one of the coalitions without the Social Demo-
crats was a minority government. They generally
lasted only a few months. The major political
parties from the Conservatives to the Centre Party
were either hostile or lukewarm about the new
republic even before the National Socialists
became significant. The only genuine parliamen-
tary party fully supporting democracy among the
non-socialist ‘bourgeois’ parties was the German
Democratic Party, whose support significantly
dwindled during the 1920s. Though the Social
Democratic leaders recognised that they had most
to lose from the destruction of the democratic
republic, their own short-sighted political attitude
contributed to the spectacle of government insta-
bility, which lowered the esteem of parliamentary
government in the eyes of the German people
when that esteem was already being constantly
assailed by the anti-democratic movements.
The difficulties under which the Weimar govern-
ments laboured during its early years were very
evident. It is therefore all the more remark-
able how much was, nevertheless, constructively
achieved. The constituent assembly met in
February 1919 in Germany’s capital of culture,
the little town of Weimar, where Germany’s two
greatest dramatists, Goethe and Schiller, had
lived. Berlin was politically too unsettled and dan-
gerous for lengthy parliamentary deliberations.
The majority of the National Assembly belonged
to the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party
and the successors of the old Liberal Party.
The constitution-making was completed by
August 1919. In the spirit of ‘1848’, the inalien-
able rights of the individual to basic freedoms –
free speech, equality before the law, freedom of
religion – were set out; so were political rights of
free speech and assembly, but the latter could be
set aside, for the president was given emergency
powers to restore public order if it were seriously
disturbed or threatened. The legislators were still
living under the shadow of the danger of com-
munist coups and the ability of the president to
act quickly and decisively seemed essential. Only
later did it turn out that the considerable powers
granted to the president would pave the way for
the destruction of the democratic republic. The
president himself was to be elected every seven
years by a direct popular vote, like the president
of the US. There was no separation of powers as
in the American constitution, yet the president’s
powers, which included that of appointing the
chancellor, meant that the Weimar constitution
also differed from the British form of parliamen-
tary government. The chancellor had to win the
majority support of the Reichstag; if he failed, the
president could dissolve the Reichstag and call
new elections. The introduction of proportional
representation was one of the most significant fea-
tures of the constitution. It led to a multiplicity
of parties and inevitable coalition governments.
The old pre-1918 states – Prussia, Bavaria and the
smaller states – retained their own governments
but with lesser powers. The constitution empha-
sised the sovereignty of the people and the right
of all adult men and women to vote. There could
be no doubt that the intention of the constitu-
tion was to replace the old authoritarian state with
a ‘scientifically’ constructed democracy.
The flaws of the constitution have been
touched on here and are frequently stressed. But
they were not the real reason for the failure of
political democracy in Germany. The reasons for
this failure are not to be found in the shortcom-
ings of legal documents but in the shortcomings
of the politicians of the Weimar period and in the
reactions of the German people to the problems
that faced them. It is perfectly true that the army
remained profoundly anti-democratic in attitude
despite its oath of loyalty to the republic. So was
the higher civil service on the whole. No doubt
many judges were politically biased when dealing
leniently with the many political crimes of the
right and harshly with more of the few of the left.
But they did not play an active role in seeking the
overthrow of the republic. During its brief years,
Weimar also appointed and promoted to high
administrative and judicial positions sincere demo-
crats who would never have secured such appoint-
ments in imperial Germany. All discrimination on
grounds of politics or religion was ended. Given
time, these newcomers would have increased and
enjoyed a growing influence in the state. The years
of Weimar were by no means all negative. Women
gained just rights and opportunities, progressive
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DEMOCRACY ON TRIAL 129
