Strengths & Weaknesses of the Weimar Republic

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The strengths and weaknesses of the Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic This was the first democratic German constitution. A President was elected every seven years by everyone over the age of 18. Power was concentrated in the Reichstag where 550 MPs were elected by Proportional Representation (PR). They had to pass all bills and the leader of the largest party became Federal Chancellor but he could be dismissed at any time by the President. Article 48 allowed the President to suspend the constitution at any time in case of an emergency. Strengths of the constitution It was the first democratic constitution in German history and made sure that all sections of opinion were represented. A strong President ensured that someone was able to take charge in a crisis. Each state in Germany was allowed to keep control of its own domestic affairs. Weaknesses of the constitution The republic was always associated with defeat and the Treaty of Versailles. The high number of parties meant that decisions were often difficult to take – too many of these parties wanted to destroy the republic. The powers of the President allowed him to be become a dictator if he wished. If the states wanted to overthrow the Federal government they could. The Treaty of Versailles. Because she had become a democratic republic Germany expected to be treated fairly by the allies at the end of the war – she wanted a chance to recover as quickly as possible. Unfortunately France got her way and the Treaty was harsher than expected. She lost 30% of her land, she accepted blame for starting the war, she had to pay $6 600 000 000 to the allies and was only allowed to have a small army and navy but no airforce. The Germans were angry with this and wanted revenge – the failure of the Weimar republic occurred because it would always be associated with signing the treaty – in the end they had no
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