Establishing and Ruling the new Federal Republic 1949-60 Flashcards
What were the names of the two conferences that decided the fate of Germany after the end of WWII?
Yalta and Potsdam
How was Germany divided by the allies at the end of WWII?
Four sections were controlled by Britain, the USA, USSR, and France. Berlin split along the same lines, USSR controlled the east and the other allies split the western part of the city between them.
When was the western section of Germany formed into one region?
April 1948
What was the British, French and American zone formed into?
Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) / West Germany
What was the USSR’s zone formed into?
German Democratic Republic (GDR) / East Germany
When were the first elections held in the FRG?
1946-47
Who was the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU)?
Konrad Adenauer
What groups made-up the CDU?
Centre Party, German Nationalists, and Populists. Represented both Catholics and Protestants middle-class voters in north and south.
Who was the leader of the Socialist Party of Germany (SPD)?
Karl Schumacher
What group made-up the SPD?
The same party that existed in Weimar and had been persecuted by the Nazis, represented workers’ views more unified and centrally directed that the CDU.
What year was the Fundamental Law/Basic Law adopted?
1949
How did the Fundamental Law affect the President?
Elected by state representatives
Influence severely limited compared to Weimar
No control over the military, disbanded
How did the Fundamental Law affect the Bundestag?
Fully federal state - government set laws for the country and Lander controlling certain state laws.
Parties had to gain 5% of the vote to take their seats in Bundestag.
Set federal taxes
How did the Fundamental Law affect the Government?
Chancellor - leader of the largest party/coalition in Bundestag
No vote of no confidence - Bundestag has to elect a new chancellor ‘Constructive vote of no confidence’ - stopped parties from crippling the functioning of the Bundestag
Power of Article 48 removed - cannot suspend the Bundestag or change the constitution
How did the Fundamental Law affect the Bundesrat?
Lander representatives (state parliaments)
Not directly elected, representatives proportional to state population
Lander had to agree to federal taxes before they came into force
Taxes split between government and Lander
Lander had control over education and administration in their state
How did the Fundamental Law affect the Civil service and Judiciary?
Both politically independent (same as Weimar)
Judiciary acted as a check and balance to actions of government
Constitutional court established - outlaw undemocratic parties
Why did the FRG not claim West Berlin?
Politically provocative as it was deep inside the GDR, did want to worsen the already fractious relationship with the USSR.
What were West Berliner still considered as by the FRG?
Citizens of the FRG - could not vote in federal elections
How many members of the Berlin Assembly sat in the Bundestag and how many in the Bundesrat? What was their role?
Bundestag - 22
Bundesrat - 4
Role of observers - could not vote on state laws
What powers did West Berlin enjoy whilst in political limbo?
Had the power to reject federal laws enacted in the FRG - famously military conscription in the 1950s
Had a local authority, elected mayor governed west.
What was Adenauer’s political views on France and Prussia
Prussian militarism reason for the Nazis and their aggressive foreign policy, Ideals were detrimental to the new German State.
What form of economy did Schumacher want that was similar to Stalin’s communist way of thinking?
Command economy
Why was the CDU popular with the allied powers?
Strong economic policies and its anti-Communist stance
How much money was West Germany given from the American Marshall aid plan?
$2 billion
What percentage of the population were Catholic in Germany after 1945?
45%
What alternative economy did the CDU offer that was more moderate than the SPD?
Free-market based ‘social market economy’
What percentage of the vote did the CDU gain in the August 1949 election? Seats?
31%, 139 seats
What percentage of the vote did the SPD gain in the August 1949 election? Seats?
29.2%, 131 seats
Who did the CDU form a coalition with in 1949?
Free Democratic Party and the German Party
How many seats did the CDU/FDP/GP coalition have out of how many seats in the Bundestag?
208 of the 402 seats in the Bundestag
When was Adenauer elected chancellor? When did he leave this post?
15th September 1949 remained in post until 1963
Who was the first president of the FRG?
Theodor Heuss
When was the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) signed?
1951
What did the ECSC do?
Combined industry in France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg into one common market.
When was the European Economics Community (EEC) signed?
1957
What did the EEC do?
Abolished tariffs between member states and improved West German exports.
What was the name of the agreement between the allies and the Chancellor of the FRG? When?
Petersburg Agreement 22nd November, 1949
What did the Petersburg agreement state?
West Germany had to maintain demilitarisation and prevent the formation of the armed forces.
When did Adenauer propose the creation of an FRG army? Why?
1950, Korean War (1950-53) Communist North Korea invaded the capitalist south. Feared same situation in Europe.
How many men did Adenauer propose for the new FRG army in 1950?
150,000
How did Adenauer’s support from the West German people improve at the 1953 election after suggesting a need for an army?
CDU won 45.2%, a 15% increase from 1949. Had a mandate to push ahead with plans for an FRG army.
When was the General Treaty on Germany signed?
23rd October 1954
When did the General Treaty on Germany come into force?
5th May 1955
What were the key elements of the General Treaty on Germany?
Article 1 - USA, the UK, and France will end the occupational regime in the Federal Republic/repeal the occupation statute
Article 7 - Wanted a peace settlement between Germany and its former opponents forming the basis of lasting peace. State sovereignty and democratic independence
When was the Berlin Blockade?
