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“It was widespread nationalist sentiment amongst the German population that led to the failure of democracy and the establishment of authoritarianism in Germany in the years 1914 – 34”. Assess the validity of this view. - Full Essay$6.53
“It was widespread nationalist sentiment amongst the German population that led to the failure of democracy and the establishment of authoritarianism in Germany in the years 1914 – 34”. Assess the validity of this view. - Full Essay
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Nazi Ideology - AQA A-level History - 1L Germany 1871 - 1991
‘Bismarck successfully controlled the political opposition he faced in the years 1871-1890’. To what extent do you agree with this statement? - Full Essay
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Callum Gallagher
“It was widespread nationalist sentiment amongst the German population that led to
the failure of democracy and the establishment of authoritarianism in Germany in the
years 1914 – 34”. Assess the validity of this view.
Authoritarianism is a form of government that is characterised by a strong central
power and limited political freedoms. 1 In Germany, authoritarianism, and the end of
democracy, was established after a referendum in August 1934 in a decision about
whether to merge the posts of Chancellor and President. In this referendum, 88% of
the German population voted “Yes” which confirmed Hitler’s power over Germany
total and secure. I believe that whilst the nationalist sentiment that had developed
amongst the German population was a key factor in the failure of democracy in
Germany, there were other, far more influential factors that impacted upon this.
Whilst on the surface it appears that the failure of democracy in Germany was due to
the actions of Adolf Hitler and the rise of Nazism the “failure of democracy requires
the Perfect Storm” of conditions before Hitler could emerge from the edge of German
politics and become a national force. Some of these “conditions” include the Weimar
constitution itself and the economic situation in which Germany found itself which I
will assess and evaluate.
Firstly, I believe that the Weimar constitution had a significant impact on the failing of
democracy in Germany and the installation of authoritarianism. This is highlighted
through the electoral system that was introduced into the Weimar Republic when the
Republic began in 1919, one of proportional representation. Whilst this was a highly
democratic method of voting, it was a key contributor to the downfall of democracy in
Germany. The system of proportional representation resulted in the Reichstag
containing a wide spectrum of ideologies, represented by numerous small scale
parties. This is highlighted in the elections of May 1924 whereby 4 parties held
between 62 and 100 seats. Despite the fact that this resulted in a greater
representation of views for the German people, the scattered composition of the
Reichstag resulted in numerous fragile coalitions forming as the vote was too
widespread for one party to hold an absolute majority. The fragility of these coalitions
is emphasised by the fact that in the fourteen years of Weimar government, there
were twenty different coalitions and not one party ever held an overall majority. This
frequent change and lack of a majority party resulted in little being agreed upon in
the Reichstag and meant that very few pieces of legislation were passed. Whilst
proportional representation had been introduced to ensure that everyone’s view in
Germany was heard, it resulted in few German people’s desires being fulfilled. This
culminated in a feeling of unhappiness spreading across Germany as the people
viewed that little was being done to satisfy their demands. Instead, German’s turned
towards more radical parties, most commonly the right wing in an attempt to
introduce change into the country as they felt that the right wing parties would bring
change and attempt to ensure that German people’s desires were fulfilled. Ultimately
it was this that resulted in the failure of democracy and introduction of
authoritarianism. It is for this reason that I believe that rather than being solely the
nationalist views of the German people that led to the failure of democracy, there
1
Oxford Dictionary
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