1919-33: The Weimar Constitution | GCSE History Revision | Weimar & Nazi Germany
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- Опубліковано 16 лип 2024
- It's 1919, a new constitution has just been agreed in Germany by 262 votes to 75. But what is the constitution? How does it work? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
#GCSEHistory #GCSERevision #WeimarGermany
**---Useful resources---**
Quizlet Flashcards: quizlet.com/_6x92em
Practice exam-style questions:
// I'll find some at some point but it's the summer hols rn, so u shouldn't be doing practice questions, plz go outside, see some friends and have some fun
LINK FOR OTHER QUESTIONS (INCLUDING SOURCE & INTERPRETATIONS QUESTIONS): quizlet.com/_6cqa3d
Revision Notes:
The Weimar Constitution:
- The electorate consisted of all men & women aged over 21
- The electorate voted in the President (every 7 yrs), Reichstag (every 4 yrs) and Reichsrat (every 4 yrs)
- The president had no part in day-to-day politics, however had some political powers
- The president chose the Chancellor
- The Chancellor was head of the Government and chose all government ministers
- The Cabinet was made of the most important ministers - they were the most important decision-making body of the government
- The Parliament was made up of two houses: the Reichstag and Reichsrat
- The Reichstag was the more powerful of the two houses - they were directly elected in by the people
- The Reichsrat represented the regions of Germany - each region sent a certain number of representatives, dependant upon its size
Parliament:
- Made up of 2 houses: Reichstag & Reichsrat
- Normally, all laws had to pass through both houses
Reichstag:
- The more powerful of the 2 houses
- Controlled taxation
- Directly elected by the people at least once every 4 yrs
Reichsrat:
- Elected every 4yrs
- Represents the regions of Germany
Strengths of the constitution:
- It was democratic:
- Men & women were both allowed to vote and the voting age was reduced from 25 to 21
- The Reichstag was elected using proportional representation - 1 representative for every 60 000 votes
- This made it more democratic than both Germany under the Kaiser and Britain at the time
- Checks and balances:
- It was carefully constructed so no one person or group could have too much power
- The chancellor could only pass laws in normal circumstances if the Reichstag & Reichsrat voted for them
- The Reichsrat, though the least powerful of the two houses, could still delay any new laws passed by the Reichstag - unless the Reichstag overruled it by a 2/3rds majority
- Central Government had more power than it did under the Kaiser
- Local government retained some of its power, with each of the 18 regions of Germany keeping some of their own independence
Weaknesses of the Constitution:
- Coalition Government:
- Proportional representation caused many smaller parties to gain seats
- There were 29 parties in total during the 1920s in the Reichstag
- PR often caused no majority governments, so coalitions had to be formed regularly
- Compromise often occurred, creating a lack of clear, strong policies
- Coalitions frequently fell apart
- There were 9 coalition governments between 1919 and 1923
- Weakness in a crisis:
- Coalitions made it hard to give swift, clear decisions in a crisis
- Article 48 allowed the chancellor to bypass the Reichstag and pass laws straight through the president in times of crisis
- By around 1930, the chancellor was regularly relying on article 48, bypassing the democratic rules of the constitution
- This made the constitution seem weak & encouraged people to think a single, all-powerful leader was better than an elected parliament
- Based on division and violence:
- Even though it gave full power to the electorate, there was a sense that the Weimar Republic was not really the choice of the people
- During the German revolution, the government had used force, relying on the army to subdue riots in Berlin
- Several parties elected to the Reichstag (e.g. the Nationalists) were opposed to democracy & openly despised the new constitution
- The Weimar Republic was created out of violence, without real public enthusiasm
- It was considered flawed by moderates and opposed by extremists
FOR FULL NOTES FOLLOW LINK: quizlet.com/_59lgnv
IMAGE ATTRIBUTIONS:
Thumbnail - “Das Reichtagsgebäude - The Reichstag building - Berlin” by Jens Cederskjold, licensed under CC BY 3.0
Source: commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
License: creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Author's Page: web.archive.org/web/201610142...
Alterations have been made to this photo - the colour balance has been adjusted and it has been blurred.
**---Social Media---**
Twitter: / alongtimeago_yt || @alongtimeago_YT
/ alonglongtimeago || @alonglongtimeago
/ alongtimeagoyt
yeah i might just be cooked tomorrow, still wondering why on earth i picked history
🫡
Just got an 8 in my history GCSE because of your vids you’re honestly a legend
Aww thanks man! Also super congrats on your 8!!!!!!!!
