KI6- Adenhauer's reign

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What happened in May 1949, in the West?
The Federal Republic of Germany formed
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How long did Adenhauer reign for?
14 years
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Why is this significant?
It was longer than Hitler
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What was the new political system like?
It was more of a 'representative' rather than 'participatory' democracy.
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How could the government ensure that Hitler could not come to power?
A representative government
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Why were safeguards built?
to prevent a repeat of the experiences of Germany's first failed attempt at democracy in the Weimar republic
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What is the Lander?
federal states
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How were the Lander represented at national level by the?
Bunderstrat
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How were members of the lower chamber represented?
By the Bundestag
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How were they elected?
By a complex voting system
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What did this system involve?
It combined the principle of proportional representation and first past the post
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What was later introduced?
the 5% hurdle
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What is the 5% hurdle?
very small parties could not gain representation and build strength without at least a significant share of votes
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What was the constitution of the FRG called?
A basic law
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What was the FRG commited to do?
To work towards reunification
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What else did it recognise?
All people of German descent who were living in formerly German territory now under Russian or Polish rule was entitled to citizenship in the FRG
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What did this mean?
Anyone flleing the GDR was automatically able to settle and work in the FRG
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How many Germans fled to the GDR up to the period of the Berlin Wall in 1961?
Three million Germans
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How could th government ensure democracy?
no political party was allowed that was not committed to upholding democracy
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What happened to political parties of the far right and left?
They were not committed to the system of parliamentry democracy would be banned
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What would this prevent?
A wrecking majority
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How was the President elected?
by a representative convention
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What did this ensure?
No demagogic leader or anti democratic leader could come to power
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How were Chancellors appointed?
By the president with only the support and approval of parliament
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How was the stability of the government ensured?
A chancellor could not be dismissed without a new one being voted in under the so called constructive vote of no confidence.
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What were the two main parties?
CDU and the SPD
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What was the third party?
FDP
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What was the CDU made up of?
conservative christians
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What did the CDU support?
Capitalism with a human face
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What was there a need for?
Safeguards
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Why?
To protect the weakest members of society
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What was its initial party programme called?
Ahlen programme
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What did this involve?
Proclaimed traditional Christian values and a social conscience as was extolling the virtues of free market capitalism
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What happened in 1957?
The programme was renounced
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What was SPD based on?
traditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
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What had it been originally been formed?
Marxist visions of socilism on one hand and reformist working class movements on the other
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What did the SPD never do?
Renounced its Marxist rhetoric
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What was the consitutional emphasis on?
Commitment to the 'free democratic basic order'
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What were they determined to see happen?
never to allow democracy to be destroyed by democratic means
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What parties were banned?
SRP and KPD
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When were they banned?
SRP in 1952 and KPD in 1956
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What did the electoral system already have?
A safeguard built in
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What did this ensure?
too much democracy would not allow extremist parties to gain a foothold in parliament
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How many votes did the CDU get in the election of 1949?
less than 1/3 of the overall vote
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What did his coalition involve?
Members of the FDP and the DP
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What happened in 1953? WHy did the votes increase?
a success with respect to foreign affairs when the allies gave permission for this post to be retvived.
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Who did this coalition government involve?
Theodor Oberlander
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What was he incharge of?
Minister of refugees and Expellees
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What vote did the CDU get in the 1957 election?
over 50% of the vote
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Why was this an achievement?
It was the first and the only time a party had scored this level of electoral success in the FRG
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What was his election policy?
No experiments
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What was the vote like in 1961?
It had declined slightly
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How old was Adenhauer in 1961?
85
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What was the political scientist in the 1960s called?
Otto Kircheimer
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What did he describe the government as?
Vanishing opposition
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What happened in 1966?
There was a grand coalition between the SPD and the CDU
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What did the FRG join in October 1949?
the organisation for European Economic Cooperation
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What did they join in 1951?
European coal and steel
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During the Treaty of Rome 1957, What di they become?
European Economic community
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What did the FRG join in 1955?
The north Atlantic Treaty organisation
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What did Stalin do in 1952?
sent a series of notes auggesting the possibilty of Soviets giving up GDR in favour of a neutral Germany
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What did Adenhauer do about the notes?
He ignored them
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What was Adenhauers response to the uprising og June 1953 in the GDR?
He ignore it
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What was signed in the 1950s?
The Hallstein Doctrine
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What did this do?
It recognises the GDR as the zone
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What was a major success for Adenhauer in 1955?
Went to moscow to negotiate the return of the remaining 10s of thousands of prisoners of War still held by the Soviets
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What did Adenhauer also over see?
The plebsiste for the returning of the saar
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What were other developments in the FRG that was a success for Adenhauer?
The remilitarisation and the recreation of the German army - The Bundeswehr presented as 'citizens in uniform'
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How else did Adenhauer benefit?
Weak opposition
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What was Adenhauer's policy?
Wiedergutmachung
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What did this do?
restitution and reparations to the survivors of nazi brutility
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What did Adenhauer say?
It gave holocaust survivors compensation and Germany accepted responsiblity for the holocaust but indivuals in the FRG were not responsible
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Who was Adenhauer's personal advisor?
Hans Globke
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What did he do?
Commentry for Hitler on the Nuremburg race laws of 1935
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who was behind the Economic miracle?
dr Ludwig Erhard
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How much was income growing by?
8%
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How was Germany's economy benefiting?
Marshall aid
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What happened with the press in 1962?
The weekly news magazine Der speigel had published an article that was critical of the West German defenses.
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Who replied to the Bundestage?
Franz Josef Strauss
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how was this dealt with?
silence the spiegel magazine by raiding its editorial offices and arresting some journalists involved
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what did this show?
An athoritarian dictatorship
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

How long did Adenhauer reign for?

Back

14 years

Card 3

Front

Why is this significant?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What was the new political system like?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

How could the government ensure that Hitler could not come to power?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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