Opposition control and consent - FRG Flashcards
What were some of the problems facing the FRG?
- Rebuilding economy and country
- Work together in useful coalitions while avoiding the problems faced by the Weimar government
How did the SPD show opposition?
Were against ‘year zero’ approach to past membership of the Nazi party and desire to align the FRG with Europe, therefore making reunification with East Germany less likely.
Give some examples of opposition?
KPD were unable to win enough seats in the Bundestag to feel represented there, they began to organise communist demonstrations in the city.
Munich 1953, 6000 communists clashed with the police and the police used water cannon to disperse the marches.
Why was there more opposition in the 1960s?
Economic miracle meant that Germany was economically and politically stable.
How did the Youth protest in the 1960s?
- objected to the ‘year zero’ principle that had helped Adenauer rebuild the civil service , opposition wanted to confront their Nazi past, opposition adopted the slogan of ‘What did you do in the war, Daddy?’ to taunt the older generation
- protests against FRG’s military- its involvement with the West through NATO and the possibility that it might start to build and store atomic weapons or allow other NATO countries to store nuclear weapons in the FRG
Who was the APO?
-Extra parliamentary opposition
What did the APO want?
Came about because of the distrust of young intellectuals for the established conservative government and also because there were no left wing parties to absorb them after the KPD was banned and SPD became less radical in 1959
Who was the APO mainly made out of?
- Strong university membership
What led to and what were the Easter riots?
April 1968, Rudi Dutschke was shot by a right-wing fanatic who read criticisms of student protests in newspapers published by the conservative newspaper owner Axel Springer.
The ‘Easter riots’ followed, a series of attacks on offices of the Springer Press all over Germany followed
Why was there an increase in terrorism in the FRG?
Government pressure on protest and dissent via the emergency laws and police control reduced the amount of protested by many groups but also had the effect of making some groups feel more marginalised and so increased level of violence by resorting to terrorism.
Who were the Baader-Meinhof gang?
Red Army Fraction - West German radical leftist group
What was Article 131 of Basic Law?
Adenauer allowed the employment of ex-Nazis in the civil service.
What was the Anti-Radical Decree of 1972?
Passed in January 1972
Allowed for political vetting of everyone applying fro a state job, from teachers to postmen to civil servants.