Thanks to you more like👍👍
Even I for my term test I wasn’t prepared but ur vids really helped out and got a 92 , thank you !!!!
In my dreams ahah I’m watching this bc I have a mock tomoz and don’t have a clue what Weimar is and my whole exam is on it
@@grymesx47 how did your Mock test go man
yoooo thats awesome she was in sixth form while doing this for us. THANK YOUUU
Happy I could help! :)
🚨CORRECTIONS 🚨:
➤ The minimum voting age in the Weimar Republic was 20 and not 21.
➤ I am also aware that I pronounced Reichstag wrong. You do not need to point this out to me.
Spotted a mistake in the video?
If you think you’ve spotted a mistake, leave a polite comment saying what you think is wrong and linking a legitimate source. I’ll check and if you’re right then I’ll add the correction to this pinned comment. :)
✘ I do not engage with corrections comments which are written rudely
✘ If you leave an essay full of corrections, I won’t check it because I have other, better things to do
im sure article 48 grants power to the president to bypass democracy, not chancellor...
@@saahilc4306 Well the chancellor can also pass the laws by decree with permission of the president, as Hitler did.
Hi, i was just wondering where to find the quizlets and practice questions?
@@BellaHoskins Should be in the description :)
Fun fact: Friedrich Ebert used article 48 136 times (good statistic to put in exams)
Another fun fact: The average length of a government’s time in power from 1919 to 1933 was just less than 8 months (also a very good statistic to put in exams)
I’m German and I just love hearing non-German people saying „Reichstag“ I swear my heart melts every time
(Btw I have a history exam tomorrow and I find the English videos about this topic better than the German so I watch them... thanks for making this video:))
i have since ascended to realising that the syllable break is reichs-tag but I spent several years either believing it was reischtag, or after I started learning German reich-stag lol. Hope your exam went well!! :)
i got an 8 thanks to you, youre a legend and i hope you never stop this channel, it's hella useful
Aww pleased I could help! Also congrats!!!!!
Great video!
Thanks!! :)
This video is wonderfully animated, well written and quite honestly underrated. Great job! Please never stop.
Thank you for the lovely comment! :)
this is so helpful, I missed a lot of lessons due to self isolating and I have just been brought up to speed, thanks a lot!!
That sucks, but I'm pleased you're up to speed now!
These videos are so helpful. Thank you for making them!!!
Aww thanks! Pleased you found them helpful!
So helpful for revision for gcse thank you!!!
Funny how you pronounce Reichstag. I'm German btw
Despite the fact I'm learning German and I know how it should be pronounced, I just physically can't say it!! :)
You’re back!!!
Yes I am!! :D
Just found you via your collab with UsefulCharts. Great channel, although I think there could never be enough history channels here on youtube for my satisfaction. Subbed! Greetings from Germany! :)
Thanks! I'm pleased you found me! And I agree on the matter of the number of history channels. I've had an influx of German viewers recently (the 3rd largest proportion of my views in the last 28 days, after the UK and US), which is pretty awesome (especially as someone who is attempting to learn the language)! :)
A long, long time ago...in a galaxy far way, Naboo was under an attack...
(By the way, love how you add humour into your videos, it honestly makes me gain motivation to actually revise XD ).
YOU SHOULD MAKE A TEXT BOOK! With these little characters and stuff cuz it’s so cute and acc fun to learn! PLEAZE
Oooh that would be fun lol, one day maybe!
This is really useful. I’m doing the A Level and my component 2 is Weimar Germany and Nazism. You’re videos have been great for jogging my memory.
Good to hear! :)
Thank you so much for this, your video and recap of information is very helpful for my exam tomorrow.
history mock tomorrow. "Loving God, I pray that you will comfort me in my suffering...."
Hi, I don't live in the UK but I currently have this topic in school, thanks for helping me a out. This video was great!
Thanks!! That's awesome that you found my video useful! Which country do you live in? :)
All the best with your gcses exams and I hope you get into a good university.
I think im gonna get a grade 7 bcause of this video for my mocks
Edit: After a week or so I got my result and I got a grade 6 , thanks for this video you absolute legend
Thanks for this video I did I got an A on my analytical paragraph thanks to this. Keep up the good work!
