Political and Governmental Change FRG Flashcards
What 2 decisions were made in Yalta conference, Feb 1945?
- GER and Berlin divided into 4 zones for GBR, USSR, USA, FRA
- Allied Control Council set up to make decisions across zones
What 4 decisions were made in Potsdam Conference, Jun 1945?
- De-Nazification
- Demilitarisation
- Deindustrialisation to keep GER weak and build ship materials for reparations
- Democratisation
- Divide Berlin into 4 zones
- Sending 10% of industrial machinery from other zones to USSR and another 15% in return for food and raw materials vice versa as reparations
What were the two dominant political parties in the Western zone and who were their leaders?
- CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic/Social Union) led by Adanauer
- SPD led by Schumacher
When were political parties first set up in Germany and who led in the Allied and Soviet Zone?
- Jun 1945
- Soviet zone: KPD
- Allied zone: SPD
What had changed about KPD’s manifesto and 4 features?
- Did not want soviet state
- German socialism
- Land reform
- New education system
- Democratic gov
What were SPD’s policies like compared to KPD and what were they (4)?
- Much more radical
- Nationalisation of banks, land + key industries
- Significant social welfare systems
What kind of party was CDU/CSU?
- Centre-right party w/ members from ZP
- Focused on social welfare
How did political parties learn from Weimar and what did they do as a result?
- Faith-based and Church-based parties negotiated to create single parties so their power would be increased
- 1947 –> liberal grps formed FDP (Free Democratic Party) + most faith-based grps joined CDU
What was the relationship like between Russia and GER and what was happening?
- Cold war
- USSR made any country they occupied communist eg Poland and Yugoslavia
- West gave Marshall Aid to countries hoping they would not take Soviet’s help and become communist eg. Greece
Give one example of the cold war developing between the West and the East:
May 1946 –> US zone suspended reparations towards USSR in retaliation for their refusal to deliver foodstuffs
When did USA, Britain and French join their zones and what was each called?
- Bizonia: USA and Britain (1946)
- Trizonia: USA, Britain, France (Apr 1949)
Which two parties combined in Soviet Zone, when and what was their position like?
- SPD and KPD combined to become SED
- Apr 1946
- Most significant in Soviet zone
When were elections held across Berlin and who won in the Soviet zone?
- KPD (joint force)
- Oct 1946
When were FRG and GDR created?
- FRG: May 1949
- GDR: Oct 1949
When was the Parliamentary Council set up, what did it have to draw up, what was this called and when was it announced?
- 1 Sep 1948
- New constitution: the Basic Law
- 23 May 1949
What did the Basic Law say?
1) Bundestag was elected by universal suffrage every 4 yrs w/ PR
2) Those receiving less than 5% of votes could not take any seats in the Bundestag
3) Bundesrat is allowed to request reconsideration of legislation/veto it
4) Equal rights to ALL GER citizens
5) Gov could not be removed by vote of no confidence unless alternative party w/ sufficient support was ready
6) Possible to ban parties if they seemed to undermine FRG
7) President could only be elected for one term
8) President had ceremonial role w/ little political responsibility
How often was the president elected and by who?
- Every 5 yrs
- Federal Convention –> made of all Bundestag + some Bundesrat members
Who was in charge of federal govs?
16 Lander elected by voters in their region
When was the first election to the Bundestag held, where did it first meet and when?
- Election –> 14 Aug 1949
- Bonn
- Meeting –> 7 Sep 1949
What were the election results and as a result who became Chancellor?
CDU/CSU - 31%
SPD –> 29.2%
FDP –> 11.9%
- Adanauer
Did any one of the republics rule out unification?
No, but the political situation was so different that this would be more difficult to do so as time passed
What was going on from 1949 to 1950s and what was the problem despite this?
- Negotiations between FRG and GDR about unification
- Increasing number of economic and political ties w/ West when USSR was in a Cold War with them
When was Hallstein Doctrine formed and give two features of it?
- 1955
- Refused to recognise legality of East Germany as separate country
- No longer have diplomatic relations with any country that had diplomatic relations w/ GDR