Weimar National Assembly

The Weimar National Assembly (German: Weimarer Nationalversammlung), officially the German National Constitutional Assembly (Verfassunggebende Deutsche Nationalversammlung), was the popularly elected constitutional convention and de facto parliament of Germany from 6 February 1919 to 21 May 1920. As part of its duties as the interim government, it debated and reluctantly approved the Treaty of Versailles that codified the peace terms between Germany and the victorious Allies of World War I. The Assembly drew up and approved the Weimar Constitution that was in force from 1919 to 1933 (and technically until the end of Nazi rule in 1945). With its work completed, the National Assembly was dissolved on 21 May 1920. Following the election of 6 June 1920, the new Reichstag met for the first time on 24 June 1920, taking the place of the Assembly.

German National Assembly Deutsche Nationalversammlung
Constituent assembly of Germany
Type
Type	Constituent assembly
History
Established	6 February 1919
Disbanded	21 May 1920
Preceded by	Imperial Reichstag
Succeeded by	Weimar Reichstag
Seats	423 (at dissolution)
Elections
Voting system	Direct competitive elections
Last election	19 January 1919
Meeting place
Deutsches Nationaltheater, Weimar

Because the National Assembly convened in Weimar rather than in politically restive Berlin, the period in German history became known as the Weimar Republic.

Background

Friedrich Ebert

At the end of World War I, following the outbreak of the German Revolution of 1918–1919, state power lay with the Council of the People's Deputies. It was formed on 10 November by revolutionary workers' and soldiers' councils in Berlin and headed by Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He had been appointed German chancellor on 9 November by Maximilian von Baden, the last chancellor under the German Empire. Both von Baden and the Social Democrats called for the speedy election of a National Assembly to establish a new government for Germany. The Council decided on 30 November to hold the election on 19 January 1919. On 19 December the Reich Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils also approved the decree by a clear majority.

Because of the Spartacist uprising, a general strike and the accompanying armed struggles that roiled the Reich capital from 5 to 12 January 1919, it was agreed that the National Assembly should not initially meet in Berlin. Four possible locations – Bayreuth, Nuremberg, Jena and Weimar – were considered. Friedrich Ebert favored Weimar because he wanted the victorious Allies to be reminded of Weimar Classicism, which included the writers Goethe and Schiller, while they were deliberating the terms of the peace treaty.^[1]  On 14 January 1919 the choice fell to Weimar.^[2]

Elections

Main article: 1919 German federal election

The elections for the National Assembly were the first held in Germany after the introduction of women's suffrage^[3] and the lowering of the legal voting age from 25 to 20 years. Together the changes raised the number of eligible voters by around 20 million.^[4] The turnout was 83%,^[3] a slightly lower percentage than in the last Reichstag elections in 1912, but a much greater absolute turnout due to the expanded suffrage.^[4] Among women the turnout was 90%.^[5] The Communist Party of Germany (KPD), founded in December 1918, boycotted the elections.

The election for the National Assembly resulted in the SPD receiving the most votes at 38%, followed by the Catholic Centre Party (which in this election ran as the Christian People's Party) with 20%, the liberal German Democratic Party (DDP) 19%, the national-conservative German National People's Party (DNVP) 10% and the more leftist and antiwar breakaway from the SPD, the Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD), 8%. Numerous small parties made up the remainder.^[6] Out of a total of 416 delegates 36 were women, although this increased to 41 during the term of the Assembly.^[7] If the latter number is taken, at 10% women, the Weimar National Assembly was one of the most female parliaments of its time.^[8][9]

Results of election to the National Assembly by district

On 10 February the Assembly passed the "Law on Provisional Reich Power" (Gesetz über die vorläufige Reichsgewalt)^[10] to go into effect the following day. It regulated the government's powers during the transitional phase from the German Empire to the Weimar Republic. The National Assembly was to adopt a constitution and "urgently needed" Reich laws, thus allowing it to act as an interim parliament. A States' Committee served in the place of the later Reichsrat to represent the interests of the German states. The "business of the Reich" was to be conducted by a Reich president. His function was somewhat like that of the former emperor but with the restrictions that had been made to the constitution in October 1918, notably that war and peace were to be decided by Reich law, not by the head of state. The ministers appointed by the Reich president required the confidence of the National Assembly.

Assembly as provisional parliament

The National Assembly convened at the German National Theater in Weimar on 6 February 1919. It elected the SPD politician Eduard David as its president, but because of an inter-party agreement he stepped down after just four days.^[11] On 14 February 1919 the National Assembly elected Constantin Fehrenbach, a Centre Party deputy and former vice president, as his successor.

On 11 February the National Assembly elected the previous head of government, Friedrich Ebert (SPD), as provisional Reich president. He asked Philipp Scheidemann of the SPD to form a government. The three party coalition of the SPD, the Centre Party and the DDP that he brought together in the Scheidemann cabinet came to be known as the Weimar Coalition.

Discussion of the Treaty of Versailles

Philipp Scheidemann

On 12 May 1919 the National Assembly met in Berlin for the first time. There it heard and then debated a statement by Minister President Philipp Scheidemann on the peace terms of the Versailles Treaty. In his speech Scheidemann, to great applause from all parties, called the Entente Powers' terms a "dictated" or "enforced" peace (Gewaltfrieden) intended to strangle the German people. The territorial, economic and political demands would deprive Germany of the air to breathe. The conditions were unacceptable, he said, and were in stark contrast to the assurances given by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. The Reich government could not agree to the conditions and would make counterproposals based on Wilson's 14-point program. Prussian Minister President Paul Hirsch assured the Reich government of full support on behalf of the constituent states of the German Reich and also sharply criticized the Entente's conditions. Speakers from all parties, from the USPD to the DNVP, also declared the Entente's demands unacceptable. The chairman of the liberal German People's Party (DVP) and later Reich Foreign Minister Gustav Stresemann described the peace terms of the victorious powers as "an outpouring of political sadism". Only Hugo Haase, chairman of the USPD, combined his rejection of the Entente's demands with sharp attacks on the Reich government, accusing it of having caused the current situation in the first place through its policy of enforcing a truce between political parties (Burgfriedenspolitik) during the war.

