Booklet 4, Establishing and ruling the new Federal Republic Flashcards

Question

(Hallstein Doctrine, 1955) - The Doctrine referred to the GDR as a '_________' rather than a ________, an illustration of how the... - This placed the FRG & GDR as... - In practice, HD meant the offers of _______________ assistance, technical or military expertise by the _______ to developing countries frequently produced... - This often involved FRG diplomats travelling to remote areas of the world in order to...

Answer 1

- The Doctrine referred to the GDR as a 'zone' rather than a state, an illustration of how the FRG wanted to challenge the legitimacy of the east. - This placed the FRG & GDR as firm enemies, meant that reunification of Germany wouldn't take place for a long time. - In practice, HD meant the offers of financial assistance, technical or military expertise by the GDR to developing countries frequently produced more generous counter offers by the FRG. - This often involved FRG diplomats travelling to remote areas of the world in order to undermine the GDR's attempts to develop relationship with countries in Africa, Asia and central and South America. Some countries used the tension between these two states to benefit them.

Answer 2

- In 1957, Germany had another election and the CDU became the first political party in German history to win an overall majority with 50.2%. - CDU campaigned with the slogan 'No Experiments'; calling for the people of WG to stick with the party that had led the country successfully since the end of the war and not to risk the unknown by supporting the SPD. - Adenauer had gained support from West Germany's 'economic miracle' and also because he had successfully negotiated the release of 10,000 German prisoners of war from the USSR in 1955, in return for the FRG's recognition of the USSR.

Answer 3

- Moreover, the Hungarian Uprising in 1956 (a protest against communist rule there) also increased support for Adenauer who was seen to have the support of USA and their military might. - It's fair to say the SPD were rather weak in opposition and the SPD's left-wing policies made it easy for Adenauer to link them unfavourably with the GDR.

Answer 4

- Adenauer was successful because he seemed to be in the right place at the right time for post-war Germany: he was 'father-like' in addition to being hierarchical and authoritative as a leader, which is what many Germans felt the country needed in a period of turmoil across Europe. - SPD's posters had aspects that people may associate with communism, e.g. red, where as CDU's had A's face, wrinkles showing he's wise and experienced.

Answer 5

- Schumacher had spent 10 years in the Nazi concentration camp at Dachau due to his activities with the SPD (shows he's a survivor, but might be too much of a reminder). - At the end of the war, he was the only SPD politician alive who had neither fled nor Germany nor collaborated with the Nazis. - He refused to collaborate with the KPD (communists), (who had merged with SPD in east Germany to form the SED) and wanted to push the SPD in a socialist but anti-communist direction. - Schumacher was a nationalist who wanted German reunification and believed that the only way the SPD could win was to appeal to middle & working class, with a particular focus on economy (s usually focus on working class, so unusual).

Answer 6

- Schumacher argued that Adenauer was a puppet of the Catholic Church who wanted to exploit the working class for economic profit (may have bad outcome for S as 45% of population Catholic). - He was a Protestant from Prussia in contrast to A who was a Catholic from the Rhineland. - SPD proposed a 'planned economy' in 1949 which would be controlled by central government, (bad for votes as it's like Stalin's 'command economy', this combined with poster evoke fear of SPD being communists). - This contrasted CDU's free market economy which had been in place since in 1945. - CDU was backed by USA where as the SPD wasn't. - Schumacher suffered from ill-health due to his time spent in Daachau. He had his leg and arm amputated.

Answer 7

- In the 3 years following 1949, Schumacher and SPD opposed CDU's key policies and FRG;s integration with Western Europe and NATO as it meant unification was more unlikely. - Schumacher rejected the idea of a Western European Economic integration, arguing that it would enforce a free market capitalist economy across its member states. - He argued instead that G could only integrate once it was fully unified, and even then, only if Western Europe was based on socialist values. - For Schumacher, co-operation with France, Western Europe & USA should be second to working towards German reunification, (he therefore fought against A's plans to create a FRG military).

Answer 8

- Schumacher died in 1952 before a new election, by this time it was evident his policies were out of touch with German public. - The successes of CDU's economic model combined with the fear of Eastern Germany and backing for Adenauer's foreign policy had reduced the SPD's support in the FRG. - His replacement, Ollenhauer, wasn't as strong a political opponent to A as S had been, consequently in the 1953 election, CDU's vote increased whilst SPD's remained the same as 1949 election.

Answer 9

- Ollenhauer's defeat in 1952 led to a revitalisation of the SPD, primarily led by the young Mayor of West Berlin, Willy Brandt. - He pushed the SPD in a more modern direction and accepted the realities of the FRG. - In 1959, the party adopted the Godesberg Programme which took the SPD away from its Marxists roots and fully endorsed the capitalist market economy. - The party now supported the FRG's integration with Western Europe and membership of NATO, and moved away from it's anti-Catholic rhetoric. - SPD also asserted that it would be willing to work with the CDU in a coalition if requested.

