The Burden of Versailles and the Weimar Constitution

The Burden of Versailles and the Weimar Constitution

The 'Diktat' HISTORICAL CONTEXT: The Treaty of Versailles Germany was limited to: 100,000 man army with a reduced officer corps, no air force, a navy with no submarines and a small fleet; no conscription was allowed. Germany was forbidden to: join the League of Nations or unite with Austria (Anschluss). Germany and Austria-Hungary were given the blame for starting WWI (Article 231; "war guilt clause") and required to pay reparations (amount would be set in the future). The Versailles treaty was hated by Germans of all political persuasions. It was referred to as the Diktat ("dictated peace"). Weimar's attempts to flout it were popular. Germany lost: all its colonies, the Polish Corridor and Danzig, Alsace-Lorraine, plus additional territories (see map, above).

Signing the Unacceptable Treaty: WHAT OPTIONS DID WEIMAR LEADERS HAVE? Thousands of Germans rally at the Reichstag building in Berlin in May 1919 to oppose the anticipated Treaty of Versailles. ELECTION RESULTS COMPARISON Jan. 1919 June 1920 % change SPD 37.9% SPD 21.7% -16.2% Z 19.7% USPD 17.9% +10.3% DDP 18.6% DNVP 15.1% +4.8% DNVP 10.3% DVP 13.9% +9.5% USPD 7.6% Z 13.6% -6.1% DVP 4.4% DDP 8.3% -10.3% Chancellor Philip Scheïdemann resigned in protest against the future Treaty of Versailles in March 1919 (before the treaty was completed). President Ebert asked the military to explore the feasibility of military resistance should he refuse to sign the treaty. He was advised by Hindenburg that military resistance would not succeed. This ostensibly left the Weimar leaders with no options. Allied ultimatum: sign treaty or prepare for invasion (Germany signed on June 28, 1919).

The Weimar Constitution: PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION Proportional Representation: A method of voting by which political parties are given representation in proportion to their popular vote. The Weimar constitution called for a closed-list party-proportional system of voting for the Reichstag. If a party received 15% of the vote, it would receive 15% of the seats in the Reichstag. The current U.S. system for electing members to Congress is a plurality-based system that is sometimes called "first-past-the-pole" (FPTP). The winning candidate's party gets all the representation.

The Weimar Constitution: COALITION GOVERNMENT STEPS IN COALITION CREATION Elections are held; seats are assigned according to proportional representation Head executive (President, King, etc.) usually assigns leader of top vote-gaining party to create a ruling coalition COALITION: An alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties for the purpose of making a government. CABINET: A body of persons appointed by a Prime Minister (or Chancellor) to head the executive departments of the government and to act as official advisers. Negotiations among parties occur until a Chancellor (or Prime Minister is selected) and an entire Cabinet is formed (concessions on issues may also occur to close deals) Next election occurs when: vote of no confidence passes, or coalition is dissolved by executive, or scheduled elections take place

The Weimar Constitution: ARTICLE 48 AND ARTICLE 25 - POTENTIAL FOR ABUSE? Article 48: granted the President the power to issue laws and orders as decrees under "emergency" circumstances that were not well defined in the Weimar constitution Reichstag could overturn such a decree by a simple majority vote President (according to Article 25) could dissolve the Reichstag, but new elections had to be held within 60 days WHILE President Ebert used Article 48 to put down specific left-wing and right-wing revolts and did not dissolve the Reichstag during his presidency, President Hindenburg came to rely upon use of Article 48 powers to allow unpopular conservative politicians to regularly rule by decree in the authoritarian period of 1930-32. In 1930, he dissolved the Reichstag because it had overturned Brüning's decrees.

The Continuity of Weimar: JUDICIARY, CIVIL SERVICE, REICHSWEHR While a new constitution was created for the Weimar Republic, there was no significant turnover of government employees, military leaders or civil servants. Thus, the bureaucracy (a body of non-elected government officials) was basically that of Imperial Germany; most government workers were authoritarian & opposed to the republic they served. This was also true of most of the police. REICHSWEHR: The German military (both the army and the dramatically-reduced navy), up until 1935 (from that time forward, the military was known as the Wehrmacht). Most of the judges in Germany had been appointed by Wilhelm II's government; they were sympathetic to right-wing paramilitary groups (Freikorps, Nazi storm troopers) and gave them much more lenient treatment for equivalent offenses than they gave left-wing groups.

The Kapp Putsch & Munich Putsch: POLITICAL CRISIS: Right Wing Coup Attempts Kapp Putsch (March 1920): A right-wing coup (actually led by Gen. Lüttwitz) that began in response to orders to reduce military forces to 100,000 men by dissolving various Freikorps. Berlin was seized; elected Weimar officials relocated to Stuttgart & called for a general strike by workers to oppose putsch. It worked & Weimar survived. Beer Hall Putsch (Nov. 1923): Amidst a context of hyperinflation, Adolf Hitler (NSDAP leader) and Ludendorff attempted a multiple-stage coup in Bavaria that they hoped would result in an overthrow of the Weimar gov't in Berlin. Instead, almost everything that could go wrong did & Hitler was arrested (sentenced to 5 years for high treason, but he was released after only 9 months). BEER HALL PUTSCH: A scene from its demise (right) WOLFGANG KAPP (above) KAPP PUTSCH IN BERLIN (left)