The Growth Of the FRG

The Growth Of the FRG

1. The CDU in office

   • In 1949, they were elected with 31% of the vote. By 1957, they had 50.2% of the vote - an overall majority
     • Chancellor Konrad Adenauer was respected by the people for not having an 'inferiority complex' towards the West. He promised a strong economy and good Western relations - but not reunification
     • There were 12 parties in the Bundestag after the first election. People were worried about political fragmentation, as happened to the Weimar Republic...
       • So there was a rule that a party had to have at least 5% of the vote to have a seat in the Bundestag
         • Anti-democratic parties such as the Socialist Reich party were banned
     • About 50% of Germans were Catholics, so the Christian CDU appealed to them.
       • However, the party was kept ecumenical (not specifically one Christian denomination) to have a wider appeal
         • This meant they appealed to refugees and former Nazi party voters.
   • Policies
     • Grants given to the Lander to rebuild after the bombing - 4 million new houses by 1957
     • Aid for refugees - Alliance of Expellees and Disenfranchised Persons
     • 110.4 billion DM given to victims of Nazi atrocities and bombing campaigns
     • 1957 pensions act - 75% pensions increase
     • Creation of the Bundeswehr - a standing army of 'civilians in uniform'
       • Reviewed by Parliamentary Chief Commissioner to ensure that it couldn't become politically influential
     • Bonn Conventions signed 1957 made FRG a sovereign state
   • Why was Adenauer so successful?
     • Was in power during a successful period - seemed to be a safe choice
       • Campaigned with the phrase, 'Keine experimente!' (No experiments)
     • People didn't mind that he'd been in power for so long - 60% said they would rather have a stable income than all democratic freedoms.
     • Weakness of opposition
       • Left-wing parties were looked down of because of the Cold War - KPD had only 2.2% of the vote in 1953
         • SPD claimed that Adenauer would be a failure - when he wasn't, they had nothing to argue!
           • Put reunification at the top of their agenda - unrealistic
           • Hard to appeal to the working classes as the country became more affluent and middle class
       • SPD had internal divisions over rearmament
         • SPD leader Schumacher's successor, Ollenhauer, was 'colourless.'
     • Attitude towards former Nazis
       • Allowed some eg Hans Globke into office to make use of their political talents
         • 1951 reinstatement act gave former Nazi civil servants their jobs back
           • In the 1950s, possibly as many as 80% of officials had a Nazi past
       • But admitted Germany's guilt; gave 100 billion DM compensation to Israel

2. The Economic Miracle

   • Causes
     • The Social Market Economy
       • Little state intervention to allow markets to operate freely
         • Only as much regulation as necessary - some in food, transport, raw materials, housing
         • State job-creation eg tax incentives to persuade private construction companies to make houses
           • Created housing and employment
       • Collective Bargaining In Industrial Relations Act - a policy of Co-Determination where workers were involved in decision-making
         • By 1951 all coal and steel stock companies had worker representation at a managerial level
     • Currency Reform 1948 - led to more confidence in the economy's stability and investment
     • Korean War stimulated industry - mechanical engineering output doubled 1950-52
       • Until 1956, FRG had no army so didn't have to spend money on the military
     • Industrial infrastructure mostly unharmed by bombing
       • Many natural resources
     • Skilled workers emigrated from GDR
       • 'Guest workers' from Southern Europe formed 10% of workforce - cheap to employ with low welfare costs
   • Results
     • Full employment through 1950s
     • Low strike rate
       • Trade unions made modest wage demands
         • One union per industry rule created a feeling of 'social partnership'
     • Five-day week implemented
     • More spending on social welfare - living standards increased
     • Equalisation of Burdens Law levied taxes on the rich - funded settlement of 10 million refugees and pensions increases
     • Anti-Trust law of 1957 abolished monopolies
     • 8% growth rate through 1950s
       • Between 1950s-70s, average income of a household increased 400%
         • More people could afford luxuries like cars, TVs, fridges

3. Problems

   • 'Two thirds' society - higher gap between rich and poor
   • 'Chancellor Democracy' - Adenauer's long term could be seen as undemocratic, almost like a dictatorship
   • Loopholes in the law allowed big businesses to flourish at the expense of smaller ones
   • Agriculture was subsidised