Booklet 4: FRG Flashcards
(118 cards)
1
Q
What was the role of the President under the Basic Law?
A
- largely ceremonial
- head of state
- represents the republic inside/outside the country
2
Q
What was the role of the Chancellor under the Basic Law?
A
- head of government
- forms the cabinet
3
Q
How could a chancellor be removed under the Basic Law?
A
Only by a vote of no confidence
4
Q
What was the role of the Bundestag under the Basic Law?
A
- pass legislation
- control government
- approve chancellors
5
Q
What were the roles of the Bundesrat under the Basic Law?
A
- delegates of state governments
- participate in legislative process
6
Q
What was the Basic Law’s version of a Supreme Court?
A
- Federal Constitutional Court
7
Q
Features of the Federal Constitutional Court?
A
- only elected for one term
- 16 judges
- role in electing the president
8
Q
How often were elections under the Basic Law?
A
Every 4 years
9
Q
How many parties were in the Reichstag in 1949 and why was this an issue?
A
12 - made forming a government more difficult (no clear majority)
10
Q
What sort of representation did the FRG have?
A
Proportional
11
Q
What was the Reinstatement Act and when was it passed?
A
Many ex-Nazis were re-employed in the civil service
40-80% of officials were former Nazis
1951
12
Q
When were the KPD declared illegal?
A
1956
13
Q
When did the FRG join the European Defence Committee?
A
1957
14
Q
Konrad Adenauer
A
- First Chancellor of FRG (1949-63)
- CDU
15
Q
When did the FRG join NATO?
A
1955
16
Q
Ludwig Erhard
A
- Minister for Economic Affairs under Adenauer
- Vice Chancellor (1957-63)
- Chancellor (1963-66)
17
Q
Kurt Schumacher
A
- First leader of opposition in FRG Bundestag (1949-1952)
- Leader of SDP
18
Q
Theodor Heuss
A
- First President of FRG (1949-59)
- faced practically no opposition in re-election
19
Q
Willy Brandt
A
- Mayor of West Berlin (1957-66)
- SDP
- Chancellor (1969-74)
20
Q
Examples of ex-Nazis in positions of power?
A
- 90 leading lawyers and judges had been members of Nazi Party (1949-73)
- 40-80% officials were ex-Nazis
21
Q
What was the Eternity Clause?
A
4 principles of the new Basic Law Constitution (rule of law, democratic participation for all, federalism, social welfare)
Was upheld by the Federal Constitutional Court
22
Q
How was the Bundestag elected?
A
- every 4 years
- 50% members directly elected
- 50% members elected from party lists
- parties needed at least 5% of vote to gain a seat
23
Q
What was the purpose of the 5% rule?
A
Too prevent extremist parties winning seats in the Bundestag
24
Q
Why were Germans wary of democracy?
A
- associated it with economic struggle of Weimar democracy
- indoctrination from the Nazis
- fears of flaws being used to create another dictatorship
- benefits of the early Nazi rule (pre-war)
25
How did Adenauer dominate German politics?
- coalitions (mainly with FDP or CSU)
- the SDP were perceived as weak and too far left
- SDP included word ‘socialism’ and Nazis originally branded themselves as ‘national socialism’
26
What parties were banned by Adenauer’s government and when?
- KPD in 1956
- SRP in 1952
27
Controversial policies of Adenauer:
- Reinstatement Act 1951
- Compensation to Israel of 100bn Dm
- Slow reaction to building of Berlin Wall
28
‘Ohne Mich’
‘Without me’ - avoiding war and involvement in foreign conflicts
29
CDU/CSU
- moderate conservative
- founded by former members of Zentrum
- dominant from 1949-69
30
SPD
- German Socialist Party
- Godesberg Programme 1959 moved party away from Marxist ideas towards a middle-class reformist party
31
FDP
- Free Democratic Party
- socially and economically liberal party
- founded in 1948 by merging 9 liberal parties
- served in coalitions
32
KPD
- German Communist Party
- banned for being too extremist in 1956
- replaced by DKP in 1969
33
DP
- German Conservative Party
- upheld conservative and traditional values
- some ‘nationalist’ sentiment
- merged with smaller parties to become the ‘All-German-Party’ in 1960
34
SRP
- Socialist Reich Party
- small right-wing party
- banned in 1952 for being too extremist
35
How much compensation did Adenauer pay to Israel?
