GHDI logo

Documents - Founding of Two States: The Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
1-10 of 11 documents    return to chapter list < previous   |   next >  
1.   Authorization for Convocation of a Constituent Assembly in the Trizone (July 1, 1948)
Beginning in February 1948, the Western Allies met in London for deliberations on Germany’s political and economic future and the still unresolved future status of the Ruhr region. Tensions between....
2.   The "Koblenz Decisions" of the West German Minister Presidents (July 10, 1948)
From July 8-10, 1948, the minister presidents of the West German Länder [federal states]....
3.   U.S. Delegation Minutes of the Meeting between the Western Military Governors and the German Minister Presidents regarding the German Reply to the London Documents (July 26, 1948)
What to call the West German constitution and how to ratify it were among the topics discussed in detail at a meeting between the West German minister presidents and the western military governors....
4.   Decisions of the Conference of the Foreign Ministers of the Three Western Powers in Washington, DC (April 8, 1949)
The agreements reached in early April 1949 at the Washington conference of the foreign ministers of the three western powers regulated the future relationship between the occupying powers and the....
5.   Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949/ Amendments 1956)
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany was adopted by the Parliamentary Council on May 8, 1949, and ratified during the week of May 16-22, 1949, by the legislatures of more than two thirds....
6.   Letter from the Military Governors to Dr. Konrad Adenauer, President of the Parliamentary Council, approving the Basic Law (May 12, 1949)
After another serious crisis in March 1949 between the Parliamentary Council and the Allies over the distribution of competencies between the federal government and the Länder in the future West....
7.   Statement by Konrad Adenauer at the Meeting of Military Governors, Representatives of the Parliamentary Council, and Minister Presidents (May 12, 1949)
On May 12, 1949, Christian-Democratic politician and president of the Parliamentary Council Konrad Adenauer thanked the Western military governors for their quick approval of the Basic Law. In doing....
8.   Speech by Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of the Federal Republic, at a Reception Given by the Allied High Commissioners (September 21, 1949)
The first parliamentary elections in the Federal Republic of Germany took place on August 14, 1949. On September 15, the German Bundestag elected CDU politician ....
9.   Announcement of the Impending Establishment of the German Democratic Republic (October 7, 1949)
Shortly after the founding of a new state in West Germany, a second German state was established in East Germany with Soviet help: ....
10.   Constitution of the German Democratic Republic (October 7, 1949)
The drafting of a constitutional document in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was virtually contemporaneous with the promulgation of the ....
1-10 of 11 documents    < previous   |   next >