Germany Booklet 10: (FRG) Opposition, control and consent 1949-89

Question 1

What are three good signs showing opposition was at a minimum in the 1950s?

Answer 1

Minimal support for the Socialist reich party and the KPD
Both of these were banned without significant protest in 1952 and 56 respectively
Weren’t any organised protest groups demanding alternate lifestyles

Question 2

What were the potential reasons for the rising tensions with students in the 1960s?

Answer 2

Unis underfunded
Students lacked representation on governing bodies
Unis overcrowded - main teaching method was lectures - attended by huge numbers of students
Increasing influence of USA and perceived FRG governmental support for vietnam war
Government’s failure to completely remove former Nazis from positions of responsibility
Introduction of more conservative policies after Bad Godesberg Conference
Increased military spending and participation in NATO - fear this would lead to deployment of nuclear weapons in FRG

Question 3

What happened in 1964 with regards to the student opposition

Answer 3

1964 Georg Picht writes series of articles arguing German education was in state of crisis - shortage of teachers and resources
Student protest against state of university education + lack of student representation on uni governing boards starts at the Free University in Berlin
State government responded with foundation of five new universities in 1964

Question 4

What happened in 1965 with regards to the student opposition

Answer 4

May 1965 - Free University authorities banned radical journalist Erich Kuby from speaking against the Vietnam war
May 1965 - students went on strike

Question 5

What happened in 1966 with regards to the student opposition

Answer 5

Feb - 2500 Free University students held anti-war protests against vietnam war
June - Free University protests called for more say in university affairs for students
Government responded to student protests - Stollenberg announced increase in funding for unis - DM260,000 - twice the 1955 figure

Question 6

What happened in 1967 with regards to the student opposition

Answer 6

June - protests against Shah of Iran visit to Berlin - student was shot dead by police officer
Sparked widespread and sometimes violent protest across FRG - targeted at media empire of Axel Springer - supported the officer and attacked new left

Question 7

What happened in 1968 with regards to the student opposition

Answer 7

April - Rudi Dutschke shot by Neo-Nazi gunman - sparked a wave of new student protests - many blamed Springer newspapers for encouraging the attempt

Question 8

What were the APO?

Answer 8

A loose grouping of students and trade unions which felt radical protest was their only was to force change

Question 9

What did the APO do?

Answer 9

Initially focused on strikes, marches and demonstrations

Question 10

What impact did the APO have?

Answer 10

Impact was limited and group faded by the mid 1960s, especially in terms of student membership
After they graduated, many conformed and accepted careers in society

Question 11

What was the political argument of the AOP

Answer 11

Against the fact thst the Bundtyag was dominated by parties that basically agreed on major issues, especially after the election of 1966 in which the two major parties formed a grand coalition, controlling 90% of seats

Question 12

what were the SDS?

Answer 12

The student wing of the SPD, but when the SPD became more conservative, the SDS became more radical

Question 13

What was the political argument of the SDS?

Answer 13

They acted against the Vietnam war, nuclear weapons in the FRG and former Nazis holding a position of power. From 1966 they became a vocal opposition group to the grand coalition

Question 14

What did the SDS do?

Answer 14

They used tactics such as student sit-ins at university and mass demonstrations

Question 15

What impact did the SDS have?

Answer 15

By the late 1960s they had control of the national student body, the UDS

Question 16

What was the membershup of the Baader-Meinhof gang?

Answer 16

Primarily young-middle class, educated West Germans who were disillusioned with the FRG’s political system.

Question 17

What were the main ideas of the Baader-Meinhop Gang?

Answer 17

They believed that intellectual argument as useless against the forces of the establishment and that direct action was necessary
They wanted the destruction of consumerism,. and end to the Vietnam war and the desire of the FRG itself, although the never really explained what they would replace it with

Question 18

What were the actions of the Baader-Meinhof?

Answer 18

At first it consisted of arson and sabotage, they then began bombing and assassinating to achieve their goals
april 1975 - West German Embassy siege in Stockholm- to release RAF leaders such as Andreas Baader - they set off a bomb and four people died.

Question 19

What were the results of the public poll in 1970 about the terrorist movements?

