The Constitution of the German Reich (), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era. The constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament, the Reichstag, that was elected by universal suffrage using proportional representation. The appointed Reichsrat represented the interests of the federal states. The president of Germany had supreme command over the military, extensive emergency powers, and appointed and removed the chancellor, who was responsible to the Reichstag. The constitution included a significant number of civic rights such as freedom of speech and habeas corpus. It guaranteed freedom of religion and did not permit the establishment of a state church.
The constitution contained a number of weaknesses which, under the difficult conditions of the interwar period, failed to prevent Adolf Hitler from setting up a Nazi dictatorship using the constitution as a cover of legitimacy. Although it was de facto set aside by the Enabling Act of 1933, the constitution remained legally/technically in effect throughout the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945 and also during the Allied occupation of Germany from 1945 to 1949. It was then replaced by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany until 1990, then reunited Germany) and the Constitution of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
The constitution's title was the same as the Constitution of the German Empire that preceded it. The German state's official name was German Reich () until 1949.
Origin
After the end of World War I, the government of Imperial Germany collapsed during the early days of the German revolution of 1918–1919. In the following months, the far left parties that fought to establish a soviet republic were defeated by those of the moderate left that wanted a parliamentary republic. The victorious parties, led by Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democrats (SPD), scheduled an election on 19 January 1919 – in which women for the first time had equal voting rights with men – for a national assembly that was to act as Germany's interim parliament and draft a new constitution. Because conditions in Berlin were still unsettled, the delegates met at Weimar. Ebert wanted the victorious Allies to be reminded of Weimar Classicism, which included the writers Goethe and Schiller, while they were deliberating the terms of the Versailles Treaty.
The initial draft of the constitution was written by the lawyer and liberal politician Hugo Preuss, who headed the Ministry of the Interior. He based his draft in large part on the Frankfurt Constitution of 1849 which was written after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and intended for a unified Germany that did not come to pass at the time. He was also influenced by 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.
During July 1919, the National Assembly moved quickly through the draft constitution with most debates concluded within a single session and without public discussion of the issues. On 31 July the assembly adopted the new constitution by a vote of 262 to 75 with 1 abstention. Friedrich Ebert, the first president of Germany, signed the Weimar Constitution on 11 August 1919, and it became effective on the 14th. A federal election was held on 6 June 1920 for the new Reichstag.Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p. 762
Provisions and organization
The Weimar Constitution was divided into two main parts or chapters. They in turn were divided into seven and five sections respectively. In all, there were 181 articles in the constitution.
Some of the more noteworthy provisions are described below, including those provisions which proved significant in the demise of the Weimar Republic and the rise of Nazi Germany.
The preamble to the Constitution reads:
The German people united in every respect and inspired by the determination to restore and confirm the Reich in liberty and justice, to serve peace at home and peace abroad, and to further social progress, has given itself this constitution.
Chapter I: Organization and functions of the Reich The first part of the constitution specified the organization of the various parts of the federal government.
Section 1: The Reich and the states Section 1 consisted of Articles 1 to 19 and established the German Reich as a republic whose power derived from the people. The Reich was defined as the region encompassed by the German states; other regions could be incorporated into the Reich based on popular self-determination and corresponding Reich legislation. (Germany received the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which reduced its land area and population by 13% and 12% respectively, on 7 May 1919, while the constitution was being debated in the National Assembly.)
Section 1 also established that generally recognized principles of international law were binding on Germany and gave the Reich government exclusive jurisdiction of: foreign relations colonies citizenship, freedom of movement, immigration, emigration and extradition national defence currency customs mail, telegraph and telephone services
Articles 7 through 11 listed many more areas in which the Reich was allowed to either legislate or prescribe fundamental principles, notably "taxation and other revenues in so far as they are claimed in whole or in part for its purposes".
With the exceptions of the subjects for which the Reich government had exclusive jurisdiction, the states could pass legislation for their respective territories as they saw fit. Reich law superseded or nullified state law in the event of a conflict. Adjudication of conflicts between a state and the Reich government fell under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Judicial Court.
States were required to have a republican constitution and its authorities to enforce Reich law. Each state parliament (Landtag) was to be elected by equal, secret, direct and universal (both men and women) ballot according to the principles of proportional representation. Each state government (the "state ministry") could serve only so long as it had the confidence of the respective state parliament.
