Aspects of Life in Germany and West Germany FRG Flashcards
Give 1 stat showing surplus women in FRG:
- 1948 –> 7.3 mil more women than men
For many people and political groups, what was the image of an ideal woman and what policies support this?
- Wife and mother
- Tax breaks and benefits to encourage mothers to stay at home at least for first 3 years of child’s life
What article of Basic Law stated there should be equality for all citizens?
Article 3
When was the Civil Code revised to give women legal freedom and what was it like for them before this?
- 1958
- Husband’s permission needed to work
- Husband got full control of woman’s property
Give one stat showing the lack of female involvement in politics:
1972 –> women comprised only 5.8% of Bundestag despite forming majority of electorate
What law made in what year gave women equal rights in marriage and what else did it overturn?
- Marriage and Family Law
- 1977
- The fact that women could only work if it didn’t interfere w/ role as wife/mother
What was it that caused an increase in the number of women working between 1950 and 1970?
Shortage of labour during economic miracle
When were equality officers appointed and what was their role?
- 1980
- To address issues of unequal treatment for women
What does 1982 survey show about pop’s view on women working?
70% of men and women thought men should work and women should care for the home
How were greater freedoms granted in divorce?
1977 –> No guilt divorce law passed granting divorces for marriages that had broken down
What did the feminist movement fight for and how?
- Full equality
- Published radical magazines like Emma
Give one example of a feminist action group:
Jan 1968 –> Action Council for Women’s Liberation (West Berlin)
What did the most radical groups protest against?
Para 218 (crime to seek abortion unless for strong medical reason)
When was a law allowing abortion in first 12 weeks of pregnancy allowed and on what basis what happened to this?
- 1976 –> Indication Law
- Based on social indicators ie other circumstances
What were the 3 key problems with education?
- Education system was geared towards Nazis eg resources
- Huge majority of teachers are Nazis
- Previously centralised by Nazis
Give 2 areas that the 1955 Düsseldorf Agreement regulated:
- Length of school holidays
- Examination standards
Despite the reform, what issue was there on the standardisation of education?
Federal govs often varied on their approach
How did the gov overcome the Nazi-focused education system?
- Rehabilitating programmes for teachers to re-educate about aims of education
- Textbooks hurriedly rewritten
- Teachers sent from countries of Allied zones
- Training courses for teachers
What kind of secondary school structure did the gov settle on and how did this vary from the Nazis?
- Tripartite structure
- Based significantly upon previous selective system
In 1960s what 3 issues were raised about the quality of education in FRG?
- Few Germans went onto uni study
- Selection system should be fairer, not just for wealthy
- Concerns about gender inequalities as more girls left schooling at young age compared to boys
How did Brandt make an attempt at reform and how was this still ineffective?
- Established Federal Ministry of Education and Science to oversee education
- Reforms were limited due to respective power of other federal govs
Give 2 examples of higher education reform:
- In 1960s and 70s –> 24 new unis emerged
- 1971 –> Federal govs began providing financial aid to students to make HE more accessible
Nevertheless, how was higher education reform flawed?
The selective structure still remained which meant unis were still elitist at the top
What aspects of culture were easy to de-Nazify and regenerate?
- Removing Nazi controls
- Re-establishing a free press
What aspects of culture were harder to de-Nazify and regenerate?
Harder to retain culture, as it was easier to adopt the culture of Allied zones eg Hollywood movies
How were aspects of traditional German culture tainted?
Increasing US influence due to occupation of Allies eg adoption of blue jeans
What umbrella youth organisation was created and what was its aim?
