1.4 Aspects of Life - FRG Flashcards
Revision
How many surplus women were there after WW2?
7.3 million
What was the rise in divorce rate between 1946 and 1948?
80%
Did many women get involved in politics after WW2?
no
those who did were involved before 1933 as well
When was the Ministry for Family Affairs set up and what did it do?
1953
provided wives and mothers with financial benefits
What did Adenauer do for gender equality?
made speeches in favour of equality
but did nothing really
How many women were involved with creating Basic Law?
4
Which party was in favour of equality?
SPD
What did the CDU think about women?
they should not be working
What did Article 3 of Basic Law give?
equality under law for all citizens
When was the Civil Code revised?
1958
When was the Marriage and Family law revised and what did that give?
1977
equal rights in marriage
What was the outcome of a 1982 survey about the role/importance of women?
50% of men and 54% of women thought a mans career was more important
70% of men and 68% of women thought women should stop working upon marriage
70% of men and women thought women should care for the home
When were Women’s Liberation movements popular and with whom?
active 1960s and 1970s
students and radicals
city and university based
What happened with an equal living commune?
set up 1967 by students
women ended up doing all the housework and left after 6 months
When was the Action Council for Women’s Liberation set up?
January 1968
What did the Action Council for Women’s Liberation do?
set up day-cares
organised campaign to change nursery and school system
What happened to the Action Council for Women’s Liberation?
fell apart 1969
not theoretical enough and too family oriented for some
What did journalist Alice Schwarzer do that cause public outcry?
30 photos of women in Stern magazine saying “We’ve had abortions!”
What did pro-abortion campaigns do?
targeted paragraph 218 of the Weimar Criminal code which outlaws abortion
Was the pro-abortion movement successful?
1974: law passed allowing abortion in first 12 weeks
1975: law declared unconstitutional by Federal Court as it violated the foetus’ rights
What were some general things women’s rights groups did?
set up refuges for battered women
distributed women’s health pamphlets inc. contraception
campaigned against workplace sexual discrimination
What proportion of people were women in the Bundestag?
5.8% in 1972
15.4% in 1987
What did the Green Party believe regarding women?
adopted feminist views
fought for abortion rights
What roles did women take in popular industries?
75% of the hospital workforce but 4% of physicians
50% of school teachers but 20% of principles
1980s: 5% of uni lecturers
What proportion of men’s salaries did women earn?
1970s: 65-78%
What were the changes to divorce?
1977 - no guilt clause added to law
alimony awarded to the one raising the child
1960: 49,000 divorces
1990: 123,000 divorces
What was done to encourage stay at home mothers in 1989?
awarded tax breaks and benefits to stay at home until child was at least 3 years old
By 1989 what proportion of married women with children under 15 were working?
50%
though half of these were working part time
What did the Allies do to education immediately after WW2?
shut all schools
reopened Autumn 1945
removed Nazi teachers and textbooks
no real reform before FRG
What did the Americans try to do to education in their zone immediately after WW2?
tried to introduce American system
bought 5 million textbooks
What did Basic Law mean for education?
Laender were responsible
continued to vary wildly
Where were secular schools much more popular?
north
What happened with teaching history?
much disagreement over how to teach Nazi history
many ended up teaching only factual European history
When was the Dusseldorf Agreement?
1955
What did the Dusseldorf Agreement do?
set examination standards
same term dates
same length of study
When did FRG begin teaching about Nazis and GDR?
1962
What changes to education happened to higher education in the 1960s?
secondary education became free and encouraged
Uni student numbers rose but highlighted old curriculum and inadequate facilities
How did the numbers in higher education change?
Gymnasium:
850,000 in 1960 to 2 million in 1980
University:
250,000 in 1960 to 750,000 in 1980
When was the Federal Education Promotion Act?
1971
What did the Federal Education Promotion Act do?
gave state funding or loans to working class children to attend university
What changes did the FRG make to try and return themselves to being ‘leaders of culture’?
removed Nazi censorship
reinstated ‘degenerate’ art
adapted to Western culture - lost some old culture eg. Wagner
What was a big shift in society?
all ages embraced anti-nuclear, ecological and alternative lifestyle
How did cinema change?
homeland films had previously been popular but these were overshadowed by escapist and romantic new American films in 1960s
What was set up to try and show the realities and social problems of Germany?
Das neue Kino
1962
‘unassimilated past’ of Nazi Germany
social problems of FRG eg. Jew persecution, migrant workers
What divide became clear in the 1960s?
old vs young generations
older: traditional and consumerist lifestyle
younger: embrace immediate past and less consumerism
How many refugees were there after WW2?
1 April 1947
10 million refugees or expellees
What was the employment situation in 1955?
FRG at full employment so Government wanted to recruit from abroad
- Unions feared they would undercut Germans
Government guaranteed same wages and a hiring preference for Germans
What was the Foreign Labour Programme?
after a physical examination a foreign worker would get a 1 year contract in Germany
lived in accommodation provided by employer
- often near factories and cut off from communities
What happened to the Foreign Labour Programme in 1961?
stepped up as the Berlin Wall meant they lost workers from the GDR
What sort of people got hired by the Foreign Labour Programme and into which industries?
man 20-40 for manual labour Germans were happy not to do
mining: 870,000 Germans left 1961-1971, replaced by 1.1 million guestworkers
What change in types of jobs worked by German men was there?
1961-1973
3 million Germans left industrial and agricultural jobs for white collar jobs
What did the female guest workers do?
jobs in electronics and hospitality
Was there a change in illegal workers?
illegal workers increased
- took low wages and no accommodation
What were the guest workers’ positions in German society?
temporary
did not have citizens rights
many stayed and renewed contracts yearly - brough family with them
1964: 25% guest workers been there for minimum 3 years
Were the guest workers welcome in Germany?
support from church organisations
1966 recession meant they faced tensions and hostility
- landlords refused them
made worse by their protests for rights
How many guest workers were there in 1960?
270,000
How many guest workers were there in 1964?
over 1 million
What changed in the 1970s for the guest workers?
increased pressures for them to leave because of a rise in unemployment
What change to guest workers was made November 1973?
stopped being hired and existing permits banned
numbers fell to 2 million
What did Ford offer to its workers?
1974:
voluntary severance packages awarded on a points system
meant immigrant families with more children were not laid off but Germans were
When did the guest workers’ children gain some rights?
1975
When was the hiring ban on guest workers lifted?
1977
What changed for guest workers in 1978?
Commissioner for Foreign Affairs promoted their rights and integration
they could apply for unrestricted residence (not citizenship)
What did education look like for the children of guest workers?
Basic Law promised democratic education
200,000 foreign children 1983 - 60% Muslim
Christian schools could not provide so set up own schools
these attracted hostility and lacked integration
What did Ethnic Associations do?
helped newcomers settle in
lacked integration, especially Muslim Turks
Why did the guest workers not integrate?
suspicion of religion and politics caused hostility
language problems increased lack of understanding
continued to be viewed as temporary and non-German
