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