adenauer era

• 1947 : Britian and United States combine german zones to form Bizonia
• April 1949: France joins bizonia , becomes trizona
• basic law was created in may 1949
• basic law states:

  • to elect people for Bundestag you need both first past the post and proportional representation
  • parties need to have 5% of vote to be represented in parliament
• the president in the FRG had to be chosen by members of the Bundestag and the Lander parliaments
• chancellor needed to be approved by parliament , this would limit the possibility of anti-democratic leaders
• the government also adopted 'representative democracy' - public elect representatives to make decisions on their behalf
• basic law content:

  • equal rights , state education for ALL
  • no dictator should take control of FRG
  • all government would be democratically elected
• 78.5% turnout in 1949 elections
• CDU (Christian democratic union) won 31% of votes
• Konrad Adenaur was leader of the CDU and became chancellor
• SPD (social democratic party) led by Kurt Schumacher
• SPD wanted united and socialist Germany
• SPD won 29.2% of votes in the 1949 elections
• Schumacher accused Adenauer of being a puppet of the Allied powers
• CDU had conservative values , they promised to focus on families , social welfare and defend the FRG against communism
• adenauer's regime was given credit for economic miracle
• adenauer and the CDU succeded in 4 elections - showed their popularity and the publics desire for stability
• period between 1949-63 is known as the era of 'chancellor democracy'
• the SDP was the main rival of the CDU - strength of parties prevented bundestag from being divided by lots of small parties
• extremist parties were banned :

  • socialist reich party + communist
  • absorbed right wing parties into the CDU
  • reduced opposition
• adenauer and CDU remained in power for 14 years
• 1949 elections:

  • CDU won 31% of votes
  • ademauer struggled to form government in 1949
• 1957 elections:

  • CDU won 50.2% of votes
  • CDU appealed to political stability in their slogan 'no experiments'
• 1953 elections:

  • CDU vote increased by 45.2% - population came from economic policies , foreign policies , rise of anti-communism during the Korean War
• 1961 election:

  • CDU vote dropped by 43.5% in 1961
• 17th of July - 2nd August 1945 was the date of the Potsdam Conference
• the Potsdam conference was used to planned German reconstruction , focus on decentralisation and de-nazifying Germany
• the relationship of the Allies deteriorated because East and West Germany grew sus of each other's motives + actions and it affected how Germany was developed
• Soviet Union (USSR) controlled East Germany
• the political ethos of German communist party:

  • wanted socialism
  • moderation
  • controlled extremeism
• KPD adaptations to fit into FRG:

  • wanted land reform
  • new education system , democratic government
  • accepted plans for re-construction from Allies
• political ethos of Christian democratic party;

  -Christian outlook

  • wanted social support for poor
• to rebuild Germany , Adenaur had to employ former Nazi party members
• Nuremberg Trials (August 1945);

  • War criminals prosecute , showed that Nazi criminals would be punished and be a lesson to others.
  • In east germany , 12,890 nazis found guilty , 129 killed , in west germany 6,488 guilty but none killed
• because of the softer treatment of former Nazis in west germany , many are thought to have fled there
• a Federal Constitution was created to ensure that the Federal and Lander governments followed Basic Law
• similarities between Weimar Republic and FRG

  • both democratic
  • both used proportional representation
  • both could override democracy through Article 21 + Article 48
• differences between Weimar Republic and FRG

  • FRG = divided into 4 stations
  • Bundestag replaced Reichstag
  • FRG = used proportional representation and first past the post , yet weimar just used PR
  • FRG - Chancellor chose president
  • FRG - Chancellor elected by Bundestag and Lander
• strengths of Adenauer as Chancellor


  • managed to keep FRG coalitions working together - almost authoritarian personality , able to make effective decisions
  • 1957 - CDU/CSU won majority , joint party - less opposing viewpoints
  • focused on cementing relationships with Western Europe and USA = fastest way for FRG to become self-governing , accepted as part of EU , help rebuild economy
  • excluded political opposition from gov - harder for smaller parties to get seats , fewer coalitions needed , more stable gov
  • allowed ex-nazis into government - quickest way to move on , effective civil service