Germany Booklet 12: (FRG) Aspects of life 1945-89

Question 1

In what ways did the lives of women get worse/remain the same in the FRG?

Answer 1

Only about 4.4% of West German women were members of a political party.
In 1972 women made up less than 6% of Bundestag members (by 1987 just over 15%)
By 1980s women still made up less than 45% university students
By 1989 women in West Germany tax breaks and benefits encouraged mothers to stay at home with young children. Only 50% of married women with a child under 15 living at home worked, and half of those women worked part time
Womens salaries were between 65% and 78% of mens for many positions

Question 2

In what ways did the lives of women improve in the FRG?

Answer 2

The basic law stated that men and women were equal
In 1950, marriage and family laws were rewritten to help working mothers
Abortion was legalized and funded by the state in the first phase of pregnancy
An extensive system of social supports, such as a highly developed day-care network for children, was also put in place to permit women to be both mothers and workers
A law was passed in 1977 that granted a woman equal rights in marriage
Divorce was permitted when the marriage partners could no longer be reconciled
There was an increase in female employment from less than 45% in 1950 to 50% by 1970

Question 3

What were guest workers?

Answer 3

They were workers who had been brought over from poorer European countries for a year of two for a period of their work contract, before leaving after their contract finished.

Question 4

Which counties did most of the guest workers come from, and in what years was the deal made to bring them over?

Answer 4

Italy - 1955
Spain - 1960
Greece - 1960
Turkey - 1961
Portugal - 1964
Yugoslavia - 1968

Question 5

What kind of work did the guest workers do?

Answer 5

They did unskilled, low status and menial jobs. Almost 90% were in the lowest income bracket . In the 1970s, around half of Germany’s toilet cleaners and garbage collectors were foreign born. They also played a key role in heavy industry

Question 6

What were the living conditions of the guest workers like?

Answer 6

Many of them lived in boarding houses in the poorest neighbourhoods of Germany’s cities. Sanitary and heating facilities were often inadequate. A survey in the 1970s showed that 89% of guest workers were dissatiffied with their living conditions

Question 7

what was the legal position of the guest workers?

Answer 7

The basic law defined citizenship by parentage rather than birthplace. Guest workers relied on residence permits for 1-2 years but even those staying much longer were not granted rights as citizens such as the right to vote

Question 8

Wat was the foreign population of Germany in 1960 and 1980?

Answer 8

1960 - 1.2%

1980 - 7.2%

Question 9

Outline integration of the guest workers into the FRG

Answer 9

They often had a different religion and had difficulty learning German. Guest workers’ children were less likely to go to pre-school education and performed worse in school. turkish families often sent their children to koran schools but these institutions were regarded with hostility by some Germans.

Question 10

What was the priority of the allied powers in terms of education?

Answer 10

To remove all Nazi influences over education

Question 11

What were the two main barriers of effective educational reform?

Answer 11

German conservatism - German families were reluctant to change their well established system of selective schooling and resisted attempts to impose structural changes
Fragmentation - Each allied power attempted to impose their ideas in their own zones, with little co-ordination between them

Question 12

How did the allies deal with the lack of textbooks (without Nazi ideas)?

Answer 12

They worked with the german authorities to provide new books
e.g. in the British zone, the history working party produced new booklets on recent history under the leadership of professor Eckert
The Americans brought in over 5 million new textbooks

Question 13

How did the allies deal with the shortages of teachers in the FRG?

Answer 13

They used more women teachers and recalled teachers from retirement. Teachers were sent in from britain and France

Question 14

How did the allies deal with the teachers with nazi views in the FRG?

Answer 14

teachers were re educated about the aims of education in promoting democratic and just societies - rehabilitation programmes for teachers were undertaken by charitable organisations such as the Rockefeller and ford foundations
Pro-Nazi teachers were initially rooted out but shortages led to a relaxation of this rule: 85% of school teachers in Bavaria who lost their jobs due to Nazi views were back by work ny 1947

Question 15

How did the allies try to improve access to education?

