Consolidation of the FRG (1949-65)

Question 1

How long was Adenauer chancellor for? How many terms was this? How long did his final term last for?

Answer 1

• From 1949 to 1963
• 4
• 1961 - 1963

Question 2

What were 3 successful aspects of Adenauer’s leadership?

Answer 2

• His forceful personality kept coalitions working until the CDU/CSU won a majority
• He controlled both domestic and foreign policy until 1955 as foreign minister as well as chancellor
• The CDU had a strong position in the Bundestag throughout his time as chancellor

Question 3

How successful was the CDU in the early years of the FRG? Give 2 examples.

Answer 3

• They won a majority in 1957, and were the first and only party to do so
• The chancellor always came from their party until 1969

Question 4

What was Adenauer generally criticised for?

Answer 4

• His leadership was forceful and authoritarian, and was even described as a ‘Chancellor democracy’

Question 5

Give an example of Adenauer being somewhat undemocratic.

Answer 5

• He excluded political opposition and made it harder for small parties to gain seats, which made the Bundestag a three-party house that all supported the status quo
• Some saw this stability as running against the spirit of the Basic Law

Question 6

Give 2 examples of parties being banned, and when they were banned.

Answer 6

• The right-wing Socialist Reich Party was banned in 1952
• The KPD was banned in 1956

Question 7

Which 2 areas did Adenauer’s policies focus on?

Answer 7

• Domestic and foreign policy

Question 8

Give 4 examples of Adenauer’s domestic policies.

Answer 8

• Rebuilding infrastructure
• Compensation for victims of war-bombing and those expelled from the East
• Supporting welfare reform
• He supported the policy of ‘co-determination’; workers were encouraged to take part in decisions in the workplace

Question 9

How successful were Adenauer’s domestic policies? Give 4 examples.

Answer 9

• By 1957 4 million new homes had been built
• By 1983 DM126 billion had been raised to be redistributed to victims of bombing and displacement
• There was a 60-75% rise in pensions
• Tensions between employers and workers were reduced, so there were fewer strikes, which aided political stability

Question 10

What were Adenauer’s 2 aims in terms of foreign policy?

Answer 10

• To improve relations with the West
• To unite Germany

Question 11

Why did Adenauer want to improve relationships with the West? What was the problem with him wanting to do this?

Answer 11

• It was the quickest way for the FRG to become self-governing, and to rebuild the economy
• It made it harder to reunite Germany

Question 12

How successful were Adenauer’s attempts to bring the FRG closer to the West?

Answer 12

• In 1955 the FRG joined NATO, which allowed them to rearm

Question 13

What was Adenauer’s approach to the GDR known as? Starting from when?

Answer 13

• The Hallstein Doctrine
• 1955

Question 14

What was the Hallstein Doctorine?

Answer 14

• The FRG refused to recognise the legality of the GDR (which included considering it as the ‘Soviet zone’), and claimed that they spoke for the whole of Germany
• They would also cut off diplomatic relations with any country that had diplomatic relations with the GDR

Question 15

What issue did the civil service have after the war?

Answer 15

• In 1939 they all had to join the Nazi Party

Question 16

Which other institutions had the same problem as the civil service?

Answer 16

• The army
• The judiciary

Question 17

How did Adenauer deal with the problem concerning the civil service and these other institutions?

Answer 17

• He added Article 131 to the Basic Law, which allowed ex-Nazis to work for the government

Question 18

What 2 factors led Adenauer to ending his time as chancellor? How did it come to an end?

Answer 18

• Political mistakes
• The growing popularity of the SPD
• He resigned in 1963

Question 19

Give 2 examples of political mistakes Adenauer made in his final term in office.

Answer 19

• In 1961 he tried to set up a government-controlled television station, which the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional
• In 1962 the magazine Der Spiegel published an article criticising West German troops, and Adenauer supported their arrest, which caused the FDP to withdraw from his coalition

Question 20

How did the SPD become popular?

Answer 20

• At the Bad Godesberg Party Congress in 1959, the SPD revised its policies to support the idea of a free market economy, rather than the extensive centralisation they had been planning before

Question 21

What proof is there that Adenauer had built the FRG into a stable and prosperous country that was important in Europe? Give 2 examples.

Answer 21

• In 1963 living standards in the FRG were among the highest in the West
• The FRG was one of the key members in the European Economic Community (EEC), which Adenauer joined to prevent the FRG from becoming too dependent on the USA

Question 22

Who replaced Adenauer, how long were they chancellor for, and why?

Answer 22

• Ludwig Erhard
• 1963 to 1966
• He resigned

Question 23

What role had Erhard had in the government previously?

Answer 23

• He had been minister of economic affairs from 1949 to 1963

Question 24

What forced Erhard to resign?

Answer 24

• There was an economic recession in 1965
• The FDP wanted to respond to this by cutting government spending, but he wanted to increase taxes instead
• The FDP therefore resigned from the government, and he later had to as well