2 houses in the parliament
- reichstag
- reichsrat
why is it bad that coalitions were happening
more chance of parties disagreeing even more and so going behind each others backs adn doing foul play
what was the constitution before proportional representation/ weimar gov
first past post
what was first past post
whoever got the most votes would be elected which meant there would be less conflict as the majority was for it and that would make it easier for things to happen meaning a more stable government
weaknesses of first past post
not representative of electorate (representatives got all the say)
weaknesses of proportional representation
it is very hard to get a majority of votes as there are so many parties so things get done very slowly
