How politically stable was Germany between 1924-1928

Reichstag elections, Coalition Governments and attitudes to the Republic from elites and other groups?

Elections:

• Election results during middle years of Weimar Republic gave grounds for cautious optimism about its survival → extremist parties of left and right lost ground and polled less than 30% of votes cast.

• Two elections in 1924 → indicated return of greater support for parties that supported Weimar Republic: SPD, DDP, DVP and Centre.

• Over 61% voted for pro-republican partied in May 1924, and 67% in December.

• May 1924 election = first contested by Nazis. They won 6.5% of vote and by December vote share was down to 3%.

• Communist party saw its fortunes fall, although recovering slightly by 1928 with 54 seats (10.6%), performance remained below May 1924 and well below combined votes gained by KPD and USPD in June 1920.

• Nationalist political parties of right began to accept republic and work within it, rather than against it → conservative right-wing DNVP joined Reich coalition government for the first time in Jan. 1925 --> But they found their electoral position weakening from December 1924 (103 seats, 20.5% of votes) to May 1928 (73 seats, 14,2%).

• But political developments of 1924 showed democratic parties struggling to provide stable governments that commanded widespread support → right-wing anti-republican parties were still in position to do political damage to the Republic.

• In 1928 election, support for extremist anti-republican parties declined even further → NSDAP made little impression on national political scene in 1928, with vote share even lower than in 1924.

• NSDAP had 2.6% of vote and only 12 seats, trailing behind obscure minor parties such as Bavarian People’s Party and Reich Party of German Middle Class.

• Previously unheard of Christian National Peasants’ and Farmers’ Party did almost as well as Nazis, winning 9 seats.

Number of deputies elected in Reichstag elections, 1918-28:

Coalition Governments

• 7 coalition cabinets between Nov. 1923 and March 1930 → Governments in the Weimar Republic’s so-called ‘Golden Age’ were scarcely more stable than those between 1919-23, despite the fact that support for anti-democratic parties of extreme left and right was falling.

• Coalition governments throughout Weimar Republic = inherently unstable → only 6 of 23 cabinets between 1919 and 1932 had majority support in Reichstag

• Many minority governments only survived as long as there was some semblance of unity between the parties that made up the coalitions.

• In this situation, governments couldn’t plan for long term → had to muddle along from issue to issue.

• Historian Gordon Craig: government in the Weimar Republic ‘resembled an endless cabinet crisis, with more time and energy expended on the task of filling ministerial chairs than in governing the country’.

Flags

• Sometimes, seemingly trivial issues could wreck a coalition cabinet e.g. in 1926 Luther’s government collapsed after dispute over flags.

• President Hindenburg ordered old imperial flag, with black, white and red colours should be flown alongside new republican tricolour (black, red and gold) at German consulates in other countries, resulting dispute led to government collapse.

• Weimar Republic had adopted a new flag when established in 1919 → flags became a symbol of political allegiance, with anti-Weimar nationalist groups continuing to use old imperial flag.

Grand Coalition:

• Problems of establishing + sustaining stable coalition government arose because no. of workable combination of parties = limited.

• SPD and DNVP wouldn’t serve in same cabinet and more moderate parties didn’t have enough seats to command Reichstag majority.

• Formation of broadly based Grand Coalition in 1928, led by Herman Muller of SPD, appeared to offer potential for more stable government → one of the longest-lived coalitions of Weimar era, remaining in office until March 1930.

• Grand Coalition enjoyed support of over 60% of Reichstag and it seemed democracy at last beginning to emerge in Weimar politics.

• Herman Muller: (1876-1931) - SPD politician who had been Foreign Minister from 1919-1920 and Chancellor in 1928. Was one of the signatories of Treaty of Versailles and had reputation for being calm, hard-working politician but lacked charisma.

• But even Grand Coalition was fraught with divisions → although government was established in June 1928 it wasn’t until spring 1929 that parties finally agreed on government’s policies.

• Ongoing disputes over budget and foreign policy and government only survived because of strong working relationship between Muller and Stresemann, Foreign Minister.

Attitudes to the Republic from the Elites:

• Weimar Republic could only be truly stable if it succeeded in winning support and loyalty of majority of citizens

• The circumstances in which the Republic was born predisposed large and important sections of German society to oppose it.

• Old elites, firmly entrenched in army, civil service and judiciary were hostile to parliamentary democracy and held firm to the view the Republic was born out of betrayal to Fatherland.

• Hostility strengthened by the signing of the humiliating Versailles Treaty and by political and economic crises of early years of Republic.

• Election of Hindenburg went some way towards reconciling elites to existence of Republic, but only because they believed Hindenburg would steer Germany back towards more authoritarian form of government.

Attitudes to the Republic from other social groups:

• At other end of social spectrum, many industrial workers felt Republic hadn’t delivered on promises of greater equality and social justice + crushing revolts with army and police, at behest of democratically elected politicians = clear evidence parliamentary democracy was failing.

• Middle class support for moderate political parties was therefore vital if Weimar Republic was to succeed in establishing solid foundations.

• Difficult to generalise about middle class in Germany as it was v. diverse, with many variations in wealth, religion and political affiliations.

• Many among middle class continued to prosper and broadly supportive of Republic

• But there were many more, especially among lower-class Mittelstand, who had suffered catastrophic decline in incomes as result of hyperinflation and who had no organised way to defend interests.

• People in this group welcomed return of economic stability under Stresemann and political stability under Hindenburg but resentment of Republic continued to fester.

A Fractured political system?

• During the years 1924-30 parliamentary and political system in Germany failed to make real progress → government carried out its work and just coped as best it could.

• No putsch from left or right and anti-republican extremists were contained, law and order restored and activities of various paramilitary groups restricted.

• Only minor and debatable successes → despite good intentions of certain individuals and groups, no signs of any real maturing or strengthening of political structure

• Strong and stable government hadn’t been established e.g. collapse of coalition government in 1926 over issue of choice of national flag and another coalition government fell over creation of religious schools.

• Main democratic parties still didn’t recognise necessity of working together in spirit of compromise.

• Growing contempt and cynicism shown by people towards party politics, particularly over negotiating and bargaining involved in creation of most coalitions.

• Turnout for elections declined in mid -1920s compared to 1919 and 1920 and increasing growth of small fringe parties.

Conclusion:

• When viewed in comparison with early years of Weimar Republic, or 1929-32, 1924-8 can be interpreted as time of political stability

• Political violence receded and no attempts by extremist groups to overthrow republic by force.

• Parties of extreme left and extreme right suffered loss of support in elections these years.

• Election of Hindenburg as President in 1925 can also be seen as sign traditional conservatives were beginning to adapt and accommodate to new reality of democratic republic.

• However, fundamental weaknesses in Weimar political system remained and stable cabinets elusive like in post-war years.

• Parties represented narrow sectional interests, making it difficult for politicians with national appeal and national programme to emerge.

• Circumstances under which Weimar Republic created deepened political divides

• Many of Weimar Republic’s democratic politicians understood need to compromise in order to establish coalition governments but parties and interests of people they represented placed severe constraints on freedom of action.

• Therefore coalition governments were fragile and temporary alliances → even in favourable circumstances stable government proved impossible to achieve and respect for democratic institutions was further eroded.

• Apparent stability of these years = really a deception, a mirage, misleading some people into believing a genuine basis for lasting government had been achieved → it hadn’t.