Germany Booklet 9: (FRG) Political & Governmental change 1945-89 Flashcards
What were the four aims of the Allies for West Germany?
De-nazification
De-militarisation
Deindustrialisation
Democratisation
How many more women were there in Germany after WW2?
7 million
When was trizonia formed?
June 1948
When was the berlin blockade?
24th June 1948-12th May 1949
When did Trizonia become the FRG?
23rd May 1949
How long was Germany split for?
41 years
Why did the allies give so much assistance to the new FRG?
They wanted to prevent the same thing happening again, They thought they would gain support from the German people (stop them turning to the soviets), They thought they would benefit more from a strong Germany as an ally in the long run.
Outline the Christian parties set up in the FRG
set up in 1945; The christian democratic union (CDU) and the christian social union of bavaria (CSU). Having a christian outlook, the idea of social support for the poorest was common amongst these faith based groups.
Outline the reestablishment of the SPD
15th June 1945, they reformed. Many members, including the leader had been in concentration camps during the war. They had a moral ‘advantage’ which they used to urge the Allies to give the Germans a greater say. Their policies were more radical than the KPD
Outline the re-establishment of the KPD
The first political party to be reformed - on 11th June 1945. They wanted German socialism, and were not associated with the soviets
Who were the FDP?
in 1947, a number of small liberal groups formed the free democratic party and persued centrist policies
Why were the political parties of the FRG more willing to work together?
They all wanted to avoid the divisions of the 1920s that had in some way contributed to the rise of the Nazis
What were the 4 main promises of the basic law of the FRG?
Equal rights, regardless of sex, race, political views or religion
Universal suffrage for all German citizens over the age of 18
Free state education for all although private schooling was permitted
Free speech, the freedom to form unions or other groups, free assembly and no censorship
What was the voting structure of the FRG? (set out in the basic law)
Bundestag made up of 598 seats: 299 are constituent members elected by first past the post, 299 allocated through proportional representation
What was the position of the chancellor in the FRG? (set out in the basic law)
They came from the leader of the largest party in the Bundestag.
They could not be removed by a vote of no confidence unless an alternative party was ready to take power with sufficient support to form a majority in the Bundestag
What was Article 21 part 2 in the basic law of the FRG?
Parties that seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order are unconstitutional and the federal constitutional court has the right to ban these parties. (different from Weimar)
What did Article 20 of the basic law state?
That the federal republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state
What did the lander control?
administration, education and culture in their own territories
What was the role of the president in the FRG?
A ceremonial figure - elected indirectly by a federal assembly of members from the Bundestag and the lander governments. He can stand only once and has pretty much no power
What is the similarity between the constitution of the FRG and the Nazis?
Both could and did ban parties.
What are the most significant changes between Weimar and the FRG that has been made in order to prevent some of the issues that were prevalent in Weimar from re-occuring?
First past the post
Supportive population
Didn’t have to deal with the economic depression
Less resentment towards government (weimar for TOV)
Ways to protect against extremist groups.
Who was the chancellor of Germany between 1949 and 1963?
Konrad Adenauer
Which parties were the leading coalition between 1949 and 1963
CDU and CSU
What was the voting trend for the CDU/CSU between 1949 and 1961?
1949 - 31%
1953 - 43.7%
1957 - 50.3%
1961 - 46%
What was the trend of votes for the SPD between 1949 and 1961?
It only increased, albeit gradually
1949-29.2%, 1953-29.5%,1957-32%, 1961-36.5%
What was Adenauer’s main policy?
To create a stable Germany - against experimentalism
How did Adenauer develop support?
He developed policies that appealed to both rural and urban voters, a ‘middle ground’ of politics.
His strong anti-communist sentiment
people wanted stability
Why did Adenauer resign and his party lose office?
His government became tainted by a number of scandals that eventually forced his retirement in 1963, and his party to lose office in 1969.
What was probably the most controversial policy of adenauer’s early on in his leadership?
He was willing to use past Nazis to rebuild west Germany as he thought they would have more political experience. In 1949 his new foreign ministry contained 39 former Nazi party members.
