Denazification - B4 Flashcards
What positions did Adenauer hold prior to becoming Chancellor?
Member of Z party and Lord Mayor of Cologne in 1917
What were Adenauer’s values?
Beleived that Prussian militarism and a culture of aggression caused both wars and was determined to rid Germany of these values.
What WW2 event ensured that Germans were anti-comminust?
The Rape of Berlin - 100,000 women raped by soviet forces
What Allied Control Council Law was Adenauer key to issuing?
1947 - Law 46 - “Prussia has de facto ceased to exist”
When was the new German constitution drafted and by who?
September 1949
Parliamentary Council
Role of President
- Elected by state representatives rather than popular vote. No control over military.
Role of Bundestag?
- Parties had to gain 5% of the vote to take their seats - half of the members represent constituencies and half Lander populations. Federal system with Lander controlling many laws
Role of Chancellor
Leader of the largest party becomes chancellor. Bundestag vote yes or no and 2/3 of the votes are needed to be appointed. Constructive vote of no confidence requires a candidate to have been agreed by Bundestag before another can be removed.
Elections
Proportional rep used every 4 years. Univeral suffrage over 18. Electorate votes once for a representative and again for a party.
Role of Bundesrat
69 representatives of the Lander with each group proportional to population. Federal taxes that affect Lander must be passed by them.
Civil service and judiciary
-Constitutional court were able to outlaw extreme political parties
- Politically independent and used as a political check and balance.
How was Berlin seperate from the country?
Berlin remained split between the Allies. Berliners could not vote in elections. 22 members of the Berlin Assembly sat in the Bundestag but could not vote. They could reject federal laws - rejected conscription in 1956.
What percentage of the vote did the CDU win in 1949 and which parties did they form a coalition with?
31% of the vote - coalition with FDP and German Party
What controversial element of the Weimar constitution was removed in the FRG?
Article 48
1949 elections
Why did the CDU win over the SPD?
They were more moderate - attractive to voters after Nazism for 12 years
1949 Elections
What % of the German population were Catholic?
37% Catholic and 59% Protestant in 1950
1949 Elections
What was attractive about Adenauers economic policies?
Anti-communist with heavy focus on economic development - Erhard was a reliable economics minister. Formed ECSC in 1951.
1949 Elections
Who did Adenauer seek to blame for Nazism?
Hitler himself - removed blame from ordinary Germans. 2/3 of his foreign office were previous Nazis.
1949 Elections
How long had Schumacher spent in Dachau?
10 years - heavily influenced his perception of the Nazis and his image. He was the only SPD member not to flee or collab with the Nazis.
1949 Elections
What economic plan did Schumacher propose and why was it disliked?
Proposed a planned economy under a Federal government. Too similar to dictatorial regime prior.
1949 Elections
How did Schumacher attack the Catholic Church?
Claimed Adenauer was a puppet of the Catholics - isolated the 37% of Catholics.
When did Adenauer form the ECSC and what did it do?
April 1951 - Created a common market for heavy industry.
What economic reforms had Erhard made by 1953?
The Miracle on the Rhine - rapid reconstruction of West Germany
For the 1953 election, what were the CDU and SPD votes?
45.2% - CDU
28.8 - SPD
When was The General Treaty and what was it?
May 1955 - Gave FRG control over foreign policy and ends military occupation everywhere except Berlin. Germany join NATO and establish an Army.
When and what was the Hallstein Doctrine?
September 1955 - stated that dipolomatic recognition of the GDR was a hostile act against the FRG and removed possibility of trade with the FRG
What was the impact of the Hallstein Doctrine?
Attempted to isolate the GDR in hope that they would collapse and then force unification.
When was the EEC formed?
March 1957 - A single market in Western Europe.
How much did Real wages increase by during the 1950s?
Double
What % did the CDU win in September 1957?
50.2% of the vote - the first and only majority in a German election.
How did the SPD change under Ollenhauer and Brandt?
Ollenhauer was not nearly as strongly opposed to the CDU but remained strong anti-communist rhetoric and opposed rearmament
What and when was the Bad Godesberg?
Nov 1959 - A conference led by Brandt to remove SPD marxist policies. Stopped anti-Catholic rhetoric and supported free-trade.
When did the SPD and CDU enter a coalition?
1966
Who was the FRG’s first SPD chancellor?
Willy Brandt in 1969
Denazification
What was the Fragenbogen?
In the American zone, the Fragenbogen questionnaire was introduced and in order for one to maintain employment they had to pass.
Denazification
What was a consequence of the Fragenbogen?
In one Laender, 2.5 million people were being investigated as a result, and a black market for denazification certificates grew.
Denazification
What was an attempt at denazification pre 1949?
After 1946, 5 categories were introduced to simplify the denazification process.
Denazification
How many of the most serious collaberators had been imprisoned by 1947?
90,000
Denazification
What was a con of the Allies’ de-nazification process?
It did not discriminate between compulsory and non-compulsory Nazi organisations until 1946.
Denazifictaion
How were leading Nazis such as Mengele able to escape the country?
The process pre 1949 did not initially discriminate by severity.
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When was the first Amnesty Law and what did it do?
May 1951 - allowed 150,000 previously removed officials to return to government administration
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Throughout 1951, how many more people were exonerated?
800,000
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When and what did the second Amnesty law do?
July 1954 - Saw 400,000 of those declared Nazi criminals in the British zone exonerated.
Denazification
When was the neo-Nazi ‘Socialist Reich Party’ banned?
August 1952
Denazification
When did Adenauer pay Israel compensation for the holocaust? How much?
September 1952
DM 3 billion in compensation.
Denazification
What was a con of Adenauer’s policies?
They blurred forgiveness with forgetting - of those forgiven in 1951, 30,000 had been sentenced for causing bodily harm.
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What percentage of foreign office diplomats were Nazis?
66%
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Which university protested against Schulter being in government? Why?
Goettingen University
Schulter described the Nazis as “The best political movement Germany had had in the 20th century”.
Denazification
Which SPD member spoke out against the Amnesty?
Menzel
How much money did Marshall plan aid give Western Europe?
$13.3 billion
How much did West Germany recieve in Marhsall aid?
$1.5 billion
Denazification
When were the Nuremberg trials and what happened?
1945-56
Held by the allies. Of the 177 defendants, 24 were sentenced to death.
