Eleanor Finch
The Weimar Constitution, also known as the Constitution of the German Reich, was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era from 1919 to 1933. The constitution was drafted by lawyer and liberal politician Hugo Preuss, who headed the Ministry of the Interior. It was signed into law on 11 August 1919 by Friedrich Ebert, a member of the Social Democratic Party and the provisional president of the German Reichstag. The Weimar Constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose lower house, the Reichstag, was elected by universal suffrage using proportional representation.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year | 1919 |
| Dates | 6 February – 11 August |
| Location | Weimar |
| Type of government | Federal semi-presidential republic |
| Legislative body | Parliament (Reichstag) |
| Suffrage | Universal |
| Voting method | Proportional representation |
| Upper house | Reichsrat |
| Head of state | President |
| Head of government | Chancellor |
| Drafted by | Hugo Preuss |
| Drafting committee | 25 men, including Max Weber, Friedrich Naumann, and Friedrich Meinecke |
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What You'll Learn
The Weimar Constitution
The constitution's most modern features were the provisions for popular referendum and initiative, which allowed the electorate to introduce bills into the Reichstag and force a vote. If a bill was voted down, a national referendum could be held to pass it into law against the wishes of the Reichstag. These provisions ensured that the government could not ignore the wishes of the voters.
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Hugo Preuss
Preuss was a leading authority on public law and was commissioned by the new republican government in November 1918 to draft a national constitution. He became the principal author of the constitution of the Weimar Republic, which was adopted by the National Assembly and came into force in August 1919. The constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose lower house, the Reichstag, was elected by universal suffrage using proportional representation. Preuss based his draft on three principles: all political authority belongs to the people; the state should be organized on a federal basis; and the Reich should form a democratic Rechtsstaat (state based in law) within the international community.
Preuss drew extensively on both German and foreign concepts and precedents in his work. He sought to combine the political and economic principles of liberalism and socialism in the constitution. He was influenced by the organic-state philosophy of German political theorist Otto von Gierke and Robert Redslob's theory of parliamentarianism, which called for a balance between the executive and legislative branches under either a monarch or the people as sovereign. Preuss also based his draft in large part on the Frankfurt Constitution of 1849, which was written for a unified Germany that did not come to pass at the time.
In addition to his work on the Weimar Constitution, Preuss was a member of the Prussian Constituent Assembly from 1919 to 1920 and then the Landtag of Prussia. He published numerous works on legal and constitutional issues, as well as pro-republican writings. He was also active in the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold, a republican organization. Preuss was a member of the Progressive People's Party and contributed to liberal publications such as Nation and Die Hilfe (“Assistance”). He taught at the Berlin School of Commerce from 1906 until 1918 and served as headmaster there.
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Friedrich Ebert
Ebert was the son of a master tailor and was the seventh of nine children. Although he aspired to attend university, his family's financial situation made it impossible. Instead, he trained as a saddle-maker from 1885 to 1888 and travelled throughout Germany as a journeyman saddler. During this time, he was introduced to the Social Democratic Party in Mannheim and joined it in 1889. Ebert studied the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, but his primary focus was on practical and organisational issues aimed at improving the living conditions of the German working class. He became a leader of the Social Democratic movement in Germany and advocated for a gradualist, liberal approach to socialism.
In 1913, Ebert was elected leader of the SPD following the death of August Bebel. However, the party became divided when he expressed support for war loans to finance the German war effort during World War I. Despite this, Ebert played a crucial role in navigating the political chaos of the postwar period. He was a key figure in establishing the Weimar Republic, which was the German government from 1919 to 1933. Ebert was elected president of the Reich on February 11, 1919, and his opening speech emphasised the need for a breach with the past and appealed to the Allies not to cripple the young republic with excessive demands.
The Weimar Republic constitution, also known as the Weimar Constitution, was drafted by Hugo Preuss and a group of 24 other men, including sociologists, legal scholars, and politicians. It created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament consisting of the Reichstag (lower house) and the Reichsrat (upper house). Ebert, as president, had supreme command over the military and extensive emergency powers. He signed the Weimar Constitution on August 11, 1919, and it became effective on August 14. This constitution included a range of civic rights, such as freedom of speech, habeas corpus, and freedom of religion.
