FRG Constituional And Legal Response To Political Extremism Flashcards
Extremism reactions in the FRG
At first the increase in extremity of responses was linked to the government responses to these protests
This is because there was a surprising level of support,patchy for these groups in the early 1970s - public poll said that 1/5 Germans felt sympathy for the Baader Meinhof gang and this suggested that government action against these groups did not get a positive reaction from the public
Government wanted to uphold democracy and free speech but also didn’t want extremism to filter in ; LIKE WEIMAR, IT CAME DOWN MORE HEAVILY ON LEFT WING EXTREMISTS
What was set up to police political extremism between 1949 and 1989?
BfV and BND (Bundesnachrichtendienst) were both entitled to investigate the people they suspected of working against the Basic Law. BfV worked inside Germany and reported to the minister of the Interior while BND reported directly to the chancellor and conducted investigations abroad
Limiting success of BfV and BND?
Due to civil liberties granted to people under the basic law ; forbidden to open mail, search homes or monitor phone calls
Gov tried to pass a law to supplement the Basic Law to allow the BND to use measures such as these and to have wider powers of arrest and detention in moments of political tension and thus was finally passed as the EMERGENCY LAW IN 1968
RESULTED IN A LOT IF STUDENT PROTEST + UNION VIOLENCE
OTHERS DECIDED THAT UNDERGROUND OPPOSITION AND TERRORISM WAS THE ONLY WAY ; UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE
Success of emergency law?
Allowed them to track terrorists even though they were on the move
Even more successful after the Beobachtende Fahndung (BEFA) a system which gave the BND centralised access to all police information ; by 1970s there was much less terrorist activity in the FRG
Possibility that government’s actions had caused terrorism?
Idea of emergency law introduction causing the terrorism but they also solved it
Special forces?
After shooting of Israeli athletes in Munich Olympics in 1972 - set up GSG-9 ; special operations unit against terrorists, close links with the British SAS and US Army’s delta force
Operated worldwide
In 1977 they successful rescued hostages on a plane that had been hijacked on it’s way to Frankfurt and ended up in Mogadishu Somalia
Arrested Baader Meinhof members too
Criticism at Government against extremism
They restricted the work that known extremists could do ; employment restrictions in government from 1949 onwards
Berufsverbot (employment ban) aimed at specified political parties that might be thought to pose a threat to democracy ; including KPD and right wing NPD neo Nazis
Very seldom applied and only 100 people lost their jobs
When was Berufsverbot overturned?
In May 1951
Article 131
Allowed for employment of ex-Nazis into civil service
The ban was still in place and occasionally used ; with the rise of extremist protest, much of it coming from universities, the government introduced the Anti-radical decree in 1972 and this allowed for political vetting of everyone applying for a state job
