rache: What they did give up however, was their willingness to question what was presented to them as as the truth.

Yes, technicaly you are right. I guess I was just looking at the obvious result.

rache: Like today, most just blindly accepted what was told to them by their leaders.

Hmmm... We're in for a bit of that in Queensland now for the next few years. My reckoning we'll be in for another "Fitzgerald Inquery" in about 6 years. Cambell may relinquish all of his holdings but you can just bet his wifes family does very well, "thank you very much," over the next few years.

Hey arjay, how did your rally go. I hope you didn't get arrested. Please get back to us. We are missing your input.

Rache,

Germany "a democratic republic" when it entered WW1 and WW2? Eh, are you defining the Nazi regime or the Kaiser's regime as democratic?

No, Germany wasn't a democratic republic in 1914 or 1938 or 1939.

After WWII wasn't East Germany a democracy? After all they did call themselves The German Democratic Republic can't get more democratic that have the word democratic in your name.
I think the greatest democracy of all times must go to Haiti when run by Papa Doc and Baby Doc. I recall something like Papa Doc had an election, there were about 4 million voters, After the election the votes were counted that night behind closed doors at the presidential palace by Papa Doc's cronies, the next day the result was decleared with something like 6 million votes for Papa Doc to nil for the opposition candidate, Papa Doc's brother-in-law and crony, When asked to explain, Papa Doc said some voters couldn't be stopped from voting 2 or 3 times for him as they just loved him so much hence 6 million votes from an electorate of 4 million. Even the opposition candidate voted for Papa Doc on the grounds Papa Doc was the best man for the job. I call that democracy in action. It makes yesterdays Queensland election a real cliff hanger.

mac.

The first federal election in Germany was held in 1871.
A further 13 elections were held under this regime and then another 9 elections during the years of the Weimar Republic.

Democracy under the Kaiser would have been much like democracy under the King of England.
Imperial but hardly what could be considered undemocratic.

Hitler "won" the election of 1933 and subsequently ended further elections under the Enabling Act he introduced following the (contrived) Reichstag Fire.

That phoney fire was the catalyst Hitler needed to convince the
population that they were in imminent danger and they willingly surrendered their rights.

The same strategy has been used as far back as Crassus in ancient Rome and right up to the US Patriot Act of 2001. Rights aren't taken away, people hand them back.

It's what is always used to win popular support for a military solution.

Paul1405,

The post-WW2 Communist East German Democratic Republic was obviously a republic in name only.

However under our Representative system of democracy, 26.6% of the vote only gets you 8% of the seats, 11.6% of the vote get you 2% of the seats, 7.6% of the vote can get you no seats, while the winner with (a slim minority of) 49.7% of the vote ends up with 87% of the seats.

Papa Doc was an amateur.

rache,

Yes, however, that still doesn't alter the fact that Nazi Germany wasn't a democracy in 1939. When did women get the vote in Germany? Elections before that date, are of course, undemocratic.

Mac,
"When did women get the vote in Germany?"

Women were awarded the right to vote in Germany in 1919 - about the same time as several other European States, about six years before Italy and about 10 years before women the UK had their voting age dropped from over 30 (with property restrictions) to being just over 21 years of age.

Despite what he did afterwards in banning other political parties and Trade Unions, Hitler first came to power democratically.