Changing of living standards in the FRG Flashcards
What was the housing situation like post war?
1 5th of housing had been bombed flat whilst one third that were still standing were damaged.
What lead to even more pressure on housing?
The refugee crisis
What happened as the FRGs economy strengthened?
The standard of living rose and people began to spend their money on consumer goods.
By 1963, what percent of people had a fridge, TV and washing machine?
63%, 42%, 36%
By 1985, what percent of people had a fridge, TV and washing machine?
82%, 82%, 87%
By the 1980s what percent of people were covered by benefits and healthcare?
90%
What did pension reforms of the 1980s do and why was this important?
It meant that most people received a pension which was important because people in 1980 lived on average 12 years longer then those in 1950
What about the 1980s had shown that the living situation somewhat got worse?
Social inequality had deepened. Even in the 1960s, when the economy was at its best 1 percent of households owned 35% of the wealth. In 1973, the top percent of households owned 78% of the wealth whilst in 1988 they owned 48% of the wealth
In 1948 how many more women were there then men in Germany?
7.3 million
What rate rapidly rose in the 1940s?
The divorce rate
In 1948 how much higher was the divorce rate than in 1946?
80%
What idea did the allies try to reintroduce that the Nazis had suppressed?
The idea that individuals and individual families matter.
What was the most important task of the allies in the FRG and what did this mean for women?
To rebuild the economy, the size of the task and the lost of so many able bodied men meant women had to work. They worked at anything and everything from clearing the rubble to building and office work.
Why did fewer women get involved in politics during the early FRG?
The Nazis propaganda that politics were not for women had been ingrained in them.
What was the ministry for family affairs?
This was set up in 1953 to provide wives and mothers with financial benefits.
How dud the FRGs early government do little to make work attractive for women?
Adenauer made speeches about the importance of making more jobs available for women and making working conditions more equal but the government did not actually make that happen.
Who were the main supporters of equal rights for women in the bundestag?
The SPD
What was the CDUs stance on women?
They did not want to encourage women to work by providing equal pay or working conditions.
What did article 3 of the basic law state?
Unqualified equality under the law for many citizens although many wanted to add the old in principle phrase.
How many women were there in the parliamentary council that drew up the basic law?
4 vs 61 men
What did the Civil Code still state after 1948?
That the husbands had the power over their wives and children
When was the civil code revised?
- This gave women full legal freedom.
What did the original civil code mean for women?
Women still needed their husbands permission to go to work and the husbands got full control of the women’s property upon marriage.
When was the marriage and family law revised and what did this mean?
1977, this gave women equal rights in marriage.
What did the government also revise in 1977?
It overturned the part of the civil code that said that women could only work if it did not interfere with their role of wife and mother which had been in force since 1900 and was a significant expression of the 3ks
What had lead to the changes in womens rights in Germany?
The liberation movements of the 50s and 70s
What did a 1982 survey show about the German populations view on women?
50 percent of men and 54 percent of women said that a mans career was more important than his wifes. 70 percent of men and 68 percent of women thought that women should stop work on marriage. 70 percent of men and women thought that men should work and women should care for the home.
What were womens liberation movements mainly popular with?
Students and radicals, so they were mostly city and university based/
What did West Berlin students set up in 1967?
A commune to live on equal terms. The women ended up doing almost all of the cooking and cleaning and left after 6 months.
What was set up in January 1968?
The action council for women’s liberation in West Berlin.
What did the actions council for womens liberation do?
It began with practical action, setting up day care centers and organising a campaign with nursery school teachers to get the government to change the way day care and schools were run.
What had happened to the action council for womens liberation by 1969?
It had been split in two as there was a mothers faction who were shed as not been theoretical enough and mot looking at women outside of the family.
What did the more radical womens focused groups target?
Paragraph 218 and abortion rights
What was paragraph 218 of the penal code?
It made it a crime for women to seek an abortion or for doctors to perform one unless there was a strong medical reason for doing so.
Who was Alice Schwarzer and what did she do?
She was one of the leaders of the more radical womens campaigns. She put 30 pictures of women on the cover of the magazine stern with the title “weve had abortions.”
What did groups who protested paragraph 218 also do that was not protests?
They set up refugees for battered women, not only in cities but also in small towns. They wrote magasines and published pamphlets explaining about womens health including contraception. A largely city based lesbian movement evolved with its focus on west berlin.
What did no happen in the development of womens groups?
There were not groups focused actively on campaigning for progress in equality in the workplace and laws against sexual discrimination.
