Reichstag (German Empire)

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The plenary session of the Reichstag, 1889 at Leipziger Strasse 4
Parliament hall of the Reichstag, 1906 in the Reichstag building
The large meeting room of the Reichstag around 1903, with numerical identification of special places
Reichstag constituencies, see also the list of Reichstag constituencies of the German Empire

The Reichstag was the parliament of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918 . Even in the North German Confederation, parliament had the same name and the same position in the political system. In addition to the emperor, the Reichstag embodied the unity of the empire and was therefore a unitarian organ. He represented the national and democratic element alongside the federalism of the states and the monarchical-bureaucratic executive (the chancellor) in the power structure of the empire.

Together with the Federal Council , he exercised the Reich legislation and had co-decision- making power over the budget of the Reich. It also had certain control rights over the executive and was able to create publicity through debates.

The Reichstag was elected with one of the most progressive electoral laws of its time; initially for three years each, then for five years each. In principle, all men aged 25 and over were allowed to vote, with restrictions, for example, for the incapacitated. The Reichstag also met during the First World War . In the November Revolution from November 9, 1918, however, the Council of People's Representatives prevented another session of the Reichstag. Thus the last meeting took place on October 26, 1918. The Weimar National Assembly became the provisional successor to the Imperial Diet on February 6, 1919.

elections

The Imperial Constitution of April 16, 1871, did not change the legal form of parliament as it was drawn up for the Reichstag of the North German Confederation by its Federal Constitution of April 17, 1867 . The Federal Election Act or Reich Election Act of 1869 was based on the Reich Election Act of 1849 .

The MPs were elected with a general, equal and secret male suffrage (see Reichstag elections in Germany ). All men aged 25 and over were eligible to vote. In international comparison, but also with a view to the state parliaments, this right to vote was very extensive. In most other countries it was restricted by some form of census suffrage .

Likewise, people in active military service were not eligible to vote (although they did have the right to stand as a candidate), as the aim was to avoid politicizing the military, as well as people who were dependent on public poor relief, people whose assets had been brought into bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings and persons who were incapacitated by a court ruling or who were declared to have lost their civil rights. In the 1912 Reichstag election, 22.2% of the population (14.442 million men) were eligible to vote (for comparison: 16% in Great Britain and 28% in the USA). This percentage was significantly higher than the percentage of those eligible to vote in state elections in the individual states, for example in Bavaria or Saxony , where the right to vote was subject to additional conditions.

Importance of the runoff elections

It was elected in one-man constituencies with absolute majority voting rights . This meant that there were only directly elected MPs. The one elected was the one who was able to get an absolute majority of the votes in the first ballot. If this did not happen, there was a runoff election between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. The runoff elections became more and more important during the Reichstag elections in the German Empire. While runoff elections had to be held in only 46 of the 397 constituencies (11.6%) in the Reichstag election in 1874 , there were already 147 constituencies in the 1890 election (37%) and in the 1912 Reichstag election 190 constituencies (47.9%).

This was an expression of the fact that the importance of the parties' “strongholds” declined, while social democracy in particular established itself as a mass movement across the empire. The Social Democrats were involved in an increasing number of runoff elections (in 1912 in 120 of the 190 runoff elections), of which they lost the majority (in 1912: 45 runoffs won out of 120) because social democratic candidates usually faced a grand coalition of all bourgeois parties in the runoff election . The liberal parties of the center were particularly successful in the runoff elections, as they usually only won the majority of their seats in the Reichstag in the runoff. For example, in the 1912 election , the National Liberals participated in 68 runoff elections, of which they won 41. In the first ballot only 3 direct candidates were successful. The German Progressive Party took part in 55 runoff elections in 1912, of which it won 42. In the first ballot she had not won a single direct mandate.

Consequences of the constituency

In 1871 the Reichstag consisted of 382 members . From 1874 there were 397, because fifteen constituencies of the realm of Alsace-Lorraine were added. This number was valid until the end of the empire. The constituencies were initially tailored to include around 100,000 people. Exceptions were eight small states that formed their own constituencies, even if they had fewer than 100,000 inhabitants. Since the constituency boundaries were based on the borders of the individual German states, some constituencies consisted of widely spaced areas. For example, constituency 1 in the Duchy of Braunschweig included the area around the city of Braunschweig, but also the Braunschweig exclaves Thedinghausen (near Bremen) and Blankenburg (in the Harz region). Constituency 1 in the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg included the area around the city of Oldenburg and the Oldenburg exclaves Principality of Lübeck in Holstein and Principality of Birkenfeld on the upper reaches of the Nahe. The fragmentation of the constituencies in the Thuringian territories was particularly pronounced.