Answer 10

- Under Brandt's leadership, SPD now gained backing of the US President, Kennedy. - In 1966, SPD and CDU entered into a coalition government, and in 1969, for the first time since the foundation of the FRG, Brandt became the first SPD chancellor of FRG (and 1st SPD Chancellor since 1928). - It could be argued that the SPD under Schumacher failed to influence the FRG and only really came to prominence once it accepted a new political direction in the 1960s. SPD also lacked direction in the 1950s. - However, S & A's political rivalry helped to confirm that Germany could enjoy a constructive political debate without resorting to the destabilising politics of the Weimar period. - Together, SPD & CDU forged a democratic & stable Western Germany that moved the country away from its authoritarian past.

Answer 11

- A major problem the FRG faced was coming to terms with the events of the events of the Nazi regime. - Many Germans had voted for the Nazis and cheered when Hitler became Chancellor. - Even more had benefitted under the regime and joined the party, Hitler Youth or taken part in KdF holidays. - Politicians like Schumacher (leader of SPD) used this bitterness to shape their political outlook which divided the country to an extent. - Moreover, members of the SPD were hoping to represent people who had supported the persecution of political opponents under the Nazis.

Answer 12

- In the US area of West Germany, German citizens were judged through a Fragebogen (questionnaire) to decide who could be classed as a Nazi. - There were 133 questions concerning issues such as involvement in the German army, whether they had relatives in the Nazi party, who they voted for in 1933 and whether they were a Junker. - Anyone wanting to work in the US zone had to complete the Fragebogen; without this they couldn't qualify for state relief (i.e. rations) and apply for jobs.

Answer 13

- The fact that the Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1939 and that membership of the Nazi party was a pre-requisite for career advancement in the Nazi state was ignored by the USA. - Clearly, membership didn't necessarily mean a belief in the ideology given that self-preservation was important during these years.

Answer 14

- One issue with the Fragebogen was that it depleted the number of key workers in the US zone who were needed to rebuilt following the war. - As a result of this, and because of a lack of experienced managers in various industries, the allies began to relax their strict de-Nazification by the end of 1946. - Furthermore, there were too many people to be vetted, in one Länder, 2.5 million Germans were being investigated for possible Nazi sympathies.

Answer 15

- To deal with the amount of people who were being investigated for Nazi sympathies, the allies introduced a new method : - In October 1946, 5 categories were decided upon with lesser offenders, who may have been members of the Nazi party but with little evidence they supported the regime, being placed on probation for 2-3 years whilst they worked to rebuild Germany. - Special tribunals were introduced to deal with questionable cases. - Whilst this was more efficient tham the Fragebogen, by 1947, 90,000 Germans found to be in the more serious Nazi category were being kept in prison camps. - A black market developed where certificates of de-Nazification were available. - As tensions increased between the US and USSR, de-Nazification became less of a priority and in 1951 the policy was officially ended.

Answer 16

- Leading members of the Nazi party were tried by an allied tribunal at Nuremberg in October 1946 (Adenauer had almost no involvement in this, but he uses it to further his position), sentences ranged from acquitted to death. - In all allied zones, key individuals such as doctors and teachers were needed to help the German recovery (and therefore avoid the spread of communism, as was the allies' fear). - The allies maintained a particular focus on soldiers in the Wehrmacht (armed forces). - Some felt, however, that soldiers were simply following orders and that the allies didn't have a proper understanding of the Nazi state.

Answer 17

- In all zones there were many examples of former soldiers being arrested, held in a prison camp, and then being released without any explanation. - Some important Nazis began to escape, such as the Nazi Doctor Josef Mengele (who carried out experiments on people at Auschwitz) who fled to South America. - Other Germans were wrongly accused and some reasonably important Nazis even managed to secure influential jobs in both the FRG and the GDR. - There were some successes though : the first 'Auschwitz Trials' were held in Poland in 1947 when Höss, the longest serving commander of the camp, and 5 other camp officials were also tried and executed.

Answer 18

- Adenauer believed that the allies' approach to de-Nazification had been too harsh and so pursued a policy of 'politics for the past', (Vergangenheitspolitik) which aimed at annulling many of the allied punishments for millions of Germans who had been deemed to be Nazi sympathisers. - For Adenauer, the FRG needed to be a stable society and this included recruiting experienced people for important government decisions, even if they had been members of the Nazi party. - In 1951, amnesty legislation was passed which benefitted 800,000 Germans who had previously been classed as Nazi criminals (allows them to work, improves economy).

