Consolidation of the FRG (1949-65) Flashcards

1
Q

How long was Adenauer chancellor for? When did his final term start and end?

A
  • From 1949 to 1963
  • 1961 - 1963
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2
Q

What were 3 successful aspects of Adenauer’s leadership?

A
  • His forceful personality kept coalitions working until the CDU/CSU won a majority
  • He controlled both domestic and foreign policy until 1955 as foreign minister as well as chancellor
  • The CDU had a strong position in the Bundestag throughout his time as chancellor
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3
Q

What advantage did Adenauer have that his successors didn’t?

A
  • He had the job to establish the German government and its institutions from scratch, which gave him a unique position of authority
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4
Q

How successful was the CDU in the early years of the FRG? Give 2 examples.

A
  • They won a majority in 1957, and were the first and only party to do so
  • The chancellor always came from their party until 1969
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5
Q

What was Adenauer generally criticised for?

A
  • His leadership was forceful and authoritarian, and was even described as a ‘Chancellor democracy’
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6
Q

Give an example of Adenauer being somewhat undemocratic.

A
  • He excluded political opposition and made it harder for small parties to gain seats, which made the Bundestag a three-party house that all supported the status quo
  • Some saw this stability as running against the spirit of the Basic Law
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7
Q

Give 2 examples of parties being banned, and when they were banned.

A
  • The right-wing Socialist Reich Party was banned in 1952
  • The KPD was banned in 1956
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8
Q

What sign was there that people in the FRG supported democracy?

A
  • There was huge support for democratic parties, and no real protest when extremist parties were banned
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9
Q

Which 2 areas did Adenauer’s policies focus on?

A
  • Domestic and foreign policy
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10
Q

Give 4 examples of Adenauer’s domestic policies.

A
  • Rebuilding infrastructure
  • Compensation for victims of war-bombing and those expelled from the East
  • Supporting welfare reform
  • He supported the policy of ‘co-determination’; workers were encouraged to take part in decisions in the workplace
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11
Q

How successful were Adenauer’s domestic policies? Give 4 examples.

A
  • By 1957 4 million new homes had been built
  • By 1983 DM126 billion had been raised to be redistributed to victims of bombing and displacement
  • There was a 60-75% rise in pensions
  • Tensions between employers and workers were reduced, so there were fewer strikes, which aided political stability
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12
Q

What were Adenauer’s 2 aims in terms of foreign policy?

A
  • To improve relations with the West
  • To unite Germany
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13
Q

Why did Adenauer want to improve relationships with the West? What was the problem with him wanting to do this?

A
  • It was the quickest way for the FRG to become self-governing, and to rebuild the economy
  • It made it harder to reunite Germany
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14
Q

How successful were Adenauer’s attempts to bring the FRG closer to the West?

A
  • In 1955 the FRG joined NATO, which allowed them to rearm
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15
Q

What was Adenauer’s approach to the GDR known as? Starting from when?

A
  • The Hallstein Doctrine
  • 1955
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16
Q

What was the Hallstein Doctorine?

A
  • The FRG refused to recognise the legality of the GDR (which included considering it as the ‘Soviet zone’), and claimed that they spoke for the whole of Germany
  • They would also cut off diplomatic relations with any country that had diplomatic relations with the GDR
17
Q

In what way did Adenauer have a positive relationship with the GDR?

A
  • Legal migrants from the GDR were accepted in the FRG in large numbers- 2 million by the time the Berlin Wall went up in 1961
18
Q

What issue did the civil service have after the war?

A
  • In 1939 they had all had to join the Nazi Party
19
Q

Which other institutions had the same problem as the civil service?

A
  • The army
  • The judiciary
20
Q

How did Adenauer deal with the problem concerning the civil service and these other institutions?

A
  • He added Article 131 to the Basic Law, which allowed ex-Nazis to work for the government
21
Q

What 2 factors led Adenauer to ending his time as chancellor? How did it come to an end?

A
  • Political mistakes
  • The growing popularity of the SPD
  • He resigned in 1963
22
Q

Give 2 examples of political mistakes Adenauer made in his final term in office.

A
  • In 1961 he tried to set up a government-controlled television station, which the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional
  • In 1962 the magazine Der Spiegel published an article criticising West German troops, and Adenauer supported their arrest, which caused the FDP to withdraw from his coalition
23
Q

How did the SPD become popular?

A
  • At the Bad Godesberg Party Congress in 1959, the SPD revised its policies to support the idea of a free market economy, rather than the extensive centralisation they had been planning before
24
Q

What proof is there that Adenauer had built the FRG into a stable and prosperous country that was important in Europe? Give 2 examples.

A
  • In 1963 living standards in the FRG were among the highest in the West
  • The FRG was one of the key members in the European Economic Community (EEC), which Adenauer joined to prevent the FRG from becoming too dependent on the USA
25
Q

Who replaced Adenauer, how long were they chancellor for, and why?

A
  • Ludwig Erhard
  • 1963 to 1966
  • He resigned
26
Q

What role had Erhard had in the government previously?

A
  • He had been minister of economic affairs from 1949 to 1963
27
Q

What forced Erhard to resign? Describe 3 aspects.

A
  • There was an economic recession in 1966
  • The FDP wanted to respond to this by cutting government spending, but he wanted to increase taxes instead
  • The FDP therefore resigned from the government, and he later had to as well