Following the Entente's rejection of its counterproposals, the Scheidemann cabinet resigned on 20 June 1919 because it was unwilling to give its assent to the Treaty of Versailles.^[12] The new Minister President, Gustav Bauer (SPD), who headed a government of the SPD and the Centre, promoted the signing of the treaty but continued to criticize individual provisions, especially those concerning the extradition of Germans to the Entente and the imposition of war guilt on Germany alone. He combined his call for approval with the comment that it would be impossible for the German Reich to fulfill all the economic conditions of the treaty and regretted that it had not been possible to extract further concessions from the Entente.

Initial vote in favor

Speakers from the SPD and the Centre, Paul Löbe and Adolf Gröber, also condemned the treaty. They objected in particular to the statement in the Entente draft treaty that Germany was solely to blame for the war. On behalf of their parliamentary groups, however, they spoke in favor of acceptance, since the only alternative was the resumption of hostilities, which would lead to even worse consequences. Eugen Schiffer, the former Reich Finance Minister, spoke on behalf of the majority of German Democratic Party deputies against accepting the treaty. He reminded the two governing parties of Philipp Scheidemann's 12 May warning that the hand that signed the treaty would wither.^[13] He did not see that the situation had changed since then. The DNVP and DVP were also strongly opposed to the treaty. The USPD was the only opposition party to endorse its acceptance. Hugo Haase called the issue at stake a terrible dilemma for the National Assembly. Although he too sharply criticized the treaty, he pointed out, as had the representatives of the governing parties, the consequences if the treaty were rejected.

In a 22 June roll call, 237 deputies voted in favor of signing the peace treaty, 138 against, and five abstained. Of the major parties, the SPD, Centre and USPD approved, while the DDP, DNVP and DVP rejected the treaty, on both sides by large majorities of the delegates.

The Reich government informed the Entente the same day that it would sign the treaty but with reservations as to the provisions on war guilt and the extradition of Germans to the victorious countries. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau replied that evening on behalf of the Allied Powers that the treaty could only be accepted or rejected in its entirety.

Second vote following allied ultimatum

At the meeting of the National Assembly on 23 June, Minister President Bauer informed the plenum of the Entente's position and stated that the government no longer had a choice; it had to sign the treaty:

Let us sign, that is the proposal I have to make to you on behalf of the entire cabinet. The reasons that compel us to make the proposal are the same as yesterday, only now we are separated by a period of barely four hours before the resumption of hostilities. We could not justify a new war even if we had weapons. We are defenseless, but without defense does not mean without honor (wehrlos ist aber nicht ehrlos). Certainly, our enemies want to take away our honor, there is no doubt about that, but that this attempt at cutting away our honor will one day fall back on the originators, that it is not our honor that will perish in this world tragedy, that is my belief until my last breath.^[14]

Eugen Schiffer (DDP) and Rudolf Heinze (DVP), whose parties had rejected the treaty the day before, explicitly stated in their speeches that the supporters of the treaty would act exclusively out of "patriotic sentiment and conviction" (Schiffer), even if they had different opinions about the right path forward. The DNVP speaker Georg Schultz, however, did not make his opinion on the issue clear.

Ratification of the treaty through the "Law on the Conclusion of Peace between Germany and the Allied and Associated Powers" (Gesetz über den Friedensschluß zwischen Deutschland und den alliierten und den assoziierten Mächten)^[15] finally took place on 9 July 1919 with results similar to the 22 June vote. The only exception was that the majority of the deputies of the Bavarian Peasants' League, who had abstained from the first vote, now approved the ratification law.

In part as a response to the treaty, and particularly Article 231 that assigned sole responsibility for the war to Germany, the Assembly established an inquiry into guilt for the war on 20 August 1919. Its four subcommittees were tasked with examining the causes of the war, what brought about its loss, what missed opportunities for peace had presented themselves, and if international laws had been broken.^[16][17] The inquiry continued for thirteen years, until the Nazi Party victory in the election of July 1932. The inquiry's findings were hampered by lack of cooperation from both the government and the military and were in general watered down and deflected blame away from Germany.

Hugo Preuß

Constitutional deliberations

Main article: Weimar Constitution

On 15 November 1918 Friedrich Ebert had appointed Hugo Preuß to the Reich Office of the Interior and charged him with drafting a Reich constitution. Preuß, a teacher of constitutional law and one of the founders of the German Democratic Party, based his draft of the Weimar Constitution in large part on the Frankfurt Constitution of 1849 which was written after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and intended for a unified Germany that did not come to pass at the time. He was influenced as well by Robert Redslob's theory of parliamentarianism, which called for a balance between the executive and legislative branches under either a monarch or the people as sovereign.^[18] After the National Assembly was seated, Preuß became a member of the constitutional committee, which was chaired by the Assembly's vice president, Conrad Haußmann of the DDP. Preuß later became known as the father of the Weimar Constitution.

During July of 1919, the Assembly moved quickly through the draft constitution with most debates concluded within a single session. On 31 July the Assembly passed the revised committee proposal for the constitution by a vote of 262 to 75, with USPD, DNVP and DVP against.

Key topics of debate were as follows:

Date	Topic	Decision
2 July	National name	'Deutsches Reich'
	National structure	Retain federal states
	Flag and colors	Black-red-gold
4 July	Reich president	Adopted a semi-presidential system with power divided between president, cabinet and parliament. The president was to rule in conjunction with the Reichstag. Emergency powers to be used only in exceptional circumstances.
7 July	Reich administration	Germany unified as an economic territory; legislative responsibility for tax law to be with the Reich. Unified postal and railroad systems
10 July	Justice	Established a system of administrative courts and a high or constitutional court. Restricted military jurisdiction to wartime. Independence of courts incorporated into the constitution.
11 July	Fundamental rights	Constitution to include expanded list of fundamental rights as in draft version.
15 July	Equality of the sexes	Adopted what became Article 109: "(1) All Germans are equal before the law. Men and women shall fundamentally have the same civic rights and duties. (2) Public and legal privileges or disadvantages of birth or status shall be abolished."
16 July	Death penalty	Rejected draft constitution's proposal to abolish the death penalty.
	Censorship	Guaranteed freedom of expression in speech, print, or “pictorially”. Censorship forbidden except in “cinematographs”, “indecent and obscene literature”, and for “protection of youth”.
	Illegitimacy	Illegitimate children to have the same rights as legitimate.
17 July	Right to assemble	Guaranteed right to assemble peaceably without any special permission needed.
	Church and state	Guaranteed freedom of religion and separation of church and state.
18 July	Education	Universal public education ensured to age 18.
21 July	Economic Life	Right to property, patent protection, and unionization guaranteed.