Due to the different population development, primarily due to the internal migration to the big cities and industrial centers, large differences arose with regard to the population of the individual constituencies. In 1912 there were twelve constituencies across the Reich with fewer than 75,000 inhabitants, but also twelve constituencies with more than 400,000 inhabitants (of which the largest, constituency Potsdam 10: Teltow-Beeskow-Storkow-Charlottenburg, with 1,282,000 inhabitants). However, all constituencies each sent one representative. The constituencies of the constituencies, which were based on the census of 1864 and have not changed since then, disadvantaged parties that had their electorate mainly in the cities. On the other hand, the smallness of constituencies that coincided with individual dwarf states must not be viewed as a disadvantage, because the federal structure of the empire definitely justified a minimum seat regardless of population, as in the case of Schaumburg-Lippe, which is often discussed in the literature .

The electoral law of 1869 stipulated that it was not the administration by ordinance but the legislation that would adjust the constituencies of the constituencies to the times. The Reichstag was suspicious of the administration, as it had regularly practiced constituency geometry in Prussian state elections. But the legislature also included the Federal Council, which prevented a legal adjustment of the constituency of the constituencies in the following decades.

Composition and working method

MPs

Lectern, bureau and stenographer

The delegates were considered to be representatives of the entire Reich people and were not bound by instructions according to the constitution. The parliamentarians enjoyed immunity and indemnity . Linked to this was the protection of civil servants from disciplinary punishments for their political actions as parliamentarians.

The division between the executive and parliament was emphasized. A member of parliament who was appointed to the Reich leadership or a state government had to resign from his seat.

Diets were not paid because there should be no professional politicians. In practice, this meant that one had to be available in terms of time and that this office could be afforded financially. In this way, not well off or unofficial candidates were disadvantaged. Lawyers and journalists, for example, were able to combine a parliamentary activity and a job. Max Weber also counted Prussian Junkers, large industrialists, rentiers and high officials in this group. In contrast, the majority of entrepreneurs were seldom available because of their occupation. This is even more true of the workers.

A compensation could be the support of one's own party or an interest organization. The SPD, for example, has been paying its MPs a kind of salary since 1876. In addition, numerous parliamentarians were employed as functionaries or journalists in the party press. In 1898 about 40% of the Social Democrats were party employees and another 15–20% worked for the free trade unions . In the conservative camp, the farmers' union supported parliamentarians financially and expected political support in return. Industry associations and the Catholic Church also acted similarly. After all, there was an expense allowance since 1906. However, the 3,000 marks a year were too low to make a living from. Practice has shown that these provisions could not prevent something like professional politics.

Convocation and dissolution

Mandates in the German Reichstag 1871–1887
1871 1874 1877 1878 1881 1884 1887
conservative 57 22nd 40 59 50 78 80
Free Conservatives 37 33 38 57 28 28 41
National Liberals 125 155 128 99 47 51 99
Progress party 46 49 35 26th 60 - -
Liberal Association - - - - 46 - -
Freeness - - - - - 67 32
center 63 91 93 94 100 99 98
Social democrats 2 9 12 9 12 24 11
Minorities 21st 34 34 40 45 43 33
Others 31 4th 17th 13 9 7th 3

The proceedings of the Reichstag were public (Article 22 of the Reich Constitution) and the press reported widely on the debates. The electoral term was initially three years, after 1888 five years. A legislative period was divided into several sessions , usually four or five. These lasted about one to four months each. If legislative proposals, petitions and other parliamentary business were not concluded in one session, they were considered to have been dealt with and had to be re-introduced in the next session. In some cases there could be exceptions. The Reichstag had no right of self-assembly, but was convened annually by the emperor, but this turned out to be a formality.

The Federal Council was allowed to dissolve the Reichstag with the consent of the Kaiser. However, after the dissolution, new elections had to take place within sixty days, and the newly elected Reichstag had to be convened after 90 days at the latest. In fact, the Reichstag was only dissolved four times: in 1878 , 1887 , 1893 and 1906 . The initiative always came from the Chancellor, who hoped that the Reichstag parties that supported him would also win. This gain was uncertain, which explains the low number of Reichstag resolutions.

