The Weimar Republic established a democratic system of government with protections for individual rights. However, the use of proportional representation and the election of multiple parties led to unstable coalition governments that struggled to pass legislation. This political instability, combined with a lack of support for the new system from some groups like parts of the military, meant the Weimar Republic had challenges governing Germany from the beginning.

2. The Weimar government
The new Weimar Republic
included a constitution which
described how the country
would be run.
Part 1 outlined the system of
government; part 2 described
the rights of Germans.

3. German democracy
Huge democratic changes were
introduced under Weimar:
• All Germans age 20+ – male
and female – could vote
• Reichstag (Parliament) was
directly elected
• The President was elected by
the people

4. German elections
Reichstag elections used the
Party list system (proportional
representation, meaning that a
party with 15% of votes won
around 15% of the seats).
Many parties were elected (for
instance, 14 in the 1924 election).

5. Arguments for importance
The use of PR for elections also
helped smaller parties like the
Nazis get elected.
The proportional
representation system helped
them get some people elected,
letting them build support.

6. Arguments against importance
Between 1924-1928, pro-Weimar
parties gained most of the votes
(around 75% of all votes), rather
than small and extreme parties
such as the Nazis.
This suggests most Germans
supported democracy.

7. Unstable politics
The large number of political
parties elected meant no single
party ever won a Reichstag
majority (up to 1933).
This meant that Weimar
governments were coalitions
(more than one party).

8. Unstable politics
Coalition governments
regularly collapsed and
couldn’t agree on actions. In
14 years of Weimar, there were
18 different governments.
In 1932 alone, there were three
separate German Chancellors.

9. Taken from Mr Budd
History website

10. Arguments for importance
PR elections meant that no
single party ever won a
majority, leading to coalitions
(of up to five different parties)
These coalitions often collapsed,
leading to lack of confidence in
the Weimar system.

11. Arguments against importance
During the years of Weimar
democracy, election turnout
was always at least 75%.
This high figure suggests that
most Germans supported the
democratic system.

12. Lack of popular support
When the Weimar Republic
was set up, many Germans
were unhappy with this.
Some of them wanted a Kaiser-
style dictator, others believed
in a Communist system.

13. Role of the army
The army did not support Weimar,
but they reached a deal with Friedrich
Ebert, Germany’s new leader.
Ebert agreed to not pursue full
revolution in return for the army’s
backing – and letting the army
leadership keep their jobs.

14. The Spartacist revolt
In 1919, Communists tried to
start a full revolution to let
workers take control of Germany.
They were defeated when Ebert
persuaded the army to help,
employing violent ex-soldiers
called the Freikorps.

15. The Kapp Putsch
In 1920, a right-wing revolt led by
Wolfgang Kapp forced Weimar’s
government to leave Berlin.
The army did not stop this
because many involved in the
revolt were former soldiers.

16. Arguments for importance
The Weimar Government
lacked strong support from
the very start.
This meant during any crises
that more Germans were
attracted to extreme parties.

17. Arguments against importance
However the Kapp Putsch failed
after Germans staged a general
strike. Also many of the country’s
elite did not back Kapp.
This suggests that many Germans
did back the new system.