Miscellaneous

On 13 January 1920, while the National Assembly was negotiating the Works Councils Act, which created an obligation for companies with twenty or more employees to have works councils, a demonstration against the law took place in front of the Reichstag building. The left-wing opposition parties USPD and Communist Party, among others, had called for the demonstration because they felt the councils would lack sufficient worker representation. About 100,000 people gathered for the demonstration. Prussian security police fired into the crowd leaving 42 people dead and over 100 wounded. The Reichstag Bloodbath was the deadliest demonstration in German history.^[19]

Beginning on 30 September 1919, the National Assembly met in the renovated Reichstag building in Berlin. During the Kapp Putsch it briefly moved to Stuttgart and met there on 18 March 1920.

The National Assembly dissolved on 21 May 1920. After the Reichstag election on 6 June 1920, the Republic's first Reichstag took the place of the National Assembly.

Summary of important events and decisions

• 6 February 1919 – Friedrich Ebert, as chairman of the Council of the People's Deputies, opened the first session of the National Assembly.
• 10 February 1919 – Against the votes of the USPD, the Assembly passed the "Law on Provisional Reich Power" (Gesetz über die vorläufige Reichsgewalt). It designated the Assembly itself as the legislative power and set up the position of Reich president, who was to be in charge of "the Reich's government affairs". A States' Committee was to be created to represent Germany's constituent states.
• 11 February 1919 – Friedrich Ebert was elected provisional Reich president. He asked Philipp Scheidemann to form a government.
• 13 February 1919 –Scheidemann formed a government based on the Weimar Coalition.
• 14 February 1919 – Constantin Fehrenbach (Centre Party) was elected president of the National Assembly.
• 27 February 1919 – The Assembly passed a law setting up a provisional military in accordance with the terms of the Armistice. By 1921 the armed forces were to be transformed into a professional army without conscripts. The number of land troops was to be cut from 800,000 to 100,000.
• 4 March 1919 – The Assembly passed a law clarifying the position of imperial laws and those passed by the Council of the People's Deputies.
• 12 May 1919 – The National Assembly met for a protest rally against the Treaty of Versailles. Philipp Scheidemann called it "unacceptable".
• 20/21 June 1919 – The Scheidemann government resigned. The next day Gustav Bauer (SPD) formed a new government.
• 22 June 1919 – With the approval of the Assembly, the new government declared itself ready to accept the Treaty of Versailles if the admission of Germany's sole responsibility for the war were dropped.
• 3 July 1919 – The Assembly accepted the new national colors.
• 7 July 1919 – Finance minister Matthias Erzberger (Centre Party) presented his fiscal reforms including the introduction of the first German income tax and fiscal burden sharing.
• 9 July 1919 – The Assembly ratified the Treaty of Versailles and the regulatory statutes about the military occupation of the Rhineland.
• 31 July 1919 – The Assembly passed the Weimar Constitution with 262 delegates voting for and 75 (USPD, DNVP and DVP) against.
• 11 August 1919 – Reich President Ebert signed the constitution. It came into force on 14 August 1919. Final meeting of the Assembly in Weimar.
• 30 September 1919 – First meeting of the Assembly at Berlin, after law and order were deemed to have been restored in the capital.
• 17 December 1919 – The Assembly passed a law that called for a one-off wealth tax to pay for the national debt.
• 18 January 1920 – The Assembly passed the law on workers' councils.
• 13 March 1920 – The Assembly left Berlin as a result of the Kapp Putsch. It returned from Stuttgart seven days later.
• 25/26 March 1920 – The government of Chancellor Gustav Bauer resigned. The next day President Ebert asked Hermann Müller (SPD) to form a new government.
• 8 May 1920 – A law came into force establishing a security zone around parliamentary buildings in which demonstrations were not allowed.
• 12 May 1920 – A law that was the basis for movie censorship came into force.
• 20 May 1920 – Supported by the SPD, the majority of the Assembly called on the government to end the state of emergency in all of Germany. The government refused.^{[3][20][21][22]}
• 21 May 1920 – The National Assembly dissolved. After the Reichstag election on 6 June 1920, the Republic's first Reichstag took the place of the National Assembly.

Presidents of the Weimar National Assembly

Name	Party		Entered Office	Left Office
Eduard David		SPD	7 February 1919	13 February 1919
Conrad Haußmann (acting)			13 February 1919	14 February 1919
Constantin Fehrenbach		Centre	14 February 1919	21 June 1920

