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Adenauer’s Chancellorship of the Federal Republic of Germany 1949 63
1. ADENAUER’S CHANCELLORSHIP 1949-63
How far did Western democratic structures (political, democratic,
social) succeed in the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)?
Unity and Justice and Freedom
2. A SOCIAL DEMOCRAT: ALFRED DÖBLIN
“I have the impression... that I had just entered a
house full of smoke- but the inhabitants simply
didn’t notice it... Leaflets intended to re-educate
them have hardly any impact and are read with a
degree of rejection and outrage as though there
was still a dictatorship. This is also why the close
themselves off against political discussions with
people of different views from theirs... The reports
and facts about the concentration camps and
other atrocities that are now coming out should in
principle help to re-educate. But people are simply
not inclined to believe them, since it is generally
foreigners reporting”.
3. A SOCIAL DEMOCRAT: ALFRED DÖBLIN CONTINUED...
“Similarly, the sight of ruined cities and towns should be having
an impact but then there is the fact of occupation. The
occupation has fallen like a gift into the hands of the old
regime, of whom there are of course masses. The fact of
occupation can be used to hinder any kind of re-education and
to develop a new ‘stab in the back’ legend, just like the way
people used the revolutionary events in 1918... If one thinks of
the situation after the First World War, then those troubled
times seem of almost fresco-like clarity compared to the
picture today”.
What are the main problems for setting up a successful
democratic political system in post-war West Germany?
4. WEST GERMANY IN 1949
Cold War was becoming more important than dealing with
defeated Germany.
Economy was picking up (Marshall aid and currency reform).
Trizonia made and it seemed unlikely they could bridge the gap
with the Soviet zones.
People were still unhappy with democracy as it had happened in
Weimar, especially with those post-war conditions of the First
World War- was the new democracy going to be any different?
Especially as conditions were worse and defeat was harsher
than it had been in 1918!
Nazism had fallen out of favour as had Hitler himself- but the
after effects of the regime were difficult to let go of.
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer took power in the first free
elections for seventeen years.
6. THE CONSTITUTION (BASIC LAW)
President : elected by a representative convention.
Chancellor : appointed by President, with support and approval of parliament. Could
only be dismissed with a new Chancellor voted in- “constructive vote of no confidence”.
Bundesrat : represented the Länder
at national level. Upper chamber.
Bundestag : lower chamber of parliament. Complex voting system. Proportional
representation for parties according to percentage of votes cast with a first past the
post constituency representative element. 5% hurdle.
Constitution (Basic Law) : Temporary or ‘provisional constitution pending peace treaty
and reunification. Working towards reunification, recognising all of German descent
living in former German territories (including the East). No party allowed that was not
committed to democracy. Political parties of far Right or far Left banned. FRG was a
federal state with the Länder having considerable regional power. Usual freedoms
(assembly, speech, movement etc).
Why do you think
these terms have
been made?
Overseen by the Allies...
7. KEY POINTS- NOT MAKING WEIMAR’S MISTAKES
Political system was ‘representative’ rather than
‘participatory’- ensuring democratically elected political
elites would retain control and demagogues could not
win popular support and come to power.
5% hurdle- ensures small parties cannot gain
representation and build strength without a significant
share of the vote.
This was temporary, pending reunification.
No non democratic parties allowed.
President could not be popularly elected, and the
powers were limited. No possibility of rule by decree.
Worked hard on making sure the Chancellor’s position
was stable!
8. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PARTY SYSTEM
Dominant, conservative party. Mostly ex Centre or conservative nationalist, some
who had joined the Nazis. Tried to support capitalism with a human face.
Competition good- but help the weak with safeguards.
Left wing. Still a bit
Marxist, but in the
1950s developed a
view that was more in
keeping with a
democratic Socialism.
Small but important. Made up of small
liberal parties- championed big business
and liberal freedoms and held the balance
of power.
Some special interest parties
and some smaller parties,
but they either got banned or
weren’t that exciting.
9. ‘VANISHING OPPOSITION’?
Constitutional emphasis on commitment to the ‘free
democratic basic order’- led to banning of anti-democracy
parties SRP and KPD.
Two votes- first past the post and proportional
representation. Small extremist parties could not gain a
foothold.
5% hurdle- a party need 5 % of the national vote or a
direct mandate through a constituency election (raised
from one to three in 1957) or no representation in the
Bundestag. This particularly disadvantaged the Bavarian
party but not the CSU (which was deemed to be the CSU).
Smaller right wing parties were brought into the CDU.
Also economy, international politics had their part to play
too!
How did West German politics develop from a multi-party system to one of a...
10. ELECTIONS: 1949, 1953
CDU get less than a third of the overall vote.
Adenauer is able to be chancellor after everyone has
discussed coalition.
Government thus is a coalition- including FDP and DP
members in leading ministerial positions.
Foreign policy successes lead to an increased vote in
1953 elections (Adenauer becomes Minister for Foreign
Affairs, once the Allies allow him to do so). Adenauer
keeps a coalition.
