Political Dissent and Active Challenge (1949-89) Flashcards
Why was opposition relatively common in the FRG?
- The Basic Law allowed free speech, freedom of the press and no censorship
What were 2 reasons why there was minimal political dissent and challenge in the 1950s?
- There were bigger issues to deal with, such as creating an effective government and rebuilding
- Extreme parties were controlled through the 5% hurdle, and were banned if they threatened the constitution or democracy
Give 2 examples of parties being banned, and when they were banned.
- The right-wing Socialist Reich Party was banned in 1952
- The KPD was banned in 1956
Who tended to be the voice of opposition in the 1950s? Give 2 examples of policies they opposed.
- The SPD
- Adenauer’s ‘year zero’ approach to former Nazi party members, and his desire to align the FRG with Europe, as this made reunification less likely
Why did protest increase dramatically in the 1960s?
- The younger generation became politically active, and they were critical of the political system
What were 4 issues students protested about?
- The ‘year zero’ principle
- The military
- The USA and Vietnam
- General principles in the FRG
Why were students particularly against the ‘year zero’ principle?
- Former Nazis were still in positions of power
What were 2 concerns students had about the military?
- It was involved with the West through NATO
- The possibility that it could start to build atomic weapons, or allow other countries to store theirs in the FRG (the risk of which increased when the FRG joined NATO)
What 2 things about the USA and Vietnam caused students to protest?
- They were unhappy with how the USA was conducting the war in Vietnam
- They disapproved of perceived government support for the war in Vietnam
Give 3 examples of general principles in the FRG students were against.
- Growing materialism, as this went against having a more egalitarian society
- The political dominance of wealthy middle-class men
- The growing authoritarianism of the government
What were 2 more radical groups in the 1960s?
- The APO
- The SDS
What was the APO, and who did it consist of?
- The Extra-Parliamentary Opposition
- Left-wing students and trade unions
What were 3 reasons why the APO existed?
- They distrusted the established, conservative government
- They felt that radical protest was the only way to get their voice heard
- There were no longer any left-wing parties since the KPD was banned and the SPD became less radical
List 3 ways the APO would protest.
- Strikes
- Marches
- Demonstrations
What was the SDS?
- The Socialist Students’ Union- the student wing of the SPD
When and why did the SDS become important?
- In 1959, the SPD became more conservative, so the SDS broke away from them and became more radical
Give 3 examples of issues the SDS protested against.
- The Vietnam War
- Nuclear weapons on FRG soil
- ‘Year zero’
List 2 ways the SDS would protest.
- Sit-ins at universities
- Mass demonstrations
What 2 events caused huge, violent protests to take place?
- The shootings and killings of Benno Ohnesorg and Rudi Dutschke in 1967 and 1968 respectively
How had Benno Ohnesorg been killed? What made students even angrier about this?
- He had been shot and killed by a police officer while protesting against the visit of the Shah of Iran, who had a poor human rights record
- The police officer was acquitted 5 months later
How had Rudi Dutschke been killed?
- As he was the leader of the SDS, he was shot by a neo-Nazi gunman who had been influenced by Springer newspapers that criticised student protests
What happened as a result of the death of Rudi Dutschke?
- The ‘Easter Riots’; 5 days of violent protest and attacks on Springer buildings and personnel
When was the last major protest by the SDS, and what was it against?
- 1968
- The Emergency Law
What were 2 reasons why student protest abated after 1968?
- Students became older and took their places in mainstream society
- The Emergency Law gave the government powers of arrest and surveillance, which led to a change in student protest
How effective was student protest?
- Although it attracted authoritarian responses from the government, its impact was limited as it had not changed FRG society
Give a figure to show how popular student protest was in Berlin.
- In 1968:
- 92% of Berliners opposed student violence
What effect did the Emergency Law have?
- It made some groups feel more marginalised, and become more violent as a result
- Terrorism therefore became a big issue starting from the 1970s
Give an example of a terrorist group in the FRG in the 1970s.
- The RAF (Red Army Faction), informally known as the Baader-Meinhof gang
What were 4 political beliefs the RAF had, and what did they want to achieve?
- They were a radical left-wing group
- They were against issues such as consumerism and the Vietnam War
- They were disillusioned with the FRG’s political system, and wanted to overthrow it entirely
Describe, using examples, how the work of the RAF changed.
- At first it was sabotage and arson, as shown by the fire-bombing of a department store in Frankfurt in 1970
- After this, they started to direct their violence towards people through bombings and assassinations such as in the German Autumn
What was the German Autumn? Give 3 details.
- RAF activity in the 1970s was known as the German Autumn
- They killed more than 28 people
- They robbed more than 30 banks to finance their activities
- They kidnapped and assassinated key figures
What were attitudes like towards the RAF? Give 2 details and figures.
- They had originally had some public support (in 1970, 20% of the public had sympathy for them)
- However, when they shifted their tactics and became more violent, they lost this support, and people supported the government’s attempts to defeat the group
In what 2 ways did the government deal with terrorists like the RAF?
- Hard-line policies, such as wanted posters and encouraging the public to turn them in
- Counter-terrorism forces such as GSG9
How successful was the GSG9?
- They were very effective
- In 1977 they successfully rescued hostages from a plane that had been hijacked on its way to Frankfurt
When, in particular, did Nazi ideas become popular again? What was the proof of this?
- The mid-1960s
- The neo-Nazi party, the NPD, won 4.3% of the federal vote in 1969
What were 3 reasons why Nazi ideas become popular again?
- There was an economic recession at this time
- There was growing dislike of guest workers
- Some reflected on the successes of the Nazi period, such as full employment in the mid to late 1930s
