Weimar Germany

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.

The following day, a provisional government was announced made up of members of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USDP), shifting power from the military.

In December 1918, elections were held for a National Assembly tasked with creating a new parliamentary constitution. On February 6, 1919, the National Assembly met in the town of Weimar and formed the Weimar Coalition. They also elected SDP leader Friedrich Ebert as President of the Weimar Republic.

On June 23, the Treaty of Versailles was signed, which ordered Germany to reduce its military, take responsibility for the 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 by President Ebert. The law 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…