FRG Flashcards
When was the formation of the FRG?
May 1949
Name the political parties in the FRG by 1947?
In 1945 - KPD, SPD, CDU and CSU. By 1947, liberal groups formed the FDP.
How were West Germany and East Germany different?
The Allies split Germany with French, British and American sectors in the West and USSR sector in the east. The West received Marshall aid money but the East became communist and the SED was the most significant party.
What was the Basic Law and when was it announced?
Constitution of FRG, announced on 23rd May 1949. It set out: Equal rights regardless of sex, race, political views or religion; Freedom of press, speech and assembly: and free state education for all.
What was article 21 in the Basic Law?
It allowed the Federal Constitutional Court to ban political parties which did not support the principles of the Basic Law or tried to undermine the FRG’s democratic principles.
How did Bundestag elections work?
Members were elected every 4 years by proportional representation but there was a 5% hurdle parties had to meet in order to gain seats.
How did regional/government work in the FRG?
There were 16 Lander with there own regional courts and parliaments. Each state was divided into counties which ran local services for that area. Cities and towns often had their own municipal governments.
What was the outcome of the first BUndestag elections on the 14th August 1949?
No majority - the CDU won 31% of vote, the SPD won 29.2% and the FDP won 11.9%. Konrad Adenauer (CDU) became the first Chancellor.
How did Konrad Adenauer consolidate power?
He was chancellor from 1949-63. He was criticised for having too much power of domestic and foreign policy. He banned the KPD in 1952 and later banned the Socialist Reich Party. He governed with coalitions until 1957 when the CDU gained a majority. Year Zero - after 1951, ex-Nazis could work in the civil service but there was a scandal after it was found that there were 4 in the foreign office. He had to reseign in 1963 after arresting journalists from Der Speigel for criticising the government and army. He made Germany seem more acceptable in western Europe and under him, they joined NATO. He followed an Atlantacist policy (work closely with UK/USA) and managed to negotiate the release if POWs in Russia. There was a split between Atlataicsts and Gaullists in the CDU.
How did Ludwig Erhard consolidate power in the FRG?
Erhard was chancellor from 1963-66 in a coalition. He followed Adenauer’s Atlanticist policies and tried to introduce the Emergency Law but the SPD refused to support it. He had to reseign after introducing a budget with heavy taxation which caused all FDP members of government to reseign.
How did Keisinger consolidate power in the FRG?
Keisinger led the ‘Grand Coalition’ (CDU,CSU,SPD) with SPD leader, Brandt, as vice. He passed the Emergency Law which allowed the tapping of phones, opening of mail and searching of homes in times of serious tension.
How did Brandt consolidate power in the FRG?
Brandt was the first SPD chancellor and followed the policy of Ostpolitik, improving relations with the GDR. He decrimminalised homosexuality and lowered the voting age to 18. He received a lot of criticism for his ostpolitik and only won a vote of no confidence in 1972 by 2 votes. He had to reseign when it was discovered that one of his key advisiors was an East German spy.
How did Schmidt consolidate power in the FRG?
Schmidt (SPD) replaced Brandt and focused on stability by raising taxes and cutting welfare to balance the budget. He reseigned in 1982.
How did Kohl consolidtae power in the FRG?
He became Chancellor in 1983 (leader of the CDU) and delt with corruption, terroism and focused on stability
When did the Berlin wall fall and the reunification process begin?
9th November 1989
What was political opposition like in the 1950s?
The KPD and Socialist Reich Party was banned. Communist demostrations were organised in cities. In 1955, Germany joined NATO and in 1958 the German Campaign Against Nuclear Death was set up and continued to protest during the 1960s.
What was opposition like in the 1960s?
Many young people wanted to confront Germany’s past and disliked the ‘Year Zero’ policy and used the slogan ‘what did you do in the war, daddy?’ for their protests. They also joined the rising discontent against the US and the Vietnam War. The APO (out of parliament organisation) was set up as esp. young people didn’t feel well represented by the political parties available. The APO gained support from intellectuals and students like the SDS (German socialist students union) who had broken away from the SPD and protested against nuclear weapons, the Emergency Law and Year Zero. During a visit from the Shah of Iran there were protests against Iran’s human rights record. There were also riots at Axel’s Springer’s office after one of his papers published criticism of the student protests which led to the assassination attempt on the SDS leader in 1968.
What was political opposition like in the 1970s and 80s?
Extreme left-wing/anarchists terrorist groups like the RAF (Baader-Meinhof gang) attacked German authorities, US army bases and right-wing newspapers. The robbed banks to finance their terroism and by 1975 most of them members were in prision. One member died on hunger strike in prison which prompted more bombings in Germany and other European cities. Bombings took place ino the 1980s but became less frequent.
What did the Allies’ denazification involve?
Nuremberg Trials (21 Nazis put on trial and 11 sentenced to death). 250,000 Germans were arrested but most weren’t detained for long. Germans were shown images of Nazi war crimes. Teachers and librarians had to be vetted (although 85% of teachers in Bavaria who had lost their jobs regained them by 1947). 16 million people were made to fill in a Fragebogen with 131 questions about their activities during the war and the US found 3.5 million answerable to charges and set up local tribunals to deal with the cases but there was injustice across the zones with regards to punishments.
How did the FRG government respond to extremism?
- The BfV was set up in 1950 and the BND in 1956 to investigate extremism.
- 1968, Emergency Law passed and authorities were given extra powers to arrest and detain suspects.
- In 1970, the BEFA (centralised police information system) was set up to help the BND investigate extremist threats.
- The GSG-9 was eset up as part of army to deal with terrorist incidents following the Palistian attack on Israeli atheletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
In what ways was there support for democracy?
- Turnout in elections was high, over 84% in all elections.
- Support for restoration of the monarchy was less than 10%.
- Protests against the Emergency Law 1968, focused on defending the ideals of democracy.
What was the Marshall Plan?
The Marshall Plan was 13 billion dollars of aid to restore the European economy and isolate the USSR by nor providing aid to Soviet countries. The plan brought millions of dollars into the FRG.
What economic changes were made in 1948?
The Deutschmark was introduced; rationing was abolished for most foodstuffs; and prices and wages were no longer fixed.
Who was economics minister from 1949-68? What did he want to set up?
Ludwig Erhard, wanted to set up a social market economy.
What had unemployment risen to in 1950?
1.8 million