- German Youth Ring
- Workshops to train leaders, offer expertise in activities like singing
Give one example of a popular social movement and 2 of its features:
- Anti nuclear movement
Features: - Rejected consumerism
- Desired more peaceful, equal society
Give an example of 2 different movies showing the cultural divide in film:
- Until 1960s –> One of most popular films was Heimatfilm w/ escapist, romantic plot
- During 1960s –> Der junge Törless examined German persecution of Jews
What movement was created in cinema in FRG and give 2 of its features:
- New Cinema movement
- Reflected new rather than old cinematic ideas
- Pursued artistic excellence over commercial success
Give one example of literature showing reality of post-war Germany:
- The Tin Drum by Günter Grass –> novel on Nazi and immediate post-war period
Give one example of a difference in the viewpoints of youngsters and older gen:
Older gen:
- Wanted traditional German culture
- Wanted comfortable consumerist lifestyle
Younger gen:
- Less consumerist lifestyle
- Culture that faced both present + Nazi past (rejected Year Zero)
What were the successes of football in FRG?
Won World Cup in 1954 and 1974
On 1 Apr 1947, how many refugees and expellees were there?
10 mil
Why was there a need for workers?
Economic boom of 1950s
Why were unions worried about recruiting foreign workers?
- Wages may be forced down
- Existing workers may be undercut by accepting less favourable working conditions
In order to prevent the issue of existing workers being undercut, what solutions were put in place?
Gov guaranteed non-German workers same wages and preference to German workers when hiring
What office was set up in Nuremburg and what was its purpose? with whom FRG had labour recruitment treaties with?
- Federal Office for Labour Recruitment
- Run offices in countries FRG had labour recruitment treaties with
Give 3 countries that West Germany formed labour recruitment treaties with:
- Italy
- Yugoslavia
- Turkey
Procedure of guest worker recruitment:
- Had to pass physical exam for fitness to work
- Signed a 1 yr renewable contract
- Basic accommodation provided, often outside towns in order to cut them off from community
What kind of jobs did foreign workers take and give one stat to show this:
- Took jobs Germans were happy to leave such as those w/ low wages + no accommodation
- Between 1961 and 1971 –> 870,000 Germans left mining jobs later taken up by 1.1 mil guest workers
In what 2 ways were guest workers not treated as Germans, especially in the recession of 1966-67?
- Did not have rights of German citizens
- Unions less helpful about long-term assimilation
- In the recession, many landlords refused to take guest workers as tenants
By 1964, how much money had been allocated to extending family accommodation for guest workers?
DM500 million
What organisations, however, did help out guest workers?
- Caritas (Catholic organisation)
- Diakonisches Werk (Protestant organisation)
What was the impact of oil crisis on guest workers?
- Nov 1973 –> Stopped hiring and banned permits
- 1975 –> States began offering financial incentives for workers to return home
- Mass layoffs were likely
What systems were present that could protect guest workers and what was the limitation of one of these?
- Points system –> Legally, workers had to be laid off according to how vulnerable they were, which could protect guest workers
- Many workers did not realise this existed and rather took voluntary severance packages based on time working
- 1975 –> Gov gave same benefits to guest workers’ children as others
When was the ban as a result of the oil crisis removed?
1977
What was set up in 1978 as further protection for the workers and what was its purpose?
- Federal Commissioner for Foreign Affairs
- Work for rights of foreign workers and promote integration
Give one stat to show the rise in guest worker children:
165,000 in 1976 to almost 200,000 in 1983
What religion did the majority of guest worker children belong to, what age were most of these children when they began school and what skills did they lack?
- Islam
- 6
- No pre-school education + language
In what way was education challenging for Muslims and how did they attempt to overcome this?
- Most pre-school education was Christian
- Set up their own schools (Koran schools) that attracted a lot of hostility
What did guest workers often belong to and how were they both positive and negative?
- Ethnic associations
- Positive because they helped newcomers settle in
- Negative because they kept themselves separate
Why were the crime rates for guest worker children very high?
- Failure in education due to little provision for them (70% failed Abitur)
- Unemployed due to little access to further education
Give one example of far-right attacks on guest workers:
At least 6 bombings of Jewish memorials and guest worker accommodation
Give stats to show living standards throughout FRG:
- Car ownership increased from 2 mil in 1950 to 12 mil in 1965
- Relative cheap cost of living compared to Western neighbours
- Most citizens considered themselves middle class
