The Main Features of the Weimar Constitution The newly formed Weimar constitution had many distinguishing features, one of which was that they were a democratic government as before the war Germany had not been really democratic, this was because the Kaiser was a dictator which meant everything he said would happen. They believed that people had the right to chose and change their government. Another feature of the Weimar government was that they believed in proportional representation, they believed that seats in parliament should be won according to the percentage of votes won. A further feature was that they passed a law which meant all Germans over the age of 20 could vote. The chancellor of the …show more content…
Explain why the WeimarRepublic faced opposition between the years of 1919-1923 Between the years of 1919-1923 the Weimar government faced major uprising from both the extreme left and right wings. This was mainly due to the way of how the Treaty of Versailles was handled, it was mainly the Treaty of Versailles which Lead to the chaos between these years. There were two major uprisings from the extreme left and two uprisings from the extreme right. On the Left wing they faced opposition from the Spartacists and the Bavarians, both of which were very much communists. On the right they faced opposition from Kapp Putsch and Munich Putsch who were very much nationalistic and believed that Germany should be ruled the way in which the Kaiser use to rule Germany. These uprising basically took place in order to take control and to gain power; the Germans believed that this new government was very weak and that they were guilty of how they handled the treaty of Versailles. The Germans also believed that the Weimar constitution were incompetent. The Weimar government were also classed weak …show more content…
However, the German public saved Germanyfrom major destruction as the industrial workers went on general strike. This meant that there was no transport, power or water. After a few days Kapp realised that he wouldn't succeed so he left the country. Kapp was hunted down and he died shortly before his trial. The rest of the rebels were set free by the court and the judges. Kapp's attempt to go back to the ways of the Kaiser, had failed. The Munich Putsch was organised by Adolph Hitler who was an extreme right winger. This attempted rebellion occurred in November 1923, Adolph Hitler led an attempted rebellion in Munich. Hitler received a short prison sentence. It was a major coincidence how the judge was the same judge who had tried him two years earlier for disorder. Both times Hitler got off very lightly; it seemed that the Weimar's right wing opponent had friends in high places. Did the events of 1919-1923 make the WeimarRepublic stronger or weaker? Explain your answers In my opinion, I feel that the three major events which occurred in the years between the years of 1919-1923 made the Weimar
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 Weimar constitution was forced into creation by the German desire to sign an armistace with the Allied forces after significant defeats on the Western front. Not only were the Allies demanding a democratic governing style in Germany, but there was also a strong desire to move away from the autocratic state that had existed under the Kaiser. Although the new constitution outwardly appeared to be democratic, there were several internal factors that severely undermined the democratic integrity of the new constitution, and made it almost indistinguishable from its autocratic predecessor.
The first major reason that the Weimar republic failed was that it was extremely inefficient and did not have clear goals set within the government. All the different ideas coming from the parties in the republic, created a situation where the people of Germany were getting very unclear, vague messages. This problem can be seen in the struggle between the German Democratic Party and the Communist Party. Troeltsch, a theologian and leader of the German Democratic Party said, “The development will not stop at democracy, and a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ will assume the form of terrorist domination by a minority” (Doc 1). This statement is only somewhat reliable because Troeltsch was a politician, and he would benefit from over exaggerating what would happen if the opposing party were to gain control.
There were a number of events that occurred before eventually resulting in the reunification of Germany in 1871. The first steps towards the unification of Germany began in 1814 after the downfall of Napoleon’s ‘Rheinbund’ this began the period of restoration, where princes and knights etc. reclaimed their political control over their territory that they had under the old ‘Reich’ before 1789 (Mark Allinson, 2002).
The Articles of Confederation was the first government of the United States. The Articles had created a very weak national government. At the time the Articles were approved, they had served the will of the people. Americans had just fought a war to get freedom from a great national authority--King George III (Patterson 34). But after this government was put to use, it was evident that it was not going to keep peace between the states. The conflicts got so frequent and malicious that George Washington wondered if the “United” States should be called a Union (Patterson 35). Shays’ Rebellion finally made it evident to the public that the government needed a change.
Hitler had vowed five years prior to the Putsch that he would not " rest nor sleep until the politicians who had signed the armistice had been hurled to the ground, until on the ruins of the pitiful Germany. of today has risen a Germany of power and greatness. This putsch was begun simply to avenge the armistice, to take over and change what he wanted to change and make them "the great nation" they were. On 8th November Hitler broke into a meeting in a large beer hall. which three leaders of the Bavarian government had.
The general public of Germany had never had any say in political matters; they allowed the Kaiser to make all the decisions regarding themselves and their once-prosperous country. The groups controlling Germany began to change during October and November 1918. More power began to fall into the hands of the people as they realised the blame for their involvement in the war was the Kaiser’s. People such as the armed soldiers, sailors and workers started protesting and going on strike. This was a far cry from before the war, when Germany was wealthy, proud and ambitious. So for a brief period, it seemed that a revolution would take place, with the people of Germany wanting a social and political revolution.
“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.
Following the German surrender in November 1918, the Empire experienced a brief, but significant civil revolution. The German Revolution lasted from the end of the war until August 1919. During that time, a national assembly was held in the city of Weimar where a new constitution was drafted. A new federal republic (known as the Weimar Republic) was born and a semi-presidential representative democracy overthrew the monarchy of Kaiser Wilhelm II. The new government faced immediately faced a multitude of issues including political instability, reestablishing and maintaining international post-war relations, and severe economic turmoil – most notably the period of hyperinflation which occurred in the early 1920s.
There are several key constitutional principles, such as popular sovereignty, federalism, republicanism, individual rights, and so on. The United States is a democracy and residences are considered the source of the government powers. Since America is well known for freedom, it is obvious that the government does not have powers to control everything. Limited government is another type of the constitutional principles as well.
The main reason was that people were discomposed that Germany had lost a war and most of the people blame for the defeat. On the other hand, during 1929-1933, the worldwide Great Depression, which impacted Germany, and there was no leader of Weimar could solve the economic problem.
People can think and act the way they want as long as they do not impose on the well-being and freedom of others is the meaning of liberty. Liberty means that European system of government or religious sentiments was law. Equality is the belief that people are entitled to equal treatment under the law. Lastly, the principle of self-government states that the people are the fundamental source of governing authority.
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.
The Constitution is the greatest document in American history. It has pushed for progressiveness and equality. The Constitution is basically the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution was written to organize a strong national government for the American states. Before the Constitution, the nation's leaders had established a national government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles gave independence to each state; the states lacked authority, the ability to work together, and to solve national problems. The U.S. Constitution established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens using five big ideas and this shaped today's America.
German people were unused to a democracy and blamed the government “November criminals”, for signing the Treaty of Versailles. From the very beginning, the new Weimar government faced opposition from both sides of the political spectrum. The Left wing Spartacist group, lead by Liebknecht and Luxemburg, looked up to the new Soviet councils in Russia, wanted to place Germany into a similar system.