weimar constitution

The Weimar Republic

Learning Objectives:

• To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

• To evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar Republic’s Constitution.

25 Oct 1918 Russian Revolution

June 1918 Ebert took over as Chancellor

9 Nov 1918 Kiel Mutiny

11 Nov 1918 Ludendorff Offensive

Oct 1917 Armistice Signed

KeywordsLO: To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

Match the dates with the event

What was the Weimar Republic?

LO: To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

Following the

abdication of Kaiser

Wilhelm at the end of

the First World War,

Germany’s biggest

political party the Social

Democrat Party (SPD) set up a new

democratic

government which soon

became known as the

Weimar Republic.

A perfect democracy?


What features would you expect to see in

the perfect democracy? Make a list.

• .............................................

• .............................................

• .............................................

• .............................................

• .............................................

The WeimarConstitution


• A Bill of Rights based on social justice

guaranteed every German citizen

freedom of speech and religion, and

equality under the law.

• All men and women over the age of

20 were given the vote. This was even

better than Britain where only

women over 30 could vote.

• There was an elected president and

an elected Reichstag (parliament).

• The Reichstag made the laws and

appointed the government, which

had to do what the Reichstag

wanted.

The WeimarConstitution included...

Democracy?LO: To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

Does the W.R. sound like a

good democracy?

What did the old system look like?

Kaiser(hereditary for life)

appoints summonscommands

Government Imperial Parliament

Bundesrat Reichstag

A debating chamber

with some control

over finance, can

only approve

laws

Made up of States’

representatives.

Supported the

Kaiser. Made

the laws’

Chancellor

Ministers

Elected by all men over 25Members chosen by

state governments

Army

The President

(elected every seven years)

The Chancellor

Chosen by the President

Member of the Reichstag

Needed support from

majority of Reichstag

The German People

Everyone over the age of twenty can vote for the Reichstag, and vote

for the President every seven years

Houses of Parliament

Reichstag (Lower

House)

Voted for by the

German public, using

proportional

representation

Reichsrat (Upper

House)

Each German state

(eg. Prussia) sent

representatives.

Makes

laws

How did the Weimar Republic work?

Controls

Armed

Forces

Article 48

In an

emergency

the

President

could make

laws without

going first to

the

Reichstag

Votes for

with help

of

Reichstag

Votes

for

Selects

Needs

support

of

Democracy?LO: To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

Review the two system of Governance,

what are the differences?

Memory Test!

• I will give you 2 minutes

to learn the constitution

of the Weimar Republic.

• Close your books and put your pens down!

The President


The Chancellor



Needed support from


The German People




Reichstag (Lower

House)

Voted for by the


proportional

representation

Reichsrat (Upper

House)

Each German state

(eg. Prussia) sent

representatives.

Makes

laws


Controls

Armed

Forces

Article 48

In an

emergency

the

President

could make

laws without

going first to

the

Reichstag

Votes for

with help

of

Reichstag

Votes

for

Selects

Needs

support

of

Now write it

down.

The President


The Chancellor



Needed support from


The German People




Reichstag (Lower

House)

Voted for by the


proportional

representation

Reichsrat (Upper

House)

Each German state

(eg. Prussia) sent

representatives.

Makes

laws


Controls

Armed

Forces

Article 48

In an

emergency

the

President

could make

laws without

going first to

the

Reichstag

Votes for

with help

of

Reichstag

Votes

for

Selects

Needs

support

of

The PresidentLO: To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

He would be elected directly by the people over 20 years of age every 7 years

He would take no part in day-to-day government

However, the President was a powerful figure because:

He chose the Chancellor (usually the leader of the largest party) & he could dismiss the Chancellor

He could dissolve/dismiss parliament (the Reichstag) & call new elections

He was Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces & could use them to suppress revolts.

Friedrich

Ebert

The PresidentLO: To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

According to Article 48 he could rule by EMERGENCY DECREE?

Article 48 of the Weimar constitution stated that in the event that the public order & security are seriously disturbed or endangered, the Reich President may take the measures necessary for restoration, intervening, if necessary, with the aid of the armed forces.

Used 136 times by Ebert!!

