The Flaws of the Weimar Constitution Essay -- The Weimar Republic, Ger

The Flaws of the Weimar Constitution The majority of people believe that it was the Weimar constitution which was fundamentally flawed and that this damaged the long term prospects of the Weimar republic, although strong points can be identified in the constitution which support the argument that the constitution wasn't to blame for the republics downfall. From this some historians have determined that the role of the constitution in the downfall of the republic is exaggerated. There were a wide variety of things that played a part in the collapse of the republic; one of these was the problems linked with proportional representation. There were two main problems with proportional representation the first is that in this kind of electoral system its much easier for extremist groups to gain seats in the Reichstag. In the first past the post system a certain number of votes does not guarantee a party representation in the Reichstag. This means that there is a limited number of parties in the Reichstag, making it easier to gain an overall majority thus meaning fewer coalition governments and a more stable power base. During the Weimar era the exact opposite to this happened. For example Weimar was on its seventh government by 1923 and coalitions were continually being broken up and parties leaving the government. This caused disruption and unrest and made the running of the country difficult for the next government. Another important point that historians like to make is that coalition governments have worked well before in different circumstances and cultures. Other arguments suggest that proportional representation encouraged spl... ...rather than making the changes necessary to sure up the economy. Increased inflation over the years did nothing to reinstate the people's faith in democracy. The main reason the constitution failed was not because the document itself was flawed but because the German people were not ready or prepared to make such a sudden change from autocracy to democracy. Other reasons were that people like Hitler were able to take advantages of loopholes such as article 48, but this again wasn't the fault of the constitution more the people who had put Hitler in the position of chancellor. The constitution was not truly flawed because it is likely that the same constitution would have worked well under different circumstances, but the other factors involved in Germany at this time made it impossible for it to operate successfully.