Weimar Constituent Assembly of 1919

Weimar Constituent Assembly of 1919 

also called German Constituent National Assembly (Feb. 6, 1919, to May 21, 1920), held in Weimar, far from the centers of revolution. In the course of the November Revolution of 1918, workers’ and soldiers’ soviets arose everywhere in Germany. Fearing a further development of the revolution, the bourgeoisie together with the opportunist leaders of social democracy proposed an immediate convocation of the Constituent Assembly. Under the influence of the social-democratic leaders, the All-German Congress of Soviets pronounced itself in favor of the Constituent Assembly in December 1918. The general elections, which were held on Jan. 19, 1919, after the suppression of the uprising of the Berlin workers and the assassination on January 15 of the leaders of the German proletariat, K. Liebknecht and R. Luxemburg, gave a majority to the bourgeois parties (54.5 percent). On February 11 the Constituent Assembly elected as Germany’s provisional president the social democrat F. Ebert, who had won the confidence of the bourgeoisie. A Weimar coalition government was formed on February 13; the coalition included the Social Democratic Party, the Center Party, and the German Democratic Party and was headed by the social democrat P. Scheidemann. The assembly adopted a number of laws aimed at strengthening the power of the bourgeoisie. On June 22 the Constituent Assembly approved the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and ratified it on July 9. The Weimar Constitution was adopted on July 31, 1919.

SOURCE

Die Deutsche Nationalversammlung im Jahre 1919 in ihrer Arbeit für den Aufbau des neuen deutschen Volksstaates, vols. 1-9. Berlin, [1919-20].

REFERENCES

Pieck, W. Izbrannye proizvedeniia. Moscow, 1956. (Translated from German.)
Ulbricht, W. “O kharaktere Noiabr’skoi revoliutsii.” Voprosy istorii, 1958, no. 8. (Translated from German.)
Ocherk istorii nemetskogo rabochego dvizheniia. Moscow, 1964. Chapter 7. (Translated from German.)

D. S. DAVIDOVICH