Answer 15

The Americans introduced free education 6-18 and free textbooks for all students by 1948 in their zone. This was later followed by other Lander governments although with some reluctance in CDU/CSU dominated areas.
Attempts by both the Americans to introduce non selective high schools and the British to introduce comprehensive style schools mostly failed. Universities were not reformed until much later

Question 16

What did the Dusseldorf agreement establish?

Answer 16

consistency over number of examination subjects, length of studies, school holidays and term dates and examination standards.

Question 17

What changes to education were enshrined on the basic law (constitution)?

Answer 17

rights of all Germans to free education - religious education was made compulsory in all schools

Question 18

What were the three issues with FRG education highlighted by the Georg Picht report of 1964?

Answer 18

Gender inequality - girls left school younger and took up less academic curses
regional differences
Class inequalities - lower numbers of german teenagers continued school to 18 or went on to study at university. in 1971 only 7% of university students were from the working class

Question 19

How did Brandt’s reforms change education?

Answer 19

In 1971 a national law was passes giving financial support to working class students applying to university and the numbers attending rose sharply (number of uni students rose from 239000 to 739000 between 1960 and 1980). The number of children in gymnasium rose from around 850,000 in 1960 to over 2 million in 1980 with a much higher proportion of girls choosing an academic education. Despite this only 38% of university students were female in 1981.

Question 20

What were the key university reforms in the FRG?

Answer 20

In June 1965 the union of German Students Unions called for an increase in the budget for universities to relieve the overcrowding and shortage or resources
24 new universities emerged within West Germany. Academic staff rose from 19,000 to 78,000 and students from 200,000 to 1.9 million between 1960 to 1992

Question 21

Outline the key cultural changes of the FRG

Answer 21

Denazification led to the promotion of foreign lifestyles and ideas and the downplaying of traditional German culture which had been associated with nationalism.
although there has always been generational tensions in culture, these were much more profound in post-war Germany
Culture in post-war Germany became more diverse, partly due to immigration but also due to the removal of central government control

Question 22

Outline continuity and change of culture 1945-89

Answer 22

Traditional German culture, both popular and more elitist continued to flourish throughout the century
There were always generational and geographical differences in cultural tastes. Cities like Berlin were more radical and experimental while rural communities were more conservative
Culture had always been a force for division

Question 23

What was Krautrock?

Answer 23

A new, experimental, electronic kind of music. They used synthesizers and spliced together seemingly unconnected reels of tape, creating a droning, pulsing sound

Question 24

What generation set up Krautrock?

Answer 24

the so-called ‘1968 generation’ rejected both the traditionally nationalistic culture of their parents and the angle-American brand of rock and roll which thy associated with capitalist consumerism.

Question 25

What evidence is there that there were not cultural tensions between the generations?

Answer 25

Generational rebellion was short lived
the expansion of consumerism and materialism provided Germans with common values that eroded the old class divides
Despite the image portrayed in the media, most polls showed young people to share their parents conservative values

Question 26

What were the main similarities in education between Weimar and the FRG?

Answer 26

Class divide - in Weimar only 2.3% uni graduates were working class and in FRG this had increased to 7%
slight decline in the influence of church over schooling
All teachers had to have abitur level qualifications
Standards were the same across all types of schools
gender differences

Question 27

What were the main differences in education between Weimar and the FRG?

Answer 27

Interdenominational schools rather than confessional were the norm
Free education for all was provided to the age of 18. Grants enabled more working class students to access university from the 1970s onwards
Schoold and universities became more democratic in structure and curriculum

Question 28

What were the main similarities in education between Nazi Germany and the FRG?

Answer 28

Decline in influence of churches over schooling i.e Nazis closed church primary schools
In the period up to the mid 1960s, many Nazi teachers retained their posts
Access to the top gymnasium and universities was mostly restricted to elites until the 1970s

Question 29

What were the main differences in education between Nazi Germany and the FRG?

Answer 29

Mass denazification of education and schools
Western influence over education - teaching about democracy and liberal subjects
No ‘adolf-Hitler schools, or ss training schools