Answer 19

One in five Germans felt sympathy for the Baader-Meinhof gang whilst 5% said that they would be prepared to allow a gang member to stay for the night

Question 20

Outline the background to the Emergency Law of 1968

Answer 20

No emergency laws included in basic law
Attempts were made to introduce emergency laws in 1958, 1960 and 1963 by were not passed
Only the FDP opposed the laws in the Reichstag
There were widespread protests by students and trade unions - 30,000 turned out for a march on Bonn in May 1968

Question 21

What was the main and most controversial section of the Emergency Law 1968?

Answer 21

Article 10 which stated that:
Mail and phone calls could be interpreted
Freedom of movement could be restricted
Certain jobs could be barred

Question 22

What was the purpose of ther Emergency law of 1968?

Answer 22

allowed greater powers of arrest and surveillance. In the short term it helped the police to control and reduce the amount of student protests that were taking place

Question 23

What were immediate consequences of the introduction of the 1968 emergency law?

Answer 23

Some Germans were massively against it and it led to protests in the street. It led to the formal ending of the 1948 statue of Occupation, which gave the allied powers the right to take control of the FRG in the event of an emergency

Question 24

What were the long term consequences of the Emergency law of 1968?

Answer 24

It paved the way for other counter-terrorism measures, such as stopping media publication of RAF ideas. By 1977 the FRG police had more than 60,000 people under surveillance. Many citizens feared terrorism and supported the government’s stance, stating that those with nothing to fear had nothing to hide.

Question 25

What was the Anti-Radical decree and when was is passed?

Answer 25

1972 - introduced political vetting for those in state jobs. Over 1,000 people were barred from jobs in universities, government departments and schools as a result

Question 26

Give four examples of the government reacting to extremism in the 1970s (and 69)

Answer 26

Reforms introduced in universities allowing students a stronger voice in 1969
From 1973 terrorists in jail had harsher treatment e.g. RAF members put in solitary confinement
Surveillance increased - by 1977 over 6,000 individuals under police surveillance and nearly 5 million listed as sympathisers
German communist party allowed to reform in 1969

Question 27

What evidence is there that the NPD were successful?

Answer 27

They won local government seats across West Germany. In 1966 and 1967, the NPD won 15 seats in Bavaria, 10 in lower saxony, 8 in Hesse and sexual other seats. It came close to getting representation in the bundestag in 1969 when they got 4.3% of the vote

Question 28

What were the reasons for the success of the NPD?

Answer 28

West German discontent with a lagging economy and the leadership of Ludwig Erhard. As a reaction to the students movement that had spontaneously formed in June 1967 and which was highly critical of Germany’s past

Question 29

What evidence is there that the NPD was never a significant threat to the stability of the FRG?

Answer 29

They never received the minimum 5% of votes in federal elections

Question 30

What factors led to the deterioration of the support for the NPD?

Answer 30

Suffered from an internal split over failing to get into the German parliament as well as the recovery of the FRG economy

Question 31

Give evidence for the popular support for the FRG?

Answer 31

Adenauer voted greatest German in 2002
KPD never had more than 50,000 members
voter turn out consistently over 85% FROM 1953 to 1976
Public surveys showed that the number of people who believed Bundestag deputies represented public interest between 1951 and 1964
A moderate consensus, with over 50% of Germans voting for the CDU/CSU in 1957

Question 32

Why were people ‘nervous’ about the re-introduction of Democracy in the FRG?

Answer 32

In Weimar, the democracy was very unstable and led to a very insecure government and therefore the people did not feel comfortable. A democracy is easier to destroy

Question 33

List some key measures that allowed the FRG to successfully win over public support to the new regime

Answer 33

There were many welfare measures, such as unemployment benefit, an effective pension system, family welfare measures, subsidiaries for houses, good relations with the catholic church

Question 34

Outline opposition to denazification

Answer 34

Many Germans felt that the quickest way to rebuild Germany’s schools, hospitals and civil service was to no look too closely at the past of those qualified to help.
Some Germans thought the process of vetting teachers and censoring the pres was similar to what the Nazis had done.
Many believed people had only joined the Nazis to keep their jobs.

Question 35

Outline denazification with regards to the youth and education

Answer 35

The western zones set out to re-educate German youths by banning Nazu textbooks and introducing a vetting process for teachers and libraries
By the 1960s, there was growing anger from young Germans at the lack of de-Nazification in the FRG.

Question 36

What did the US survey between 1945 and 49 show with regards to nazification?

Answer 36

50-66% of Germans believed that denazification was a good thing