100bn Dm
36
What did the 1950 Construction Law do?
- generous grants to Lander and cities
- supported large-scale building projects
- provided over 4m new dwellings
37
What did the 1953 Equalisation of Burdens Act do?
Provided compensation to victims of wartime bombing and those who could prove they had been victims of Nazi crimes
38
What did the Bargaining Law 1949 do?
Provided for the participation of workers in decision-making within factories
39
What did the Pensions Act 1957 do?
Provided a substantial increase on former pensions
40
What was the Bundeswehr and when was it formed?
‘Armed security police’ - 1950
41
Why was the Bundeswehr created?
- to maintain control in the FRG
- aimed to resist communism in the East
- seen as defending the democratic values of the state
42
Why did Adenauer loose power?
- FDP broke away from coalition in 1956 as they disagreed with his attitude towards the GDR
- Reform of SPD after Bad Godesberg Programme and under Willy Brandt
- his party considered him as arrogant after he put himself forward for presidency in 1959
- slow reaction to the creation of the Berlin Wall in 1961
- Spiegel Affair 1962
43
What was the Spiegel Affair?
Adenauer’s Defence Minister ordered the arrest if editors of magazine ‘Der Spiegel’ after it published an article condemning the inefficiencies of the Bundeswehr.
Police took heavy action and it was seen as reminiscent of the Nazi era.
1962
44
What was the reaction to the Spiegel Affair?
- Provoked a press outcry
- Student demonstrations
- resignation of 5 FDP ministers
45
Kurt Kiesinger
- Chancellor (1966-69)
- founding member of CDU
- ex-Nazi member
46
Helmut Schmidt
- Chancellor (1974-82)
- SPD member
47
Helmut Kohl
- Chancellor (1982-89)
- CDU member
- last chancellor of FRG before reunification
48
NPD
- far right neo-Nazi party
- founded by former supporters of the Nazi party
- did not win in Bundestag due to 5% rule
- did well in local governments e.g. Bavaria and Saxony
49
How many seats did the NPD win in 1967 local elections in Bavaria?
15 seats
50
How did DKP do in local elections?
1970s won 3% vote in Bremen
51
DKP
- communist/marxist ideology
- links to former KPD
- founded in 1968
52
Why did Willy Brandt resign?
- Gunter Guillaume scandal 1973
- Domestic reform was lagging due to a focus on foreign affairs
- increased inflation due to public spending
- oil crisis of 1973
53
What was the 1973 oil crisis?
- triggered by Yom Kippur War
- oil embargo imposed by OPEC which cut oil production by 5%
- oil prices increased by 70%
- led to petrol shortages and economic recession
54
What was the Gunter Guillaume scandal?
Willy Brandt’s Secretary was discovered to be an East German spy in 1973
Had been spying on the FRG for 18 years
55
What was the Mogadishu incident?
In October 1977 a flight was hijacked by terrorists for 5 days, who demanded the release of 11 members of the Baader-Meinhof gang.
German authorities managed to storm the plane 90 mins before the threatened massacre was to occur - they killed all 4 terrorists and freed all hostages.
56
When did the Berlin Wall first start to be built?
August 1961
57
What triggered the building of the Berlin Wall?
US refusal to withdraw from Berlin after Khrushchev set an ultimatum in 1961 for them to pull out in 6 months.
Instead the US increased defence expenditures which angered Khrushchev further.
58
When was the Grand Coalition?
1966-69
59
Ostpolitik
The normalisation of relations between FRG and Eastern Europe, especially the GDR.
60
Willy Brandt’s educational reform:
- raised school leaving age to 16
- Educational Support Law 1971
61
What was the Educational Support Law?
Passed in 1971 - introduced a system of financial support for students to make higher education more accessible (grants and loans)
62
When did the first East German head of state visit the FRG?
1987
63
What was the ‘emergency powers’ amendment and why was it controversial?
In May 1968 there was an amendment to the constitution which allowed the government to take emergency measures in the event of civil unrest or war.
