the Weimar constitution challenges and support Flashcards
what was the weimar constitution heavily influenced by?
the democratic ideas of the Western powers
what was a German influence on the Weimar constitution?
proportional representation
the federal structure
what is proportional representation?
system which allocates parliamentary seats in proportion to the number of votes
what was the federal system?
where power and responsibility is shared between central government and regional governments
what was the outcome of the vote for the Weimar Constitution?
262 for
75 against
what did the Weimar Constitution define Germany as?
a democratic state
- it was a REPUBLIC
how many years would a President serve their term?
7 years
what powers did the President have?
- the power to dissolve the reichstag
- power to appoint a chancellor
- was the supreme commander of the armed forces
- power to use Article 48
what was Article 48?
gave the President the emergency power to rule by decree
what were the two houses in German parliament?
the Reichstag
the Reichsrat
what was the Reichstag?
the main representative assembly and law-making body in Weimar Germany
after how many years were elections held?
every 4 years
what was the Reichsrat?
house made up of representatives from all of the 17 state regional governments
could only initiate or delay proposals
what did the Länder have control over?
education
policing
what was the Bill of Rights?
a list of individual freedoms
what freedoms did the Bill of Rights entail?
- freedom of speech
- freedom from censorship
- equality for all Germans
- religious freedom
what was the role of the Supreme Court?
to settle interpretations of law
what were the issues of the Weimar Constitution?
- the introduction of PR
- the use of Article 48 to bypass democracy
- lack of evolution in the traditional institutions
why was PR seen as the reason for the rise of the Nazis?
it had allowed smaller radical parties (such as the Nazis) to get a foothold in German politics and then grow
why did PR make it harder for government to pass laws in parliament?
PR lead to the establishment of many parties in parliament which meant it coalitions were more common
it was difficult for a single party to gain full control of the Reichstag
why did PR lead to political instability?
so many parties meant that coalitions were so common
this meant a different set of political ideologies at each election
13 chancellors in the span of 15 years
difficult for policy to be continued
how was Article 48 an issue?
it undermined the democratic nature of the constitution
allowed the President to rule by decree
completely undemocratic
it was very influential in Hitler’s rise to power
why was Article 48 used sparingly during the 1920s?
the Reichstag always met so it emergency measures were uneccesary
how was Stresemann influential in political stability?
he had urged parties to work together during the crisis years
he had ensured that political stability existed both domestically and internationally