Members

Member	Party		Constituency	Notes
Bruno Ablaß		DDP	11 (Liegnitz)
Karl Aderhold		USPD		Entered on 1 March 1919 as a replacement for August Merges
Lore Agnes		USPD	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Joseph Allekotte		Centre	21 (Coblenz-Trier)
Ludwig Alpers		DHP	37 (Bremen-Hamburg-Stade)
Josef Andre		Centre	31/32 (Württemberg)
Albert Arnstadt		DNVP	36 (Thuringia)
Julius Aßmann		DVP	8 (Posen)
Jacob Astor		Centre	21 (Coblenz-Trier)
Erhard Auer		SPD	24 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)
Benedikt Bachmeier		BB		Entered on 24 February 1919 as a replacement for Wilhelm Männer
Paul Bader		SPD	12 (Magdeburg)
Max Baerecke		DNVP	2 (Westpreußen)
Moritz Baerwald		DDP	8 (Posen)	Died on 26 December 1919
Gertrud Bäumer		DDP	36 (Thuringia)
Max Bahr		DDP	6 (Frankfurt (Oder))
Franz Bartschat		DDP	1 (Ostpreußen)
August Baudert		SPD	36 (Thuringia)
Gustav Bauer		SPD	9 (Breslau)
Marie Baum		DDP	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)
Eduard Baumer		BVP		Entered on 26 February 1920 as a replacement for Eugen Taucher
Johannes Becker		Centre	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Johann Becker		German People’s Party	34 (Hessen-Darmstadt)
Josef Becker		Centre	19 (Hessen-Nassau)
Roman Becker		SPD	10 (Oppeln)
Margarete Behm		DNVP	7 (Pommern)
Marie Behncke		SPD		Entered on 7 August 1919 as a replacement for August Jordan
Franz Behrens		DNVP	1 (Ostpreußen)
Hermann Beims		SPD	12 (Magdeburg)
Johannes Bell		Centre	23 (Düsseldorf-West)
Ferdinand Bender		SPD	12 (Magdeburg)
Theodor Bergmann		Centre	23 (Düsseldorf-West)
Karl Bethke		SPD		Entered on 12 May 1919 as a replacement for Wilhelm Buck
August Beuermann		German People’s Party	8 (Posen)
Konrad Beyerle		Centre	29 (Franken)	Joined Bavarian People’s Party on 6 January 1920
Anton Bias		SPD	10 (Oppeln)
Franz Biener		DNVP	30 (Chemnitz-Zwickau)
Albert Billian		SPD		Entered on 13 January 1920 as a replacement for Heinrich Kürbis
Jakob Binder		SPD
Joseph Bitta		Centre	10 (Oppeln)
Lorenz Blank		Centre
Anna Blos		SPD
Johannes Blum		Centre	26 (Düsseldorf-West)
Andreas Blunck		DDP	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)
Wilhelm Bock		USPD	13 (Thuringia)
Karl Böhme		DDP	11 (Magdeburg)
Wilhelm Böhmert		DDP
Friedrich Börschmann		SPD
Minna Bollmann		SPD
Eugen Bolz		Centre	34 (Württemberg)
Otto Brass		USPD	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Otto Braun		SPD	26 (Düsseldorf-West)
Adolf Braun		SPD	29 (Franken)
Heinrich Brauns		Centre	Reichswahlvorschlag
Otto von Brentano di Tremezzo		Centre	22 (Hessen-Darmstadt)
August Brey		SPD	18 (Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig)
Alfred Brodauf		DDP	33 (Chemnitz-Zwickau)
Elisabeth Brönner		DDP	1 (Ostpreußen)
Arno Bruchardt		USPD	Reichswahlvorschlag
Hermann Bruckhoff		DDP
Paul Brühl		USPD	4 (Potsdam I)
Friedrich Brühne		SPD
Wilhelm Bruhn		DNVP	5 (Frankfurt (Oder))
Wilhelm Buck		SPD	31 (Dresden-Bautzen)	Resigned on 11 April 1919
Ewald Budde		SPD
Michael Burgau		SPD
Eduard Burlage		Centre	16 (Weser-Ems)
Oskar Cohn		USPD
Hermann Colshorn		DHP	18 (Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig)	Elected on a joint list with the Centre Party
Eduard David		SPD	22 (Hessen-Darmstadt)
Georg Davidsohn		SPD
Kurt Deglerk		DNVP	8 (Breslau)
Karl Deichmann		SPD
Clemens von Delbrück		DNVP	Reichswahlvorschlag	Died on 18 December 1921
Carl Delius		DDP	12 (Merseburg)
Bernhard Dernburg		DDP	3 (Potsdam II)
Hermann Dietrich		DDP	35 (Baden)	Resigned on 12 April 1919
Hermann Dietrich		DNVP	Reichswahlvorschlag
Karl Dietrich		SPD
Carl Diez		Centre	35 (Baden)
Theodor Dirr		BB
Wilhelm Dittmann		USPD	11 (Magdeburg)
Alexander Graf zu Dohna-Schlodien		German People’s Party	1 (Ostpreußen)
Hedwig Dransfeld		Centre	Reichswahlvorschlag
Ernst Dröner		SPD
Adelbert Düringer		DNVP	35 (Baden)
Wilhelm Dusche		German People’s Party	18 (Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig)
Bernhard Düwell		USPD	12 (Merseburg)
Friedrich Ebert		SPD		Resigned on 11 February 1919
Hermann Eger		Centre		Entered on 19 November 1919 as a replacement for Adolf Gröber
Franz Ehrhardt		Centre	10 (Oppeln)
Emil Eichhorn		USPD	2 (Berlin)
Wilhelmine Eichler		SPD	13 (Thuringia)
Georg Eisenberger		BB	27 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)
Elise Ekke		DDP
Paul Ende		DDP		Entered on 22 June 1919 as a replacement for Oscar Günther
Fritz Endres		SPD
Emil Engelhard		DDP		Resigned on 3 October 1919
Anton Erkelenz		DDP	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Eugen Ernst		SPD
Joseph Ersing		Centre	35 (Baden)
Matthias Erzberger		Centre	34 (Württemberg)
Bernhard Falk		DDP
Wilhelm Farwick		Centre
Constantin Fehrenbach		Centre	35 (Baden)
Jan Fegter		DDP		Entered on 20 November 1919 as a replacement for Theodor Tantzen
Franz Feldmann		SPD	8 (Breslau)
Otto Fischbeck		DDP
Gustav Fischer		SPD	18 (Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig)
Richard Fischer		SPD	2 (Berlin)
Paul Fleischer		Centre	1 (Ostpreußen)
Wilhelm Frank		Centre		Entered on 9 March 1920 as a replacement for Richard Müller
Richard Franke		DDP
Wilhelm Frerker		Centre
Karl Frohme		SPD	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)
Karl Gandorfer		BB
