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Germany 1918-89 > Creation of the FRG > Flashcards

Creation of the FRG Flashcards

1
Q

When/How did Germany end their involvement in WWII?

A

7th May 1945, Germany signed the final surrender = total defeat (no armistice, unlike WWI)

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2
Q

What were the existing problems within Germany?

(4)

A
  • population displacement
  • urban destruction
  • economic damage
  • hundreds of thousands of German women raped by Societ soldiers in the final weeks of the war; estimated 2 million
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3
Q

population displacement statistics

(3)

A
  • 12 mil German refugees fled from the east; escaping Soviets, changes in frontiers, land becoming Poland
  • 10 mil displaced persons; placed in labour camps etc.
  • 11 mil Germans soldiers taken as prisoners of war; 7.7mil by west soon released, 3.3 mil held by Soviets until 50s (1/3 died)
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4
Q

urban destruction statistics

(3)

A
  • 20% of housing was destroyed
  • 30% of housing badly damaged
  • caused by Allied bombing (especially in west), incoming Societ soldiers, and Hitler’s Scorched Earth Policy
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5
Q

Economic Damage Statistics

(3)

A
  • economy badly damaged but not completely destroyed because of Speer’s refusal to enact Scorched Earth Policy
  • no effective currency; massive black market for goods using a system of barter
  • food shortages; on average people consumed half of recommended caloric amount
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6
Q

What major decisions were made by the Allies concerning Germany at different conferences?

A

Yalta Conference, Feb 1945
- set up Allied Control Council to run Germany by making unanimous decisions
- agreed to divide Germany and Berlin into 4 zones

Potsdam Conference, July 1945
- relationship between western Allies and USSR deteriorated (Roosevelt replaced by Truman)
- Germany to be treated as a single economic unit; because of existing transport and communications systems
- focus on disarmament, demilitarisation, decentralisation, de-Nazification

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7
Q

What was the aim of de-nazification?

A

to remove the taint of Nazism on German life; change national identity and political outlook created by Nazi racial and cultural ideology

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8
Q

How was de-nazification carried out?

(9)

A
  • Nazi Party and all of its organisations were declared criminal
  • 1945-1946, Nuremburg trials of Nazi leaders caught alive
  • other trials held against leading lawyers, industrialists, death camp workers
  • Germans forced to visit concentration camps
  • former Nazis banned from holding important jobs (eg, in civil service)
  • summer 1945, screening process created to determine whether each German should be allowed to continue their job
  • May 1946, Allies banned Nazi schoolbooks, films, and slides used to teach Nazi racial theory
  • teachers and librarians to be vetted to avoid hiring Nazi sympathisers
  • 1946, US General Clay created questionnaire for all Germans to complete
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9
Q

Nuremburg Trials statistics

(5)

A
  • started on 18th Oct 1945
  • Nazi leaders who had been caught alive were tried on 4 counts; war crimes, crimes against peace, crimes against humanity, conspiring to commit the above
  • trials public to reveal the horrors committed by Nazis and create public sense of justice
  • 22 leading Nazis tried; 12 sentenced to death + 10 executed (Goering killed himself before execution), most imprisoned (Speer sentenced to 20 years), 3 acquitted (Von Papen)
  • trials contraversial; some Germans felt it was a victor’s justice, wanted ‘stunde null’, others felt trials were too leniant
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10
Q

What were the difficulties of de-nazification?

(2)

A
  • who classified as a Nazi; 6.5 mil members of the NSDAP by 1945 but Nazi fusion of state and party made it difficult not to join the party (eg. some joined to keep their jobs)
  • de-nazification varied considerably across 4 zones
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11
Q

What was denazification like in the US zone?

(6)

A
  • stern; wanted to purge all Nazis
  • all NSDAP members before 1937 dismissed from post
  • 1.2% of questionnaire takers exonerated
  • ex-party members could not enroll in unoversities
  • BUT, 1,600 ex-Nazis avoided prosecution by agreeing to work for the USA
  • 1951 onwards, USA became more invested in the cold war; focus on containement of communism than de-Nazification
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12
Q

What was denazification like in the British zone?

(3)

A
  • pragmatic
  • ex-party members allowed to continue their roles in office and enroll in universities
  • 58.4% of questionnaire takers exonerated
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13
Q

What was denazification like in the French zone?

(1)

A

preoccupied with safety and defence; wanted to remove threat and focus on demilitarisation

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14
Q

What was denazification like in the Soviet zone?

(3)

A
  • identified Nazism with capitalism; therefore wanted to create a socialist state to avoid resurgence
  • didn’t use Clay’s questionnaire
  • prioritised pragmatism over justice; executed leading war criminals but kept engineers, scientists etc.
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15
Q

What was the reaction to de-Nazification?