Rules of Procedure and Presidium

Conservative Group members

For its internal organization, the Reichstag was based on the rules of procedure of the Prussian House of Representatives . This remained in force essentially until the end of the German Empire and beyond until 1922. According to the rules of procedure, contributions should only be made from the lectern or from the benches. Since in practice many MPs were around the table with the voting boxes, speeches were also made from there and the other MPs grouped around the speakers and commented on the contributions. This was mostly not punished by the President of the Reichstag .

There were parliamentary committees, but their expansion was slow. The number of members was based on the strength of the parliamentary groups. In the Seniors' Convention (i.e. the council of elders ) an agreement was reached on the chairmanship of the committee. In contrast to the rules of procedure of the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic, there was no stipulation of the number or task of certain committees.

The MPs elected a President of the Reichstag and his deputy. This represented parliament externally and had the task of maintaining order internally. The President set the agenda. Parliament could only reject this with a majority. Furthermore, he gave the floor, even if it was mostly according to the order of the reports. In fact, there was often a list of speakers, some of which were determined in consultation with the political groups in the Seniors' Convention. The President could call speakers to order and, if disregarded, request that he be removed from the floor or excluded from the meeting. For example, it was inadmissible to debate the person of the emperor. If a parliamentarian dared to do so, the president intervened.

The members of the Federal Council enjoyed a special position in parliament. So they did not fall under the authority of the President, but had the right to be heard. The Chancellor as such had no right to speak. In practice, however, the Chancellor was almost always a member of the Federal Council.

Parliamentary groups and senior citizens' convention

Members of the Liberal Party faction

Political groups were not part of the Rules of Procedure. In fact, however, they were the decisive internal divisions in Parliament. The departments drawn by lots provided for in the rules of procedure, however, played no role. The Reichstag was based on the liberal idea of ​​a free mandate. In fact, there were non-attached or so-called wild MPs. Exits and transfers from the parliamentary groups were not uncommon. Nevertheless, the political groups became a central factor in Parliament's work. These ultimately determined the rules of procedure, occupied the Presidium, determined the speakers and the composition of the committees.

The parliamentary groups in the empire were usually alliances of members of the same party. The parliamentary groups usually elected a board from the respective party leadership. In addition to the regular members, there were also the so-called interns. These were members who did not (yet) belong to the respective party. The parliamentary groups were financed by contributions from their members. There were regular parliamentary group meetings in which one agreed on the parliamentary procedure.

Officially, there was no mandatory faction . Nevertheless, the threat of parliamentary exclusion was an important means of internal group discipline. Nor should the moral expectation of voting with the parliamentary group be underestimated. Ultimately, the factional discipline prevailed more and more. Of course, there was always the option of staying away from a vote. The group discipline was weakest among the bourgeois middle parties. Individual voting behavior was by no means uncommon for them.

The Seniors' Convention also moved outside of the official rules of procedure. In this governing body of Parliament, leading representatives of the political groups came together to vote - for example on the agenda, committee appointments or procedural questions. The decisions of the Seniors' Convention were not subject to the majority principle, but were made unanimously. Since around 1890, the parliamentary groups were represented in the body depending on their strength.

The position of the President of the Reichstag in relation to the Seniors' Convention was related to its political backing. If he did not come from a strong faction, he had to follow the Convention to a greater extent than if he came from a strong faction. Initially, there was no personal link between the Presidium of the Reichstag and the Seniors' Convention. Until 1884 the members of the Presidium were not also members of the Seniors' Convention. Since then, the first vice-president has also headed the senior citizens' convention. In 1899 the President took over this position himself.

Duties and rights

legislation

Debate in the Reichstag
Mandates in the German Reichstag 1890–1912
1890 1893 1898 1903 1907 1912
conservative 73 72 56 54 60 43
Free Conservatives 20th 28 23 21st 24 14th
National Liberals 42 53 46 51 54 45
Left liberals 66 37 41 30th 42 42
center 106 96 102 100 105 91
Social democrats 35 44 56 81 43 110
Minorities 38 35 34 32 29 33
Anti-semites 5 16 13 11 22nd 10
German People's Party 10 11 8th 6th 7th -
Others 2 5 18th 11 11 9

According to Article 23, one of the central rights of the Reichstag was that it could propose bills (legislative initiative) and that a bill could only become law with the consent of the Reichstag. The Reichstag shared both rights with the Bundesrat (Art. 16). This corresponded to the principle of checks and balances in other countries. Although no law could be enforced against the will of the federal state governments represented in the Bundesrat, the Bundesrat became increasingly less important in everyday constitutional work.

