The causes of the failure of the Weimar government are multi-faceted. However, I assert that the Weimar government's inability to keep the people's confidence in their capabilities, which eventually rendered them obsolete, was fundamentally due to the threats from within rather than the external hazards. Through exploring the flaws in the constitution and the threats to the WG's authority from the outside, it will be proven that what brought the WR down were its intrinsic vulnerabilities , and that the external threats were only catalysts of their downfall; without the presence of the internal weaknesses in the first place, the external perils would not have been able to threaten the rule of the government.
The impracticality of the policy of proportional representation (PR), was one particular internal weakness of the Weimar government which led to its eventual loss of support among the people. The policy was put in place in an attempt to pursue democracy to its utmost, by granting seats to every party in proportion to the percentage of popular vote received. Ideally, this would allow for more interests to be represented, and that no individual could ever gain complete power. Ironically, its theoretical strength was also its Achilles' heel. The implementation of the PR led to the proliferation of small parties, which were oftentimes regional, narrow, or one-issue political parties. In 1928, 31 parties were on the ballot, and though the small parties did not have much influence, they disrupted proceedings and made the major parties appear incapable of maintaining order. One way they did so could be exemplified by the numerous problems with forming coalitions which invariably surfaced. With the sheer number of parties and the ...
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...policy made the people despair over the inefficiency of the government, and article 48 caused the people to lose their faith in a democratic system wholly. These two deciding factors propelled the people to submit themselves to more radical ideologies, all of which finally brought an end to the floundering democratic constitution in the 1930s. Even though external threats such as anti-Weimar sentiments spread by opposing parties also played a prominent role in the eventual distrust of the WG, they were not the root cause of the failure of the WG, their prosperity was only made possible by building on the already-existing profound internal failures of the government.
Works Cited
historyplace.com alphahistory.com Bookbinder, P. (1996). Weimar Germany. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Lee, S. J. (1998). The weimar republic. London: Routledge.
The Weimer Republic, is the democratic government established in Germany in 1918 that ruled for fifteen years after the collapse of the German empire after the First World War.The republic consisted of moderates from the Social Democratic Party as well as their liberal allies, which included the German Democratic Party, and the Catholic Center Party. The Weimer Republic sought political democracy, which they believed was attainable by the elimination of war, revolutionary terror, and capitalism. Despite their clear goal, the Weimer Republic faced backlash by the radicals of society, which included communists, National Socialists, and the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler. THESIS: The Weimer Republic’s instability in the period of 1918-1933 is
In the 1906 election, the number of seats won by Liberals increased from 184 to 377, in contrast the numbers of seats lost by the Conservatives went from 402 seats won in 1900 to 157 seats lost in the 1906 election, this represented the lowest number of seats held by a Conservative government since 1832. This dramatic reversal of constituencies held, is due to a number of reasons. An argument is that, due to some poor decisions made by the Conservative governments, they in fact contributed largely to the landslide result in the 1906 election. ‘They were in effect the architects to the own downfall.’
The German Weimar Republic was an attempt to make Germany a more democratic state. While this was a very good idea in theory, the Weimar Republic was ineffective due to the instability that came with it. Several factors contributed to the instability of Germany’s Weimar Republic, such as the new political ideals brought forward and the government’s hunger for war. To begin, one of the factors that contributed to the instability of the Weimar republic was the presence of new political ideals. Marie Juchacz unintentionally highlighted that reason in her speech to the National Assembly.
There could have been a return to parliamentary Party politics. There were some signs to show that democracy may have been revived. During the continuous utilisation of Article 48 to govern, the Reichstag gave their vote of no confidence in challenging the executive use of it. Also, a section of the public appeared to still support the Republic; the Centre Party and SPD continued to have steady support until 1932. However, it seems that any chances of democracy were ruled out. The political Parties were still inclined to pursue their own political interests when a united, broad and moderate front was needed. Two moderate Parties even defected to Hitler after the offensive from the right and Hindenburg made little effort to restore the influence of the Reichstag.
The period after World War One was very politically unstable. Many different kinds of governments, such as fascism and communism, were coming up all over Europe. One country that especially faced this political fluctuation was Germany. After the war, Germany was forced into a democracy known as the Weimar Republic, but this government soon collapsed and Hitler’s fascism took over. There were various factors that contributed to the fall of the Weimar Republic, but three major ones were the lack of popular support for the government, the lack of efficiency and internal organization, and the competition of other, more conservative parties such as the Nazis.
Germany's Change From a Semi-Absolutist Monarchy in 1918 to a Parliamentary Republic in 1919 In the period of 1918 to 1919, Germany overcame a dramatic change. There were a number of reasons for this change. Initially the defeat of Germany in World War One brought Germany close to an economic and potential collapse. This led to the revolutions from below and above, and ultimately to a new constitution. As a result of the defeat, the Kaiser abdicated on 9th November 1918, and no longer ruled over Germany.
The Flaws of the Weimar Constitution The majority of people believe that it was the Weimar constitution which was fundamentally flawed and that this damaged the long term prospects of the Weimar republic, although strong points can be identified in the constitution which support the argument that the constitution wasn't to blame for the republics downfall. From this some historians have determined that the role of the constitution in the downfall of the republic is exaggerated. There were a wide variety of things that played a part in the collapse of the republic; one of these was the problems linked with proportional representation. There were two main problems with proportional representation the first is that in this kind of electoral system its much easier for extremist groups to gain seats in the Reichstag. In the first past the post system a certain number of votes does not guarantee a party representation in the Reichstag.
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The 1920's were a time of uproar and fear for many Germans. As well as
“On 2 August 1934, President Hindenburg died. Within an hour of his death Hitler announced that the offices of chancellor and president were to be combined and that he was the new head of state. Hitler’s adolescent dream of becoming Fuhrer of the German people had been realized” President Hindenburg’s death marked the official end of the Weimar Republic, a democratic ‘experiment’ that had lasted since 1918. The causes of the dissolution of the Republic are wide ranging and numerous, as was explained in the articles of both Richard Bessel, and John McKenzie. The two author’s agree on the sequence of events which led to the dissolution of the Republic, however, they disagree on what exactly caused the transition from Weimar to the Third Reich. The author’s disagreement stem from a differing view of the fundamental cause, political structure versus political leadership.
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Exploring the Reasons Behind Public's Discontent with the Weimar Government There were a number of reasons why the German people were unhappy with the Weimar government. One of the main reasons for this was the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The result of this was that Germany has to take the war guilt, Germany had to pay reparations of 6,600 million marks to the allies in particular France, Germany lost its colonies, it lost its air force & tanks, and its soldiers were restricted to 100,000. The Ruhr was demilitarised. Also they lost their colonies and its land was cut up such as the Polish Corridor and Alsace Lorraine.
The Extent to Which the Weimar Republic Recovered after 1923 In the period after 1923, under Gustav Stresemann, Germany was able to stand back on its feet and overcome many of its difficulties. Weimar Republic was created in 1919 to govern a defeated Germany after World War One. Germany was facing many social, political and economical problems while the new constitution laid open for the seizure of power. There were many rebellions and attempted revolutions making the country very unstable. Situations were made worse by the harsh terms of Treaty of Versailles, causing hyperinflation and a huge amount of national debt.
After World War One ended in 1918, many of Germany’s unemployed soldiers and citizens felt defeated and their pride injured. Wilhelmine’s leaders of military and political parties blamed Germany’s failure on being “stabbed in the back” by Jews, Communists, and leftwing politicians. After losing the war many Germans banded together to create a new government, the Weimer Republic. They suffered from an unstable economy which became worse when the New York stock market crashed