Karl Gebhart		German People’s Party	30 (Pfalz)
Oskar Geck		SPD	35 (Baden)
Julius Gehl		SPD
Liborius Gerstenberger		BVP		29 (Franken)
Curt Geyer		USPD	Reichswahlvorschlag
Friedrich Geyer		USPD	32 (Leipzig)
Karl Giebel		SPD	5 (Frankfurt (Oder))
Anna von Gierke		German National People’s Party
Johannes Giesberts		Centre	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Anton Gilsing		Centre
Emil Girbig		SPD	9 (Liegnitz)
Wilhelm Gleichauf		DDP
Heinrich Gölzer		SPD
Georg Gothein		DDP	8 (Breslau)
Georg Gradnauer		SPD	Reichswahlvorschlag	Resigned on 10 April 1919
Albrecht von Graefe		German National People’s Party	7 (Mecklenburg)
Adolf Gröber		Centre		Died on 19 November 1919
Martin Gruber		SPD	27 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)
Helene Grünberg		USPD		Entered on 21 November 1919 as a replacement for Josef Simon
Wilhelm Grünewald		DDP
August Grunau		Centre
Oscar Günther		DDP		Resigned on 1 June 1919
Magnus Haack		SPD		Resigned on 19 August 1919
Ludwig Haas		DDP	35 (Baden)
Hugo Haase		USPD		Died on 7 November 1919
August Josef Hagemann		Centre	16 (Weser-Ems)
August Hampe		Brunswick State Electoral Association
Heinrich Hansmann		SPD	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Gustav Hartmann		DDP
Rudolf Hartmann		German National People’s Party	10 (Oppeln)
Ludwig Hasenzahl		SPD
Frieda Hauke		SPD	10 (Oppeln)
Conrad Haußmann		DDP	34 (Württemberg)
Benedikt Hebel		BVP			Resigned on 24 February 1920
Werner Heidsieck		DDP		Entered on 17 January 1920 as a replacement for Moritz Baerwald
Wilhelm Heile		DDP	18 (Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig)
Georg Heim		Centre	28 (Niederbayern-Oberpfalz)		Bavarian People’s Party on 9 January 1920
Hugo Heimann		SPD	2 (Berlin)
Wolfgang Heine		SPD
Rudolf Heinze		German People’s Party	31 (Dresden-Bautzen)
August Hellmann		SPD	15 (Hamburg)
Alfred Henke		USPD	16 (Weser-Ems)
Konrad Henrich		DDP
Karl Hense		SPD
Richard Herbst		USPD		Entered on 20 November 1919 as a replacement for Hugo Haase
Karl Hermann		DDP	34 (Württemberg)
Carl Herold		Centre	19 (Westfalen-Nord)
Alfred Herrmann		DDP
Hans Herschel		Centre	10 (Oppeln)
Fritz Hesse		DDP
Michael Hierl		SPD
Karl Hildenbrand		SPD	34 (Württemberg)
Franz Hitze		Centre	Reichswahlvorschlag
Gustav Hoch		SPD	21 (Hessen-Nassau)
Else Höfs		SPD
Otto Hörsing		SPD
Johannes Hoffmann		SPD	30 (Pfalz)
Arthur Hofmann		SPD	13 (Thuringia)
Hermann Hofmann		Centre	30 (Pfalz)
Peter Holl		SPD
Franz Holzapfel		SPD		Entered on 30 September 1919 as a replacement for Magnus Haack
Otto Hue		SPD	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Anna Hübler		USPD
Paul Hug		SPD		Resigned on 22 May 1919
Alfred Hugenberg		German National People’s Party	19 (Westfalen-Nord)
Otto Hugo		German People’s Party	19 (Westfalen-Nord)
Heinrich Imbusch		Centre	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Martin Irl		Centre		Bavarian People’s Party on 9 January 1920
Heinrich Jäcker		SPD	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Willy Jandrey		German National People’s Party	6 (Pommern)
Alfred Janschek		SPD	19 (Westfalen-Nord)
Viktor Jantzen		SPD
Heinrich Jasper		SPD
Josef Jaud		BVP		27 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)
Philipp Johannsen		SHBLD	Entered on 1 August 1919 as a replacement for Detlef Thomsen
Joseph Joos		Centre	23 (Köln-Aachen)
August Jordan		SPD		Entered on 22 May 1919 as a replacement for Paul Hug, resigned on 5 July 1919
Marie Juchacz		SPD	4 (Potsdam I)
Max Jungnickel		SPD
Ludwig Kaas		Centre	24 (Coblenz-Trier)
Wilhelm Kahl		German People’s Party	2 (Berlin)
Wilhelmine Kähler		SPD	1 (Ostpreußen)
Hermann Käppler		SPD	13 (Thuringia)
Hermann Kahmann		SPD	31 (Dresden-Bautzen)
Franz Kaufmann		Centre
Simon Katzenstein		SPD
Wilhelm Keil		SPD	34 (Württemberg)
Adolf Kempkes		German People’s Party	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Gottlieb Kenngott		SPD
Andreas Kerschbaum		DDP	29 (Franken)
Katharina Kloss		DDP
Friedrich Knollmann		German National People’s Party		Died on 16 April 1920
Christian Koch		DDP
Johann Koch		Centre	Reichswahlvorschlag
Wilhelm Koch		German National People’s Party	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
William Karl Koch		DDP
Erich Koch-Weser		DDP	16 (Weser-Ems)
Franz Heinrich Költzsch		German National People’s Party
Wilhelm Koenen		USPD	12 (Merseburg)
Max König		SPD	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Alwin Körsten		SPD	6 (Pommern)
Bartholomäus Koßmann		Centre
Theodor Kotzur		SPD	1 (Ostpreußen)
Hermann Krätzig		SPD	31 (Dresden-Bautzen)
Heinrich von Kraut		German National People’s Party
Karl Kreft		German National People’s Party
Franz Kreutz		Centre
Wilhelm Kröger		SPD	7 (Mecklenburg)	Entered on 25 July 1919 as a replacement for Franz Starosson
Peter Kronen		SPD
Franz Krüger		SPD
Hans Krüger		SPD
Josef Kubetzko		Centre	10 (Oppeln)	Resigned on 12 July 1919
Wilhelm Külz		DDP		Entered on 20 January 1920 as a replacement for Emil Nitzschke
Heinrich Kürbis		SPD		Resigned on 2 December 1919
Bernhard Kuhnt		USPD	33 (Chemnitz-Zwickau)
Fritz Kunert		USPD	12 (Merseburg)
Alexander Kuntze		SPD	6 (Pommern)
Bruno Kurowski		Centre
Hedwig Kurt		SPD		Entered on 10 April 1919 as a replacement for Georg Gradnauer
