Weimar Politics and Government Flashcards
5 main terms of TOV:
-Loss of land e.g. Alsace ( rich in coal and iron)
- Demilitarise Rhineland.
-Limit to 100k troops.
-Reparations of 132 million gold marks.
-War guilt.
Prince Max’s Government:
-Extended the vote to all men.
-weakened the power of the monarchy by making ministers responsible to gov and not the Kaiser.
-People saw this as fake to gain power.
-Threat of communist revolution.
-Lasted less than a month.
What was the council of peoples representatives and what did it do?
What was the Ebert Groener Pact?
Coalition of SPD and USPD members.
-Signed the armistice.
-Created 8 hour work day.
-Allowed trade unions.
-set election dates.
-Ebert Groener Pact with the army to oppose more left wing ideas for protection as the government did not have nearly enough support to feel stable.
Examples of the violent political atmosphere in 1919?
-Fear of communism amongst the people –> Freikorp attacking KPD meetings and Spartacist revolt.
-376 Political murders.
-Parties had their own private armies e.g. Sozi and Freirkorp.
What % voted in the 1919 election and what was the disadvantage of this election?
-82.7%
-no socialist majority so a coalition was needed.
- SPD government with Ebert as leader form 1919.
Summarise the main parties in the Weimar Republic:
DNVP - very right wing - didn’t support WR - wealthy landowners - antisemetic.
DVP -right wing - accepted WR - middle class..
Zentrum - catholic party - opposed communism.
DDP - liberal - supported the WR.
Where did the government relocate for 1919 and what was the significance of this?
Weimar - Berlin was too dangerous which shows the political atmosphere in this era and the lack of support the government had.
- The government had a lack of support form the start due to the acceptance of the ToV and the armistice.
How did the government manage to stay in power despite the unpopularity?
-Use of the Freikorps.
-right wing preferred this government to the alternative which was much more left wing.
How many parties were there on average in the WR? Significance?
29 parties.
-Hitler used this as part of his campaign to take power as he viewed it as a ‘minefield’ of voting.
What was the issue of the Reichstag?
-The movement of politicians between parties confused people.
-they voted for a party rather than a person and then the elected person would be chosen for them so their choice was limited.
-PR meant that coalitions were necessary for the government - when these coalitions inevitably broke down the president had to use Article 48 to restore order (only to be used in crisis which made the government look in constant crisis)
1924 - 1929 stability:
- no need to rule by decree.
-economy recovered (shows the strong effect economy has on gov. stability)
-stresemann worked for international cooperation and spoke against the ‘trust no one’ attitude - no assassinations and support for political parties dropped.
How many different coalitions between 1919 and 1924?
9 coalitions.
Role of Hindenburg:
-Preferred the authoritarian government and wanted the Kaiser back.
-Lukewarm on democracy and him being president undermined the WR consistently.
4 main factors for the end of the WR:
-Public feeling: they disliked the ToV which is why they elected Hindenburg as he was the main voice of the ‘stab in the back’ myth.
-Economic crisis: wall street crash –> GD. The government failed to reach policy on this and support for extremism skyrocketed.
-Coalition failure: Parties couldn’t work together - SPD refused outright to work with any others and there was a period of rule by decree from 1930 -32 - 4 times more laws passed by chancellor than by Reichstag.
-Popularity of the Nazi Party: Hitler gained 13 mill votes to Hindenburg’s 20 mill in 1932 for president
1932 Reichstag elections –> Nazi majority in RS. Von Papen failed and Von Schleicher which led Hindenburg to appoint Hitler.