June 1948-May 1949
When was the Hallstein Doctrine?
1955
What did the Hallstein Doctrine outline?
Diplomatic recognition of the GDR by anyone other than the USSR was a hostile act against the FRG.
No country could gain financial assistance from the FRG if it recognised the GDR
What did the FRG hope to gain from the Hallstein Doctrine?
Hoped to financially isolate the GDR - collapse and reunite with West Germany
When was the Hallstein Doctrine officially ended? Who by?
1972, the then-Chancellor Willy Brandt
What did the CDU poll in the 1957 election?
First political party in German history to win an overall majority with 50.2%
How did Adenauer gain further support for the 1957 election?
Gained support from West Germany’s ‘economic miracle’
Successfully negotiated the release of German prisoners of war from the USSR in 1955
What other major event increased support for Adenauer? When?
Hungarian Uprising in 1956 (protest against communist rule), seen to have support of USA and their military might.
How was Adenauer able to undermine the SPD?
Left-wing policies made it easy for Adenauer to link them unfavourably with the GDR
What were some of the major flaws with SPD policy?
Focused on the economy rather than immediate relief such as unemployment benefits and health care
Disrespected Adenauer, lost the support of West German Catholics (1/3 pop.)
Traditionalist ideas were outdated and did not appeal to the right-wing system that the Nazis had instated (too big of a change)
Free market economy successful why change it.
Close alliance with America - trade deals, foreign alliance, and cemented the FRG in European circle of power. Schumacher unable to accept this.
Who pushed the SPD in a new direction? What positions did he hold from 1957-66?
Willy Brandt, Governing Mayor of West Berlin and President of the Bundesrat
How many new houses were built each year under Brandt in West Berlin?
20,000 per year
When did Willy Brandt become the chairman of the SPD?
1964
Which two elections did Willy Brandt lose before becoming chancellor in 1969?
1961 to Konrad Adenauer (CDU)
1965 to Ludwig Erhard (CDU)
When was the Grand coalition government formed between the CDU and the SPD?
1966
Who won the 1969 election?
SPD formed coalition with Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP) Brandt elected Chancellor
How did the Americans decide who was classified as a Nazi in West Germany?
Questionnaire called the Fragenboden
How many questions were on the Fragenboden? What did some of these question ask?
133, Involvement in the German army, relatives in the Nazi party, who they voted for in the 1933 election, whether they were a Junker.
What were the limitations of the Fragenboden?
Translating and processing all the documents
Giving people work permits
Did not account for that Nazi membership pre-requisite for career advancement
When did the US relax their strict de-Nazification policies? Why?
1946, lack of experienced managers in various industries, depleted number of key workers.
How many people were being investigated in one Lander for having Nazi sympathies?
2.5 million Germans
When did the US introduce the 5 category system to help investigate Nazi sympathy?
October 1946
What did the US introduce to deal with questionable cases of Nazi sympathy?
Special tribunals
By what year were how many Germans kept in prison camps for being in the more serious Nazi category?
1947 - 90,000 Germans
How were people getting around the US’s category system and the Frageboden?
Black market developed where certificates of de-Nazification were available
What led to a US relaxation in de-Nazification leading to the end of the policy in 1951?
Increased tensions between the US and USSR
What was the name of the trial where leading figures of the Nazi party were tried by an allied tribunal?
Nuremberg trials
When were the Nuremberg trials?
October 1946
When were the first ‘Auschwitz trials’? How many were executed?
Poland in 1947 - Rudolf Hoss and five other camp officials were tried and executed
What new policy did Adenauer pursue instead of harsh de-Nazification?
‘Politics for the past’ (Vergangenheitspolitik)
What legislation did Adenauer pass in 1951? How many Germans did it benefit?
Amnesty legislation - benefitted 800,000 Germans previously classed as Nazi criminals.
Which three country were most unskilled and low paid jobs going to in Germany post-WW2?
Italy, Yugoslavia and Turkey
How many migrant workers were there in Germany following WW2?
8 million
When were the KPD banned by Adenauer? Why?
Banned 1956 following support for the USSR’s actions in East Germany during the 1953 uprising.
When was Adenauer accused of being overly authoritarian? What was the name of the affair?
1962 Spiegel affair
What was the Spiegel affair of 1962?
Journalists for Spiegel magazine were arrested after criticising the FRG’s armed forces.
When was the Second amnesty law that annulled the British process of de-Nazification? How many Germans benefited?
1954 - 400,000 exonerated after being declared Nazi criminals by the British
What did the first amnesty law of 1951 mean for German officials?
150,000 German officials who had been removed from positions were to be returned to government administration
Who was the infamous Nazi that worked in Adenauer’s cabinet? How long?
Hans Globke - 1953-63
How much did Adenauer give to Israel as compensation for the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust? When?
10th September 1952 DM3billion
When was the Neo-Nazi Socialist Reich Party banned?
August 1952
What percentage of foreign office diplomats were Nazis in 1952?
66%
Who was the main critic of the amnesty legislation and spoke out against the CDU?
Walter Menzel