Otto Landsberg		SPD
Christian Ritter von Langheinrich		DDP		Resigned on 21 April 1919
Heinrich Langwost		DHP	18 (Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig)	Elected on a joint list with the Centre Party
Wilhelm Lattmann		German National People’s Party		Entered on 24 October 1919 as a replacement for Karl Veidt
Gustav Laukant		USPD
Wilhelm Laverrenz		German National People’s Party	2 (Berlin)
Peter Legendre		Centre
Carl Legien		SPD	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)	Died on 26 December 1920
Johann Leicht		Centre	29 (Franken)		Bavarian People’s Party in January 1922
Gottfried Leiser		DDP		Entered on 24 October 1919 as a replacement for Emil Engelhard
Felix Lensing		Centre
Friedrich Lesche		SPD	17 (Ost-Hannover)
Hans Liebig		SPD
Julius Lippmann		DDP
Paul Lockenvitz		DDP
Paul Löbe		SPD	8 (Breslau)
Gertrud Lodahl		SPD		Entered on 12 February 1919 as a replacement for Paul Stössel
Heinrich Löffler		SPD	10 (Oppeln)
Josef Lübbring		SPD	1 (Ostpreußen)
Marie-Elisabeth Lüders		DDP	Reichswahlvorschlag	Entered on 24 August 1919 as a replacement for Friedrich Naumann
Frida Lührs		SPD
August Lüttich		SPD
Friedrich Max Ludewig		DDP
Hermann Luppe		DDP
Ernestine Lutze		SPD
Wilhelm Männer		BB		Resigned in February 1919
Gustav Malkewitz		German National People’s Party	6 (Pommern)
Oskar Maretzky		German People’s Party	4 (Potsdam I)
Wilhelm Marx		Centre	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Georg Mauerer		SPD		Entered on 2 February 1919 as a replacement for Alwin Saenger
Joseph Mausbach		Centre
Wilhelm Maxen		Centre	18 (Süd-Hannover-Braunschweig)
Wilhelm Mayer		Centre	27 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)		Bavarian People’s Party on 9 January 1920, resigned on 17 February 1920
Johannes Meerfeld		SPD	23 (Köln-Aachen)
Richard Meier		SPD	33 (Chemnitz-Zwickau)
Christian Meisner		DDP		Entered in Mai 1919 as a replacement for Christian Ritter von Langheinrich
Clara Mende		German People’s Party	Reichswahlvorschlag
Wilhelm Merck		Bavarian People’s Party	Reichswahlvorschlag	Entered in February 1920 as a replacement for Benedikt Hebel
August Merges		USPD		Resigned on 28 February 1919
Peter Michelsen		SPD	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)
Fritz Mittelmann		German People’s Party	6 (Pommern)
Hermann Molkenbuhr		SPD	33 (Chemnitz-Zwickau)
Albrecht Morath		German People’s Party	Reichswahlvorschlag
Julius Moses		USPD	2 (Berlin)
Otto Most		German People’s Party	26 (Düsseldorf-West)
Hermann Müller		SPD	29 (Franken)
Hermann Müller		SPD
Richard Müller		Centre		Resigned on 31 January 1920
Reinhard Mumm		German National People’s Party	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Josef Nacken		Centre	23 (Köln-Aachen)
Anna Nemitz		USPD	9 (Liegnitz)		SPD in September 1922
Friedrich Naumann		DDP		Died on 24 August 1919
Agnes Neuhaus		Centre	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Adolf Neumann-Hofer		DDP
Matthias Neyses		Centre	24 (Coblenz-Trier)
Emil Nitzschke		DDP		Resigned on 20 January 1920
Ferdinand Noske		German National People’s Party
Gustav Noske		SPD
Otto Nuschke		DDP
Ernst Oberfohren		German National People’s Party	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)
Karl Obermeyer		SPD	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Richard Oertel		German People’s Party	24 (Coblenz-Trier)
Wilhelm Ohler		German National People’s Party
Karl Okonsky		SPD	10 (Oppeln)	Entered in July 1919 as a replacement for Josef Kubetzko
Karl Ollmert		Centre
Nikolaus Osterroth		SPD
Waldemar Otte		Centre
Hermann Pachnicke		DDP	4 (Potsdam I)
Johann Panzer		SPD
Richard Partzsch		SPD		Entered on 3 January 1920 as a replacement for August Winnig
Friedrich von Payer		DDP
Carl Wilhelm Petersen		DDP	15 (Hamburg)
Wilhelm Pfannkuch		SPD
Maximilian Pfeiffer		Centre	2 (Berlin)
Antonie Pfülf		SPD	27 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)
Albrecht Philipp		German National People’s Party	32 (Leipzig)
Otto Pick		DDP
Karl Pinkau		SPD	32 (Leipzig)
Alexander Pohlmann		DDP	10 (Oppeln)
Franz Pokorny		SPD
Arthur von Posadowsky-Wehner		German National People’s Party
Alois Puschmann		Centre	8 (Breslau)
Max Quarck		SPD
Ludwig Quessel		SPD	22 (Hessen-Darmstadt)
Ludwig Quidde		DDP
Fritz Raschig		DDP
Friedrich Rauch		SPD
Gustav Raute		USPD	12 (Merseburg)
Walter Reek		SPD
Heinrich Reineke		German People’s Party
Hermann Paul Reißhaus		SPD	13 (Thuringia)
Johanne Reitze		SPD	15 (Hamburg)
Ernst Remmers		DDP
Anton Rheinländer		Centre	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Adolf Richter		German National People’s Party	1 (Ostpreußen)
Johann Sophian Christian Richter		Centre
Hartmann von Richthofen		DDP
Lorenz Riedmiller		SPD	35 (Baden)
Jakob Riesser		German People’s Party	21 (Hessen-Nassau)
Paul Rodemann		SPD
Elisabeth Röhl		SPD
Paul Röhle		SPD
Gustav Roesicke		German National People’s Party	Reichswahlvorschlag
Kurt Rosenfeld		USPD	13 (Thuringia)	Entered on 3 May 1920 as a replacement for Emanuel Wurm
Leopold Rückert		SPD
Heinrich Runkel		German People’s Party	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)
Elfriede Ryneck		SPD	3 (Potsdam II)
Hermann Sachse		SPD