Section 2: The Reichstag and the Reich government Articles 20 to 40 described the national parliament, the Reichstag, which was seated in the capital, Berlin. The Reichstag was composed of representatives elected by the German people by an equal and secret ballot open to all Germans over 20 years of age. Proportional representation principles governed Reichstag elections.
Members of the Reichstag represented the entire nation and were bound only to their own conscience. Members served for four years. The Reichstag could be dissolved by the Reich President, and new elections had to be held not more than 60 days after the date of dissolution.
Members of the Reichstag and of the state parliaments were immune from arrest or investigation of a criminal offense except with the approval of the legislative body to which the person belonged. The same approval was required for any other restriction on personal freedom which might harm the member's ability to fulfil his duties.
Section 3: The president of the Reich and the national ministry
Articles 41 to 59 describe the duties of the president, including the qualifications for the office. They also explain his relationship to the national ministry (cabinet) and the chancellor.
The president served a term of seven years and could be re-elected once. He could be removed from office by referendum following a vote of two-thirds of the Reichstag. Rejection of the measure by the voters would act as a re-election of the president and cause the Reichstag to be dissolved. If a state failed to fulfil its obligations under the constitution or Reich law, the president could use armed force to compel the state to do so under a Reichsexekution. Article 48 gave the president the power to take measures – including the use of armed force and/or the suspension of civil rights – to restore law and order in the event of a serious threat to public safety or security. Since Article 50 required all of the president's decrees to be counter-signed by the chancellor or "competent national minister", use of Article 48 required agreement between president and chancellor. The president was also required to inform the Reichstag of the use of such measures, and the Reichstag could nullify the decree. In 1933 President Paul von Hindenburg and Chancellor Adolf Hitler, using Article 48 as the basis for the Reichstag Fire Decree, legally swept away most of the key civil liberties granted in the Weimar Constitution and thereby facilitated the establishment of a dictatorship.
The president had supreme command over the military and appointed and removed the chancellor and, on the chancellor's recommendation, the members of the cabinet. The chancellor determined the political guidelines of his government and was responsible to the Reichstag. The chancellor and ministers were compelled to resign in the event the Reichstag passed a vote of no confidence. It was not, however, a constructive vote of no confidence, which requires that there be a positive majority for a prospective successor before confidence can be withdrawn. Under the Weimar Constitution, the vote of no confidence often resulted in difficulty forming new coalitions and a degree of parliamentary instability that in the end was fatal to the Republic.
The government (cabinet) formulated decisions by majority vote; in the case of a tie, the president's vote was decisive. The Reichstag could accuse the president, chancellor, or any minister of willful violation of the constitution or Reich law, with the case to be tried in the Supreme Judicial Court.
Section 4: The Reichsrat
Section 4 consisted of Articles 60 to 67 and established the Reichsrat (State Council). The Reichsrat was the means by which the states participated in legislation at the national level. The number of members was based on the states' populations, with the restriction that no state could have more than two-fifths of the total – a provision that limited only Prussia's influence since it had three-fifths of Germany's population. Members of the Reichsrat were required to be members the state ministries, with the exception again of Prussia, half of whose members had to be appointed from among the Prussian provincial administrative authorities. Although not specified in the constitution, members – except for the Prussians who were provincial representatives – were considered to be bound by the instructions of their respective state governments. Government ministers were required to inform the Reichsrat of proposed legislation or administrative regulations to permit the Reichsrat to voice objections.
Article 61 stated that "German Austria, after union with the German Reich, shall be represented in the Reichsrat by votes corresponding in number to its population". The Republic of German-Austria had been established after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary from the predominantly German-speaking regions of the former empire. Hugo Preuss publicly criticised the Triple Entente's decision in the Treaty of Versailles to prohibit the unification of "Greater Germany", saying that it was a contradiction of the Wilsonian principle of the self-determination of peoples.
Section 5: National legislation Articles 68 to 77 specified how legislation was to be passed into law. Laws could be proposed by a member of the Reichstag or by the Reich government and were passed on the majority vote of the Reichstag. Proposed legislation had to be presented to the Reichsrat, and the latter body's objections were required to be presented to the Reichstag.