States of the Weimar Republic

The states of the Weimar Republic were the main parts that made up the country during a special time in history. They started in 1918–1920 after the German Empire lost World War I and had to give up some land. These states were based on the 22 states and three city-states that existed before.

During the big changes of 1918–1919, the states got rid of their old kings and queens and started using new rules for how they would be run. One big change happened when several smaller states came together to form Thuringia.

The rules of the Weimar Republic, called the Weimar Constitution, made the country a group of states that shared power. Some powers belonged only to the national government, some were shared, and some belonged just to the states. The national government could even use its army if a state did not follow the country's laws, and this happened a few times. There were also some tries by groups to create new kinds of governments, but these did not last long.

Historical background

German Empire

See also: Federalism in Germany, Kleinstaaterei, and Territorial evolution of Germany § Treaty of Versailles

The German Empire (1871–1918) was a group of regions ruled together. In 1918, it had 25 areas like kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, and free cities, plus one special area. It was led by the Kingdom of Prussia when it started in 1871.

After World War I, Germany lost a lot of land because of the Treaty of Versailles. The areas that were lost had many people who spoke languages other than German, like Polish, French, and Danish.

The Saar Basin was managed by the United Kingdom and France from 1920 to 1935. After a vote in January 1935, it went back to Germany.

The city of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) was separated from Germany in November 1920. It became a special city-state protected by an international group but not part of Germany or Poland.

The rulers of Germany’s areas were removed during the changes in 1918–1919, and the new rules no longer allowed royalty. Most of these areas stayed until the Weimar Republic began, except for Alsace–Lorraine, which went back to France.

Weimar Constitution

Early attempts at geographic reforms

The government after World War I asked a legal expert to create a new constitution. Because Prussia was very large and had most of Germany’s land and people, the expert suggested splitting Germany into 14 smaller states of equal size. This idea was not accepted. Two other ideas were also rejected: getting rid of the states completely, and changing how state representatives were chosen.

Federal-state relationships

The Weimar Constitution kept the existing states but allowed for new ones to join Germany. Each state had to have a government chosen by its people. States could make their own laws in areas not controlled by the national government, which included things like defense and foreign affairs.

Reichsrat

The Reichsrat was the part of Germany’s parliament that represented the states. Its members were chosen by the state governments. The number of representatives each state had depended on its population, with no state having more than 40% of the total.

Federal use of force against a state

The president of Germany had the power to use the military against a state that did not follow the country’s laws. This happened a few times, such as in 1920 and 1923, when the government stepped in to keep order.

Boundary changes under the Weimar Constitution

Four changes happened to state borders after the Weimar Constitution started on 14 August 1919:

• The Free State of Thuringia was created on 1 May 1920 from several smaller states: Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, and Reuss. Erfurt, now the capital of Thuringia, stayed part of the Free State of Prussia.
• Saxe-Coburg became part of the Free State of Bavaria on 1 May 1920.
• Pyrmont, which used to be part of the Principality of Waldeck-Pyrmont, joined Prussia on 1 April 1922.
• Waldeck followed Pyrmont and became part of Prussia on 1 April 1929.

The Weimar Republic also had three votes to change state borders, but none succeeded:

• Upper Silesia tried to leave Prussia after being split between Germany and Poland following a vote in 1921, but the effort failed on 3 September 1922.
• Hanover tried to leave Prussia and become independent on 18 May 1924, but not enough people voted yes.
• Schaumburg-Lippe voted to join Prussia on 6 June 1926, but they did not get enough votes to make it happen.

Hamburg tried several times in the 1920s to grow by taking nearby areas from Prussia, but it wasn’t until 1937, under the Nazi regime, that Hamburg grew to include the nearby urban areas.

Unrecognized states

During the early years of the Weimar Republic, there were some short-lived attempts to create new governments that followed a soviet-style model. These included the People's State of Bavaria, the Bremen Soviet Republic, the Bavarian Soviet Republic, and the Würzburg Soviet Republic.

In the Rhine Province of Prussia, separatist movements led to the creation of two short-lived republics during the Occupation of the Ruhr. These received support from France. They were the Rhenish Republic and the Palatinate Republic.

There was also the Free State of Bottleneck, a small area shaped like a bottle neck, which existed during the Occupation of the Rhineland near Koblenz and Mainz.

List of states

States under Nazi Germany

After World War I, Germany had many different states. But when the Nazi Party took control in 1933, they changed everything. The Nazis made strong rules to control all the states directly, taking away their old ways of working. Even though the old states still had some names, the real power was now with the Nazi Party and their special areas called Gaue.

After World War II ended, the Allies helped reorganize Germany into the states we know today.