ABSTRACT
THE Weimar Republic was established by the Social-Democratic Party as a progressive democracy which would inevitably lead to socialism. The principle of majority-rule was accepted as definitive, to be realised in a parliament elected by universal suffrage. In 1919 there were 23,400,000 Germans who voted for democracy, against 4,700,000 opponents from the Right and 2,300,000 from the Left. In November 1932, the last free election in Germany, 13 millions voted for the Republic, against 21,300,000 (15 millions from the Right and 6 millions from the Left). It is now said in Germany that the Germans had no inherent love for democracy and that the 1932 vote represents their true attitude; learned professors have shown that since the time of Tacitus the Germans have only desired a Leader to take their responsibilities out of their hands. But this is an argument in a vicious circle. We have to weigh up what real meaning underlies this phrase, for or against democracy. What liberty to the individual did democracy ensure? What experiences have led the German people to abandon democracy, in favour of what?