Reminiscent of Article 48
64
When did Brandt win the Nobel Peace Prize?
1971
65
When did the SPD win the largest victory in history?
1972
66
Who was Eichmann and why was his trial so significant?
- was a leading architect of the holocaust who escaped US custody at the end of the war
- was captured by Mosad agents in 1960 and transported to Israel to be tried
- he never admitted his guilt but was convicted and hanged
- his trial was held in Israel rather than Germany where the previous Nazi trials had been
67
What were the Frankfurt trials?
- second Auschwitz trials
- only 789 were put on trial out of 8200 SS officers
- only 750 received sentences
68
What was the APO?
- student led pressure group
- initially set up to protest the emergency laws
- opposed to any suggestion of government authoritarianism
69
What was the SDS?
- a part of the APO
- Socialists Student Union
- aimed to promote Democratic socialism, social justice and progressive change
- challenged the legacy of Nazi influence in post-war society
- offshoot of the SPD (youth group)
70
What was the German Autumn?
1977 - a time of significant action from the RAF including the kidnapping and murdering of Schleyer and the Lufthansa hijacking
71
When was the RAF formed?
1969
72
Why did student protests emerge in the 1960s?
- feared the SPD were not left enough
- Kiesinger was an ex-Nazi
- emergency laws
- global issues (Vietnam war, nuclear weapons, civil rights movement in the US)
73
Who was Benno Ohnesorg?
A German university student who was killed by a policeman during a demonstration in West Berlin in June 1967.
74
How many members did the SDS have in 1968?
2500
75
What was the RAF’s other name?
Baader-Meinhof Gang
76
How many members did the RAF have?
Never more than 60
77
Die Grunen
- concerned about environmental issues
- anti-nuclear weapons
- demanded for increased holocaust awareness
- 1983 won 27 seats in Bundestag
78
How many protested against the stationing of US missiles in West Germany?
1895 - 300,000 across 10 major cities
79
Economic Developments 1950s:
- unemployment fell (0.5%)
- by 1960s had 3rd largest economy
- over 1/2 of exports from mechanical engineering
- investment grew (24% by 1960)
80
Economic Developments 1960s:
- increased employment of foreign workers (10% of workforce by 1970s)
- economic slump in 1965 (GDP fell to 2.9%)
- Stabilisation Law 1967: increased taxation and cut public spending
- Industrial growth increased by 1968 (6%)
81
Economic Developments 1970s:
- recession in 1974
- rising inflation under Brandt (increased public spending)
- oil prices increased 70% after 1973 oil crisis
- balance of payments deficit of $692m by 1974
82
Economic Developments 1980s:
- Kohl abandoned high spending
- oil prices fell in 1985
- inflation fell in 1986 (0.6%)
- unemployment still high in 1987 (2.2m)
83
What were the main reasons for the German economic miracle?
- started from a low level (growth inevitable)
- founder of the EEC
- period of Allied occupation
- no colonies to sustain
- plenty of labour resources (refugees)
- inherited the Rhineland (industry)
84
Why was the inheritance of the Rhineland the most significant reason for the economic miracle?
Was a heavy industrial area and was therefore a good economic foundation to have.
Destruction of old factories meant they could rebuild better and higher tech ones.
85
Investment Aid Law
1951 - provided gov subsides of 3.2m to aid heavy manufacturing industry.
86
Co-Determination Law
1951 - permitted worker in iron and steel some say in management decisions.
87
What was the ‘social market economy’?
Compromise between a completely free market and a state-controlled economy.
88
Anti-Trust Law:
1957 - prevented the establishment of monopolies so as to increase competition
89
What was ‘operation paperclip’?
US operation from 1945-59 to take ex-Nazi workers who were experts in rocket science into the US to work and avoid persecution.
1,600 scientists taken in total.
90
What was operation osoaviakhim?
USSR relocation of 2,500 Nazi scientists and their families into USSR territory. Completed in one night (22nd October 1946)
91
Gastarbeiter
‘Guest worker’ - foreign workers who had moved to FRG.
92
Examples of countries were guest workers came from?
Italy from 1955
Turkey from 1963
Greece from 1961
93
What were the 2 justifications for the Guest Worker programme?
