Bremen National Assembly

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Bremen coat of arms (middle) .svg
Coat of arms Bremerhaven.svg

The Bremer National Assembly was from 1919 to 1920 in Bremen , the Constituent Assembly of the State of Bremen at the time of the Weimar Republic .

history

prehistory

After the First World War and the November Revolution of 1918, which led to the transformation of the German Reich from a constitutional monarchy into a parliamentary- democratic republic, the democratic forces in Bremen also strove for the abolition of the eight-class suffrage and the introduction of a general, direct one , free, equal and secret suffrage for the election of the citizens of Bremen . A workers 'and soldiers' council formed in 1918 as the legislature in Bremen did not include the bourgeois forces and on January 10, 1919, excluded the moderate Social Democrats ( MSPD ). The liberal bourgeoisie organized in a citizens' committee at the end of 1918. The Bremen Council Republic , proclaimed by the workers' council in January 1919 by representatives of the KPD and USPD , was crushed by military force on February 4, 1919.

Convocation of the National Assembly

On January 19, 1919, Germany was elected to the Weimar National Assembly with an 85% turnout . In Bremen, the Majority Socialists (MSPD) were the clear winners with 42% of the vote, the Communists did not take part in the election and the USPD only received 18% of the vote. Despite the defeat of the two parties represented in the Workers 'and Soldiers' Council (KPD and USPD), the Council of People's Representatives of the Bremen Council Republic , formed on January 10, decided to convene an elected representative body. For tactical reasons, the election to the Bremen National Assembly was to take place first on March 1, but then on March 9, 1919 in accordance with the resolution of the Workers 'and Soldiers' Council of February 1, 1919.

After the Soviet Republic had been smashed, the provisional government formed by the MSPD under the leadership of Karl Deichmann carried out the elections to the Bremen National Assembly on March 9, 1919 in accordance with an ordinance of February 10. 200 MPs, who had to be 20 years old, were elected in the four constituencies of city (166 delegates), country (17 delegates), Vegesack (3 delegates) and Bremerhaven (14 delegates). For the first time in Bremen women could exercise their right to vote and 18 women were elected.

Of the 200 mandates received from left-wing parties

and by the bourgeois parties

Work of the National Assembly

The National Assembly was constituted on April 4, 1919. Since the MSPD was at odds with the other two left parties because of their exclusion from the Workers 'and Soldiers' Council and fundamentally different political assessments, they formed a coalition with the bourgeois parties. The businessman Richard Dunkel ( DDP ) was elected president with 141 votes. A "law concerning the provisional order of state authority" was passed unanimously on April 9, 1919 and it established the main tasks of the National Assembly. A transitional law regulated the validity of previous laws, including those of the revolutionary era. Wild rumors about new unrest and revolutionary intentions prompted the assembly on April 10, 1919 to elect a provisional Bremen Senate , consisting of 18 senators under the leadership of Karl Deichmann (SPD) as President of the Senate. There were 9 senators from the SPD, 5 from the DDP and 3 from the DVP, as well as the non-party bourgeois Martin Donandt . Senator Friedrich Nebelthau (DDP) became the representative of Bremen to the German Reich on December 31 , with the title of Envoy and Plenipotentiary Minister . The Senate was surrounded by middle-class senior officials.

The state of siege imposed as a state of emergency when the Soviet Republic was crushed was relaxed in May 1919. Previously, on April 15, the unions called for a general strike , which was not carried out fully but in some large factories. The security of public order was granted by government protection troops and the city armed forces. An expected left-wing coup did not therefore take place. The strike ended on April 29th. From July 1919, the MSPD pushed for an end to the state of emergency. On 7/9. September the Reich government lifted the state of siege.

The right to vote in rural communities associated with land ownership was abolished in June 1919.

The propaganda obstructions of the KPD representatives disrupted the negotiations, but could not significantly prevent the work. On August 22nd, the communists resigned from the National Assembly. Even after that, work in the congregation was slow.

Constitutional Committee

On May 23, 1919, the constitutional committee began with 13 members, including party secretary Ludwig Waigand (MSPD), city director Waldemar Becké (DDP), lawyer Dr. Bernhard Wilkens (DDP), Economist Hermann Wenhold (DDP), Senate Syndicus Dr. Rudolph Künkler (USPD), journalist Alfred Faust (USPD), lawyer Dr. Alfred Gildemeister (DVP) and the Senators Dr. Theodor Spitta (DDP), Karl Behle , (MSPD) and Mayor Karl Deichmann. However, the committee did not begin its work until June 1919 - following the resolution of the Reich constitution. A draft constitution was drawn up under the decisive influence of Senator Spitta. Work on the constitution was confidential, to the displeasure of the USPD.

On May 7, 1920, the constitutional text was presented to the National Assembly and represented by Spitta. The new, parliamentary constitution included

  • a general, equal and secret right to vote,
  • the referendum ,
  • a citizenship as legislature with 120 members, 102 for the city, 7 for the rural area, 2 for Vegesack and 9 for Bremerhaven,
  • Deputations from representatives of the citizenship and the Senate,
  • an executive Senate with 12 senators and two mayors, who were elected for an indefinite period and who represented the state internally and externally,
  • the authorization of the allocation of individual lines of business to individual senators or senate committees,
  • legislation at the request of the Senate or at the request of a third of the deputies,
  • the administration of justice by "independent courts" with a judges' selection committee consisting of a senator, a member of parliament and a judge,
  • the self-government of the rural communities,
  • the administration of the ports by a corporation under public law ,
  • the Chamber of Commerce , Small Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Trade , Chamber of Agriculture Bremen , employees and Chamber of Labor (since 2001 Arbeitnehmerkammer Bremen ) as public corporations,
  • the separation of state and churches.

In contrast to the constitutions of 1849, 1854 and 1947, this constitution did not contain any provisions on the fundamental rights and obligations of citizens, as the Weimar constitution already contained these articles.

Künkler (USPD) and the USPD criticized the draft and called for a more far- reaching constitution with more rights for the people's representatives, especially for the workers ( large workers 'council with veto rights, election of judges by the citizens, more workers' rights, dependent Senate, socialist free state ).
The right, on the other hand, criticized the government's excessive dependence on parliament and called for more independent, professionally trained senators.

From May 8th to May 11th, the constitution and a Senate law were adopted by the National Assembly, and on May 18, 1920 the constitution of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen was promulgated and finally enacted. It was valid until 1933. The referendum law was published separately on May 29th.

Citizenship and Senate elections

The Bremen citizenship was then elected at the same time as the Reichstag elections on June 6, 1920. In the general election, the MSPD lost and received only 18.3% of the vote, the USPD won and had 30.7% of the vote, the Communists only received 4.5%, the DDP only 13.9%, while the DVP 20, 0%, the DNVP 6.8% and the list of business associations of the middle class 5.5% of the votes. Richard Dunkel (DDP) was again elected President of the Citizenship. To senators after representatives of the DDP, the DVP and two independents and the non-party Donandt Martin were elected as President and Theodor Spitta (DDP) as mayor.

See also

literature