Assess the Successes and Failures of German Democracy in the Period 1918-1933

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INTRODUCTION  The Weimar Republic ran from the Kaiser’s abdication in November 1918 through to the selection of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor in January 1933.  The system was highly democratic in that all adults, including women, elected members of the Reichstag.  The Weimar Republic had several successes in social issues and did well to survive a number of major economic and political crises. However, it never succeeded in gaining enough legitimacy in the eyes of the German people and the Great Depression brought this issue to a head. POLITICAL Successes:  Creating a democracy out of the ashes of defeat and the threat of Revolution in 1918/19  Creating a modern democratic constitution with explicit freedoms, PR, female suffrage and an elected Presidency.  Eyck called it “an experiment in liberal, parliamentary democracy”  Surviving the revolutionary period of 1918-19 and the hyperinflation crisis of 1923.  Creating the stability and foreign policy successes of the ‘Golden Years’ (1924-1929)  Henig - remember how fractured German society was – social class, region, age Failures:  The ‘Ersatz Kaiser’ - Article 48 gave the President emergency powers. This was used extensively by Hindenburg after 1930.  PR allowed small parties like the NSDAP in the 1920s, to thrive.  Poor leadership - the Weimar political parties did not work together harmoniously – e.g. there were 20 governments in this period - Holtferich  Weimar was never able to achieve legitimacy among a large proportion of German society – e.g. the civil service, judiciary, academics, the Army – Kocka / Broszat, Momsen / Bracher  The incomplete revolution of 1918-19 never achieved a clear out of the establishment that would have helped the system to survive later. Rurup  Overcoming the political immaturity of the German people - Orlow CONCLUSION  The Weimar Republic
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