Lesson Plan 2
“The fragility of democracy” –
Politics in Weimar Germany
Overall Key Questions:
What were the social, political and economic conditions in Germany after World War One?
What were the choices confronting citizens during the Weimar Republic?
How can we protect a democracy?
Lesson plan
Download Worksheets (click here)
Worksheet 1
Step 1
- Hand out Worksheet 1.
- In groups learners answer the questions around the sources for each of the political party posters. [To save time, each group could focus on just one political party]
Step 2
- Go over the posters with the class allowing some discussion of the answers to take place.
- Encourage learners to add to their original answers as the feedback is taking place.
- Use this as an opportunity to point out the visual techniques that are evident in the poster which are used to convince people to support them.
[You could use this as a time to introduce propaganda techniques but it may be more relevant an suitable once the study of Nazi Germany has begun]
Step 3
- Ask each group to decide which political party they think had the most successful posters – those that would have appealed to many people.
- Allow each group to report back and a discussion to take place.
Worksheet 2
Step 1
- Place several copies of each of the manifestos onto big paper.
- If possible, divide the class into groups no larger than four.
- Give each group a manifesto to work with. Some groups will have the same and some will have different manifestos.
Step 2
- Each group answers the questions around their source.
- Once they have completed one manifesto, ask them to swop with another group so that each group is working with a different manifesto to the one they had before.
- They then need to add their answers to those that have already been supplied by another group.
- Groups then swop again. By the end of the activity each group must have worked with all three manifestos.
Step 3
- As a class, discuss the answers to the questions.
Step 4
- Ask each group to decide which party would probably have been the most popular party. They need to write down a few reasons why they feel this way so that they can justify their decision in a class discussion.
Worksheet 3
Step 1
- Hand out a copy of the sources and the table to each group.
- Learners read through the sources.
- Using the information in the sources as well as their knowledge of the aims of the political parties, each group must decide which parties the individuals would have supported. They need to fill this in on the table.
Step 2
- Once the table has been completed each group must pair up with another group. They need to compare their findings and to try to reach agreement about the choices that the Germans might have made.
Step 3
- Invite some groups to report back to the class.
Step 4
- Conclude the lesson by summing up what they have learnt about the political, economic and social conditions that existed in Weimar Germany.
- You could also have a class discussion around the following questions (or set these questions as a homework task):
How secure was this democracy?
What forces were threatening the democracy?
How did the economic forces affect the government?
Why were Germans looking for answers from parties like the Nazi Party?
Or, refer back to the key questions directly and ask learners to try to answer these.
What were the social, political and economic conditions in Germany after World War One?
What were the choices confronting citizens during the Weimar Republic?
How can we protect a democracy?
