No other period in German history has been judged so exclusively on the basis of its final throes as has the Weimar Republic. “Bonn is not Weimar” was a book title that became a seminal phrase in the 1950s. “Not Weimar” became the mantra used by the young democracy after 1949 to reassure itself that it was on the right path. But the thesis always was and remains founded on a negative interpretation of Weimar, the first democracy on German soil. Bonn never could have been Weimar. For it was separated from Weimar by 12 years of terror, millions of deaths and the annihilation of a culture that was without historical parallel. In contrast to 1918, it was not just the regime that collapsed in 1945, but the entire state. The decisive vow “never again” has become part of our democratic raison d’être, the foundation of the Basic Law. The decision to create a democratic constitutional state, to decentralize authority, to protect basic rights and strengthen parliament was the sine qua non for the resurrection of any German state. The western Allies, above all the United States, supported Germany along this path.
“Bonn is not Weimar.” This claim is based above all on the proposition that the Weimar democracy failed largely because of the errors in its constitution. Of course, these design errors did exist, yet the idea that Weimar was doomed to failure has not illuminated our analysis of the underpinnings of democracy, but has instead distorted it. For it draws attention away from the responsibility that all democrats bear in any democracy. It has been forgotten that this democracy was destroyed before government by emergency decree brought about its end from 1930.
Why am I emphasizing this? Because at the outset there was no guarantee that the democracy based on the Basic Law would succeed. Not long ago, a well-known polling organization unearthed an opinion poll from February 1949. According to this, most West Germans of the time were indifferent to the new democratic constitution. It was not until Willy Brandt was Chancellor in 1972, that a majority, 52%, supported it. The Weimar democracy, too, held the hope and promise of a free order in Germany. Weimar in 1919 was an important moment in the history of our freedom and democracy. It was the first democratically elected constituent assembly in our history.
Talking about Weimar in 1919 also means talking about how democrats assumed responsibility in the worst of crises. The burden of a lost war was shouldered by the men and women of the National Assembly. A war that the democrats had not started. A war that had claimed the lives of countless millions and led Germany to military and social collapse. This objectively difficult situation was aggravated yet further by the hate-driven reluctance of the old military and ruling elite to accept that their dreams of playing a major role on the world stage had been shattered. This anti-democratic tide was like daily poison to the Weimar Republic, it influenced social structures, deprived the young democracy of acceptance. All the more reason to duly respect and honour the courage and self-sacrifice of the Weimar democrats. These men and women demonstrated a sense of responsibility in the face of crisis and depression, a crisis whose magnitude we can barely imagine today after 60 years of the Basic Law and growing prosperity. Weimar failed because it was a democracy with too few democrats, with too few democratic attitudes and too little democratic commitment. The Federal Republic of Germany has succeeded so far because democrats have been active. They have taken a stand against racism and anti-Semitism, against the enemies of democracy and for the common good. They have come together in civil society organizations and associations, in foundations and trade unions – and last but not least, in the political parties. This is the lifeblood of our democracy.
The article is an abridged version of a speech that Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier gave at the ceremony commemorating the 90th anniversary of the National Assembly in February 2009 in Weimar.
Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier
has been Federal Foreign Minister since 2005 and also Vice Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany since 2007. Born in 1956, the Social Democrat studied law and political science in Giessen and was head of the Federal Chancellery from 1999 to 2005.
