What were Germany's governments during World War 1?

Answer 1

Between 1871 and 1918 Germany had a strange form of government - partly an absolute monarchy, partly a democracy. The powers of the absolute monarchy were often not exercised by the monarch in person, but by highly influential little cliques round him. In World War 1 the top military in effect took over and barked out orders at the civilian government. If the latter didn't do as Hindenburg and Ludendorff ordered, they cried "Treason!" In October 1918, with defeat staring them in the face, the military ordered the transformation of Germany into a parliamentary democracy, as they hoped it would impress President Wilson and that they'd get better terms that way. They also knew that the terms were likely to be harsh and made sure that the armistice and the peace treaty were signed by democratically elected civilians. Joncey

Answer 2

It was a federal constitutional monarchy.

The federal part means it was a collection of various states (kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, and other principalities); this collection was ruled by a single emperor, who was also the king of one of the states. The emperor (the monarch) was bound by a constitution, which imposed some limits on his power.

The constitution, which came into effect when Germany was unified in 1871, gave the emperor some significant powers, notably to make treaties, declare war, conduct diplomacy with foreign countries, and appoint a chancellor. The chancellor functioned much like the modern chancellor, in that he did most of the actual running of the government for the emperor.

There was also a bicameral legislature, the Bundesrat("Federal Council") and Reichstag. ("Parliament of the Realm"). The legislature was responsible for approving certain decrees of the emperor (such as a declaration of war that wasn't defensive in nature, or issuing a treaty), and for handling more minor details of governance that were not important enough for the emperor to personally handle, like business transactions between one kingdom within the empire and another.

As the war ended, the imperial government was replaced by a federal republic with much the same setup. The biggest change was that the emperor was replaced by a president who was elected to seven year terms, and the chancellor was normally chosen by the Reichstag, much like the prime minister of the UK. The various kingdoms and duchies were converted over to each be a "Bundesland" ("Federal Land"), which is similar to a state in the United States. Otherwise, the government stayed largely the same.

Answer 3

During World War I, Germany was a CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY. The Kaiser was the effective king of Germany and wielded significant legal powers and the Chancellor, who was head of the Parliament, also held significant powers. There was no clearly delineated structure to determine which leader would retain which rights.

Answer 4

Between 1871 and 1918 at the end of the war Germany had a mix of democracy and monarchy. But in October 1918 at the end of the war they were forced to parliamentary democracy.

Answer 5

At that time Germany was an Imperial monarchy, with a limited democratic government.