The Weimar Republic
1919-1933 (Overview Reading)
The Weimar Republic was Germany’s government from 1919 to 1933, the period after World War I until the rise of Nazi Germany. It was named after the town of Weimar where Germany’s new government was formed by a national assembly after Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated. From its uncertain beginnings to a brief season of success and then a devastating depression, the Weimar Republic experienced enough chaos to position Germany for the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
Germany After World War I
Germany didn’t fare well after World War I, as it was thrown into troubling economic and social disorder. After a series of mutinies by German sailors and soldiers, Kaiser Wilhelm II lost the support of his military and the German people, and he was forced to abdicate on November 9, 1918. After a series of elections, the National Assembly met in the town of Weimar and formed the Weimar Coalition on February 6, 1919, tasked with writing a coalition to form a republic-style government.
On June 28, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, under significant protest by the Weimar government. The treaty ordered Germany to reduce its military, take responsibility for World War I, relinquish some of its territory and pay exorbitant reparations to the Allies. It also prevented Germany from joining the League of Nations at that time.
Weimar Constitution
On August 11, 1919, the Weimar Constitution was signed into law. It faced venomous opposition from the military and the radical left. The Constitution contained 181 articles and covered everything from the structure of the German state (Reich) and the rights of the German people to religious freedom and how laws should be enacted.
The Weimar Constitution included these highlights:
The German Reich is a Republic.
The government is made of a president, a chancellor and a parliament (Reichstag).
Representatives of the people must be elected equally every four years by all men and women over age 20.
The term of the President is seven years.
All orders of the President must be endorsed by the Chancellor or a Reich Minister.
Article 48 allows the President to suspend civil rights and operate independently in an emergency.
Two legislative bodies (the Reichstag and the Reichsrat) were formed to represent the German people.
All Germans are equal and have the same civil rights and responsibilities.
All Germans have the right to freedom of expression.
All Germans have the right to peaceful assembly.
All Germans have the right to freedom of religion; there is no state church.
State-run, public education is free and mandatory for children.
All Germans have the right of private property.
All Germans have the right to equal opportunity and earnings in the workplace.
Weimar Germany Ends
The Weimar government barely survived a right-wing coup attempt in 1920. This is just the first of a series of calamities and challenges to befall Weimar Germany in the next 13 years. By 1933, German citizens had grown weary and distrustful of the Weimar government. Searching for new leadership and fearing a Communist takeover, many people turned to extremist parties such as the Nazi Party led by Adolf Hitler, despite his unpopular and failed attempt to start a national revolution in 1923.
In July 1932, the Nazi Party became the largest political party in Parliament. After a brief struggle for power, Hitler was named Chancellor on January 30, 1933. On February 27, a fire destroyed the Reichstag, the German parliament building. Hitler used this emergency to invoke Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution and declare emergency rule, allowing him to to quash many civil rights and suppress members of the Communist and other opposition parties.