Evaluate West German Democracy

After World War II and the fall of Hitler and the Third Reich, Germany was divided into two parts. The East was under the control of the Soviet Union and the West became an occupied state by the United States. This occupation period lasted from 1945-1949. During the occupation period, a democracy was established in West Germany. The performance and effectiveness of the West German democracy after the occupation period far surpasses that of the Weimar Republic. There are many factors that lent to the success of postwar West German democracy. Some of these factors that defined the success of postwar West German democracy and the failure of the Weimar Republic include the differing political institutions and party systems, the evolution of political culture, the political economy, and foreign policy. The occupation period was important in the area of political institutions because it was necessary to establish a legitimate democracy in contrast to the illegitimate Weimar Republic. The first national election was held in 1949. This was a very …show more content…
During the time of the Weimar Republic, the elite and the citizens wanted the old authoritarian system back and thus were not satisfied with, or even trusted, the democracy that had been established. The elites held positions of power hoping to undermine the Weimar Republic and reestablish an authoritarian government. In addition, both the extreme left and the extreme right were against democracy. This caused a democracy without democrats and thus illegitimated the system (Fullbrook 155). The Versailles Treaty also caused the German citizens to have grievances. The “stab in the back legend” was also a point of contention for Germans when it came to the government (Fullbrook 163-164). The establishment of the Weimar Republic was politically revolutionary but not socially