The Reichstag takes a new approach to social policy
The failure of imperial Germany to provide its subjects with unemployment insurance was compensated only in part through various unemployment funds maintained by a number of trade unions and municipalities. Faced with widespread and acute social dislocation after the First World War, the first government of the new Weimar Republic prioritized the most vulnerable and left the unemployed to fend for themselves.
The economic boom of the mid-1920s gave the German government greater scope for action, and the grand coalition under Ludwig Müller moved to make official provision for the unemployed. The new law establishing the requisite fund was passed on 16 July 1927 and foresaw that employers and employees would both pay in an equal amount into the insurance scheme, set at a maximum of 3% of earnings. This was the first time that ordinary Germans had enjoyed a statutory entitlement to financial support if they lost their jobs and were willing to take up new employment. Seeking to ensure that people did not stay on unemployment benefits for too long (these payments were not generous, requiring the unemployed to rely on other support), the government also set up a labour exchange to find people a job.
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An immersive and innovative experience museum about 2000 years of German history
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