How do u make video's, they are so cool!!
This is such a underrated channel
Thank you! It's a mixture of drawing, fcp x and motion for the visuals :)
very informational thanks
Good to hear!
This cleared my confusion from class, thanks
I appriciate how you do not smack your lips while speaking unlike other historians on the issue on UA-cam. Makes it much more pleasent to listen to.
Thank u for this vid
thank you!
Will you do A-Level topics too?
Btw, your videos are quite useful
Haha thanks!! I have plans to do a revamp of the 'Modern Britain A level Podcast' thing that I released the first episode of ages ago, and you might see some Tsarist and Communist Russia content on this channel at some point - those are the two topics I do at A-level (AQA), so there will be some A-level stuff - hopefully that stuff will be of use to you? :)
@@Alonglongtimeago Very useful indeed. Thank you for the alacrity of your reply.
@@pawal0220 I just learnt a new word 😆
I'm in love with your voice ❤️
Bro my teacher is OBSESSED with stresemann that we even have a cardboard cut of him😭
Bahhaaahahaa your teacher needs help lol
thank you a lot muchas gracias kiitos paljon cảm ơn bạn rất nhiều
I could descend into a rant... But the next generations will need this... Can you do an A-level on China too?
I'll just casually take a 2nd history A level... What topics are you going to do at A level (Imma assume China)?
Hi i have a question on Article 48. Does the article state that the Chancellor can bypass the parliment in a time of crisis or is it the President? Im looking at different sources and different ones say either the chancellor or the president. Which one is the correct one?
The chancellor bypasses parliament by going through the president off the top of my head
My History Teacher play your videos in class.
Your history teacher has good taste :)
Shes alive!!
I surprise even myself! :D
Thanks for the great video! I'm german and I wanted to see an english vid cuz I know my classmates gonna copy lots of stuff from german videos about it lol.
Pleased you like the video and apologies for butchering the pronunciation (my German is much improved since then). Also I like your thinking going for and English vid! :)
using this for year 8 term tests
Hope your year 8 term tests went/go well
I watch these in my history class with mr Sykes
Got an 8, thanks for the videos
Congrats!! And pleased you liked the videos! :D
I don't do history anymore, and a teacher killed it for me i was thinking of just writing anything in the test but when I watch your videos you made history better for me and I feel like I did really well. Thanks
Shame about your teacher, but that's good to hear that you don't feel that way anymore! Good luck on results day!
@@AlonglongtimeagoI got a six, which is actually good considering I spent my first year getting shouted at and sent out of classes
@@marveljames4256 It defo is! Congrats!!!!!!! :D
You joke now, in a decade every government will be a Pokemon based confidence and supply deal
This isn't a joke, that was genuine video footage of Weimar coalition governments in negotiation, I'll have you know!
Video covers alot will try to revise the whole all the topic😁
Proportinal Representation what a word🙌
Have you got any vids of Crime and Punishment?
I do indeed have some videos on Crime and Punishment: ua-cam.com/video/x25DfYflW2g/v-deo.html
@@Alonglongtimeago thanks have you got any from 1000-1200 or 1200-1500?
@@dsd2847 Not currently. The next video I'm going to work on will probably be a C&P 1000-1200, so hopefully that will be useful! :)
@@Alonglongtimeago Thanks mate appreciate it😁
hi i was wondering if you can explain the extend of support for the weimar constitution? i am doing a level history and i am a bit confused
I'll be honest, everything you need for GCSE is in this video, but I don't know this topic to an A level standard because I didn't do it at A level, so I can't really help you. Sorry :(
Weak, but fluctuates at time. The golden (gold plated, in the words of Indy Neidell) years of 1924 to 1929 were a lot more stable.
It was also not necessarily opposition to the constitution itself that drove some people away, but some principals in general. The Communists for instance believed it was a continuation of bourgeois democracy that only benefited capitalists, and their form of democracy was to elect councils which could be recalled and where delegates were bound by the people or councils which elected them, and opposed the president as a substitute Kaiser.
Support waned as people looked to the people in particular who governed and who you thought governed and disagreed or agreed with each character with power. It had major institutionalization problems.
The voting age during the Weimar era was age 20, not 21. That fact is stated quite clearly not only in the Weimar Constitution, but in William Shirer's wonderful book on the Nazis, The Rise And Fall In The Third Reich(1960; Shirer's masterpiece).