A first reading of a law should only have a general debate on the principles of the draft. The individual articles could only be debated at the second reading. Changes could now also be submitted. Finally, in the third reading there should be a synthesis of the results from the first and second reading. Newly submitted applications had to have the support of at least thirty MPs. Eventually the whole draft was put to the vote.

The core competence of the Reichstag was the budget law and thus the decision on the budget of the Reich in legal form (Art. 69). While Bismarck had proposed a three-year budget, Parliament pushed through a one-year budget. If there were any unplanned expenses, a supplementary budget had to be adopted. The parliament did not decide on the total amount, as originally planned by Bismarck, but the expenditure was itemized in detail, and the parliament could deliberate on each item separately. In this context, the budget debate became the central dispute over government action as a whole.

There were restrictions on the military budget. This was not decided annually, but in longer periods of time. These were the provisional arrangements of 1867 and 1874. In the so-called Septennaten , the military budget was then set for seven years. This was followed by the quinquennate with a term of five years. A reduction in the military budget was hardly possible, and even attempts to influence individual items of the military ran into difficulties. In the years between the adoption of the military budget, Parliament had no say in what was by far the largest area of ​​expenditure in the Reich. However, this was not a German peculiarity, but in terms of the military budget there were similar restrictions in budget law in other countries.

There were also limits to parliamentary influence in the area of ​​revenue. Indirect taxes and tariffs were fixed for an extended period of time and therefore Parliament's room for maneuver was limited. The matricular contributions of the federal states were in any case outside the competence of the Reichstag. Parliament could reject new revenue, but it could not get it alone.

Parliament's rights of participation were particularly limited in the area of ​​foreign policy. Approval to international treaties was only necessary in customs, trade, transport and similar areas (Articles 4 and 11). This did not apply to alliance policy. Corresponding agreements did not even have to be made known to Parliament. The declaration of war and peace was the responsibility of the emperor. For this he needed the approval of the Bundesrat, but not the Reichstag.

Control of the executive branch

Members of the Catholic Center Group

Parliament had the right to interpellate or petition in any area of ​​government activity . For an interpellation, the consent of 30 MPs was required. The Chancellor was not obliged to appear in the Reichstag or to answer questions. In practice, however, the chancellors did this to justify their point of view.

The control function was further developed in the committees. With a minor reform of the rules of procedure of the Reichstag in 1912, the right to a small question to the Reich Chancellor was also introduced for each member . His answer was without a subsequent discussion. Furthermore, the right of interpellation was extended to the extent that a vote could be taken on the question in the room. This was the case in connection with the Zabern affair in 1913, when the Reichstag criticized Reich Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg with a large majority. However, this had no consequences under constitutional law, because it was only covered by the rules of procedure, but not by constitutional law.

De jure, the Reichstag had no direct influence on the appointment or dismissal of the Reich Chancellor, for this was the responsibility of the Emperor. In practice, however, no policy could be carried out against the Reichstag in the long term because it had to enact the laws and pass the budget. The Chancellor was politically responsible to the Reichstag, even if he did not have to resign if there was a vote of no confidence.

Position in the power structure

Members of the Social Democratic parliamentary group in the Reichstag, 1889

Even if the government's accountability before parliament was limited, the chancellor was dependent on parliament's approval for laws and the budget. In the age of legal positivism , rule based on ordinances was no longer possible. The newly founded empire required numerous laws, and the increasingly complex economy and society led to a further need for legal regulations. Exemplary of the power of the Reichstag is its rejection of the overthrow bill ( 1895) and the prison bill (1899) supported by both the government and the emperor .

The Chancellor therefore needed majorities in the Reichstag. The importance of the Reichstag grew in connection with structural political and social changes. Universal male suffrage (one of the most modern of its time) resulted in mass political mobilization. The turnout rose from 51% in 1871 to 85% in 1912. The parties and interest groups of all kinds formulated their interests and effectively asserted them in parliament. The Reichstag therefore held a central key position in the institutionalized decision-making structure of the Reich.

The position of the Reichstag vis-à-vis the government naturally also depended on the internal structure and the majority structure. The German multi-party system made it difficult to form a parliamentary majority. Bismarck, for example, played the parties off against one another, relied on changing majorities or docile coalitions. Since the conservative turn of 1878/79, the parliamentary groups have often limited themselves to reacting to and preventing government measures. The low willingness of the parties to compromise made it easier for the government to achieve its goals. If necessary, she resorted to the dissolution of parliament. In the election campaign that followed, some demagogic campaigns were supposed to ensure that the elections failed in the interests of the government. The possibility of dissolution always played a role in the background for parliamentary decisions.

