In the young German democracy, Hamburg's citizens have to take on a responsible task:they draw up a new constitution, which is promulgated on January 7, 1921. Its core:more rights for citizens and their representatives.
by Janine Kuehl
After the First World War, the sailor uprisings and the proclamation of the Republic by Philipp Scheidemann on November 9, 1918, Germany faces a democratic upheaval that also poses new political challenges for the people of Hamburg. As in many other German cities, factory and shipyard workers elect workers' councils, from which the "Workers' and Soldiers' Council of Greater Hamburg" emerged. Although he took power in the Hanseatic city in November 1918, he allowed the Senate to continue to govern. On February 11, 1919, under pressure from the SPD and other groups, the workers' council ordered new elections for the city council. This takes place according to free and equal voting rights. For the first time, women and all men over the age of 20 can vote for the new citizenship regardless of their income.
Premiere:17 women are moving into the citizenship
The Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) emerged victorious from the first free and general elections in the Hanseatic city on March 16, 1919, with 50.4 percent of the votes. There are now 143 men and 17 women in the citizenship, who are allowed to move into the city's parliament for the first time. A few things are also changing with regard to the social composition of the citizenry:only twelve MPs are self-employed business people. The majority are employees, but workers and housewives are now also represented.
Most important task:drafting a new constitution
The deputies quickly set to work on their most important task:to draw up a new, democratic constitution for Hamburg. The Hanseatic city has had a constitution since September 28, 1860. This regulates the powers and tasks of the political organs in Hamburg:There is the citizenship, which corresponds to a parliament, and the senate, which emerged from the medieval council. The 1860 Constitution gives great power to the Senate, whose members are elected for life by a small body of Senators and Representatives. The members of the parliament represent only a small part of Hamburg, because at that time only wealthy men were allowed to vote. Large parts of the population are not involved in the political processes; the fortunes of the city are in the hands of rich citizens, mainly merchants.
Hamburg on the way to parliamentary democracy
Over the decades, the rights of citizenship have even been further curtailed. This culminated in the so-called electoral robbery of 1906, when the right to vote, which was already restricted to male citizens with high incomes, was tightened again. This is to prevent the SPD from gaining power. After the free elections in the spring of 1919, the Hanseatic city's political system was to be put on a fundamentally new footing. Already in the constitutive parliamentary meeting on March 24, 1919, those elected set the course for the direction of the constitution. The majority of MPs from the SPD to the German People's Party (DVP) agree that parliamentary democracy is essential for inner peace in the city.
Helene Lange demands political justice
In March 1919, at the age of 71, the teacher Helene Lange took over the office of senior president of the newly elected Hamburg Parliament.Helene Lange, member of the German Democratic Party (DDP) and senior president of the newly elected parliament, opened a parliament in Germany with her speech on March 24, 1919, as the first woman. For decades, the teacher has campaigned for women's rights and educational opportunities for girls. The now 70-year-old is aware of the historical significance of the political upheavals in Hamburg and explains the task of the citizenship as follows:
"The work of this assembly should focus on the new building. Out of the most fatal threat to the external foundations on which the proud and flourishing life of Hamburg was based, out of a tremendous internal political upheaval (...) we are to create a constitution here, a permanent, solid basis of our state life, from which the convincing and overcoming power of political justice and social spirit emanates."
SPD cooperates with the old elite
In 1901, Otto Stolten became the first Social Democratic member of the Hamburg Parliament. In 1919 he took over the office of a senator.On March 26, 1919, the citizenry passed a law on provisional state authority. It says:"The exercise of the highest state power is the citizenship as a representation of the Hamburg people." Legislative power now emanates exclusively from the citizenry, having previously been shared between the Senate and the City Parliament. As a result, the old Senate resigns to clear the way for a parliamentary government. The SPD could have provided this alone with its absolute majority. But the party does not want to do without the political experience of the old Senate. Nine previous politicians and nine SPD politicians form the new Senate. SPD spokesman Otto Stolten also gave way to businessman Werner von Melle when it came to filling the first mayoralty. This is how the SPD secures the cooperation of the rich citizens in politically turbulent times.
Citizenship as the highest political body
The new constitution bears clear traces of the revolution. The people's representatives unequivocally elevated the citizenry to the highest political body in the Hanseatic city. For their protection, it is stipulated that the citizenship can only be dissolved in two ways before the end of a legislative period:either it decides to dissolve itself, or it is recalled by a referendum brought about by the Senate. From now on, the citizenry is the sole legislator. She also determines the budget. From now on, the formerly powerful senators will be elected by the citizens - and possibly voted out again if the deputies vote no confidence in them.
The Hamburgers are also breaking new ground when it comes to filling the executive powers. The Senate as a whole is to represent the city externally. The First Mayor is (almost) only in name. He is equal to the other senators. Only in the event of a tie within the Senate can his vote decide in one direction.
Article 1:"The state of Hamburg is a republic"
The citizenship meets a total of eleven times and discusses the new constitution until all details are finally clarified at the last meeting on December 29, 1920. The constitution is passed with 95 yes votes from the SPD and DDP. The first article reads:"The State of Hamburg is a republic and forms a Land of the German Empire under the name 'Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg'."
Finally, the new constitution is officially promulgated on January 7, 1921 and comes into force on January 9. It initially survived turbulent times with coup attempts from the right and left. After the situation had stabilized in the mid-1920s, the governing parties SPD and DDP, and later also the DVP, became involved in social housing and implemented far-reaching school reforms.
Tests in difficult times
With the collapse of the economy caused by the world economic crisis in the autumn of 1929, state revenues fell until Hamburg was on the brink of bankruptcy in the summer of 1931. The situation of many citizens is deteriorating rapidly. Since the government can no longer support the citizens, extreme parties such as the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) and above all the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) are becoming increasingly popular.
After the state elections in 1931, the NSDAP with 26.3 percent and the KPD with 21.9 percent of the vote together made up the majority in the state parliament. Now it shows that the constitution of 1921 is well thought out and what tools it is supposed to use to protect the people of Hamburg from extreme forces. Because Article 37 stipulates that the Senate cannot simply be replaced by the Parliament.
If the entire Senate resigns, it must continue to conduct business until a new Senate is elected. Article 37 of the Hamburg Constitution of January 7, 1921
This case occurs on October 3, 1931:The Hamburg Senate resigns as a body and, thanks to Article 37, can initially continue business. The historian Ursula Büttner describes Article 37 as a - at least temporary - "rescuing anchor" against a takeover of power by extreme parties or chaotic conditions due to a lack of majorities.
Bulwark until the Nazi takeover
That works - until the so-called "Enabling Act" of March 24, 1933, which transfers power solely to Adolf Hitler, undermines democracy. A little later, other parties are banned throughout Germany and the separation of powers is dissolved. This means that the citizenship loses its entitlement and the senate governs under a Reich governor. The people of Hamburg had to wait until October 13, 1946 for more free elections and the new beginning of parliamentary democracy. On June 6, 1952, the citizenry finally passed a new constitution that is still valid today.