Answer 19

- He suggested that the collective guilt of the Nazi regime "should be ended". - There were concerns amongst some in West Germany that guest workers from Southern Europe were (still) treated as a social underclass and this challenged the FRG's bold claims about being a healthy democracy. - 8 million migrant workers from Italy, Yugoslavia and Turkey took up much of the low paid and unskilled employment in Germany following the war (not a good look morally, considering Nazi past of Germany).

Answer 20

- The West Germany KPD was banned in 1856 for supporting the USSR's actions in East Germany during the 1953 uprising there. - Adenauer was accused of being overly authoritarian during the 1962 Spiegel affair when it was discovered that journalists writing for Spiegel Magazine had been arrested after criticising the FRG's armed forces.

Answer 21

- By 1951, Adenauer had introduced an amnesty which benefitted 800,000 Germans who had previously been classed as Nazi criminals. - By 1954, the second amnesty law was passed which annulled the British process of de-Nazification. This led to 400,000 being exonerated after being declared Nazi criminals by the British. - The second amnesty law had the effect of weakening the legal focus and depth of investigations into the prosecution of Nazi criminals. - In August 1952, the neo-Nazi Socialist Reich Party was banned (A maybe just trying to make himself look good). - 10th September 1952, Adenauer agreed to pay Israel DM3 billion in compensation for the treatment of Jews during the Holocaust.

Answer 22

- May 1951, Adenauer passed the first amnesty law (the 131 law), it allowed 150,000 German officials who had been removed from positions to return to government administration. - One infamous person affected was Hans Globe who ended up working in Adenauer's cabinet from 1953-63, he had been key in writing the Nuremberg Laws (1935). - Also, Adenauer's minister for refugees, Hans Krüger, had participated in Hitler's Munich Putsch of 1923. - Adenauer also had important members of the Nazi Main Security Office (an SS department) in the police and security services which actually gained the CDU support from right wing voters, and proved that he was determined to prevent communism spreading.

Answer 23

- A British High Commissioner claimed that whenever he travelled in Germany he "ran into ghosts of Hitler's Reich", highlighting that former-Nazis were still in places of power. - Adenauer maybe did this so he can keep an on them. - Adenauer believed in rehabilitation and the fact that many of these men were willing to work for German democracy due to a shared foundation of anti-Communist ideology. - This improved on the situation under Weimar where civil servants, government officials and the judiciary had remained loyal to the Kaiserreich. - In 1952, Adenauer admitted that 66% of foreign office diplomats were former Nazis but that this was necessary for the successful functioning because they were the most experienced.

Answer 24

- Adenauer believed that it was counterproductive to bar thousands of experienced people when they could make a positive contribution to West German democracy (forcing them to improver the FRG). - Moreover, since Nazism had been all-encompassing, it would take time for pro-Nazi ideals to disappear and A wanted to avoid attacking all aspects of the Nazi regime which, he thought, could lead to mass societal divisions if pursued. - Adenauer also considered public support important in order to remain chancellor.

Answer 25

- Protests at Göttingen University in 1955 in Lower Saxony by professors and students because a Nazi-sympathiser, Leonard Schulter was appointed Minister of Education, this appointment of him was withdrawn after. - Also in 1955, the SPD parliamentarian, Walter Menzel, spoke out against the numerous amnesties passed by the government, "wounds our sense of justice". - The older generations tended to simply move on with their lives; the economic boom of the FRG in the 1950s and the resurgence of living standards following the destruction of war were much more important than the pursuit of Nazi criminals and shining a spotlight on the past. - By mid-1950s, the focus on de-Nazification had effectively come to an end.

Answer 26

+ Adenauer's policies ensured a stable government ruled over West Germany and enabled democracy in the FRG to grow. + Adenauer avoided opening up a rift between the left and right wing in the country, which had badly weakened the Weimar Republic. + Former-Nazis in his government were no longer Nazi sympathisers and 1000s of Nazi criminals were arrested and sentenced. + His policies enabled WG to develop and enjoy the 'economic miracle' soon after the most destructive war in European history.

Answer 27

- Some believe that the FRG could have functioned more successfully if it had confronted Germany's past and pursued Nazi criminals more strongly. - Given that there were a large number of witnesses to the actions of Nazi party officials, this could have been successful. - Adenauer's approach meant the FRG was built on morally dubious grounds which undermined the drive for democracy. - Some also challenged Al's belief that de-Nazification was not compatible with the maintenance of peace and building of democracy.

Answer 28

18/03/25 11:41

Answer 29

- Leadership of Kurt Schumacher. - Leadership of Konrad Adenauer. - Legacy of WW2.

Booklet 4, Establishing and ruling the new Federal Republic Flashcards

(53 cards)