Establishing and ruling the new Federal Republic 1949-60 Flashcards
How was the fate of Germany decided by the USA and the USSR?
The allies met to decide Germany’s fate at two conference - Yalta and Potsdam. The purpose, as agreed by the USA and USSR, was to ‘destroy German militarism and Nazism and ensure that Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the world’
Germany was to be divided into four sections, controlled by Britain, USA, USSR, and France. Berlin was split along these same lines
When were the French, British, and American regions unified, and what was special about the American region?
United into one region in April 1948.
The American zone had moved the fastest in establishing democracy, where in January 1946, Germans in the USA zone were able to vote in local elections and in March 1946, they could vote in town and county elections
What was agreed and disagreed at Yalta, in February 1945?
Declaration of a liberated Europe, setting up of the UN, and Germany divided. Russia would join the war against Japan in return for territory
Stalin wanted coal as compensation, but the USA wanted coal to help rebuild Europe. Stalin disregarded calls for free elections and arrested non-communists. The USSR forced Germans to sell food & raw materials to the USSR, while dismantling German factories and taking them too
What was agreed and disagreed at Potsdam, July-August 1945?
A new boundary declared for eastern Europe, legal trials at Nuremberg for 21 Nazi leaders, with Germany finally divided as agreed
Stalin continued to demand more reparations, with Soviet suspicion over the Wests opposition to this. Stalin sets up Communist government in Poland while its government was in London. Stalin was also not allowed a naval base in the Mediterranean
The two main parties in the election of 1946-7 were the SPD and the CDU. What did they believe in?
SPD: Socialist Party of Germany were the very same from Weimar. They continued to represent workers’ views and were more unified and centrally dictated than the CDU
CDU: Christian Democratic Union was a conglomeration of the old supporters of the Z party, German nationalists and populists. It differed from the Z (which still existed) by representing Catholic and Protestant middle class. The CDU were a confederation of differing political groups who were keen to work together towards a common vision for Germany
How did the Presidency function in the FRG?
- Elected by state representatives (not via popular vote)
- Influence was severely limited compared to Weimar
- No control over the military because this was disbanded following the end of the war
How did the Chancellorship function in the FRG?
- The leader of the largest party or coalition in the Bundestag was appointed chancellor
- Could be removed by a vote of no confidence by the Bundestag only if a new chancellor had been elected by the Bundestag. This was known as a ‘constructive vote of no confidence’ to stop parties using a vote of no confidence to cripple of the functioning of the Bundestag
- Power of Article 48 removed and no ability to suspend the Bundestag or change the constitution
How did the Bundestag function in the FRG?
- Germany became a fully federal state with a government setting laws for the country and the Länder (state parliaments) controlling certain state laws
- Parties had to gain at least 5% of the vote to take their seat in the Bundestag to avoid smaller, extremist parties having influence
- Set federal taxes
How did Elections function in the FRG?
- PR used to elect deputies to the Bundestag every four years
- Men and women over 18 could vote
- The electorate voted twice; once for a direct representative for their electoral district and another for a party list. This aimed to connect representatives to the people in a much clearer way
How did the Bundesrat function in the FRG?
- Made up of representatives of the Länder
- Not directly elected but representatives were proportional to the population of each state
- Prussia erased as a state and the Länder were given more powers than ever before to look after people in their state
- If federal taxes affected the Länder, the Bundesrat had to agree to them
- Taxes were split between the government and the Länder
- Länder had control over education and administration in their state
I’m sorry, but how was prussia erased? Prussia was in East Germany??? Were they stupid?????
How did the Civil Service and Judiciary function in the FRG?
- Very similar to the Weimar system in that they were both politically independent
- The judiciary acted as a check and balance to the actions of the government
- Constitutional court established to outlaw parties it thought were undemocratic in their ideology
- New welfare state set up, similar to Weimar
How was West Berlin politically different to the rest of the FRG?
- West Berliners were considered citizens of the FRG but could not vote in federal elections
- West Berlin was not considered a Länder and so didn’t have state elections either
- 22 members of the Berlin assembly did, however, sit in the Bundestag, and 4 sat in the Bundesrat, but only as observers and could not vote on laws
- Whilst West Berliners couldn’t vote in federal/Länder elections, they could join political parties and run in elections, but not as representatives of West Berlin
What could West Berlin do that a state in the FRG couldn’t?