Just had a quick look and you're right. Because these videos are primarily aimed at helping people with their GCSEs, the info here was stripped from a GCSE textbook - so presumably this originated as a typo in the textbook. :)
@@Alonglongtimeago 👍👍👍👍👍 😁😁😁😁😁
the hitler dude popping up had me cackling, thanks for the great video
history mock tomorrow, counts towards our actual teacher assessed grades... absolutely shitting myself
Hope it went well for you!!
@@Alonglongtimeago grade 7!
LOL @ the Cabinet.
You missed the importance of article 25. The Reichstag could repeal the laws passed via article 48, but article 25 allowed the Reichspräsident to dissolve the Reichstag, with new elections having to be scheduled after a maximum of 60 days if I remember correctly.
The combination of both allowed the Reichspräsident to rule for those periods basically on his own.
On these videos I only include what's on the GCSE curriculum because they're intended first and foremost as revision resources
President is directly elected or indirectly elected ????
Directly if I remember correctly
proportional representation "sounds" good
I'm interested - what would your choice of voting system be then? Would you be for first past the post over proportional representation? Are you a fan of direct democracy instead? Or, idk, are you a monarchist?
@@Alonglongtimeago perhaps some version of an open primary to settle on 2 candidates, then first past the post (plurality).. perhaps. idk.
Interesting... I'd personally still lean towards PR over first past the post, despite its problems, simply because it's more democratic. :)
@@Alonglongtimeago Is it though? I suppose from a simplistic viewpoint it is. But the instability of PR comes from its acknowledgement and encouragement. of radical extremes, left and right, which are marginalized under pluralism (as they should be imo)
@@Alonglongtimeago btw really glad you're still investigating "the interwar period". keep up the good work
this is democracy manifest
sharing with all my friends @kristinahJohn
YESSSSS THAT CHANCELLOR IS A LEGEND
CLAP FOR THE KING.
CLAP!!!!!
Do I spy another Stresemann stan? :)
@@Alonglongtimeago there is a good german documentary about him: ua-cam.com/video/fLeaVvF1cqo/v-deo.html sadl, it's only in german.
Stand up, all victims of oppression!
Weimer Republic was goofy name considering it was still officially named German Empire, like why call it and not German Republic
hi does your nazi germany playlist include most of the course
Unfortunately not- it currently has very little of the course. :( Hopefully one day it'll have the whole thing!
anyone hear the day before their history GCSE lol
Ye I'm so screwed I can't remember much
I personally think that putting an unpopular and weak ragtag republic in power of a country fresh out of a war and fresh into an economic crisis, mountains of debt and a memory of a better life under a strong leader (the Kaiser) will always be doomed.
Democracies never do well under crisis, especially when they're unpopular, and with coalitions in power no one really feels represented, which opens room to radicalization.
A democracy is a good system for a politically and economically stable country, but never for situation which require quick resolve and action, loke war or an economic recession.
This is why the best course of action for Germany at the time would be putting Wilhelm II back in power, at least symbolically as a popular figurehead, and then, after the crisis is over and a grounds for a stable economy has been built, is it a good idea to lessen the his power and give more to the elected government.
Now, of course, I have the power of 21st century hinsight, but the fact remains that if a moderate Kaiser remained in power, even just symbolically, most people would have stayed infinitely more loyal zo him than a radical, populist would be dictator like Hitler.
Wouldn't you agree that monarchism is even more fun in the 21st century? Tee hee...
I think you make some good and interesting points. As the mega anti-authoritarian that I am, I find myself jarring at your suggestion of putting the Kaiser back in power, but at the same time I can see the point that it would have perhaps brought about enough stability to then later bring in a democratic government - and the Kaiser would be the lesser of the two evils. The argument then would be over how you would then implement a democracy, as monarchs are notoriously not keen to give up their power, so it generally requires a violent revolution like the English Civil war. Such a revolution would again create instability, so perhaps reimplementing the Kaiser may have simply delayed the rise of a fascist regime (who knows? we can only speculate). Ultimately, I would place the largest amount of blame in the hands of the treaty of Versailles, something outside the control of the Germans - so the reimplementing the Kaiser may well have been the best thing they could have done. The other possible option that comes to mind would be communist revolution - I'm not too well versed on the KPD but as far as I'm aware, they were Marxist-Leninist, a way of achieving communism which in my eyes is extremely likely to end up in a horrific authoritarian regime like that of the Soviet Union. But if we had seen a successful communist revolution (as in one that achieved actual communism - 'a classless, moneyless, stateless society' and not what the Soviet Union called 'communism') that would have been pretty interesting.
