1.2 Opposition, Control and Consent - FRG Flashcards
Revision
What did the KPD do in Munich in 1953?
6000 communists clashed with police
dispersed using water cannon
What did the Youth protest in the 1960s?
‘year zero’ - ‘What did you do in the war, Daddy?’
military involvement with the west and NATO
atomic weapons
US war in Vietnam
Who were the APO?
left wing, young intellectuals who favoured radical action and did not trust the government
What did the APO do?
December 1965 - Viva Maria! film - radical, revolutionary with bombs and guns
violent (student) protests
How did the SDS form?
broke away from SPD in 1961 as it was becoming less radical
What did the SDS do?
after 1965 increasingly violent student protests
against Vietnam War, NATO, nuclear weapons and year zero
What happened with the SDS in 1967?
during a demonstration against Iran’s human rights Ohnesorg (student protesting) was shot
increased SDS membership but divided opinions towards violence used
What happened with the SDS in 1968?
Dutschke (leader) shot by right-wing fanatic prompted by newspaper coverage
SDS attacked newspaper offices
died down afterwards
11 May 1968 - last demonstration against Basic Law (80,000 people)
What happened to opposition in the 1970s?
in reaction to the increase in police control it became more radical and turned into terrorism
What were the terrorist groups like?
fluid and constantly changing
several gun battles with police per month
eg. West Berlin Tupamaros - 1971 leaders shot or imprisoned - group disbanded and joined others
Who was the Baader-Meinhof Gang?
nicknamed by press
influenced by 1969 book Minimanual for the Urban Guerrilla
trained with the PLO in Jordan
When was the Baader-Meinhof Gang set up?
early 1970
first action bombing in Dahlem May 1970
What happened to the Baader-Meihof Gang in late 1970?
most leaders in prison - went on hunger strikes
Meins died in prison - after that several lawyers and judges houses bombed
What had happened to all of the Baader-Meinhof Gang by 1975?
all arrested and in solitary confinement
after that bombings in Stockholm and Paris to express support for gang
Why did bombings become less frequent?
government control
not actually achieving anything
What was sympathy to the Baader-Meinhof Gang like according to a 1970 poll?
20% of Germans sympathetic
5% would let them stay the night if on the run
What was government control like?
lopsided like the Weimar
came down heavier on the left
BUT left posed greater threat with terrorism
When were BfD and BND set up and what were they set up to do ?
1950 and 1956
investigate suspects of working against Basic Law
What was passed to try and overcome the BND being hampered by civil liberties?
Emergency Law
tried 1960 and 1962
passed 1965
What were the consequences of the Emergency Law 1965?
drop in open protests
increased arrests
underground terrorism (unintended)
What did the BEFA system do?
gave BND centralised access to all FRG police information
What was the GSG-9 and why was it set up?
special operations unit against terrorists
set up aster shooting of Israeli athletes at 1972 Olympic Games
What did the GSG-9 do?
operated worldwide
arrested some of the Baader-Meinhof Gang
17 October 1977 - rescued hostages on a hijacked plane towards Frankfurt
What was terrorism like by the end of the 1970s?
much less activity
BUT governments actions had encouraged terrorism
What did the Employment Ban 1949 do?
radical political views could not be in government
seldom used (100 lost jobs 1950-72)
contradicted by ‘year zero’ policy
What did the Anti-Radical Decree do?
political vetting for all state jobs
because of university extremism rise
When was the Anti-Radical Decree?
January 1972
What did the Allies make the German people do after WW2?
visit concentration camps
some even helped dig mass graves and bury bodies
Why were the Nuremberg Trials in Nuremberg?
symbolic of Nazi ideology - vast parades held 1933-8
When did the Nuremberg Trials start?
18 October 1945
What were the outcomes of the Nuremberg Trials?
12 sentenced to death
3 to life imprisonment
4 imprisoned
3 acquitted
What was the general reaction to the Nuremberg Trials?
accepted as necessary for losing the war
felt it should be the end of pursuing Nazis - Fuhrer myth made it easy to blame Hitler
Which Ally prosecuted the most Nazis?
France
How many people were arrested by the end of 1949 during denazification?
250,000
Why was denazification problematic?
many had to join Nazi Party to keep jobs
more involved Nazis could remove themselves from the record
sheer scale was huge
many were technocrats with vital skills eg. 102 of 112 doctors in Bonn
How many Germans were asked to answer Fragenboden (questionnaires)?
16 million
How many questions did the Fragenboden ask?
131
What was the outcome of a Fragenboden and its nickname?
5 categories from Major Offender to Exonerated
exonerated got a ‘Persil Certificate’ - whitewashing
How many people were determined answerable to charges after the Fragenboden?
3.5 million
What was the issue with trying people after the Fragenboden?
90% of the German legal profession had been members of the Nazi Party
British zone resorted to using final year law students
also was too large of a project
What was the issue with the answers to the Fragenboden?
most Germans claimed to be anti-Nazi
this could not be true but was impossible to prove otherwise
What was done to denazify education?
May 1946 - racial theory teachings banned
teachers and librarians vetted
How was prosecution inconsistent?
1600 scientist and doctors avoided it by agreeing to work for USA
How was education denazification ineffective?
caused teacher shortages
those banned in one zone just reapplied in another
1947 - more than 85% teachers in Bavaria who lost jobs had returned
What did a US poll find the acceptance of denazification to be?
1945-1949: 1/2 to 2/3 of population said they found it necessary
1951 (after Allied troops withdrew): fell to under 1/4
When did denazification mostly end and why?
March 1948
the Cold War took precedence
What was the Reinstatement Act?
1951
restored employment rights and pensions of former public servants who were investigated by Allied prosecutors
During the 1950s, how many government officials are estimated to have been part of the Nazi party?
over half
What was voter turnout like from 1949-89
always over 84% (very high)
except initially in 1949 when people were cautious
How did opinions for the government improve 1951-64?
number of people who believed the Bundestag represented the people doubled
number of people who wanted the monarchy restored from 33% to 10%
How was a support for democracy shown through demonstrations?
marches and protests:
against restrictions to democracy in Germany
for democracy in other countries eg. Greece, South Africa
against Ostpolitik if it meant relations with the USSR
How was opposition similar to the Weimar?
the support for democracy was separate to support for the government