Why was it acceptable for Adenauer to use past Nazis?
He had spent time in a concentration camp for trying to kill Hitler, so no one could accuse him of being sympathetic to the Nazis
What was Adenauer’s opinion of the GDR?
He didn’t recognise it as a legitimate state, and though that FRG was the true voice of Germany
What did the Collective Barganing law on Industrial relations do? and when was it passed?
1949 - Unions had legal rights to negotiate on behalf of members and to take industrial actions if necessary
What were the results of the collective bargaining act?
Workers were encouraged to participate in the decision making process in the workplace, which reduced the class tensions, providing more stability (Co-determination)
What did the Construction law on do? and when was it passed?
1950 - provided grants to Lander and cities to encourage large scale building projects and to reduce the need for temporary accomodation.
What were the results of the construction law 1950?
By 1957 this had resulted in the building of 4 million new homes for Germans and also helped German refugees and those expelled from other countries become integrated in the FRG
What did the Equalisation of Burdens act do? and when was it passed?
1952 - Offered compensation to the victims of the wartime bombing campaigns on Germany and those expelled by lands in the east.
What were the results of the equalisation of burdens act 1952?
This saw the most significant redistribution of income in German history, being financed to a large degree by a tax of 5% on every citizen with a total net worth of more than DM5,000 payable in 30 installments. By 1958 DM126 billion had been raised by this measure
What did the Work Consultation law do? and when was is passed?
Encouraged the establishment of worker consultative councils in any enterprise where 20 or more people were employed
What were the results of the work consultation law 1952?
It reduced tensions between employers and employees and allowed adenauer’s government to focus on continuing to grow the economy during this period. More stable industrial relations also meant fewer strikes, which aided political stability.
What did the Pensions act do? and when was is passed?
Those working would make contributions through their taxes towards the pensions of those who were retired. For those workers currently paying, the value of their eventual pension was linked to the level of contribution.
What were the results of the Pensions act 1957?
Policy was not completely successful. It was quite expensive and put the social welfare budget under considerable pressure in later years.
What are two examples of the government Enforcing constitutional ban on anti-democratic parties under article 21 of the constitution?
In 1952 the neo-nazis socialist Reich party were banned under article 21 in the constitution. This was followed by the banning of the communist KPD in 1956
What was Adenauer’s belief about relations with the west?
he believed that long term stability of the Frg could be achieved through strong relations with Western Europe and the United states. He prioritised this over German unification
What did the FRG join in 1949 which strengthed relations with the west?
The council of Europe and the Organisation for European Economic cooperation.
Describe the relationship between the FRG (adenauer) and NATO
Adenauer saw FRG membership in Nato as critical to FRG stability. In May 1955 the FRG was admitted to NATO. But they had to renounce the adoption of nuclear weapons and limit the size of the army, which had to stay under civilian control, shows NATO didn’t trust Germany yet
In the early 1960s, what was Adenauer’s view of the US and the UK?
He wanted to be allied with them, but didn’t want to become dependent on them. He thought that the Uk would undermine the EEC because of its economic and political ties to the USA and therefore supported France in blocking British membership in 1963
What are three examples of mistakes made by Adenauer which led to his resignation?
he did not immediately visit Berlin n 1961 when the Berlin wall was constructed
He tried to make himself president while he was still chancellor (too reminiscent of Hitler)
The Der Spiegel affair
What was the der Spiegel affair?
The editors of der spiegel were arrested on the behest of the defence minister, head of the Bavarian CSU, whom Adenauer had close relations with, after they published articles criticising the army’s ability to defend the country.
Why did the SPD reemerge as a rival to the CDU?
At the Bad Godesberg Party conference in 1959 they decided to move away from strong left socialism, and embrace the membership of NATO and the EEC
When was Willy Brandt chancellor? What was the coalition?
from 1969 until 1972
SPD/FDP
What was the first coalition after Adenauer?
The Grand coalition: Kurt Kiesinger (CSU) was chancellor and Willy Brandt (SPD)was vice chancellor
1965-1969
When was Helmut Schmidt chancellor and what was the coalition?
