The Weimar Constitution: The Failure Of The Weimar Republic

The structure and implementation of the Weimar Constitution did not cause the downfall of the Weimar Republic.

The failure of the Weimar Republic was not the fault of the Weimar Constitution’s structure or its implementation, but rather its inability to function in German society during the time. Germany, with its legacy of authoritarian rule, became a democracy nearly overnight without restructuring its society. The new government was immediately blamed for the repercussions of the Great War and the German people became further disillusioned with democracy, believing the Weimar Republic lacked legitimacy. Combining these factors, the new democratic constitution could not succeed in German society during 1918 to 1933, which is not fault of

People of Germany were accustomed to strong authoritarian leader who lead a dominant military force, however the new government promoted concepts such as liberty, equality and human rights. In most countries with functioning democracies these principles had to be fought for by the people through revolutions, however as the Germans did not experience this, individuals still endorsed the previous ideal of nationalism over liberalism. The democratic values within the new Constitution were seen as foreign and forced upon them by the abhorred Treaty of Versailles, consequently becoming a symbol of shame. It was not the fault of the constitution or its implementation that German citizens did not feel an attachment to democracy, but rather the lingering effects of the tradition of authoritarian leadership and nationalism which created the idea that ‘true loyalty to the Fatherland requires disloyalty to the Republic’ as posed by historian Meinecke. In such a society as this, the Weimar Constitution was rendered useless in promoting stability and peace as it was not supported by civilians, and therefore the Republic was doomed to

When Friedrich Ebert and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) came into power in 1918 they failed to restructure the existing societal hierarchies and in doing so the traditional elites such as the army, the industrialists and the Junkers (the nobility) maintained their position of power whilst upholding their opposition to democracy and socialism. Furthermore, key elements of German society such as the civil service, the education system and the judicial system remained loyal to old Germany, and without reforming them it was impossible for democracy to prosper. The fear of disorder and wish for stability overcame the new government’s desire for change. As believed by Ian Kershaw, the Ebert government’s should have ‘dared more democracy’, and their inability to do so allowed its enemies to maintain their authority allowing them to become a source from which the Nazis could gain influence and in turn destroy democracy altogether. The constitution and its implementation could have been successful if German society had accepted it, however as those who held the most power remained enemies of democracy the downfall of the Weimar Republic remained