After World War I, the Weimar Republic that replaced the German Empire created under the rule of Otto von Bismarck was probably doomed from the start. After German defeat in the War, the citizens of the country were searching for a new mode of government that represented the people and not the whims and ideals of a few powerful people. With the populace hungry, tired and defeated, a social movement emerged and the Weimer Republic was formed to replace the collapsed old guard.
While the intentions were noble and should have worked “on paper.” At first, upon accepting the strict impositions of the Versailles Treaty, the government became somewhat of an object of resentment among the people (especially the conservatives) who thought that the Germans were being unfairly punished. Stripped of land and forced into huge reparations the economy that was already in a shambles because of the war, spiraled deeper and inflation grew to astronomical levels. Still the Weimer Parliament was able to put together a Constitution and a political system of representation voted on by the people called the Reichstag. After the initial crash, the Parliament was able to begin to resurrect itself and soon foreign banks (including Americans) began helping to structure the economy to survive. The German Parliament and the country began to rise, though slowly.
Unfortunately, the there was pressure and rhetoric from both the left and the right about the burden the Weimar Republic had saddled the German people with by agreeing to the Versailles Treaty. Whether real or very much exaggerated it made no difference because the Germans were feeling the psychological impact of humiliation on the world stage and they were a proud people with a recent history of unified Nationalism not seem for many years after the Middle Ages.
With an unlimited opportunity to turn public opinion and the rising support of other democratic nations, the Reichstag Parliament should have been able to fend off the mud-slinging attacks. The Nazi party, and Hitler especially took advantage of several key failures on the part of the Reichstag.
Unforeseen at the time, when the Weimar Constitution was drawn up there was a caveat that allowed for “emergency presidential powers at times of political crisis” called Article 48. Though a small point, it eventually became the death knoll of democracy and the Parliament’s powers which ultimately led to Hitler’s ascent to the Chancellorship and then self-proclaimed furor which the Parliament was unable to do anything.
Then there was the rhetoric. Too many disenfranchised splinter groups existed in Germany at the time. Instead of reaching out to the people who were most susceptible to Nazi ideological propaganda, they left the Mittlestad and the rural areas to wallow. By collecting these small but numerous groups together under one banner of the National Socialist Party, Hitler was able to create a very sizeable base of support. The grassroots campaigns to infiltrate these groups were conducted very successfully and skillfully. By appealing to the young, the Middle Class and the rural farm folks, the Nazis picked up votes where the narrow mindedness of the Weimar bourgeois did not have appeal.
Once this new power party emerged the Parliament there was no choice but to recognize it, but very soon the momentum of the Nazi party began to wane. In this, it is said that Hitler was to blame to some degree for his stubborn views and refusals. The cracks in the foundation had begun to show.
Then the Reichstag hit an impasse in 1930. Because of increased unemployment from the Great Depression, there was dissention from the Parliament to pass laws and at the advisement of his cabinet the President invoked the infamous Article 48 and effectively ended Parliamentary power, especially that of the Social Democrats. This liberal party had enjoyed a good run but was defeated and broken from both sides by the Nazis, Hindenburg and his associates, and the Center Party. The era of Presidential Rule had begun but the Nazis still had not gained control of the government.
Without the weak response, infighting and acquiescence of the Reichstag at key times, the Nazis never could have come to such a position through pure Parliamentary means.
