Life in the FRG

Life in the FRG

1. Education

   • Responsiblilty passed to Lander
   • Abolition of Fees (58) and Dusseldorf agreement led to orginisation of school holidays, exams etc
   • Limited progress due to lack of consensus and fear of communism
   • Many practical issues due to lack of staff and funding
   • Reformed mid 60's

2. Women

   • Equal rights in consittuion
   • Eqsulity of the sexes in 57 gave women right to seek empolyment (without consent of husbands
   • More ops for women in admin and service sector
   • But
     • Paid 40% less than men
     • Not equal in HE - 19% (50), 30% (68)
     • Still conserivite views to women

3. Living standards

   • 20% still living at basic subsistence
   • 50% living in 1 bedroom flat/house
   • Average working week = 49 hours
   • 1/3 never had a holiday
   • by 65, 40 hour week, more goods and private housing

4. Forign policy

   • Adueauer's key aim - mainting peace and freedom of FRG
   • Sucering soiveringity for FRG
   • Exploiotng the econimic, political and miitary stregth of the west through intergration
   • oppsosed attempts at reununfication - if germny was left netural as could fall to communism
   • Joined ECSC and ECC
     • ECSC mo restirctions on imports and exports of members
       • common polices for prices
       • Complete success - steel increased by 44%
     • ECC
       • Created march 1957
         • common makret and gave FRG chance to exert some influence
   • Military and political intergration
     • Outbreak of chinese revltuon (49) and korean war (50) heighend fears of communism and made european powers open to FRG
     • Ocupation aw ended in 55 and FRG became soverign
     • Defensive pace, west eruopena union expandined to include FRG
     • FRG alowed to join NATO in 1955
     • 1963, french german treaty signed
   • Reltions with GDR
     • No offical international diplomatic reltions between the two
     • Refered to as soviet occupation zone and spoken of derisively
     • Mangent theory confomred as 3 million fled to FRG
     • Stalin notes GDR offed reunification that was rejected
     • Hallstein Doctrine - Adenauer refused to have diplomatic relations with any country that regognised the GDR - this was Yugoslavia and Cuba

5. Economic Miricle

   • Bundesbank was highly effective
   • Erhard had highly effective reforms - including currency
     • Erhard
       • Minister of economic 46-63
       • Vice chancellor from 57
       • Chancellor 63-66
   • FRG had access to excessive resources
   • Marshall plan
   • Population was educated and skilled
     • As were refugees
   • Increase in demand for capital and consumer goods
   • Govt. expenditure low
   • By 1952 stats show that recovery had begun
     • Economic growth averaged at 8% a year - 2-3% is pleasing in britain
       • From 1950 -55 GNP doubled and increased by 50% again by 1960
         • From 1950 balance of trade became positive due to rapid growth of exports. By 1954 FRG was 3rd biggest trading powe
           • By 1955 - unemployment down to 4.2 and then full employmnet even finding work for refuggess
             • Agriculture = one area of mixed
   • Free economy with a social conscience (capitalism with a heart)
     • Raising consumption and economic growth were key aims

6. Welfare state expanded to include

   • Sickness/accident insurance
   • Unemployment benefit
   • Family allowance + child benefit
   • In 1957 a pension was 60% of a persons earnings (UK is 29%)
   • State supported new housing
   • Public assistance for desperate

7. ·

   • Unions
     • Co-determination law of 1951 - gave workers reps on managerial boards in coal, iron and steel industries
       • Works consituion law of 1952 created a work council for all compaines with 500+ employees
         • As a result TUs stepped back from politics + few strikes