After the Bismarck era, the threat of dissolution lost its importance. The fact that permanent political voter camps were formed played a role in this. There were hardly any mobilisable non-voters to win for the government. With the exception of the 1907 election, new elections brought no changes that would have improved the position of governments. But the antagonism between the political camps has intensified, making it difficult to take joint action against the government.

President of the Reichstag

The opening of the newly elected 13th German Reichstag , the last Reichstag before the revolution , on February 7, 1912 under the chairmanship of the 82-year-old age -old President Albert Traeger , who died a few weeks later.
President of the German Reichstag (1871-1918)
No. Surname Taking office Term expires
1 Eduard Simson 1871 1874
2 Maximilian Franz August von Forckenbeck 1874 1879
3 Otto Theodor von Seydewitz 1879 1880
4th Adolf Graf von Arnim-Boitzenburg 1880 1881
5 Gustav Konrad Heinrich von Goßler 1881 1881
6th Albert Erdmann Karl Gerhard von Levetzow 1881 1884
7th Wilhelm von Wedel-Piesdorf 1884 1888
8th Albert Erdmann Karl Gerhard von Levetzow 1888 1895
9 Rudolf Freiherr von Buol-Berenberg 1895 1898
10 Franz von Ballestrem 1898 1907
11 Udo Graf zu Stolberg-Wernigerode 1907 1910
12 Hans Graf von Schwerin-Löwitz 1910 1912
13 Johannes Kaempf 1912 1918
14th Constantin Fehrenbach 1918 1918

Important members of the Reichstag during the imperial era

Reichstag: Interior view and plan, Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1905
Sample of the free ticket for MPs on the German railways for 1912

See also

literature

  • Andreas Biefang: The other side of power. Reichstag and the public in the "Bismarck System" 1871–1890 (=  contributions to the history of parliamentarism and political parties , vol. 156). Düsseldorf 2009.
  • Michael Stürmer : Government and Reichstag in the Bismarck State 1871–1881. Caesarism or Parliamentarism? Düsseldorf 1974.
  • Manfred Rauh: The parliamentarization of the German Empire. Düsseldorf 1977.
  • Winfried Halder: Domestic Policy in the Empire 1871-1914. Darmstadt 2011.
  • Thomas Nipperdey : German History 1866-1918. Vol. II: Power state before democracy. Munich 1992, pp. 202-207.
  • Hedwig Richter: The construction of the modern voter around 1900. Alignment of election techniques in Europe and North America, in: Tim B. Müller u. Adam Tooze : Normality and Fragility. Democracy after the First World War. Hamburg: Hamburger Edition, 2015, pp. 70–90 ( online ).

