Theme 1- Political and Governmental Change 1918-1933

Question 1

What happened after the Holy Roman Empire collapsed?

Answer 1

The 39 German states were grouped together as the German Confederation. In the years that followed, Germany and Austria competed for the leadership of this confederation.

Question 2

What did Otto von Bismarck do?

Answer 2

From 1862 he worked to exclude Austria from German affairs and set out to unify the remaining German states under Prussian leadership. In January 1871, King Wilhelm 1 of Prussia was proclaimed Kaiser of Germany and this empire was known as the Second Reich.

Question 3

What were the powers of the Kaiser like in the Second Reich?

Answer 3

Was a hereditary monarch who appointed and dismissed the government. Could dissolve the Reichstag and controlled foreign policy and the armed forces.

Question 4

What were the powers of the Reichstag like in the Second Reich?

Answer 4

Members were elected by universal male suffrage and could agree to or reject laws proposed by the Kaiser of government. Could not remove the Chancellor or the government.

Question 5

What was the Reichsrat?

Answer 5

An assembly of ambassadors from the 26 state governments and had veto on legislation passed by the Reichstag.

Question 6

What type of regime was the Second Reich?

Answer 6

Semi-absolutist as the Reichstag didn’t control the government but the government had to cooperate with the Reichstag or its legislation wouldn’t be passed.

Question 7

What was the ‘revolution from above’?

Answer 7

The Kaiser abdicated and a new government led by Prince Max of Baden was created. It was hoped that this new democratic government would encourage sympathy from the Allies so Germany would be treated more fairly in the peace negotiations.

Question 8

What was the ‘revolution from below’?

Answer 8

Defeat and economic crisis led to a mutiny in the German fleet and it quickly spread to Germany’s major cities. They demanded that the Kaiser abdicate as he wasn’t trusted to negotiate a fair peace.

Question 9

What were the other reasons why a new constitution was necessary?

Answer 9

Germany’s main political parties demanded a new constitution which gave them a greater say in the management of the country.
The military agreed to a new constitution as they hoped that the new government would be blamed for losing the war instead of them.

Question 10

What was significant about Germany’s political parties?

Answer 10

There were a large number of them with some very extreme anti-republican parties (KPD, NSDAP) as well as quite a few central parties (SPD, DPP) that supported the republic.

Question 11

When was the Weimar Constitution adopted?

Answer 11

31st July 1919

Question 12

What were the main similarities between the old constitution and the Weimar Constitution?

Answer 12

• The Head of State could appoint and dismiss Chancellor and other members.
• Head of State could rule without the Reichstag in an emergency (Article 48)
• Laws needed the approval of the majority of Reichstag deputies.

Question 13

What were the main differences between the old constitution and the Weimar Constitution?

Answer 13

• The Head of State now had to be elected.
• The Chancellor and other ministers were now responsible to the Reichstag.
• All women and men over 20 could vote.
• Reichsrat could now be overruled by the Reichstag.
• Social rights introduced as well as ‘All Germans equal before the law’.

Question 14

Overall did the constitution change a lot or not?

Answer 14

It was quite a major change with the Reichstag gaining more power and the head of state being elected although most powers of the head of state remained the same.

Question 15

What was the voting system of the Weimar Republic?

Answer 15

Proportional representation.

Question 16

What did Article 48 allow the President to do?

Answer 16

In an emergency, the President could rule by decree and suspend the constitution (including civil rights).

Question 17

What civil rights were included in the Weimar Constitution?

Answer 17

Rights such as freedom of expression and assembly, universal suffrage, social rights like guaranteeing workers the right to vote or welfare if work is unavailable.

Question 18

What was the political system of the Weimar Republic?

Answer 18

A federal system where political power was divided between the national and state (Länder) governments. Each of the 17 states was responsible for police, education and law and order in their area.

Question 19

What were the main strengths of the new constitution?

Answer 19

• Freedom of speech, protest and the press were all included and there was universal suffrage.
• Established in law that men and women were considered equal citizens.
• German state took responsibility for welfare.
• Central government was given greater powers.
• Germany had a national army for the first time since 1871.
• Proportional representation and the President was elected.

Question 20

What were the main weaknesses of the new constitution?

Answer 20

• Every government was made up of a coalition and these rarely lasted very long.
• Reichstag deputies were selected by their parties after it was apparent how many seats they had achieved so the Reichstag members had greater dependence on their party than on the German people.
• There was vast potential for any president to abuse Article 48 and undermine the democratic process of the Reichstag. Weimar President nicknamed the Ersatz Kaiser (replacement Kaiser) as their powers were so similar.

Question 21

What did Ebert’s use of Article 48 show about its existence in the Weimar Constitution?

Answer 21

He was able to suppress the uprisings by workers in Saxony, Thuringia and the Ruhr showing that in its early years, Article 48 was a stabilising factor for the Weimar Republic. He also used it during the economic crisis in 1923.

Question 22

How much did Hindenburg use emergency powers?

Answer 22

Used them 5 times in 1930, 44 times in 1931 and 60 times in 1932. He was a firm believer in authoritarian government.

