Why did the Weimar government collapse? Flashcards
Long term problems
1) Proportional representation meant that even parties with a very small number of votes were guaranteed a pass into the Reichstag-this made it very difficult to make decisions.
2) Article 48 (the emergency fire decree)-when a decision couldn’t be reached, the President could suspend the constitution and pass laws without the Reichstag’s consent
3) This power was only supposed to be in the case of an emergency, but became a useful way of getting around disagreements that took place in the Reichstag-this undermined democracy.
4) Many felt that Germany had received a very harsh deal in the Treaty of Versailles. They hated the government for forcing them to agree with it.
5) The economy was damaged by WWI and never really recovered. Although Gustav Stresemann provided temporary solutions, financial weakness in Germany is demonstrated by the impact of the Great Depression in 1929.
Short term problems
1) The Great Depression of 1929 crippled America to such an extent that they had to recall their loans and the Dawes plan. This made reparation payments overwhelming for Germany.
2) The Depression also reactivated toxic political polarization-the Nazis and the Communist party gained support rapidly.
3) Many Germans hated the government for signing the armistice in 1918-they called them the November criminals. War defeat came as a huge surprise to people, which led to a theory that everyone had been ‘stabbed in the back’ by politicians.
