Weimar Republic Constitution.

Question 1

What were the details of the constitution?

Answer 1

• A president could be elected every seven years with the power to select and dismiss the chancellor. The chancellor formed the government.
• The president was the supreme commander of the Armed forces.
• The president could dissolve the lower house of the German parliament.
• There was universal suffrage for people over 20.
• Proportional representation was used in elections.

Question 2

What did the Bill of Rights include?

Answer 2

• Freedom of association.

- The right to work and own property.

Question 3

What were the positive features of the constitution?

Answer 3

• It was very democratic.

- Elected by universal suffrage.

Question 4

What were the negative features of the constitution?

Answer 4

• Giving too much power to the president under article 48.

Question 5

What was the structure of the Weimar constitution?

Answer 5

The Chancelllor:

• Head of government.
• Chooses the ministers which run the country.
• Needs a majority in the Reichstag to pass these laws.

President:

• Head of state and armed forces.
• The president has the power under article 48 to rule in a emergency via presidential decree.

Electors:

• All men and women over 20.
• Granted rights under the Bill of Rights.

Reichstag:

• Elected by a secret ballot.
• Cast for a party.

The Cabinet:

• Gives advice and administers the laws.
• Chosen by the Chancellor.

Reichsrat:

• Members sent by the 18 lander.
• Can veto a law passed by the Reichstag unless the Reichstag law has a 2/3rds majority.

Local government:
- Each one has a local parliament.

Question 6

What is proportional representation?

Answer 6

• A system that allocates parliamentary seats in proportion to the total number of votes.

Question 7

What is the relationship between the President and the Reichstag like?

Answer 7

• Article 48 provided the President with the authority to suspend civil rights and in an emergency to rule by decree.
• The president had the right to dismiss the Reichstag.

Question 8

What’s the continuity of traditional institutions?

Answer 8

• The Weimar government made no attempt to reform right wing sectors of the Second Reich.

Question 9

What are the ideologies of the German national people’s party?

Answer 9

They wanted the monarch to be restored, a repeal of the peace treaty and all colonies to be given back to Germany.

Question 10

What were the ideologies of the centre party?

Answer 10

They supported either a monarchial or republican form of government. They attracted right and left wingers.

Question 11

What were the Social democrats?

Answer 11

They wanted to create a democracy that secured rights for workers.

Question 12

What were the German communists?

Answer 12

Their ideology was one of communism and they wanted to install a method of communism into Germany.

Question 13

Who were the Nazis?

Answer 13

The Nazis’ ideology was one of white racial supremacy and that the Aryans were the superior race and other faces were inferior.

Question 14

Who were the German people’s party?

Answer 14

They claimed to represent the interests of German industrialists. They stressed the importance of Christian values and secular education. They were hostile to Marxism.

Question 15

Who were the German democrats?

Answer 15

They wanted to have a democratic type of government and civil servants and teachers were harming their social bases. They opposed the treaty of Versailles.

Question 16

Who were the ISD?

Answer 16

They wanted to chart a centrist course and they wanted democracy in Germany.