Weimar Government Flashcards
What was the President?
- Elected every 7 years
- Article 48
- Similar to Kaiser
What was the Chancellor?
- Appointed by President
- Head of government
- Came up with new laws that the Reichstag voted on
What was the Cabinet?
- People in charge of certain areas of government
- e.g economy
- Led by chancellor
- Come up with new laws to propose to Reichstag
What was the Supreme court?
- Independent body used to interpret constitution
- However, judiciary usually right wing - lacked political independence
What was the Reichstrat?
- Assembly of representatives of the 17 states
- Gave advice and reject new laws
- Could be overridden by Reichstag
What was the Reichstag?
- Deputies elected by all germans over 20
- Germany’s parliament and deputies elected every 4 years
- Voted on whether bills should become law
What were the strengths of the Weimar Constitution?
- Election of president
- President had 7 year terms - stable
- Proportional representation - everyones voices heard
- Article 48
- Universal suffrage
- Fundamental rights for workers
What were the weaknesses of the Weimar constitution?
- Article 48
- Appointment of Chancellor and Cabinet
- Bill of rights - more protests and less stability
- Splinter parties
- Proportional representation
What social problems did the Republic face at the start?
- Mass demobilisation
- Food shortages
- Shock end to WW1
- Workers unrest wanting more reform
- Lack of support from different social groups
What political problems did the Republic face at the start?
- Political unrest both left and right wings
- Political assassinations
- Political impact of Treaty of Versailles
- Less support for the Republic by 1920
What were the economic problems of the Republic at the start?
- Deficit spending
- War debt
- Inflation
- Reperations
What foreign policy problems did the Republic face at the start?
- Treaty of Versailles
- Land loss e.g. Alsace-Lorraine
- Isolation in foreign policy
- Tensions with France
Why was the legacy of the First World War a potential problem?
- Growth in government debt and inflation
- Stab in the back myth + unexpected defeat
- Treaty of Versailles
- Printed too much money
- Groups on fixed incomes - discontented
- Weimar = national humiliation
- November criminals blamed
Why was the nature of the German Revolution a potential problem?
- SPDs governments suppression of communist uprising (spartacists)
- Ebert- Groener deal
- Umnrevolutionary revolution
Why was the Weimar constitution a potential problem?
- Proportional representation
- Article 48
- Inclusion of principles of welfare state
- President could bypass Reichstag
- Elites may turn against it - See it as too radical
- Coalition governments too likely
Did the Weimar constitution establish a sound structure for democracy in Germany?
- Country now parliamentary democracy
- elections held Jan 1919 for German Constituent Assembly
- Universal male and female suffrage
- Proportional representation -> voting for party not a person
- Assembly met in Weimar Germany + wrote constitution led by liberal lawyer Hugo Preuss
Who was the first president and chancellor of the coalition government? (Weimar)
President - Ebert
Chancellor - Scheidemann
Why was the Weimar constitution a potential problem and the impacts?
- Proportional representation
- Article 48
- Inclusion of principles of welfare state
impacts : - President can bypass reichstag
- Elites can turn and consider it too radical
- Coalition governments likely
Describe the Bavarian People’s Party? BVP
Leader : Heinrich Held
- Upholds Bavaria’s interests
- Conservative but generally supported Republic
Describe the German Democratic Party: DDP + did they support the Republic
Leaders: Walther Rathenau + Hugo Preuss
- Support from Middle class
- Intellectuals + businessmen
- Supported Republic
Describe the National People’s Party: DNVP + do they support republic
Leaders: Karl Helfferich + Alfred Hugenburg
- Right wing from old conservative parties + racist and anti-semantic groups (Pan German league)
- Monarchist + Antirepublican
- Land owners + small farmers
Describe the German People’s Party (DVP)
+ whether they support republic
Leader: Gustav Stessemann
- Conservative + monarchist
- Initially suspicious of Weimar + voted against
- From 1921 - supporter of parliamentary democracy
- Support from protestant middle and upper classes
Describe the German Communist Party : KPD + whether they supported Republic
Leader: Ernst Thalmann
- formed in 1919 by extreme left wing Spartacists
- Anti republican
- Supported revolutionary overthrow of society
- Working class support
- Strengthened by defection of many USPD members 1920
Descrihe the National Socialist German Workers Party : NSDAP + whether they supported Republic
- Leader: Adolf Hitler
- extreme right wing formed in 1919
- Anti republican, Anti Sematic
- Strongly nationalistic
- until 1930, support from lower middle classes
Describe the German Social Democratic Party: (SPD) + whether they supported Republic?
- Leader: Friedrich Ebert and Philip Scheidemann
- Moderate left wing socialist movement
- Working class + trade unions
- strongly supported parliamentary democracy
- Opposed to revolutionary demands of the more left wing socialists like the USPD
Describe the Independent German Social Democratic Party: USPD + whether they supported republic
- Leader: Karl Kautsky + Hugo Haase
- broke away from SPD 1917
- radical elements of German Socialism
- split by 1922
Describe the Centre Party + whether they supported Republic
- Leaders: Matthias Erzberger and Heinrich Bruning
- Created in 19th century to protect interests of roman catholic church
- Support from aristocratic land owners to christian trade unionists
- Committed to Republic
- 1920s sympathetic to Right Wing
