AS history exam question: Nazi Germany

Hi, I am stuck on this question:
'Explain briefly what is meant by "the failures of Parliamentary democracy" in the Weimar Republic 1928-33." (3 marks)

Reply 1

......?

Well they had to resort to presidential government because the coalition had different viewpoints, and this meant no action was beong taken, the wall street crash damaged german economy but it was already in trouble and unemployment was rising with wage cuts and businesses closing down. there was also an increase in political murders and Mullers coalition didnt know wether to cut down on benefits or keep them there and so it broke apart. thats not an answer though, just ramblin about what happened at the time

Reply 2

RobbieC

Failures were due to:
-Overly democratic constitution.
-Article 48, which bred authoritarianism in the democracy.
-Ineffective Chancellors, who had no support.
-The internal power struggle between the left and right wings in Germany.

Reply 3

Nellz

Also the multiple parties led to unstable coalition governments and therefore a lack of stability and a lack of good decision making.

Reply 4

Hazza_CPFC

What everyone else said, as well as the fact that Article 25 allowed Hindenburg (who was a bit nuts by this stage and being heavily influnced by right-wingers like Von Papen) to dissolve the Reichstag basically whenever he wanted.

He started using this in 1928 and did it four times (the four different Presidential chancellors, ending with Hitler) and this - coupled with all the other crap - was the end of Parliamentary democracy.

Reply 5

Me.

ok. im in need of help badly. just had a grade review week, n lets just say things arent really going to plan in history involving nazi germany. can anyone give me any hints or tips on how to answer spource questions? they are soooooo hard! (AS by the way.)thnx. luv me.

Reply 6

Dreama

Me.

Surprisingly despite many students finding Source based questions difficult, they tend to do the best in exams.

I think the key is remembering the Q's may seem deceptively easy, but in essence, the answers are there to be inferred from.

They key is to establish *where* the source is coming from.

Challenge the source...

Who is the author? ( Goering's view on Hitler may differ from a Jewish businessmans's)

For what purpose are they writing? (Russian propoganda leaflet may be more bias than simple official documentation)

When are they writing? ( Newspaper articles of the 21st November 1919 are probably more reliable than a textbook of 2004)

Reply 7

RobbieC

Me.

You must also be sure to assess bias and to compare the dependability and usefulness of sources based on this and their content. For example you could say statisitcal tables have a limiting factor in that they provide no context for where they come from. Production of a material might have gone down in one year due to an accident at a plant, or something and this would not be stated! Random example, sorry, but you catch my drift.

A good idea also, is to quote from sources as you go, like you did in English GCSE. Brief quotations to support what you are saying always help.

Good luck. If you need more extensive help email me: [email protected]

Reply 8

smallthoms

For source questions make sure you have some reasons why the source is reliable and some why it isn't. Try to show that you've approached it with an open mind.