West Berlin could reject Federal Laws enacted in the FRG, famously doing so regarding military conscription in the 1950s, but the majority of laws passed in the FRG also became law in West Berlin
What was Konrad Adenauer doing during the time of the Weimar Republic?
- Progressive expansion of Cologne to become ‘metropolis of the West
- Advocated creation of Rhineland Federal State to appease French security demands
- President of the Prussian Council of State made him a chancellor candidate
- When Nazis came into power, he was removed from his post as Lord Mayor of Cologne and banned from his home city
it’s almost as if he knew he’d be put in charge if bullet point 2 happened
What was Konrad Adenauer doing after the fall of the Nazis?
5th February, 1946, Adenauer becomes Chairman of the Rhineland CDU. By October, he became leader of the CDU parliamentary group in the State parliament of North Rhine Westphalia
He was elected as President of the Parliamentary Council, becoming “Speaker of the Federal Republic”.
When did Konrad Adenauer become Chancellor, and what did he do?
15th September, 1949, elected Federal Chancellor by the CDU/CSU. Remained in power for 14 years
The “German economic miracle” happened due to steel and coal trade policy, social housing construction, green plan for agriculture, etc
Domestic policy was inspired by the “struggle for a successor” to the “old”
When did Konrad Adenauer pass away, god rest his soul?
Died on the 19 April, 1967, and was honoured as a statesman around the world to which the FRG owed their prosperity
RIP bozo
Who was the real MVP of the FRG, Ludwig Erhard?
Minister for Economics, and known as a good economist. His policies made the FRG fairly popular with the West, beyond just anti-communism
His programme meant that GNP trebled during the 1950s. Using Marshall Aid money, the West Germany moved to an advanced economy based on electronics, cars, banking, and education
What were Konrad Adenauer’s thoughts on the East?
Adenauer was vehemently opposed to East Germany and a reunification would require compromise with the Commie bastards in the SED
This ensured that the CDU received large support from the Catholic church because it was a strong barrier against Communism
Why was support from the Catholics crucial in West Germany?
Support was crucial because 45% of West Germans were Catholics, as opposed to 30% in the pre-1945 Germany
How much of the vote did the CDU get over the SPD in the 14th August, 1949 election, and what was the main issue of the election?
The CDU was victorious, with 31% compared to 29.2% (139 seats compared to 131)
The main issue of the election was over economic policy with the SPD proposing a more socialist, government-controlled economics system in contrast to the CDU’s free-market based ‘social market economy’
What was the Ulbricht Group?
Led by Walter Ulbricht, who arrived in Berlin in April 1945 from the USSR. The Group influenced the Soviet Military Administration as to crush opposition
The SMAD promoted democracy to prove legitimacy, but it was a sham with the Ulbricht group extending its power
The KPD took a moderate approach, as most Germans just needed the fundamentals, and took over
How was the SED created?
The KPD had difficulty gaining support in Germany due to links to the USSR. The KPD thus didn’t win as much support of the SPD
The SPD faced intense pressure to merge with the KPD and form the Socialist United Party of Germany (SED) and on 22nd April, 1946, the formal merger took place.
The following day, the SED newspaper, Neues Deutschland, was published
Why did the SPD and the KPD unite to form the SED, despite a similar thing not happening in West Germany?
The SPD rejected the suggestion in the West, many historians now believe that the creation of the SED was not forced upon the SPD but was actually a response to the failure of both parties during Weimar where the failure of the SPD and KPD to work together helped the Nazis to come to power in 1933
How did East Germany indoctrinate the kids?
The Communist Youth (FDJ) was set up in March 1946 for all aged 14 to 25 and headed by Erich Honecker (he’ll be important later)
All other youth groups were banned to prevent counter influence. By the mid 1940s, many FDJ members had been the youngest members of the Hitler Youth
What were some economics changes undertaken in the East?
State control of 60% of industry by 1949. Land reform, with landed estates being redistributed to the state as well as to agricultural labourer’s
Economically the change was literally counterproductive. The 7,000 individual estates had been more productive than their smaller replacements
