Weimar constitution - strengths and weaknesses

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Weimar constitution - strengths and weaknesses

Advantages

  • It allowed individual freedoms for everyone. This granted the right to free speech, the right to equality and the right to religion to every German citizen
  • All adults over the age of twenty could vote. The voting system used was Proportional Representation, a fair system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them.
  • The system was used to elect the president and the Reichstag
  • From 1924 onwards, the republic had a new currency (Reichsmark) to combat hyperinflation

Disadvantages

  • Proportional representation meant there were too many political parties
  • Coalition governments meant that it was difficult to govern decisively due to differing political views
  • Article 48 meant that the president could rule by decree - not democratic. This was repeatedly misused by Hindenburg
  • The Dawes Plan meant Germany too out foreign loans - lead to an economic depression after the Wall Street Crash
  • Conservative elites still held positions of power

Evaluation

Overall, the Weimar Constitution had many strengths and weaknesses. The system of proportional representation should've worked, in theory, but the coalitions that were formed, meant that no one got anywhere. Additionally, despite the large voting demographic, women could still only vote if they had their husbands permission and many were encouraged not to. The economic depression was blamed on the Weimar government and it ultimately led to further political instability. 

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