D.6. The Rise of the Nazis and Communists
http://www.colby.edu/personal/r/rmscheck/GermanyD6.html
«The rise of intransigent anti-democratic parties at both extremes paralyzed democracy. The Reichstag and most of the single state parliaments could not function any more once the radical enemies of the Republic held nearly half of the seats, as in 1930, and more than half two years later. Not to think of the profound differences between the moderate parties from the SPD to the DVP! (Imagine that in the United States the radical religious right and the communists would win a near-majority. Democrats and Republicans suddenly would have to agree on most issues; left-wing Democrat environmentalists would have to ally with right-wing Republican business groups.)
The chances for the survival of democracy were further undermined by the Catholic camp's move to the Right. The Center Party and the BVP had always tended to be more anti-socialist than genuinely democratic. The Center Party's alliance with the SPD had been dictated by the circumstances of the last war years and the chaos of the first Weimar period. After 1928 the Center became increasingly reluctant to cooperate with the Social Democrats and purged its left wing, the predominant voice of democracy within the party.»
Best Regards,
RRW
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