He also includes Theodor Oberländer as Minister for
Refugees and Expellees (controversial as he had been
involved in Hitler’s racist policies in eastern Europe)
although he had to resign in 1960 when East Germany
started calling him a war criminal...
11. 1957 AND 1961 ELECTIONS
CDU/CSU got over 50% of the vote
(economic miracle and foreign policy successes).
Adenauer was popular- seen as wily.
Slogan; “No experiments!”.
1961: Adenauer getting on a bit (85).
Only the CDU/ CSU and SDP were left as
significant parties. The FDP were still important in
forming coalitions with one or the other- this was
called “Vanishing Opposition”. There became little
between the two parties really. 1966 both entered
into a Grand Coalition with each other.
1969 showed separation between the two. Until
then, ‘Extra Parliamentary Opposition”.
13. ABANDONING THE EAST?
The Allies plan was to prevent West Germany being in an
independent position to wage war (as well as tying in the
potentially powerful West German economy).
However, Adenauer tried to make West Germany
indispensible to the West- leading to movements for
western European economic integration.
October 1949: Member of OEEC (Organisation for
European Economic Cooperation.
April 1951: European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC).
These became (Treaty of Rome, 1957) the EEC or
European Economic Community which became the EU!
Would have been a member of European Defence Force
which never happened, but did join NATO in 1955.
Was stabilisation of the West brought at the expense of...
A success of Adenauer’s- and a
major criticism.
14. STALIN SENT NOTES...
Stalin unhappy with this turn of events. Sent
notes asking for a neutral unified Germany (that
then could not turn around and join the West).
Some historians believe the sincerity of these- others don’t
(particularly when Stalin asks for neutrality as a pre-
condition).
Adenauer rejected them without trying to negotiate
alternatives. He also ignored the 1953 GDR uprising.
‘Hallstein doctrine’: Refused to recognise the GDR as a
separate state or to have diplomatic relations with any
powers that did recognise it. Although Adenauer ignored that
in 1955 when he went to Moscow to negotiate the return of
the remaining tens of thousands of German prisoners of war
who were still held by the Soviets.
Oversaw the plebiscite which returned the Saar to the FRG in
1957.
15. ADENAUER’S ACHIEVEMENTS IN FOREIGN POLICY
FRG recognised as equal partner among the western
powers, and a member of the community of nations.
Return of POWs from Soviet captivity- big thumbs up
from the people.
HOWEVER
Recreation of German army (1955) Bundeswehr
‘Citizens in uniform’ under parliamentary control. Upset
people who were terrified of the possibility of another
war.
Adenauer benefited from weak political opposition on
the part of the SPD.
Reactions to crises in Berlin were not good.
17. ‘COMING TO TERMS WITH THE PAST’?
Adenauer had to juggle the impact of the Nazi past on how
the international community viewed Germany but also the
financial and practical needs of the West.
Adenauer creates Wiedergutmachung (‘making good again’
towards survivors of Nazi brutality). This meant restitution
and ‘reparations’. This was closely linked to the reputation of
Germany in the eyes of the international community.
Adenauer delivered rhetorical fireworks with his speech
(source on p.174). He took responsibility for compensation
but did not yield on the question of real guilt. So, he
admitted the crimes were committed, but apparently not by
anybody.
In 1953: It was announced that ‘generous’ compensation
was to be paid by the Germans to the state of Israel.
Was the success of West German democracy due to the reintegration of former Nazis
and an inadequate...
18. WHAT HAPPENED TO FORMER NAZIS?
Active efforts were made to reintegrate former
Nazis into the new West German state. By the late
1940s there was little denazification still going on.
1951: Law 131 brought into the constitution. Gave
former Nazi civil servants the right to
reinstatement in their former jobs or equivalent
jobs, if they had lost their positions through
denazification, and also gave them full pension
entitlement for the period of service to the Nazi
state.
Former Nazis were integrated at high levels (e.g.
Hans Globke, who drafted the official commentary
for Hitler on the Nuremberg race laws of 1935).
19. HOW DID THIS MAKE THE WEST STABLE?
Norbert Frei “the Nazi past was not forgotten about in
some form of collective amnesia, rather it was actively
addressed in the sense of ensuring that few former
Nazis would need to feel any shame or fear of
retribution in relation to their misdeeds in the recent
past”.
Continuity in personnel between the judiciary, the
university elites, and the civil service who had served
Hitler and those who served Adenauer. An office was
made in Ludwigsburg to investigate possible war crimes
in 1958, and in the 1960s, punishment of Nazis hit the
spotlight again with Eichmann’s trial.
However, the integration of former Nazis into the West
was central to it’s stabilisation- even though it was
‘morally reprehensible’.
21. THE ECONOMIC MIRACLE?
Dr Ludwig Erhard was responsible for
economic policy. He was keen on a
‘capitalist economy’ which would produce
ever-growing prosperity for all.
