Consolidation of the FRG (1949-65) Flashcards
How long was Adenauer chancellor for? When did his final term start and end?
- From 1949 to 1963
- 1961 - 1963
What were 3 successful aspects of Adenauer’s leadership?
- 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
What advantage did Adenauer have that his successors didn’t?
- He had the job to establish the German government and its institutions from scratch, which gave him a unique position of authority
How successful was the CDU in the early years of the FRG? Give 2 examples.
- 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
What was Adenauer generally criticised for?
- His leadership was forceful and authoritarian, and was even described as a ‘Chancellor democracy’
Give an example of Adenauer being somewhat undemocratic.
- 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
Give 2 examples of parties being banned, and when they were banned.
- The right-wing Socialist Reich Party was banned in 1952
- The KPD was banned in 1956
What sign was there that people in the FRG supported democracy?
- There was huge support for democratic parties, and no real protest when extremist parties were banned
Which 2 areas did Adenauer’s policies primarily focus on?
- Domestic and foreign policy
Give 4 examples of Adenauer’s domestic policies.
- 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
How successful were Adenauer’s domestic policies? Give 4 examples.
- 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
What were Adenauer’s 2 aims in terms of foreign policy?
- To improve relations with the West
- To unite Germany
Why did Adenauer want to improve relationships with the West? What was the problem with him wanting to do this?
- It was the quickest way for the FRG to become self-governing, and to rebuild the economy
- It made it harder to reunite Germany
How successful were Adenauer’s attempts to bring the FRG closer to the West?
- In 1955 the FRG joined NATO, which allowed them to rearm
What was Adenauer’s approach to the GDR known as? Starting from when?
- The Hallstein Doctrine
- 1955
What was the Hallstein Doctorine?
- 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
In what way did Adenauer have a positive relationship with the GDR? Give a figure.
- 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
What issue did the civil service have after the war?
- In 1939 they had all had to join the Nazi Party
Which other institutions had the same problem as the civil service?
- The army
- The judiciary
How did Adenauer deal with the problem concerning the civil service and these other institutions?
- He added Article 131 to the Basic Law, which allowed ex-Nazis to work for the government
What 2 factors led Adenauer to ending his time as chancellor? How did it come to an end?
- Political mistakes
- The growing popularity of the SPD
- He resigned in 1963
Give 2 examples of political mistakes Adenauer made in his final term in office.
- 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 the arrest of the journalists, which caused the FDP to withdraw from his coalition
How did the SPD become popular?
- 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
What proof is there that Adenauer had built the FRG into a stable and prosperous country that was important in Europe? Give 2 examples.
- In 1963 living standards in the FRG were among the best 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
