Wiemar Constitution

The Origins of the Weimar Republic

When Germany was clearly losing WW1, the German Kaiser Wilhelm ll abdicated. The allies offered Germany peace but under strict conditions - one of which was that Germany should become more democratic. After the Kaiser abdicated in November 1918, the Government of Germany was left in the hands of a new Chancellor, Friedrich Ebert. Ebert and his colleagues drew up a new democratic constitution for Germany and in the summer of 1919, he was elected the first President of the new Weimar Republic.

What were the main features of the Weimar Constitution?

Before the war, Germany had had no real democracy. The Kaiser was a virtual dictator.

In theory, the new Weimar…