Question 23

What divisions were there between different left wing parties?

Answer 23

The KPD (Communists) wouldn’t work with other left wing parties and even though the SPD was really strong, it had to form coalitions with centrist and right wing parties. The KPD suggested a general strike to oppose Hitler in 1933 but the SPD opposed it.

Question 24

How were the coalitions weak?

Answer 24

They were unstable and frequently collapsed. There were 20 separate coalitions between 1919 and 1933 and the longest government only lasted 2 years. At vital times political parties couldn’t agree and emergency powers were used to bypass the Reichstag.

Question 25

Which parties didn’t support the republic?

Answer 25

The DNVP opposed the Weimar Republic until 1925, the DVP was hostile towards it until the mid 1920s, the more extreme parties, the KPD and NSDAP, never supported the republic or parliamentary democracy.

Question 26

How popular was the KPD?

Answer 26

It won 17% of the vote and had over 360,000 members in 1932. The Red Fighting League had over 130,000 members and there were numerous street fights with the Nazi SA.

Question 27

How popular was the NSDAP?

Answer 27

The Nazis won 33% of the vote in the November 1932 election and it appealed to the middle class, women and Protestants. It particularly became popular because of the government’s failure to deal with the economic crisis. The paramilitary wing (SA) won support from those fearful of communism.

Question 28

How did extremist parties weaken the Weimar government?

Answer 28

• The violence between them (in June 1932 alone, 99 people died and 125 were wounded in these fights) showed the Weimar government’s failure to ensure law and order which undermined its legitimacy.
• They were both anti-republic and popular with significant power in the Reichstag.
• Drew support away from moderate parties.
• Polarised German politics.

Question 29

What were the 3 main political parties and did they support the republic?

Answer 29

The SPD, German Democrats and ZP. They formed many coalitions which were often based on trust and good relations between the leaders despite the extremist parties. The SPD was most popular until 1932 and was moderate.

Question 30

Did the coalitions achieve much?

Answer 30

Germany began a naval reconstruction program and negotiated the Young Plan which reduced reparations introduced at Versailles.

Question 31

Which leader strengthened the republic the most and why?

Answer 31

Probably Gustav Stresemann as his leadership persuaded many in the People’s Party to support the new constitution. He also oversaw major economic reform in 1923-24 which saved the German economy and he achieved major foreign policy concessions although they weren’t popular with the right wing at home.

Question 32

Which leaders weakened the republic most and why?

Answer 32

Brüning whose economic policies like deflationary policies worsened the economic crisis in 1930.
Von Papen who was never poplar and lifted the ban on the SA to gain Hitler’s support. He used emergency powers to take over the state government in Prussia and persuaded Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as Chancellor.
Von Schleicher who used the Nazis as a support base and wanted to end the power of the Reichstag and create a presidential government.

Question 33

What did Ebert do as President?

Answer 33

Worked with right wing politicians like Stresemann to keep the republic going through the crisis years of 1919-24. The Ebert-Groener Pact secured the future of the regime in the early years. However this Pact gave too much independence to the army in the long run and his acceptance of Versailles and reparations were unpopular.

Question 34

How did the army undermine the republic?

Answer 34

They were very popular and widely respected and they campaigned for undemocratic goals like the Navy League being active in the German League for the Prevention of the Emancipation of Women. Until 1918, men that had served in the military for several years had a right to a government job which meant the government was full of undemocratic hierarchical ex-soldiers. The stab in the back myth meant people blamed weak politicians for losing WW1 as people believed the army was invincible.

Question 35

How did the Freikorps undermine the republic?

Answer 35

Demobilised soldiers from WW1 formed the anti-communist Freikorps. While they fought to preserve the republic from communism and helped crush the Spartacist uprising, they helped legitimise the use of political violence, specifically against the political left.

Question 36

How did the civil service undermine the republic?

Answer 36

They were never considerably loyal to the government yet they were meant to lay the foundations of a stable government as they were experienced (Ebert and others relied on them).

Question 37

How did the judiciary undermine the republic?

Answer 37

Judges from the Kaiserreich still held their important positions even though they despised the Weimar Republic. They frequently interpreted the law to allow violent, right wing fanatics to go free or face little punishment. This meant that anti-republicans like the Nazis could get away with crimes that opposed the government. Punishments were also a lot harsher for the left than the right. Between 1919 and 1922, there were 376 political murders. Only 4 of 22 murders committed by the left were unpunished compared to 326 of 354 done by the right.

Question 38

What is an example of judiciary bias against the republic?

Answer 38

When the finance minister Rathenau was murdered in 1922, the law was strengthened to deal with conspiracy and the operation of extremist parties. However this law was by-passed completely in Bavaria and although a gang of conspirators were responsible, only one man was brought to justice for the murder.

Question 39

What did Hindenburg do as President?

Answer 39

He had the support of the right as he was a respected military general so this gave them a reason to support the regime. Appointed SPD leader Müller as Chancellor in 1928 which showed that divisions in politics could be overcome. However he was very reliant on Article 48, using it 60 times in 1932. This undermined the democratic process and meant that in a sense, democracy died before Hitler came to power.