Arts

The Weimar Republic Constitution

The Weimar Constitution was adopted in August 1919 and for the first time Germany became a centralized democratic state, ruled by a Reichstag whose members were chosen by men and women 21 years and older. Elections were held on the basis of proportional representation, which meant that any party that gained at least 60,000 votes would have a deputy elected. During the existence of the republic—1919-1933—there were fifteen parties vying for support.

Excerpts from the
Constitution of the German Republic

Preamble
The German people, united in all their racial elements and inspired by the will to renew and strengthen their Reich in liberty and justice, to preserve peace at home and abroad and to foster social progress, have established the following constitution.

CHAPTER 1; STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE REICH
Section 1
Article 1. The Geramn Reich is a republic. Political authority emanates from the people.

Section 2. The Reichstag
Article 20. The Reichstag is composed of the delegates of the German people.

Article 22. The delegates are elected by universal, equal, direct, and secret suffrage by men and women over twenty years of age, according to the principle of proportional representation. Election day must be a Sunday or a public holiday.

Section 3. The Reich President and the Reich Cabinet

Article 41. The Reich president is elected by the whole German people. Every German who has completed his thirty-fifth year is eligible for electioin. [. . . .]

Article 48. If any state does not fulfill the duties imposed upon it by the constitution the laws of the Reich, the Reich president may enforce such duties with the aid of the armed forces.
In the event that the public order and security are seriously disturbed or endangered, the Reich president may take the measures necessary for their restoration, intervening, if necessary, with the aid of the armed forces. For this purpose he may temporarily abrogate, wholly or in part, the fundamental principles laid down in Articles 114, 115, 117, 118, 123, 124, and 153. . . .

CHAPTER II; FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF THE GERMANS

Section 1.

Article 109. All Germans are equal before the law. Men and women have the same fundamental rights and duties. Public legal privileges or disadvantages of birth or of rank are abolished. Titles of nobility [. . .] may be bestowed no longer. [. . .] Orders and decorations shall not be conferred by the state. No German shall accept titles or orders from a foreign government.

Article 114. Personal liberty is inviolable. Curtailment or deprivation of personal liberty by a public authority is permissible only by authority of law.

Persons who have been deprived of their liberty must be informed at the latest on the following day by whose authority and for what reasons they have been held. They shall receive the opportunity without delay of submitting objections to their deprivation of liberty.

Article 118. Every German has the right, within the limits of the general laws, to express his opinion freely by word, in writing, in print, in picture form, or in any other way. [. . .]Censorship is forbidden.

Section 3: Religion and Religious Societies

Article 135. All inhabitants of the Reich enjoy full religious freedom and freedom of conscience. The free exercise of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution and is under public protection. [. . .]

Article 137. There is no state church. [. . .]

Section 4: Education and the Schools

Article 144. The entire school system is under the supervision of the state.

Article 145. Attendance at school is compulsory. [. . .]

Section 5: Economic Life

Article 151. The regulation of economic life must be compatible with the principles of justice, with the aim of attaining humane conditions of existence for all. Within these limits the economic liberty of the individual is assured. [. . .]

From the outset the new Republic encountered public criticism. The Weimar leaders signed the Treaty of Versailles. Terms of the treaty seemed degrading for many Germans and led to popular hostility against those who signed the agreement. In the treaty Germany as held accountable for having instigated World War I. Germany was stripped of her colonies and territories on the west and east. Moreover the German armed forces were reduced to a peace keeping force and reparations were imposed. The articles dealing with the reparations seemed particularly severe and unfair to the German people.

Part VIII: Reparation

Section 1: General Provisions

Article 231. The Allied and Associated Governments recognize that the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.

Article 232.
The Allied and Associated Governments recognize that the resources of Germany are not adequate, after taking into account permanent dimunition of such resources which will result from other provisions of the present Treaty, to make complete reparation for all such loss and damage.

The Allied and Associated Governments, however, require, and Germany undertakes, that she will make compensation for all damage done to the civilian population of the Allied and Associated Powers and to their property during the period of the belligerency of each as an Allied or Associated Power against Germany by such aggression by land, by sea and from the air, and in general all damage as defined in Annex I hereto. . . .

Article 233. The amount of the above damage for which compensation is to be made by Germany shall be determined by an Inter-Allied Commission to be called by the Reparation Commission and constituted in the form and with the powers set forth hereunder and in Annexes 2 to 7 inclusive hereto. . . .

Article 235. In order to enable the Allied and Associated Powers to proceed at once in the restoration of their industrial and economic life, pending the full determination of the claims, Germany shall pay in such installments and in such manner. . . as the Reparation Commission may fix, during 1919, 1920, and the first four months of 1921, the equivalent of 20,000,000,000 gold marks. . . .

—Paul Bookbinder, Weimar Germany: The Republic of the Reasonable [Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press, 1996], Appendix: Selected Documents.

An agreement reached in May 1921 set the bill for Germany’s reparations at 132 billion gold marks (approximately $32 billion at the prevailing exchange rate.) This was to be paid off at six percent (6%)interest over 37 years. The annual payments were approximately two billion gold marks or 26 percent (26%) of German exports or the equivalent of seven percent (7%) of German national income. The British economist, John Maynard Keynes, estimated that the annual payments were three times greater than the amount the German economy could afford.

Next: Treaty of Versailles

Back: Establishment of the Weimar Republic

Related:

	Seeds of Bitterness
	The Establishment of the Weimar Republic
	The Weimar Republic Constitution
	Treaty of Versailles
	Weimar Culture Expressionism Dadaism Social Criticism The Bauhaus
	Weimar Politics
	Weimar Economy
	Weimar Foreign Policy
	Locarno Pact

Frameworks 5.0

Link to Us | Privacy Policy | Copyright Policy | Legal Notices

Webmaster at the Florida Holocaust Museum

Send education questions to:

FAIR USE NOTICE: We make a concerted effort to acquire permission from copyright owners prior to inclusion of material on this site. However, this site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, environmental, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. If you are a copyright owner who objects to our use of your material for any reason, please inform us of your objection and we will remove your material promptly.

The Weimar Republic Constitution

Excerpts from the Constitution of the German Republic

Excerpts from the
Constitution of the German Republic