Germany’s Constitution of 1911 provided referendums on federal, state and local level. The constitution of the Weimar Republic allowed the people to hold a referendum on issues. After World War II, Germany has no provision for popular participation through referendum at federal level. By 1990 only seven states had referendums at state level and only one state had direct democracy at local level. Since 1998 all 16 states have introduced referendums at state level and 15 at local level. The first part of the paper discusses the concepts and comparative classification of referendums. Part two introduces the experiences of referendums in Weimar Republic. Part three discusses different opinions about referendum during and after World War II in Germany. Part four introduces the development of referendum at state and local levels during 1945-1990. Part five introduces the development of referendum after 1990 and explores the factors that led to the introduction of referendum at state and local levels. The conclusion indicates that the parliamentary system at state and local levels in Germany did not changed after the introduction of referendums.