Summary Notes on the political and governmental change in FRG 1945-89
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Course
Unit 1G - Germany and West Germany, 1918-89
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
A* student notes on the political and governmental change in FRG 1945-89, Has all the key facts and figures you need to remember, condensed into a visual note format.
How far did the leaders of the FRG create a stable political state in the years 1945-89?
Date? Who was in power? Actions? How did this make it a stable/unstable
political state?
1945-49 Creation of the Federal Republic Western zones: free political system where Germans are allowed to form parties; Basic law took away the power of the
of Germany SPD,KPD,CDU,FDP. president to appoint chancellor, allowed
Soviet zone: KPD and SPD merge to create a single party = SED, no free elections chancellor to be forced out of office by vote of
- May 1947, Britain + USA merge zones = Bizonia no confidence and didn’t let parties that were
- March 1948; bank of German States is created to administer the Marshall Plan under 5% exist in parliament to stop the
- 20th March 1948; USSR leaves Allied Control Council growth of extremist parties.
- 20th June 1948; Bizonia announces Deutschemark
- 23rd June 1948 (3 days later); soviet currency created
- 24th June 1948; Berlin Blockade begins
- 1948-49: Berlin airlift
- May 1949: 3 western zones become FRG
- October 1949: soviet zone becomes GDR
Basic law created 1949; allowed chancellor to be forced out of office by vote of no
confidence, head of state is ceremonial, 5% rule, Article 21 any parties not in line with
the constitution could be banned
1949-63 (14 Adenauer (CDU) Authoritarian style and forceful management od Bundestag, ‘chancellor democracy’ Forceful personality = FRG coalitions working
years) Until 1955 he controlled foreign and domestic policy as chancellor and foreign minister together until 1957 when CDU won majority.
1953 changes to vote allocations and seats in the Bundestag made it harder for small
parties to gain a seat.
1952 Socialist Reich Party was banned
SPD not effective opposition, main policy was
Smears reputation of SPD by portraying them as semi-communist
reunification which looked unrealistic + viewed
1956 KPD was declared unconstitutional, party was banned.
as working class.
Bundestag turned into a three-party house with shifting coalitions that all supported the
same status quo. E.g., 1949 KPD had 15 seats, CDU had 193 – 1957 KPD had 0 seats,
CDU had 270.
1949 collective bargaining law – participation of workers in factories in decision making
1957 pension act Supportive of the people and their needs
Idea of ‘year zero’
Ex nazis – May 1951 Article 131 reinstatement act, allowing ex nazis to work in civil
service,
Early 1950s 40-80% of officials were former Nazi party.
Entrepreneurs were allowed to keep their Nazi gold, gold stolen from Jewish people + No avengeance for Jewish people
making concentration camps
1956 – set up Bundeswher armed security police to maintain control Parallels of nazi state SA
1959- ran for presidency + withdrew last min because he couldn’t think of someone
suitable to replace him
Jan 1961 Adenauer tried to set up a government-controlled tv station realising that tv
was going to play a major part in the next elections ruled as unconstitutional
1962- Der Spiegel affair – Adenauer supported the arrest of journalists involved in
publishing an article criticising the performance of West German troops in recent NATO
exercises. Orders of Franz Strauss, Minister of Defence.
Apathetic attitude of Germans, reaction to the forced politicisation of the Nazi years.
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