- to aid the successful recovery of FRG economy
- a form of developmental aid to the countries involved - could learn skills to build up their own country
94
Why was the Volkswagen Beetle significant?
- was a sign of German economic recovery
- was successful in US
- ‘cute shape’ conveyed a move away from aggressiveness of Nazis (as it was originally designed by Nazis)
95
Examples of ‘New Way’ laws by Erhard?
- Investment Aid Law 1951
- Co-determination Law 1951
- Anti-Trust Law 1957
- BDA
- German Confederation of Trade Unions
96
BDA
Confederation of German Employer’s Association - represents interest groups in the areas of industry, banking, commerce, trade etc
97
German Confederation of Trade Unions
Umbrella organisation for 8 trade unions - founded in 1949
Represents the member unions in contract with the government.
Led to better relationship between unions and gov.
98
How many guest workers were there by 1966?
2m
99
Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes:
- created in 1958
- search for ex-Nazis
- have prosecuted almost 7,000
100
Improvements for women:
- 50% in paid employment by 1970
- could become soldiers/officers in army from 1975
- 9.8% Bundestag candidates were women by 1983
- divorce became easier form 1977 (rates increased 32% after)
101
Frankfurt Trial
1963 - 22 Nazi personnel tried who served in Auschwitz
Only 18 received sentences
102
What was the Equal Marriage Rights for Women 1977?
Women were granted the right to work without requiring their husband’s permission.
Shifted divorce regulations from a fault-based system to a breakdown principle.
103
What was the reaction to Willy Brandt kneeling at the Warsaw Ghetto memorial in 1970?
48% Germans believed it was excessive
104
Living conditions immediately post-war:
- bitter years of poverty
- tens of millions without food or clothes
- money had little effective value
- pens, stockings and cigarettes became legal tenders
105
When was the Free University established?
1948
106
What was the new education system?
Split into 3 types of school:
- Gymnasium: selective grammar school
- Realschulen: vocational training or apprenticeships
- Hauptschulen: less academic
107
The Decree on Radicals
A resolution issues that barred individuals considered to be members of an extremist organisation from holding public sector jobs
108
When did the Berlin Wall fall?
November 9th 1989
109
What was Gorbachev’s role in reunification?
- leader of USSR
- policies of Glasnot (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring)
- renouncement of Brezhnev Doctrine (removed claim that USSR could intervene in affairs of satellite states)
110
What was Erich Honecker’s role in reunification?
- leader of GDR until 1989
- obstructive role
- resisted wave of reforms in 1980s and instead maintained a hardline communist stance
- suppressed any protests or opposition to gov in GDR
111
What was Willy Brandt’s role in reunification?
- crucial role in the early stages
- pursuit of Ostpolitik
- eased tensions between east and west through treaties (Basic Treaty 1972)
- however called reunification a ‘delusion’ in 1988
112
What was Helmut Kohl’s role in reunification?
- announced a 10-point-plan for gradual reunification after the fall of the Berlin Wall
- pushed for monetary union
- played a leading role in the ‘two plus four’ negotiations (secured international support for reunification)
- signed reunification treaty on 31st August 1990
113
What was Hans Modrow’s role in reunification?
- last leader of GDR
- attempted to reform the collapsing GDR by introducing free elections (1990) and open dialogue with opposition
- his reform attempts failed and reunification was inevitable
114
When was the reunification treaty signed?
31st August 1990
115
What were the causes of East German collapse?
- Berlin Wall demonstrated that the GDR could only keep its citizens in by a wall
- collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and reforms of Gorbachev
- Nationwide protest gathered pace in 80s
- Opening of Hungarian border with Austria in May 1989 meant East Germans could travel west
116
Political impacts of reunification:
- GDR ceased to exist
- GDR politicians lost influence
- reinforced commitment to NATO and EU
- capital city moved back to Berlin
117
Social Impacts of reunification:
- cultural tensions between the East and West
- east felt like second class citizens
- was not a large amount of skilled work left for East Germans due to previous ‘braindrain’
- East Germans had lower wages, poorer houses, less access to support
118
Ostalgie
Nostalgia for the east due to social security system