Alwin Saenger		SPD		Resigned on 2 February 1919
Robert Sagawe		Centre
Albert Salm		SPD
Ernst Schädlich		SPD
Valentin Schäfer		SPD
Josef Schefbeck		Centre
Philipp Scheidemann		SPD	21 (Hessen-Nassau)
Martin Schiele		German National People’s Party	11 (Magdeburg)
Eugen Schiffer		DDP	11 (Magdeburg)
Karl Matthias Schiffer		Centre		Resigned on 24 September 1919
Joseph Schilgen		Centre		Entered on 24 September 1919 as a replacement for Karl Matthias Schiffer
Minna Schilling		SPD	33 (Chemnitz-Zwickau)
Carl Schirmer		Centre	29 (Franken)		Bavarian People’s Party on 9 January 1920
Käthe Schirmacher		German National People’s Party
Peter Schlack		Centre	25 (Düsseldorf-Ost)
Alexander Schlicke		SPD	Reichswahlvorschlag
Wilhelm Schlüter		SPD
Richard Schmidt		SPD	31 (Dresden-Bautzen)
Richard Schmidt		SPD
Robert Schmidt		SPD	Reichswahlvorschlag
Wilhelm Schmidthals		DDP
Adam Josef Schmitt		Centre
Maria Schmitz		Centre
Alexander Schneider		Centre
Gustav Schneider		DDP
Georg Schöpflin		SPD	35 (Baden)
Carl Schreck		SPD	19 (Westfalen-Nord)
Louise Schroeder		SPD	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)
Clara Schuch		SPD	2 (Berlin)
Walther Schücking		DDP	21 (Hessen-Nassau)
Wilhelm Schümmer		Centre
Georg Schultz		German National People’s Party	Reichswahlvorschlag
Heinrich Schulz		SPD	Reichswahlvorschlag
Hermann Schulz		SPD	Westpreußen
Wilhelm Schulz		SPD
Gerhart von Schulze-Gävernitz		DDP		Entered on 12 April 1919 as a replacement for Hermann Dietrich
Oswald Schumann		SPD	5 (Frankfurt (Oder))
Jean Albert Schwarz		Centre	21 (Hessen-Nassau)
Rudolf Schwarzer		Bavarian People’s Party	27 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)
Friedrich Seger		USPD	32 (Leipzig)
Friedrich Wilhelm Semmler		German National People’s Party	8 (Breslau)
Carl Severing		SPD	19 (Westfalen-Nord)
Richard Seyfert		DDP
Otto Sidow		SPD	4 (Potsdam I)
Ernst Siehr		DDP
Karl Sielermann		German National People’s Party		Entered on 29 September 1919 as a replacement for Wilhelm Wallbaum
Anna Simon		SPD
Hermann Silberschmidt		SPD	11 (Magdeburg)
Georg Simon		SPD	27 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)
Josef Simon		USPD	29 (Franken)	Resigned on 21 November 1919
Hugo Sinzheimer		SPD
Hans Sivkovich		DDP	7 (Mecklenburg)
Wilhelm Sollmann		SPD	23 (Köln-Aachen)
Peter Spahn		Centre	Reichswahlvorschlag
Emil Stahl		SPD
Michael Stapfer		Centre
Franz Starosson		SPD
Otto Steinmayer		SPD
Wilhelm Steinsdorff		DDP
Adam Stegerwald		Centre	19 (Westfalen-Nord)
Willy Steinkopf		SPD	Reichswahlvorschlag
Johannes Stelling		SPD	7 (Mecklenburg)
Christian Stock		SPD
Otto Stolten		SPD	15 (Hamburg)
Paul Stössel		SPD		Resigned on 2 February 1919
Gustav Stresemann		German People’s Party	3 (Potsdam II)
Franz Strzoda		Centre
Daniel Stücklen		SPD		33 (Chemnitz-Zwickau)
Thomas Szczeponik		Centre	10 (Oppeln)
Theodor Tantzen der Jüngere		DDP		Resigned on 31 October 1919
Paul Taubadel		SPD	9 (Liegnitz)
Eugen Taucher		Centre		Bavarian People’s Party on 9 January 1920, resigned on 1 February 1920
Johanna Tesch		SPD	21 (Hessen-Nassau)
Christine Teusch		Centre	23 (Köln-Aachen)
Johannes Thabor		SPD	26 (Düsseldorf-West)
Adolf Thiele		SPD
Georg Thöne		SPD	21 (Hessen-Nassau)
Detlef Thomsen		SHBLD	Resigned on 7 July 1919
Franz Thurow		SPD		Entered on 11 February 1919 as a replacement for Friedrich Ebert
Gottfried Traub		German National People’s Party
Peter Tremmel		Centre	24 (Coblenz-Trier)
Karl Trimborn		Centre	23 (Köln-Aachen)
Oskar Trinks		SPD
Carl Ulitzka		Centre	10 (Oppeln)
Carl Ulrich		SPD	22 (Hessen-Darmstadt)
Karl Veidt		German National People’s Party		Resigned on 29 August 1919
Wilhelm Vershofen		DDP
Otto Vesper		SPD
Albert Vögler		German People’s Party	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Hans Vogel		SPD	29 (Franken)
Wilhelm Vogt		German National People’s Party	34 (Württemberg)
Fritz Voigt		SPD
Friedrich Wachhorst de Wente		DDP
Felix Waldstein		DDP	14 (Schleswig-Holstein)
Wilhelm Wallbaum		German National People’s Party		Resigned on 29 September 1919
Fritz Warmuth		German National People’s Party	5 (Frankfurt (Oder))
Helene Weber		Centre
Victor Weidtman		German People’s Party
Luitpold Weilnböck		German National People’s Party	29 (Franken)
Friedrich Weinhausen		DDP	Westpreußen
Konrad Weiß		DDP	29 (Franken)
Franz Xaver Weixler		Bavarian People’s Party	27 (Oberbayern-Schwaben)	Entered in March 1920 as a replacement for Wilhelm Mayer
Otto Wels		SPD	5 (Frankfurt (Oder))
Hugo Wendorff		DDP
Kuno von Westarp		German National People’s Party	3 (Potsdam II)
Johannes Wetzlich		German National People’s Party
Franz Wieber		Centre	26 (Düsseldorf-West)
Philipp Wieland		DDP	34 (Württemberg)
Carl Winkelmann		SPD
August Winnefeld		German People’s Party	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
August Winnig		SPD		Resigned on 3 January 1920
Joseph Wirth		Centre	35 (Baden)
Rudolf Wissell		SPD
Franz Heinrich Witthoefft		German People’s Party
Theodor Wolff		SPD
Emanuel Wurm		USPD		Died on 3 May 1920
Constantin Zawadzki		Centre	10 (Oppeln)
Johann Anton Zehnter		Centre
Marie Zettler		Centre
Paul Ziegler		DDP	20 (Westfalen-Süd)
Luise Zietz		USPD	2 (Berlin)
Georg Zöphel		DDP
Fritz Zubeil		USPD	3 (Potsdam II)

