The Weimar government Flashcards
who was the president
Ebert a social democrat and then Hindenburg
the president would be elected every 7 years and they controlled army and chancellor as well as being able to pass laws
proportional representation
the amount of votes you get is they amount of say you have in the parliament and amount of seats you get
it was good as it was easy to a say
bad because it was hard to get a majority meaning parties had to form coalitions but parties had different views and ideas
how many seats were there in the Reichstag
423 each colour represented a different political party
you need to have over …. to pass a new law in the reichtag
50%
what is left wind
communist - everyone is the same
what is right wing
fascist - everyone is different
Friekorps
consisted mainly of ex soldiers and unemployed men and some criminals
began to spread in 1918 - there were a dozen of these groups who were well armed and disciplined
used by the WR to take down spartacists
they targeted and killed many left wingers in and around berlin
Spartacist uprising
the were communists who wanted Germany to be run by the working class
they believed power and wealth should be shared equally
January 1919
100,000 workers went on strike as a protest in the centre of Berlin
WR called upon the Freikorps to put down the uprising
over 100 workers were killed it became known as the bloody week
led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg
what was the kapp putch
it was an illegal attempt to overthrow the weimar government in March 1920
led by wolf gang kapp
led 5,000 Friekorps into Berlin and Kapp declared a new government
why did the kapp putch happen
the feikorps did this because they couldn’t believe they had lost the war and that germany and been defeated (as they walked back home in german uniforms and with the german flag)
what did president ebert do as a result of the kapp putch
By a general strike in Berlin. There were no trains, gas, water or electricity throughout the city and it was clear Kapp was powerless. Strikes soon spread across much of the nation.
Five days after the putsch began, Kapp resigned and fled to Sweden
how did the spartacist and kapp putch suggest the weimar is strong
made them seem like they had power ans status as they managed to retrieve order and stop people creating problems
What was the main difference between the President and the Chancellor?
The President was the head of state, and mostly did ceremonial work (a bit like the Queen). The Chancellor was involved with the day-to-day work of government (like the Prime Minister)
what was article 48
part of the constitution that gave the president power to rule in an emergency
he didnt have to consult with the reichstag
what did the chanvcellor need from the reichstag
support of over half of it otherwise he wasnt allowed to pass laws
