Post on 12-Jan-2016
Germany
Population: 83 million, Size ~ Montana
Before 1871, Germany had been divided into a series of small principalities.
First attempt at unification was the Frankfurt Assembly in 1848.
A gathering of liberal intellectuals who petitioned Wilhelm I, the King of Prussia to lead a united Germany.
Frankfurt Assembly 1848
Path to German Unification
Kaiser WilhelmKing of Prussia1st Emperor of Germany1871-1888
Otto von Bismarck
Minister of Prussia
1st Chancellor of Germany
1871-1890
Unification would finally occur under Prussian leadership of Otto von Bismarck in 1871, with a capital in Berlin.
Although the first German empire did have an elected parliament that met in the Reichstag – the Chancellor was responsible only to the Kaiser (emperor), not the parliament.
German Unification 1871
German Empire (Reich) 1871-1919
The Reichstag – German Parliament in Berlin
Germany and World War I
Trench Warfare, Tanks, Aircraft, Machine Guns, Nerve Gas, 10 million dead
The formation and fall of the Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic emerged out of Germany’s defeat in WWI.
The Weimar Republic, founded in 1919, was largely the work of Social Democrats and its institutions reflected their belief in liberal institutional principles.
The Weimar Republic 1924-1933
Kurt von Schleicher, Last Chancellor of Weimar Republic Dec 1932-Jan 1933
Presidential-Parliamentary System
Friedrich Ebert
President 1919-1925
Hyperinflation
Unemployment
The Instability of the Republic
Economic instability helped galvanize radical groups in inter-war Germany.
They found numerous recruits in the masses of poor and demoralized WWI veterans who blamed the liberal democratic Weimar government for the terms of the Versailles treaty and Germany’s postwar misery.
President Paul von Hindenburg, 1925-1934
The German Nationalist People’s Party succeeded in electing former WWI Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg as Germany’s President in 1925 and was reelected in 1932.
In the meantime, the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazi Party) was also growing in strength under the charismatic leadership of Adolf Hitler, who would take German nationalism in an entirely new and sinister direction.
National Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazi Party)
The Nazi party was a highly successful catch-all party
It stood in opposition to the Communist Party (which it viewed as an outside agent for Soviet expansion) as well as the social democrats (which it viewed as an appeaser of Western imperialists).
The appeal of the Nazi party was populist German nationalism and it drew widespread support across German society.
Appeal of the Nazis
Politics and Religion in the 1932 Election
Distribution of Catholics Distribution of Nazi Voters
March 1933 Parliamentary Elections
Nazi Germany 1933-1945
Adolph Hitler, Chancellor 1933-1945, President 1934-1945 (Führer)
National Socialist German Workers' Party - Nazi
1919-1945
World War II defeat – complete destruction of Germany
Division of Germany 1945-1990
The Berlin Wall 1961-1989
Construction of the Berlin Wall 1961
Fall of Berlin Wall, Thursday November 9, 1989
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmRPP2WXX0U
Unification of Germany October 3, 1990
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, CDU 2005-pres.
Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of Germany, SPD 1998-2005
The Grand Coalition 2005-present
Democracy in the Federal Republic of Germany
Denazification
Only partial denazification after WWII.
Many former middle level Nazi bureaucrats and administrators found positions in post-war Germany, especially in the courts.
Most, however, embraced new democratic parties on either the right or left.
Germany’s first postwar constitution
Established by German leaders selected by Western occupiers
Framers were not directly elected as in the Weimar Republic.
The Basic Law
Intended as a compromise, temporary “basic law” or Grundgesetz.
The Grundgesetz was set to expire following German reunification after which a permanent constitution would be established (had to wait 40 years).
Constitutional Reform?
The Basic Law was never submitted to a popular vote.
Ratified by regional state legislatures.
There has still never been a popular vote on the Basic Law even following reunification.
The Basic Law was just declared binding on former East Germany as well.
This has led some in Germany to call for its replacement with a real Constitution.
The Federal System
Germany divided into 16 states (Lander) three of which are city-states (Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen).
Each state (Land) has its own unicameral State legislature (Landtag), elected every 4-5 years at different staggered periods.
Each state has its own state government appointed by the majority party in the Landtag, headed by a minister-president (like a governor).
Bundesrat - Upper House
The Bundesrat directly represents the states.
Representatives chosen by majority party in each state legislature.
Bundesrat members vote based on instructions from state legislatures (delegate vs. trustee).
Bundestag - Lower House
The Bundestag: the lower house of the national legislature or Federal Diet
It functions something like the British House of Commons – people elect representatives, who appoint government, and may remove government.
Political Parties in the Federal Republic of Germany
Social Democratic Party SDP
1863-present
Christian Democratic Union CDU, 1945-present
Christian Social Union of Bavaria 1945-
Free Democratic Party 1948-
The Greens 1979-present
The Left - 2007
Islam in Germany
There are about 3 million Muslims (mostly Turks) living in Germany.
So far, German institutions have been more accommodating to religious rights of Muslims than France.
US German Relations?
US Military Bases in Germany