Weimar+Republic+(1919-1933)

The Weimar Republic was set up after the passing of the Weimar Constitution on July 31, 1919. The constitution outlined the new German democratic state giving individual powers to the president and the two houses of German parliament. The purpose of this was to create a system of checks and balances within the government like the governments in the United States and Great Britain. The president was to be elected every seven years and has select powers such as appointing the leader of parliament (the chancellor) and had the right to dissolve the Reichstag or parliament. The president also was in charge of all armed forces as supreme commander. The parliament was broken up into two separate houses(Bicameral like the U.S.A), the first being the Reichstag and the second being the Reichsrat. The Reichstag was in charge of making laws and each representative was elected every four years. The Reichsrat was in charge of things like education or the police systems but they had no ability to pass laws. A supreme court was also set up for final interpretations of the laws. The constitution also set up basic rights that the german citizens would have. These rights include the right to free speech and religion, equality under the law and all other personal liberties.

Germany did not only have problems in the government, they had immense problems all around. Such as an unstable economy, Germany simply hide their economical problems by using credit with other powerful nations, which eventually had an damaging effect on their trade with other countries.

Sources Used: Layton, Geoff. __Weimar and the Rise of Nazi Germany.__ 3rd Edition. London. Hadder, 2005.

External Links: Causes of German Inflation from 1918-1933