1976-1982
SPD/FDP
When was Helmut Kohl chancellor and what were the coalitions?
1982 (CDU/CSU)
1983-1990 (CDU/CSU/FDP)
What was the expectation of Willy Brandt’s government?
Meant to be a reformist agenda, which would promote greater public participation, social reforms and democracy
Why was willy Brandt’s government a dissapointment?
Worsening economic conditions and a resurgence of political extremism, some believe it to be a time of ‘crisis management’
What is Willy Brandt’s government known for?
Ostpolitik - renewing and normalising relations with east germany
What was the basic treaty of 1973?
When the two Germanies acknowledged each other’s right to exist and agreed better commercial tourist, cultural and communications links
Who was the foreign minister of the FRG from 1974-1992?
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
Who was the first GDR leader to come to the FRG and when was this?
President Honecker in 1987
When and by whom was the 10 point plan for reunification produced?
Kohl on 28th November 1989
What did the CDU/CSU think of ostpolitik and why? What did they do in response to this?
They strongly opposed it in the 1970s as they believed it was giving in to communism and a barrier to future reunification.
They attempted to remove Brandt’s government with a vote of no confidence in 1972, but failed to win sufficient support.
What was the effect of ostpolitik on Brandt himself?
It won him international recognition and the Nobel Peace Prize (1971)
In 1970 Brandt publically knelt before a memorial in Poland, which memorial, and what was the response both internationally and domestically?
A memorial to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising
It was widely regarded as an act of reconciliation abroad but was condemned by many in Germany, especially East German former refugees who had lost homes and family to Poland in 1945
Give two examples of continuing cold war tensions in FRG in the 70s
in 1974 Gunter Guillaume, a close advisor of Brandt, was exposed as an East German agent, causing the chancellor to resign.
In 1973 a new nuclear shelter was built to house 27,000 people in west Berlin.
Outline objection to nuclear weapons being allowed on FRG territory
In 1977, Schmidt was under pressure from the left of his party, the SPD, to resist American deployment of tactical nuclear warheads in Germany. Also strong public opposition. In 1982 a crowd of 350,000 people marched in Berlin to protest, and Brandt spoke against it, 2.7 million people signed a petition against the deployment of missiles (the Krefield appeal)
What was the German Federation of Trade Unions?
An umbrella organisation of trade unions, founded in 1949 to help workers have a stronger and more united voice
Summarise the journey of the Greens party of the FRG
Set up in 1978, reformed into a political party in 1980 and won an increasing share of the vote, by 1980s onward, winning 5%-12% of the vote. It first won representation in the bundestag in 1983 after the deployment of nuclear missiles.
Summarise the journey of the west German Communist Party
It replaced the KPD ten years after it was banned in 1966. It received financing from the GDR but never won m0re than 50,000 members and won little electoral support
Outline far right parties in the FRG
The NPD won seats in 7 state parliaments, but failed to win the 5% necessary to get into the bundestag
In 1980 the new Republikaner party won some seats in the european parliament and in one state parliament in germany, but not the national government,
What was the Barschel-Engholm Affair?
In 1989 the press alleged that the president of the state of Schleswig-Holstein had bugged the offices of his main rival in order to find evidence that he was guilty of tax evasion
What was the Flick Affair?
The FDP finance minister had to resign in 1984 due to a scandal over tax exemptions. A company which had made a big donation to the FDP party had been allowed to sell shares without paying the usual taxes
Outline the results of Kohl’s economic policies in the 80s
The cost cutting and privatisation were unpopular and caused increasing trade union opposition. There was a powerful campaign for the 35 hour week winning support from many unions. There were significant strikes in 1984 in the printing and metal industries
Summarise unemployment in the 70s and 80s
4.7% in 1975, rising to a peak of 9% in the mid 1980s although it fell to 7.5% by 1989
How did the FRG national debt increase and why?
went from 16% in 1970 to 40% by 1982 in proportion of GNP due to increases in public spending in the 1970s
