aug 11, 1919 - Weimar Constitution

Description:

the new constitution was very radically democratic and liberal for its time:
- voting (for both president and parliament) was universal for men and women
- proportional representation in parliament (Reichstag, Reichsrat)
- no vote threshold => even parties with minimal popular support could get a seat in parliament
- head of goverment (Chancellor) chosen by elected president
- parliament can get rid of government via vote of no confidence
- written statement of civil rights
- laws could be passed by plebiscite

BUT:
- president kept substantial power through Art. 48, which would allow him to use the army in case of emergencies (threats to the constitution)

ADDITIONALLY:
- no changes made to the civil service, judiciary, professors, industrial and landowner elite (all of whom were conservative and would be hostile to Weimar)

So Overall:
the constitution gave some reasons to believe that Weimar would survive:
- some support could be attracted through the promises of liberal democracy
(the first election in January 1919 resulted in pro-Weimar parties recieving 3/4 of the vote),
- the president was a strong leader who could ward off threats via Art. 48
BUT there were still threats to Weimar:
- Art. 48 could also be used to undermine democracy
- the proportional representation combined with the lack of any threshold made it so that the parliament was very fragmented (making laws difficult to pass) and each of the goverments would have to be coalition governments that could easily be ousted through a vote of no confidence
(between February 1919 and January 1933 there were 18 different governments,
before June 1932 in each of those there were at least 3 different parties in the coalition)
- the state institutions were in the hands of conservatives opposed to democracy
- some Germans definitely longed for a return to the authoritarian rule of a strong leader (though this was somewhat placated by the image of the strong president)

Added to timeline:

Date: