1. GERMAN WEIMAR GOVERNMENT –
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
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2. • The Weimar Republic comprised all the essential
elements of a perfect democracy. But was it perfect
or was it flawed?

3. THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC
• After Germany lost the First World War, the Kaiser fled and a
new democratic government of Germany was declared in
February 1919 at the small town of Weimar. It was too
dangerous to make a declaration in Berlin where there had
just been a revolt by a Communist group called the
Spartacists. The Weimar Republic was a genuine attempt to
create a perfect democratic country.
• The Weimar Republic looked like the perfect democracy, but
it had two great weaknesses - proportional representation and
Article 48.
*democratic: something that follows the principles of
democracy which advocates majority rule and fair
process, usually involving elections

4. THE PERFECT DEMOCRACY?
• These features of the Republic served to ensure that it
was the perfect democracy:
• A Bill of Rights 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.

5. THE PERFECT DEMOCRACY?
• It looked marvellous.
• However, hidden in the detail were two flaws that
eventually destroyed the Republic:
• Proportional representation - instead of voting for an MP,
like we do in Britain, Weimar Germans voted for a party.
Each party was then allocated seats in the Reichstag
exactly reflecting (proportional' to) the number of
people who had voted for it. This sounds fair, but in
practice it was a disaster it resulted in dozens of tiny
parties, with no party strong enough to get a majority,
and, therefore, no government to get its laws passed in
the Reichstag. This was a major weakness of the
Republic.

6. THE PERFECT DEMOCRACY?
• Article 48 - this said that, in an emergency, the
president did not need the agreement of the
Reichstag, but could issue decrees. The problem
with this was that it did not say what an emergency
was, and in the end, it turned out to be a back door
that Hitler used to take power legally.

7. REVISION TIP AND ANSWER
PREPARATION
• Revision tip
• Make sure that you learn the two great weaknesses
of the Weimar Republic.
• Answer preparation
• As part of your revision, think about
the arguments and facts you would use to explain:
• What the Weimar Constitution of 1919 said.
• How good the Weimar Constitution was.

8. WEIMAR GOVERNMENT –
STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES
CHAPTER TEST

9. 1. What is a
Republic?
• A weak form of
government.
• A country not ruled
by a king.
• A country with a
president.
2. Where was the
new republic
declared?
• Weimar
• Berlin
• Holland

10. 3. What guaranteed
the German people
freedom and
equality?
• an elected
Reichstag
• a Bill of Rights
• the vote
4. At what age were
men and women
given the vote?
• 18
• 20
• 21

11. 5. In what way could
the Weimar
constitution claim to
have been better than
the British constitution?
• Women aged 20 had
the vote.
• There was an elected
president.
• It had a Bill of Rights.
6. Which of the
following powers did
the Reichstag not
have?
• The power to make
the laws.
• The power to appoint
the government
• The power to elect a
president

12. 7. What was
"proportional
representation"?
• No government had
enough members to
get its laws passed.
• A "first past the post"
system of electing
members of the
Reichstag.
• Every group in society
was fairly represented
in the Reichstag.
8. Article 48 was ...
• An emergency decree
to appoint a new
president.
• A back door for Hitler
to enter the Reichstag
so he could burn it
down.
• The right of the
president to pass laws
in an emergency.

13. CHECK YOUR ANSWERS:
1. What is a Republic?
• A weak form of government.
• A country not ruled by a king.
• A country with a president.
2. Where was the new republic declared?
• Weimar
• Berlin
• Holland
3. What guaranteed the German people freedom and
equality?
• an elected Reichstag
• a Bill of Rights
• the vote
4. At what age were men and women given the vote?
• 18
• 20
• 21
5. In what way could the Weimar constitution claim to
have been better than the British constitution?
• Women aged 20 had the vote.
• There was an elected president.
• It had a Bill of Rights.
6. Which of the following powers did the
Reichstag not have?
• The power to make the laws.
• The power to appoint the government
• The power to elect a president
7. What was "proportional representation"?
• No government had enough members to get its
laws passed.
• A "first past the post" system of electing members of
the Reichstag.
• Every group in society was fairly represented in the
Reichstag.
8. Article 48 was ...
• An emergency decree to appoint a new president.
• A back door for Hitler to enter the Reichstag so he
could burn it down.
• The right of the president to pass laws in an
emergency.