For the first time in German history political parties had real power. They could determine policy and had patronage available for supporters. However, the large number of political parties made coalitions necessary and made it difficult to obtain and maintain legislative majorities. At times there were more than thirty political parties on the ballot although only about six commanded substantial voting blocs. Making life even more difficult for the Republic were extremist parties on both sides of the political spectrum who were opposed to the existence of the Republic itself. The most important of these radical anti-Republican parties were the communists on the left and the National Socialists (Nazis) on the right. Most of the 22 Weimar government coalitions were made up of members of the Catholic Center, Social Democratic, Democratic and People’s parties.
The concept of “left” or “left wing,” and “right” or “right wing” political parties originated in the French Assembly in the 19th century where people and groups were labeled by where they sat in the meeting hall. In Weimar Germany, while there were often as many as 30 parties on the ballot, there were a group of larger and more important parties. These parties were identified by names and initials related to their names in German.
