| Constitution of the German Reich | |
|---|---|
 The Weimar Constitution in booklet form. Article 148 of the Constitution required that all school students receive a copy of the Constitution at the time of their graduation. | |
| Overview | |
| Original title | Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs |
| Jurisdiction | Weimar Republic (1919–1933) Nazi Germany (1933–1945, de jure only) Allied-occupied Germany (1945–1949, de jure only) |
| Ratified | 11 August 1919 |
| Date effective | 14 August 1919 |
| System | Federal semi-presidential republic (1919–1930) de jure till 1945 Federal authoritarian presidential republic under a Parliamentary System (1930–1933) Unitary Nazi one-party fascist totalitarian dictatorship (1933–1945) de facto |
| Head of state | President (1919–1934) Führer (1934–1945) |
| Chambers | Upper house: Reichsrat (until 1934) Lower house: Reichstag |
| Executive | Chancellor |
| Judiciary | Reichsgericht |
| Federalism | Yes (disregarded in 1933) |
| Repealed |  West Germany: 23 May 1949 (except Articles Nos. 136–139 and 141) East Germany: 7 October 1949 |
| Supersedes | Constitution of the German Empire |
| Full text | |
 Weimar constitution at Wikisource | |
| Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs at German Wikisource | |
The Constitution of the German Reich (German: Die Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs), usually known as the Weimar Constitution (Weimarer Verfassung), was the constitution that governed Germany during the Weimar Republic era (1919–1933). The constitution created a federal semi-presidential republic with a parliament whose lower house, the Reichstag, was elected by universal suffrage using proportional representation. The appointed upper house, the Reichsrat, represented the interests of the federal states. The president of Germany had supreme command over the military, extensive emergency powers, and appointed and removed the chancellor, who was responsible to the Reichstag. The constitution included a significant number of civic rights such as freedom of speech and habeas corpus. It guaranteed freedom of religion and did not permit the establishment of a state church.
The constitution contained a number of weaknesses which, under the difficult conditions of the interwar period, failed to prevent Adolf Hitler from setting up a Nazi dictatorship using the constitution as a cover of legitimacy. Although it was de facto repealed by the Enabling Act of 1933, the constitution remained technically in effect throughout the Nazi era from 1933 to 1945 and also during the Allied occupation of Germany from 1945 to 1949. It was then replaced by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany until 1990, then reunited Germany) and the Constitution of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).
The constitution's title was the same as the Constitution of the German Empire that preceded it. The German state's official name was German Reich (Deutsches Reich) until 1949.