A long, long time ago... a constitutional monarchy could’ve worked perhaps. Generally these forms of government tend to be the most stable, and a perfect balance between democracy, and stability.
@@Alonglongtimeago Well perhaps the balance of poqer would be in the power of the German nation, although I doubt the Great powers would allow that level of authonomy. The forceful abolishment of the Crown was like a final stroke to the cultural identity of the Germans, spitting in the face of everything Bismarck had fought for in the very creation of Germany. When the people lose a strong leader at a prosperous time and has their morale completely crushed time and time again, they inevitably will start looking for a new identity, a new strong leader, a new golden age, and, of course, someone to blame. The national socialists provided exactly that.
Also, I am convinced a communist takeover in Germany after WW1 is virtually impossible. The old systems and ideals weren't abolished by the people at will, rather they were taken from them forcibly. Even after a lost war most still held conservative and strongly religious ideals completely incompatible with communism. In their shoes, the return of the idyllic times of the Father of the nation, the Kaiser, the patriotism, family values and prosperity was not going to happen by outright shedding any remaining contact they had with their previous identity and culture. After all, no one wants to see the radical communists finish what the Allies started with the Versallies treaty. Of course I'm not speaking of all Germans here, but certainly the majority
Bottom line, when traditional values and symbols are forcibly removed, a traditionalist society would do anything to get them back. Anything.
Really great video but i lost when you said Reichstag im sorry :)
Yo this was a year ago, I've since figured out that the syllables are split Reichs-tag :)
I got a 5 in history
Congrats!!!!!! 😎
give
?
"meaty debates"💀💀
If you had the choice to drop a uni which one would it be, I'd drop crime and punishment it's too much for me :(, also random question who is your favourite pokemon?
I would have got rid of the American West if I could, turns out cowboys really aren't that interesting lol. Also pidgeys may be a basic choice but they're very cool imo
On 2:12 ye it says it is in a tree tree bc it is a tree tree bc it is a tree tree 🌳 it is a tree tree 🌳 it will take you out to your trees 🌲 your grass tree 🌲 is your trees 🌲 tree tree and green tree tree trees are you ready and we will see what they do with them for help please 🙏 it will give
my guy, u alright?
@@Alonglongtimeago Ik I got problems :(
@@Alonglongtimeago I can’t control it
THERE IS A MISTAKE
your comment
What actually Weimar republic is
A Constitution Or name of Government....
I am confused a lot
🙏🙏Please answer
It's the constitution, but the government operating under the constitution is often referred to as the Weimar government etc
Thanks
boiiiiiiiiiz
?
I thought Article 48 allowed the President to rule by emergency decree. Not the chancellor?
If I recall correctly, the chancellor goes through the president to get the emergency decrees passed
@@Alonglongtimeago ohhh. Thanks
The one person that disliked failed.
Haha, I like your thinking! :D
The Reichstag will decide your fate
I am the Reichstag
Please tell me my fate, Reichstag
Good god, that's not how you pronounce Reichstag, you're butchering it. but otherwise a nice video about Weimar republic.
Weimar republic could not remain in that international climate. By 1930 world was changing and the only way large nation could survive was to become and empire of some sort.. Japan attacked Manchuria etc.. so it was doomed
P.S. Wiki has a lot of right pronunciations on historic stuff
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/De-Reichstag.ogg
Have you ever tried saying an entire sentence in English whilst saying a lone word in another language in the middle of the sentence? It's nigh on impossible not to butcher the pronunciation!
But pleased you liked the video! :D
@@Alonglongtimeago I don't blame you, it sure is hard. I thought it was a joke when you kept repeating it the wrong way.. like haha German language is funny :P but unfortunately it wasn't
@@dezeekat I'm learning German, so I know how it's meant to be pronounced, I just don't have the physical capability to do it!
@@Alonglongtimeago I learned German too! Terrible grammar rules, probably made up by some sadistic people. Maybe one day you'll have the capability to pronounce it, if not i won't hold grudge and Germans lost the war so what are they going to do about it?
I only subscribed because of this sexy voice that tells history soooo... so.... so well.