The Path to the Basic Law
On 1 July 1948 the western Allies informed the leading political representatives in West Germany of their plans for a western state. Consequently, the Minister Presidents of the Länder in the three western occupation zones appointed a Convent of experts who met on Herreninsel island in Chiemsee to draft “Guidelines for a Basic Law”. These guidelines served the so-called Parliamentary Council as the basis for their work. The fathers and mothers of the Basic Law gave pride of place to the dignity and freedom of the individual. The Parliamentary Council was conscious of the shortcomings of the Weimar Constitution and the crimes of the Nazis. Never again was a path to lead to the dead-end of dictatorship. Freedom of opinion, information, the press and broadcasting were to make Germans responsible citizens. It was also intended to foster trust abroad.
Promulgation of the Basic Law
“Today, on 23 May 1949, a new chapter is being opened in the ever-changing history of the German people. Today, following the signing and promulgation of the Basic Law, the Federal Republic of Germany enters the stage of history. We are all clear about what that means. Those who have witnessed the years since 1933 and the total breakdown in 1945, who experienced how the complete power of the state was assumed by the Allies from 1945 are with some emotion conscious of the fact that today, at the end of this day, a new Germany is being created.” These are the words Konrad Adenauer used in the Parliamentary Council to initiate the signing of the Basic Law. It was birth of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Central Elements of the Basic Law
The Basic Law of 1949 contains 146 articles. They can be grouped in four areas. The first area consists of the 19 inviolable basic rights. The second defines the federal structure of the state – in other words, the relationship between the federation and the individual states. The third area describes the function and duties of the supreme organs of state. And the fourth covers state functions such as the implementation of federal laws, etc. The Preamble underlines the “determination to promote world peace as an equal partner in a united Europe”.
