Weimar Constitution and Political Parties

What was the name of the electoral system outlined by the Weimar Constitution? Type it in. (spelling matters, but not case sensitive)

(a)  

What did this system mean in practice?

• Whichever party got the most votes in each area, won a seat to represent that area
• The % of votes won = the % of seats in the Reichstag
• Everyone votes for a first and second choice - whoever gets more than 50% of first choice votes wins that seat
• Every area was able to elect 4 or 5 different representatives

This system made it very hard to win a majority, so to form a government, parties had to form… (fill in the blank)

(a)  

Who was the head of state in the Weimar Republic?

• The Kaiser
• The Prime Minister
• The President
• The Chancellor

Who was the first President of the Weimar Republic in 1919?

(a)  

Who was the first Chancellor of the Weimar Republic?

• Phillip Schiedemann
• Freidrich Ebert
• Matthias Erzberger
• Wilhelm Groener

How was the Chancellor chosen?

• The public voted every 7 years
• The President chose, usually the leader of the largest party
• The representatives in the Reichstag held a vote
• It was passed from father to son

What percentage of the vote did the SPD win in the first elections in 1919?

• 18%

• 55%

• 4%

• 37%

Who tended to support the DDP, the moderately left wing German Democratic Party?

• Intellectual middle classes (civil servants, scientists, teachers)

• The workers

• The landowners and Junkers

• The industrialists and big businessmen

The third party in the first Weimar coalition government was the ZP (Centre Party). Which religious faith were they originally the party of?

• Judaism

• Islam

• Roman Catholicism

• Protestantism