2.3.1 Student Opposition Groups

• Political dissent and challenges to the democratic regime within the FRG peaked in the 60s and 70s as the younger generations became politically active
• Specific issues that caused student protests:

  1. FRG support for the Vietnam war
  2. Fear that nuclear weapons would be deployed in the FRG
  3. Lack of student representation in institutions of higher education
  4. The government's failure to remove all Nazis from high positions
  5. SPD's acceptance of more conservative policies after 1959
• Broader issues that caused student protests:

  1. Growing materialism
  2. Growing power of the establishment
  3. Political dominance of middle-class men
  4. Growing authoritarianism of federal governments
• Problems in the university sector:

  1. Universities were overcrowded
  2. Universities were underfunded
  3. Students lacked representation in governing bodies
• Student protests largely took place at Free University in West Berlin which had a more radical reputation as it was not as conservative and hierarchical as other FRG universities. It was also the only part of the FRG that didn't enforce conscription
• In February 1966, an anti-Vietnam War protest of 2,500 Free University students led to a confrontation with the riot police. In 1968, 12,000 students protested against the war
• In June 1966, students at Free Univeristy called for more say in university affairs and an end to the banning of radical speakers. In response, the government announced an increase in funding for research which amounted to DM260,000
• In response to protests against materialism, Kommune 1 was established in West Berlin, which allowed members to live together and encouraged communal ownership as well as free love.
• APO was made up of students and trade unions who felt radical protest was the only way to bring major changes. They believed the Bundestag was dominated by parties that all agreed on major issues
• After the SPD's policies became more conservative in 1959, the SDS became more radical and opposed the grand coalition by holding mass demonstrations and partaking in sit-ins