Conditions for economic recovery: war time damage had
not affected industrial production to the extent that had
been feared. Western zones were also not stripped of
industrial plant for reparations. West Germany benefited
massively from Marshall Aid. They also benefited from
the cheap labour from the Soviet Zone/ GDR. They were
mobile and would work anywhere for low wages.
Korean War (1950-53): increased demand for products
the West could provide.
To what extent was the success of democracy a result of the ‘economic miracle’
22. WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF THE ECONOMIC
MIRACLE?
Economy grew and wages grew.
Industrial relations improved- revolved around
cooperation.
Annual growth rates in GNP averaged around
8%. There was correspondingly unprecedented
growth in average incomes.
Economic miracle went a large way into the
success of the FRG and Adenauer’s
chancellorship.
24. GENERATIONAL AND SOCIAL CHANGES IN THE
POST WAR CONTEXT
Issues peculiar to the West
12-13 million refugees from the eastern territories and
the GDR (1/5th of the population).
Fatherless families: affected approximately ¼ of the
young people .
Women: squeezed out of the workplace, back into the
home by cheap labour despite role of ‘rubble women’
(Trümmerfrauen). Also aided by Gastarbeiter (guest
workers, usually foreign, sought by the government to do
low paid, least qualified jobs).
Incomes: Average income rose by 400% since the
foundation of the FRG.
25. WHAT ELSE CHANGED?
Consumer Revolution: People got into consumer goods,
new built homes, rebuilt city centres, and cars.
Economic miracle: stabilised democracy! Despite only
one real party capable of doing anything initially (CDU).
However, eventually as economic growth levels off and
descends instead, right and left start to wake up.
Youth: mass communications has it’s effect- radios and
popular music from the USA and Britain.
1960s: Nazi past re-emerges- high profile war crimes
trials, and a lack of an effective parliamentary
opposition polarises society (a student died from police
brutality in a 1967 demonstration).
27. ADENAUER BEGINS TO LOSE IT
Adenauer had already begun to wane.
1959: elections to the West German presidency-
Theodor Heuss (first president) had to step down
after ten years in office.
Adenauer toyed with the idea of standing for
presidency (so still influential when no longer
Chancellor, and also wanted to expand the power
of the President). Then he withdrew from the race,
lessening his reputation as an infallible politician.
28. ADENAUER CONTINUES TO LOSE IT
Berlin Wall erection also damaged his reputation. Seen
as incarcerating the East Berliners. The SPD mayor of
West Berlin and former resistance fighter against
Nazism Willy Brandt put up an appeal on behalf of
freedom and democracy.
Western powers did not want to provoke conflict by
intervening. Adenauer did nothing at all- not even
demonstrating any sympathy and postponing a visit to
West Berlin, only to be greeted with jeers.
Adenauer’s rapprochement with the West happened
here (met with Charles De Gaulle, president of France),
but it couldn’t save his reputation.
29. BERLIN WALL IN PICTURES
The Wall being constructed across a street. The walls of
buildings on this street also made up part of the wall. People
gazed in horror at its construction.
30. BERLIN WALL IN PICTURES
Willy Brandt (important in the SPD) indignant at the wall’s
construction and watching it with West Berliners.
32. BERLIN WALL IN PICTURES
Peter Fechter, killed by border guards escaping from East Germany
(shoot to kill order) Caused horror in the West and more criticism for
Adenauer’s “pretend it’s not happening policy”.
33. ADENAUER’S LOST IT: THE SPIEGEL AFFAIR
1962: Weekly news magazine Der Spiegel published an
article criticising the readiness of the West German
defence forces.
Bavarian CSU leader and West German Defence
Minister, Franz Josef Strauß misled the Bundestag in his
replies to questions on the matter.
An attempt was made to silence Der Spiegel by raiding
it’s editorial offices and arresting some journalists
involved.
Public outcry at authoritarian cover ups.
Adenauer resigned. However, he had set the course of
FRG as an ‘affluent democracy firmly tied in to western
military and economic alliances.
35. WEST GERMANY: ANY CONCLUSIONS?
Democracy survived the Spiegel affair.
Seemed successful- good economy, stable
democracy apparently and affluent society.
IS THAT IT?
36. WELL, NO...
Tensions arose in 1960s- Eichmann trial and Auschwitz trials paid
attention to Holocaust and collusion with Nazism accusations. This
led to generational revolt, separating young and old with ideas on
sex, clothing, hairstyles and popular music.
Disillusioned with the US as guardians of democracy- Vietnam.
Economic setbacks sent some people towards the right and the neo-
Nazi NPD.
Grand Coalition- vanished opposition led to extra- parliamentary
opposition.
Election of Willy Brandt (SPD) to Chancellor in 1969. Rapprochement
with the East begins and symbolises break with the past.
Troubles of 1970s and 1980s were coped with, by the time of the
collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and unification with East Germany
in 1990, people began to have post national pride!
THE END!