Friedrich

Ebert

The ChancellorLO: To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

He was appointed by the President

He was usually the leader of the party

with the most seats in the Reichstag

(which had resulted from his party

having achieved the most votes in the

general election)

He chose ministers to help him run the

country

He could pass laws but needed the

support of the majority in the Reichstag.

Phillip

Scheidemann

The voting systemLO: To explain what the Weimar Republic was.

In the UK, they use a system called

‘first past the post’

UK is made up of 83 counties. If we

imagine that the UK only has 3.

e.g. Kent, Essex and Sussex.

There are three seats in Parliament,

one for each county.

Kent

100 voters

1 seat in

Parliament

Essex

100 voters

1 seat in

Parliament

Sussex

100 voters

1 seat in

Parliament

First Past the Post

(what is used in UK):

Kent

Nationalists:

51

Socialists 49

Essex

Nationalists:

1

Socialist 99

Sussex

Nationalists:

51

Socialists 49

Nationalists Win! Socialists Win Nationalists Win!

First Past the Post

(what is used in UK):

Nationalist Parliament

Kent

Nationalist

MP

Essex

Socialist MP

Sussex

Nationalist

MP

Proportional voting:

All counties are merged into one

and a PERCENTAGE (%) of votes

determines who gets the seats.

Kent

Nationalists:

51

Socialists 49

Essex

Nationalists:

1

Socialist 99

Sussex

Nationalists:

51

Socialists 49

Proportional Representation

ADD THEM ALL UP AND TAKE A PERCENTAGE

Proportional voting:

300 voters

197 vote Socialist

103 vote Nationalist

Socialist’s Win –

A Socialist Parliament

Parliament:

Nationalists seats 34% (1 seat)

Socialist seats 66% (2 seats)

Same number of

votes –

completely

different result!

In reality by using a percentage

you end up with lots of different

parties in the Parliament – e.g.

Parliament with a 100 seats:

Nationalists: 30% 30 seats

Socialists: 45% 45 seats

Green Party 25% 20 seats

Monster Raving Looney Party 4% 4 seats

Mr Burrough to rule the world Party1% 1 seat

Socialist are the biggest party but can’t rule with a MAJOIRTY so must rely on winning over other parties to pass laws

The two biggest problems

were:

Proportional representation - Meant there was

no party strong enough to get a majority, and,

therefore, very difficult to get laws passed in the

Reichstag. This was a major weakness of the

Republic.

Article 48 - The president could rule without

consulting the Reichstag in an Emergency. The

problem with this was that it did not say what an

emergency was and this paved the way toward

dictatorship.

The Weimar Constitution


What problems might the Weimar

Republic have?

ICIPIneffective Constitution Is Problem



What problems might the Weimar

Republic have?

I= INSTABILITY

C= CHANGE

I= INACTION

P= PUBLIC OPINION



Instability: Due to coalitions; parties could very rarely

agree, and even if they could agree and formed a

coalition, they would often fall out quickly.

Change: With coalitions constantly changing, it was hard

to come up with a consistent government policy on

anything

Inaction: Constantly changing coalitions and lack of

consistent policies meant that the government rarely

got much done!

Public Opinion: People were suspicious of all the change

and inaction. They did not trust the new government.

Bun - Point

Salad - Evidence

Meat - Explanation

Bun - Link

*History Skills Builder* Burger/PEEL Paragraphs

Learn to write a PEEL paragraph

*History Skills Builder*LO: To practice writing PEEL paragraphs

Point: What you want to say – the answer

to your question.

Evidence:Your reason, your proof – give an

example.

Explanation:Explain your evidence. How does this

evidence show that your point is correct?

Link:Summary sentence that links back to

the question

Write a PEEL paragraph

P: There were both strengths and weaknesses with the

new constitution of the Weimar Republic.

E: Outline what these strengths and weaknesses are.

E: Explain why they are strengths or weaknesses.

L: While the constitution is an improvement on the

countries previous governance, there are areas where

improvements should be made to make it a fully

democratic society.

Explain the strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar

Republic’s Constitution




Was the Weimar Republic

doomed from the start?

Explain the strengths and weaknesses of

the Weimar Republic’s Constitution

(8 marks)

What are the main strengths and why they

are strengths?

What are the major weaknesses and why

are they weaknesses?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Weimar_Constitution.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Weimar_Constitution.jpg

weimar constitution

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