15 - The Social Bases of Political Cleavages in the Weimar Republic, 1919-1933

Summary

The research project that constitutes the basis of this essay proceeds from the assumption that because of distinct handicaps in Germany's political development there was “neither a homogeneous nor a dominant political culture” in the Weimar Republic but rather - and this is particularly true for the period after 1928 - an extraordinarily “fateful fragmentation [of the political system] into a multiplicity of political subcultures.” The inability of these subcultures either to interact with each other or to establish social and political hegemony, in turn, contributed in no small measure to the rise of National Socialism. This essay uses the methodologies of historical electoral research to investigate the electoral strength of the most important of these political subcultures and to determine the changes that took place in their composition between 1919 and 1933.

It is first necessary to clarify certain assumptions regarding use of the term “political subculture.” In terms of the project as a whole, this concept has been used rather loosely. Together with the conceptually related, though not necessarily coterminous, notions of “political milieu” and “political camp,” the concept of “political subculture” is replete with variations and nuances.