FRG Society Flashcards
What was the situation for women in Germany after the end of WWII?
(4)
- many widows, rape survivors, dislocated, and poor women
- 7.3 mil more women than men in Germany
- high divorce rate until 1948
- loss of majority of able-bodied men = women had to work to rebuild Germany
What was the initial legal attitude towards women in the FRG?
(5)
- very few women in politics; Adenauer promised to give more jobs to women yet never acted on it
- Article 3 of the Basic Law asserted that there should be equality for all –> theoretical, not put in practice
- Civil Code (details of the constitution); women needed their husband’s permission to work, after marriage the legal control of property went to the husband
- 1953, Ministry for Family Affairs set up; provided wives + mothers with financial benefits
- Bundestag divided between those who wanted gender equality (SPD) VS those who wanted to discourage women from working (CDU)
What changes were there to the legal attitude towards women in the FRG?
(2)
- 1958, civil code changed to give women legal freedoms –> women no longer needed husband’s permission to work
- 1977, Marriage & Familly law (passed under Schmidt); gave women equal rights in marriage + overturned certain clauses of the civil code (eg. that women could only work if it didn’t affect their role as a wife + mother)
What were social attitudes towards women in the FRG?
(3)
very conservative;
- Nazi attitudes prevailed; ‘Kinder, Küche, Kircher’ prominent until 1970s
- education system did not facilitate the idea of a working mother; school hours meant that women without childcare had to be home in the afternoon
- 1982, public attitude survey; around 70% of men + women believed that women should give up work upon marriage, and that men should work while women cared for the home
What was the women’s liberation movement in the FRG generally like?
(4)
- based in cities
- led primarily by students + young
- focused on access to abortion
- little focus on workplace equality or laws against sexual discrimination (as in USA)
Was abortion legalised in the FRG?
(3)
- Paragraph 218 of the German Penal Code (1871) made it a crime for women to seek abortions unless medically necessary
- 1974, attempt to reform the law on abortion; to allow limited abortion up to 12 weeks –> struck down by the constitutional courts + large public outcry
- 1976, some abortion allowed
West Berlin Commune
(3)
1967, West Berlin students set up a commune to live equally;
- women ended up doing all cooking + cleaning
- women left after 6 months
the Action Council for Women’s Liberation
(4)
1968, the Action Council for Women’s Liberation set up in West Berlin;
- set up day centres (practical action)
- started a campaign to make the government change way in which daycare + schools were run
- 1969, groups split up due to disagreements; some felt it wasn’t doing enough for women outside of the family
movement against paragraph 218
(5)
many radical groups targeted Paragraph 218 (penalised abortion);
- led by Alice Schwarzer (journalist)
- put images of 30 women on the cover of ‘Stern’ magazine with the title ‘We’ve had abortions!’
- set up refuges for battered women across Germany
- published pamphlets educating about women’s health + contraception
What education related issues did Germany face after WWII?
(4)
- de-Nazify curriculum + remove all Nazi textbooks
- 97% of teachers had been part of the NSDAP = difficult to denazify
- Allies wanted to avoid the reintroduction of confessional schools and stop with selection of career paths at 10y/o
- 1945 Allies shut down all schools BUT children needed to learn numeracy + literacy –> autumn 1945 reopened schools
How did localism/länder prove to be an issue in terms of education?
- Basic Law kept länder responsible for educational + cultural policy = large differences
–> many church schools were set up in the south, whereas schools in the north were largely secular
–> differences in curriculum across länder
- Länder scuppered efforts of federal government to introduce educational reform
–> 1971, SPD gov under Brandt tried to force through a federal framework for restructuring schools (comprehensive schools, help for disadvantaged, reform of Uni structure); refused by the Bundesrat = no restructuring of school system
What were the problems of the FRG university system in the 1960s?
(3)
- outdated syllabus; didn’t teach technology or economics
- inadequate facilities + student accomodation
- elitist institutions; catered to children of civil servants + the wealthier members of society
How did the government try to ‘democratise’ universities in the FRG?
(3)
- 1971, SPD under Brandt passed the Federal Education Promotion Act; provided state funding + state loans to encourage working-class students to attend university
- free education primary + secondary education = encouraged parents to send their children to secondary school;
–> 1960, 853,400 children in gymnasiums VS 1980, >2 mil (children in gymnasiums most likely to go to university)
How successful were the government’s efforts to ‘democratise university?
(statistics)
1960, 239,000 university students
1980, 749,000 students
Why + When did the FRG start to employ foreign workers?
(3)
- 1950s, FRG effectively attained full employment = labour shortage
- TUs unhappy with gov suggestion to employ foreign workers; feared foreign workers would undercut German workers’ wages and accept worse working conditions
- government introduced ‘guest worker’ scheme