Web links

Commons : Reichstag (German Empire)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Topic page Reichstag  - Sources and full texts
Wiktionary: Reichstag  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Thomas Nipperdey : German History 1866-1918 , Vol. II, Munich 1992, p. 102.
  2. ↑ Winfried Halder: Domestic Policy in the Empire 1871-1914 , Darmstadt 2003, p. 8 f.
  3. ↑ Gerhard A. Ritter : Wahlgeschichtliches Arbeitsbuch: materials for statistics of the empire 1871-1918. Introduction, Beck'sche Elementarbücher, CH Beck, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-406-07610-6 .
  4. ↑ a b Gerhard A. Ritter: Wahlgeschichtliches Arbeitsbuch: materials for statistics of the Kaiserreich 1871-1918 , first chapter: Das Deutsche Reich , subsection 17: The runoff elections 1871-1912 , Beck, Munich 1980.
  5. ^ Joachim Lilla: Reichstag constituencies - Historical Lexicon of Bavaria. Retrieved on September 17, 2018 (German (Sie-Salutation)).
  6. ↑ Winfried Halder: Domestic Policy in the Empire 1871–1914 , Darmstadt 2003, p. 17.
  7. ↑ Peter Molt: The Reichstag before the improvised revolution . Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 1963, ISBN 978-3-322-96100-6 , p. 55 .
  8. ↑ Winfried Halder: Domestic Policy in the Empire 1871–1914 , Darmstadt 2003, p. 18 f .; Thomas Nipperdey: German History 1866-1918 , Vol. II, Munich 1992, p. 105; Marion Reiser: Between volunteering and professional politics Professionalization of local politics in major German cities , Wiesbaden 2006, p. 55 f.
  9. ↑ Figures from Tormin: History of German Parties , p. 282 f. Notes: Social democrats include the SDAP and the ADAV until 1874, under minorities are subsumed: Welfen, Poles, Danes, Alsace-Lorraine, under Others you can find (old) Liberals, German People's Party until 1878, 1881 and 1884 only German People's Party, 1887 also 1 Abg. of the Christian Social Party and two other Abg.
  10. ↑ Law of March 19, 1888 ( RGBl. P. 110)
  11. ^ Norbert Achterberg: Parliamentary Law , Tübingen 1984, p. 28.
  12. ↑ Winfried Halder: Domestic Policy in the Empire 1871-1914 , Darmstadt 2003, p. 17 f .; Thomas Nipperdey: German History 1866-1918 , Vol. II, Munich 1992, p. 104 f.
  13. ↑ Heiko Bollmeyer: The stony road to democracy: The Weimar National Assembly between the Empire and the Republic , Frankfurt a. M. 2007, p. 62 f.
  14. ^ Raban von Westphalen : German government system , Oldenbourg, Munich [u. a.] 2001, p. 37 f.
  15. ↑ Heiko Bollmeyer: The stony road to democracy: The Weimar National Assembly between the Empire and the Republic , Frankfurt a. M. 2007, p. 63 f.
  16. ↑ Michael Winkler: The parliamentary groups in German-Spanish legal comparison , Berlin 1997, pp. 26-29; Thomas Nipperdey: German History 1866-1918 , Vol. II, Munich 1992, p. 105.
  17. ^ Raban von Westphalen: German Government System , Munich [u. a.] 2001, p. 36 f.
  18. ↑ Numbers from Loth: Kaiserreich , p. 236. The left-wing liberals include the German-Friesinnige Party , from 1893 Liberal People's Party and Liberal Association , from 1910 Progressive People's Party .
  19. ↑ Winfried Halder: Domestic Policy in the Empire 1871-1914 , Darmstadt 2003, p. 18.
  20. ↑ Andreas Biefang notes: “The instrumental power of the Federal Council, which at first glance appears to be considerable, has turned out to be astonishingly weak in practice,” A. Biefang: The other side of power. Reichstag and public in the "Bismarck System" 1871–1890. Droste, Düsseldorf 2009, p. 233, cf. also p. 234; see. also Thomas Nipperdey: German History 1866-1918. Power state before democracy. CH Beck, Munich 1992, p. 491.
  21. ↑ Heiko Bollmeyer: The Stony Road to Democracy: The Weimar National Assembly between Empire and Republic , Frankfurt am Main 2007, p. 63.
  22. ↑ Winfried Halder: Domestic Policy in the Empire 1871–1914 , Darmstadt 2003, p. 18; Thomas Nipperdey: German History 1866-1918 , Vol. II, Munich 1992, pp. 103 f.
  23. ↑ Winfried Halder: Domestic Policy in the Empire 1871-1914 , Darmstadt 2003, p. 18.
  24. ↑ Heiko Bollmeyer: The stony road to democracy: The Weimar National Assembly between the Empire and the Republic , Frankfurt a. M. 2007, p. 65; Thomas Nipperdey: German History 1866-1918 , Vol. II, Munich 1992, p. 104.
  25. ^ Norbert Achterberg: Parliamentary Law , Tübingen 1984, p. 28.
  26. ↑ Thomas Nipperdey: German History 1866-1918 , Vol. II, Munich 1992, p. 103.
  27. ↑ Thomas Nipperdey speaks of the considerable "increase in power of the Reichstag" especially compared to other constitutional institutions such as the Federal Council, which lost dramatic influence, Th. Nipperdey: Deutsche Geschichte 1866–1918. Power state before democracy. CH Beck, Munich 1992, p. 491; Hans-Ulrich Wehler : German history of society , vol. 3: From the German double revolution to the beginning of the First World War 1849-1914 , Beck, Munich 1995, p. 864 f.
  28. ↑ Thomas Nipperdey: German History 1866-1918 , Vol. II, Munich 1992, pp. 105-107.
  29. ↑ Eisenbahndirektion Mainz (ed.): Official Gazette of the Royal Prussian and Grand Ducal Hessian Railway Directorate in Mainz of January 29, 1912, No. 5. Announcement No. 74, p. 30f.
Reichstag elections in the German Empire
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