Reichstag

The Reichstag was Germany’s elected parliamentary chamber. Men aged 25 and over could vote in its elections; women could not. It debated and could approve or reject laws and budgets.

On 9 November, leading SPD politician Philipp Scheidemann proclaimed a republic from the Reichstag building in Berlin. Max von Baden handed the chancellorship to Friedrich Ebert, the SPD leader.

Between 1925 and 1928, the Weimar Republic appeared more stable than it had during its earlier crises. It was a parliamentary republic: political parties competed for seats in the Reichstag, and governments depended on cooperation between parties. This offered a democratic alternative to authoritarian rule, but required parties with different priorities to work together.

The Reichstag was Germany’s elected parliament. These were different positions: winning parliamentary votes did not automatically make Hitler either chancellor or president.