(3)

A
  • Initially, mix of positive and negative reactions
  • 1960s, new generation didn’t believe in the ‘stunde null’ but wanted to face the past; unhappy at the sloppy way de-Nazification had been applied
  • Injustice caused by different policies across zones; 1951 onwards, many amnesties given and Nazi prisoners released
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16
Q

How was demilitarisation carried out?

(4)

A
  • Germany allowed no armed forces at all
  • no arms manufacturing in Germany (had been an important sector of German economy)
  • thoroughly applied across all zones (significant importance to French)
  • remilitarisation only became an issue again in 1950s when west Germany wanted to joint NATO
17
Q

How was decentralisation carried out?

(3)

A
  • focus on dismantling Prussia; symbol of militarism
  • some parts of Prussia lost to USSR + Poland
  • parts remaining in Germany were renamed
18
Q

What was decentralisation like in the Soviet zone?

(1)

A

by 1952, had dissolved 5 lander and centralised authority again

19
Q

What was decentralisation like in the US zone?

(3)

A
  • strong supporters of decentralisation
  • wanted the same structure as in the USA
  • May 1946, held first free federal state elections
20
Q

What was decentralisation like in the British zone?

(3)

A
  • initially, reluctant to give Germany too much political power
  • financial cost of occupation + domestic colonial issues = decentralisation
  • elections for federal lander introduced a year after US zone
21
Q

What was decentralisation like in the French zone?

(3)

A
  • focus on security; wanted to keep Germany dismembered
  • resisted establishment of political parties
  • March 1947, permitted lander elections
22
Q

How was democratisation put in place?

A
  • 1945, political parties began to be set up again
    –> June, Soviet zone allowed non-fascist democratic parties and free unions
    –> western zones wearier; agreed to license (approve) democratic parties
  • most parties in Berlin allowed to communicate across zones, but always had different leaders for western and Societ zone
23
Q

What were the major political parties in the western zones by the end of 1945?

(5)

A
  • KPD; did not want a soviet system, but ‘German Socialism’ (land reform, new education system, democratic gov.)
  • SPD; socialists, radical left-wing (wanted nationalisation of banks + key industry and significant social welfare)
  • CDU; Christian democrats, right-wing, based on old Centre Party with support from other old right-wing parties
  • CSU; Christian Social Union, existed only in Bavaria, right-wing, focused on Bavarian interests, worked with CDU
  • LDPD/FDP; free deocrats/liberal party, right-wing liberals, wanted free economy, private property, and free market
24
Q

How did the KPD fare in the western zones?

(3)

A
  • initially very popular; active resistance during the Nazi regime
  • support decreased as Soviet Zone became communist; only got 5% of vote in 1949, 2.2% in 1953 (no seats on Bundestag)
  • 1956, KPD banned by the constitutional court under Article 21; contraversial as limited democracy, KPD suffered most under Hitler
25
Q

Creation of FRG VS GDR timeline

(10)

A
  • May 1947, US + British Zones unified; ‘Bizonia’
  • 1st Mar 1948, western zones created the Bank of German States to administer the Marshall Plan = broke agreement to maintain economic unity across all zones
  • 20th Mar 1948, USSR left the Allied Control Council
  • 20th Jun 1948, Bizonia introduced new cuurency; Deutchemark/DM
  • 23rd Jun 1948, Soviets introduced new curency and tried to force its use across all of Berlin
  • June 1948 - May 1949, Berlin Blockade
  • Sept 1948, parliamentary council set up to write new constitution for West Germany
  • Apr 1948, France joined Bizonia; ‘Trizonia’
  • 22nd May 1949, Trizonia –> Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)
  • 7th Oct 1949, Soviet Zone –> German Democratic Republic (GDR)
26
Q

What was the constitution of the FRG?

A

Basic Law;
- meant to be temporary until Germany reunited, then rewritten
- written by a parliamentary counil set up on 1st September 1948

27
Q

What (human) rights did the Basic Law ensure?

(3)

A
  • All Germans had equal rights, regardless of race, sex, religion, or political views
  • ensured freedom of speech, to form unions/other groups, assembly, and no censorship
  • state education available to all (private schooling still allowed)
28
Q

How was the FRG political system set up under the Basic Law?

(5)

A
  • Article 20, affirmed the democratic nature of the FRG
  • Article 21, supressed small, extremist parties; could be banned by courts
  • 1953, proportional representation still used BUT 1953, 5% rule introduced; a party needed at least 5% of the vote to gain a seat in the Bundestag
  • head of state (president) had less power than in Weimar Republic; no equivalent to Article 48
  • Reichstag –> Bundestag
29
Q

What was the outcome of the first Bundestag elections?

(7)

A

14th Aug 1949, first Bundestag elections;
- no majority party
- CDU/CSU won 31% of vote
- SPD won 29.2% of vote
- FDP won 11.9% of vote
- first chancellor of the FRG = Konrad Adenauer, CDU leader
- 7th Sept 1949, Bundestag of FRG met for the first time in Bonn

Germany 1918-89 (21 decks)

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