Germany - The Federal Republic [antikvár]

Preface For a number of years now one may state in all justification that the postwar period has ended. Symbolic of the justification tor this assertion was the holding of the XXth Olympic Games in Munich. As the world moved in for the opening as the guest of Germany and the jubilation of the the hosts joined in with the joy of the guests into a truly Olympic festival, a new image of Germany and the Germans also moved once and for all into the consciousness of the world. Given this new set of circumstances it is both necessary and possible to draw a portrait of the Federal Republic of Germany as it presents itself today both to its own inhabitants and to its neighbours. Anyone attempting such a task must first reflect about how the Federal Republic came into being and the circumstances under which it came into being. On May 9,1945 the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht went into force. The doom of the Third Reich was thus sealed. Germany not only had to face the loss of its sovereignty, but it was also partitioned and divided into zones of occupation. A quarter of a century later instead of the Greater Germany of 1938 we now have an independent Austria once more and, what is completely new, two successor states that although of the German nation and German language and a common cultural tradition are politically as far apart as the power blocs that stand behind them. Their respective foundations, both in 1949, may be traced to the conflict of the great powers among the victors that erupted immediately after the victory. The wall cutting through Berlin was to be the landmark of this split. The lands east of the Oder-Neisse line belong neither to the one nor the other of the two German states. They have remained in the hands of the Soviet Union and Poland. The longer the distance in time grows of the present from the two World Wars, the more their Inner cohesion becomes more apparent. The Federal Republic enjoyed all advantages that were the function of avoiding the mistakes of Versailles. Admittedly, two circumstances should be added that eased the process. First, the Germans fall in 1945 was so abysmal that they had no other choice but to lie prostrate as they were - or to change themselves down to their very depths. The great majority chose to do the latter. The first free elections were proof of it; taking place first at the community level, then at the level of the local administrative district (equivalent of a county), then state-wide, democracy this time was carefully established, moving from the bottom to the top; the political parties acted as teachers and not by the flat of a "National Assembly" as in 1919. The Basic Law, the constitution of the Federal Republic proclaimed on May 23,1949, by then had cut out all clauses that had made it so easy ever since 1919 for the enemies of democracy to exploit them to the detriment of the Republic, and these were replaced by better provisions. The second circumstance that contributed to underpinning the existence of the young Federal Republic was the simple and decisive fact that it was needed as a partner. With the ratification of the Paris Treaties on May 5,1955 the statutes of occupation were revoked and the Federal Republic obtained its unqualified sovereignty; thus empowered, it was received four days later into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It was also soon sought after as a trading partner. With the successful currency reform of June 20,1948 the basic requirements for import and export were met. Beginning at