See also

• Herrenchiemsee convention of 1948
• Parlamentarischer Rat of 1949

References

1. Sturm, Reinhard (23 December 2011). "Weimarer Republik: Vom Kaiserreich zur Republik 1918/19" [Weimar Republic: From Empire to Republic 1918/19]. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (in German). Retrieved 17 June 2013.
2. Holste, Heiko (January 2009). "Die Nationalversammlung gehört hierher!" [The National Assembly belongs here!]. Frankfurther Allgemeine Zeitung, Bilder und Zeiten Nr. 8, 10 (in German).
3. "Chronologie 1919 (in German)". Deutsches Historisches Museum. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
4. "Die Wahlen zur Nationalversammlung" [The Election of the National Assembly]. Deutsches Historisches Museum (in German). Retrieved 10 December 2007.
5. Sturm, Reinhard (23 December 2011). "Weimarer Republik: Vom Kaiserreich zur Republik 1918/19" [Weimar Republic: From Empire to Republic 1918/19]. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (in German). Retrieved 17 June 2013.
6. Winkler, Heinrich August (1993). Weimar 1918–1933. Die Geschichte der ersten deutschen Demokratie [Weimar 1918–1933. The History of the First German Democracy] (in German). Munich: C.H. Beck. p. 69. ISBN 3-406-37646-0.
7. Kohn, Walter S.G. (1980). Women in National Legislatures: A Comparative Study of Six Countries. Westport, CT: Praeger. p. 141. ISBN 9780030475917.
8. Schüler, Anja (8 September 2008). "Bubikopf und kurze Röcke" [Bobbed hair and short skirts]. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (in German).
9. Jindra, Steffen (2 March 2021). "Weimar und die 37 Frauen" [Weimar and the 37 Women]. ARD (in German).
10. "Gesetz über die vorläufige Reichsgewalt1". documentArchiv.de (in German).
11. Miller, Susanne; Matthias, Erich, eds. (1966). Das Kriegstagebuch des Reichstagsabgeordneten Eduard David 1914 bis 1918 [The War Diary of Eduard David, Member of the Reichstag 1914 to 1918] (in German). Düsseldorf: Droste. pp. XXXIII. ISBN 9783770050376.
12. "Philipp Scheidemann". Encyclopedia Britannica. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
13. Müller, Wolfgang (8 November 2022). "Versailler Vertrag: Fragen und Antworten" [Versailles Treaty: Questions and Answers]. NDR (in German).
14. "Vor 100 Jahren: Nationalversammlung ratifiziert Versailler Vertrag" [100 Years Ago: The National Assembly Ratifies the Versailles Treaty]. Deutscher Bundestag. 4 July 2019.
15. "Gesetz über den Friedensschluß zwischen Deutschland und den alliierten und den assoziierten Mächten". documentArchiv.de (in German).
16. "Verhandlungen des Deutschen Reichstages: 84. Sitzung der Nationalversammlung vom 20. August 1919" [Proceedings of the German Reichstag: 84th Session of the National Assembly]. Reichstagsprotokolle (in German). 20 August 1919. p. 2798. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
17. Heilfron, Eduard, ed. (1921). Die Deutsche Nationalversammlung im Jahre 1919 in ihrer Arbeit für den Aufbau des neuen deutschen Volksstaates [The German National Assembly in 1919 in its Work for the Establishment of the New German People's State] (in German). Berlin: Norddeutsche Buchdruckerei und Verlagsanstalt. pp. 150–153.
18. Mommsen, Wolfgang J. (1974). Max Weber und die deutsche Politik 1890–1920 [Max Weber and German Politics 1890–1920] (in German) (2nd ed.). Tübingen: Mohr. pp. 372–375. ISBN 9783165358612.
19. Weipert, Axel (2012). "Vor den Toren der Macht. Die Demonstration am 13. Januar 1920 vor dem Reichstag" [At the gates of power. The Demonstration in Front of the Reichstag on 13 January 1920] (PDF). Jahrbuch für Forschungen zur Geschichte der Arbeiterbewegung (in German). 11 (2): 16–32.
20. "Chronik 1920" [Chronicle 1920]. Deutsches Historisches Museum (in German). 23 July 2013.
21. Braun, Bernd; Epkenhans, Michael; Mühlhausen, Walter (September 1998). "Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925). Vom Arbeiterführer zum Reichspräsidenten" [Friedrich Ebert (1871–1925). From labor leader to Reich President]. Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (in German). Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
22. "Kabinett Scheidemann, Einleitung II" [Scheidemann Cabinet, Introduction II]. Bundesarchiv (in German). Retrieved 23 July 2013.