Weimar coalition
Weimar Coalition is the collective name for the coalitions made up of three specific parties that supported governments at the national and state levels during the Weimar Republic . These were the moderate-left Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Catholic Center Party (Z) and the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP). At the Reich level, the three parties ruled in 1919/1920 and 1921/1922, in Prussia 1919–1921 and 1925–1932, and in Baden 1919–1931. So it was not the most common coalition in the empire. More common was a bourgeois minority government of the center, DDP, DVP and other parties, which was tolerated by the SPD or the DNVP.
As a non-partisan organization for the protection of the Republic, the three parties founded the Reichsbanner Schwarz-Rot-Gold on February 22, 1924 , which subsequently numbered over three million members.
Empire
In the German Empire (1871-1918) the three parties (or, in the case of the DDP, their predecessors, most recently the Progressive People's Party ) had an absolute majority in parliament several times. At that time, however, the SPD was not yet ready to participate in the government; conversely, the other two parties (or party groups) also wanted to work with the Social Democrats on a case-by-case basis. On the social question, the SPD and part of the center were opposed to the left-wing liberals; on the school question, the DDP and social democrats were the center. The center and the left-wing liberals were also ready at different times to support the conservative-right-liberal Reich government.
During the First World War, however , the three parties met in the Intergroup Committee of the Reichstag in order to have a moderating effect on German war policy. The peace resolution of July 1917 is considered to be a milestone in this development. Central people and left-wing liberals joined the government in 1917, and in October 1918 even social democrats under the non-party liberal Max von Baden . During the time of the Council of People's Representatives (1918/1919), only majority and independent Social Democrats were represented in this supreme body of the revolution . However, the cabinet of state secretaries continued to exist, in which members of these two parties, the center, the DDP and the right-wing liberals were represented.
elections
In the election for the constituent national assembly on January 19, 1919, the parties of the Weimar coalition together achieved 76.2 percent of the votes cast. Of this, the SPD received 37.9 percent, the center 19.7 percent and the DDP 18.6 percent of the votes. In doing so, the Germans decided against both the council system and the return to the monarchy .
Compared to previous and later elections, these results were better. (Votes in percent):
| 1903–1912 1 | National Assembly 1919 | 1920–1924 1 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPD | 31.8 | 37.9 | 22.7 |
| center | 18.5 | 19.7 | 13.5 |
| Left liberals | 10.0 2 | 18.6 | 6.8 |
| Together | 60.3 | 76.2 | 43.0 |
In the 1919 election, the SPD had a particular advantage: the changeover from voting in a single-person constituency to voting by list caused the well-organized Social Democrats less difficulties than the Conservatives in particular. The disadvantage, however, was the DVP, which was formed relatively late and did not run in all constituencies. This benefited the DDP.
In the first Reichstag elections on June 6, 1920 , the Weimar coalition lost its majority. The Social Democrats got 21.7 percent of the vote, the center 13.6 percent and the DDP 8.3 percent of the vote. In the last multi-party election in March 1933, the latter received 0.9 percent. The Weimar coalition no longer achieved an absolute majority at the Reich level after 1920, with the exception of a short time after 1922 when part of the USPD rejoined the SPD.
The parties of the Weimar coalition, especially the SPD and DDP, lost votes in part because of the damage the Versailles Treaty had added to their reputation. In the case of the SPD, it may have been more important that the left wing was dissatisfied with the lack of a social revolution. The suppression of radical left-wing insurrection attempts also contributed to this dissatisfaction, which in the 1920 election increased the voter potential of the left-wing SPD split-off USPD, which was later partly taken over by the KPD.
The Bavarian People's Party made itself independent of the center. This much more right-wing party was able to achieve around three to five percent of the vote. The DDP lost many voters to the DVP, which in later years lost to more right-wing parties; the decline of political liberalism could then also be observed in other countries.
Weimar governments
The three parties came together briefly under Reich Chancellor Wirth (1921/1922) and in so-called grand coalitions together with the right-wing liberal DVP and in some cases other parties (1923, 1928–1930). The DVP was much more often involved in Weimar governments than the SPD. The typical coalition from 1920 to 1932 was a minority government made up of the center, DDP and DVP, with parliamentary support from the SPD.
The Weimar coalition was initially of great importance in the federal states as well, but over time it lost its influence. In Prussia , she was able to rule - often referred to as the " Prussian Coalition " - from 1919 to 1921 and again from 1925 to 1932 (Cabinets Hirsch , Braun I , Marx and Braun III ), the longest under the leadership of Prime Minister Otto Braun (SPD). In the Republic of Baden , too , the Weimar coalition was able to provide government from 1919 to 1933 with only a small interruption ( Schmitt II cabinet ).