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Max Weber
During World War I, Weber initially supported the German war effort but later became critical of it and advocated for democratisation and constitutional reform. He publicly opposed Germany's potential annexation of Belgium and unrestricted submarine warfare. After the war, Weber co-founded the liberal German Democratic Party and unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Weimar National Assembly in 1919. Despite his electoral defeat, Weber advised the National Assembly during the drafting of the Weimar Constitution, which became law on August 11, 1919.
Weber's political views were complex and evolved over time. He described himself as a left-wing liberal, exhibiting nationalist tendencies based on classical republicanism. Weber believed in the virtues of capitalism and argued that it had deep Christian origins, setting him apart from socialists who viewed capitalism as un-Christian. Initially, he sought to make the working classes enthusiastic about German imperialism but later realised that imperial expansion only served the interests of the German establishment. He wanted to unify Germany and advocated for the working classes to have a co-responsibility in the government.
Weber's influence extended beyond his role in drafting the Weimar Constitution. He wrote a series of newspaper articles in 1917, titled "Parliament and Government in a Re-constructed Germany," where he called for democratic reforms to the 1871 constitution of the German Empire. Additionally, his ideas on the right of parliamentary inquiry, the unitarian federal state model, the legitimization of political parties, and the principle of free representation of representatives influenced the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Weber's intellectual contributions continue to be the subject of debate. While some critics argue that he inadvertently laid the groundwork for Adolf Hitler's leadership position, others highlight his advocacy for representative democracy and his influence on leading politicians of the post-war period.
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A federal semi-presidential republic
The Weimar Constitution, drafted in 1919, established a federal semi-presidential republic in Germany. This system of government combines features from both presidential and parliamentary republics, creating a dual executive republic. In a semi-presidential republic, a president coexists with a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature. The president, as head of state, has the power to appoint the prime minister and cabinet, but their choices must be approved by the parliament. The parliament can also remove the prime minister or the entire cabinet through a vote of no confidence.
The Weimar Constitution created a federal republic with a parliament consisting of two houses: the Reichstag (lower house) and the Reichsrat (upper house). The Reichstag was elected by universal suffrage using proportional representation, while the Reichsrat represented the interests of the federal states. The president of Germany held supreme command over the military and had extensive emergency powers, including the ability to appoint and remove the chancellor, who was responsible to the Reichstag.
The drafters of the Weimar Constitution, including Hugo Preuss, Max Weber, Friedrich Naumann, and Friedrich Meinecke, faced the challenging task of creating a government acceptable to both the political left and right. They drew influence from the Frankfurt Constitution of 1849 and Robert Redslob's theory of parliamentarianism, aiming for a balance between the executive and legislative branches. The constitution included civic rights, such as freedom of speech, habeas corpus, and freedom of religion, and guaranteed a government based on popular sovereignty.
A semi-presidential republic, also known as a dual executive republic, combines elements from both presidential and parliamentary systems. It differs from a pure parliamentary republic in that it has an executive president independent of the legislature. At the same time, it varies from a presidential system as the cabinet, though appointed by the president, remains responsible to the legislature. This blend of powers can bring advantages, but it may also lead to confusion, power struggles, and democratic backsliding, as evidenced by the eventual rise of Hitler and the end of the Weimar Republic in 1933.
Other countries that have employed a semi-presidential system include Russia, France, Finland, and several others, each with unique variations in power dynamics between the president, prime minister, and parliament.
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Frequently asked questions
The Weimar Constitution was drafted by lawyer and liberal politician Hugo Preuss.
Hugo Preuss was a lawyer and liberal politician who headed the Ministry of the Interior.
The Weimar Constitution was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era.
The Weimar Republic was the German government from 1919 to 1933.
The Weimar Constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose lower house, the Reichstag, was elected by universal suffrage using proportional representation.
