Time and again in German history there has been a legislative emergency, a historical example is the emergency law of 1933, but there was also a legislative emergency at the beginning of the Corona Pandemic.
This article is about the emergency laws of 1968. You will learn what is meant by an emergency law, what these laws contain and why the emergency laws of 1968 were controversial in Germany.
Emergency Acts 1968 definition
When the internal security of a state is in danger, this situation is called an emergency. A state of emergency can be triggered, for example, by a flood, earthquake or an enemy attack by another state.
Germany
In the constitution of the FRG there were initially no rules on how the state organs (e.g. the government) should behave in an internal or external emergency in order to master the situation. In addition, there was no way to speed up democratic decision-making processes in a crisis.
The German government therefore developed a so-called emergency constitution in 1968.
The amendments to the Basic Law that were passed by the German Bundestag on May 30, 1968 and passed by the Bundesrat on June 14 are referred to as emergency laws.
Through these, the German government was even able to temporarily restrict or completely override the basic rights of citizens. As a result, the emergency laws were very controversial. They should be a precaution for a possible crisis. However, part of the German population saw this as a threat to democracy.
On June 24, 1968, the emergency laws were signed by Federal President Lübke. This happened during the time of the first grand coalition. The enactment of the emergency laws on May 30, 1968 marked the end of a debate that had significantly shaped German domestic politics for over two decades.
background
The Basic Law was promulgated in May 1949. At that time, the Allies (France, USA and Great Britain) of the former West German occupation zones had supreme decision-making power over the Federal Republic of Germany. The occupation statute of September 1949 guaranteed the German federal government and the Bundestag a certain decision-making power. However, the FRG was dependent on the decisions of the Allies on important security and foreign policy issues.
With the Germany Treaty of 1955, the occupation statute was repealed. The Federal Republic had largely regained its sovereignty. However, Article 5 of the Germany Treaty stipulated that the Western Allies could take measures to protect their stationed troops in the event of a crisis. The military troops of the western powers continued to be stationed in Germany after the Second World War.
Critics felt that the western powers had an emergency right through this article. In practice, the US, France and Great Britain would have more political and military options than simply protecting the troops. In order for Germany to become more independent, the federal government wanted to have legal protection for an emergency situation.
In March 1956, the military constitution was passed, which included the rearmament of West Germany. From the government’s point of view, there was still a lack of provisions for civil defense. This is how the idea for the emergency laws came about. The emergency laws would ensure that the Bundestag and the federal government would have the necessary ability to act in a crisis. Thus, the emergency constitution should be included in the Basic Law, so that the government of the FRG had laws ready for every kind of emergency situation.
prehistory
In 1958, Federal Interior Minister Gerhard Schröder developed the first draft of the emergency laws. The emergency laws were intended to expand the legislative competence of the German federal government if there were internal unrest, natural disasters or a so-called state of defense in the Federal Republic of Germany.
In addition, the Bundeswehr and the Federal Border Police would be ready for action more quickly. Certain fundamental rights, such as postal secrecy, could also be temporarily restricted. Women should be able to be conscripted for short-term medical service and men for military service. However, this proposal evoked memories of the totalitarian Nazi regime in many Germans.
Emergency Law 1933
The critics of the emergency laws also referred to the Weimar Constitution. Article 48 of the Weimar Constitution enabled the then Reich President to issue so-called emergency ordinances. In situations that endanger public safety and order. This allowed the Reich President to temporarily override fundamental rights (such as freedom of assembly).
The Reichstag building in Berlin caught fire on February 28, 1933. The trigger has not been clarified to this day without a doubt. However, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP) used the crime to declare a state of emergency. The then President of the Reich, Paul von Hindenburg, passed the Reichstag Fire Decree, which suspended fundamental rights and initiated the Nazi dictatorship. According to Reich President Paul von Hindenburg, the Reichstag Fire Decree was intended to prevent communist acts of violence that endangered the state.
Therefore there was a lot of resistance and the first draft was rejected by Parliament. The Union, which was the sole governing party at the time, did not get the necessary approval from the SPD.
Other drafts in the coming years from 1960 and 1963 also failed in Parliament. A major point of contention was the procedure after a state of emergency should be declared. For example, whether the Bundestag should have a say in the situation. The unions also demanded the right to strike.
On December 1, 1966, the Bundestag elected Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU) as Chancellor. He made a coalition of the largest parties, the CDU and SPD, possible. This is called the grand coalition. It was not until 1968 that the two-thirds majority required for the amendment to the Basic Law was achieved. The parliamentary groups from Union and SPD of the grand coalition agreed on a draft.
Emergency Laws 1968 Contents
The emergency laws changed more than 20 points of the Basic Law and differentiated between internal emergencies, cases of defense and cases of tension.
The internal emergency
The tension
Before the start of the state of defense, the German Bundestag was able to determine the drop in tension. In times of tension and defense, for example, the Bundeswehr could be used to protect civil security.
The Defense Case
The case of defense could be determined by the German Bundestag with a two-thirds majority. He also expanded legislative powers and simplified the legislative process. The Chancellor possessed the authority to command and command the armed forces. Furthermore, the federal government could deploy the federal police throughout Germany.
In addition, in the case of defense, the «Joint Committee» (Article 53 of the Basic Law) had legislative powers should the Bundestag be unable to act. One third of the joint committee consisted of members of the Bundesrat and two thirds of members of the Bundestag.
General measures
In order to better control the executive in times of war, it was also planned that no new elections of the Bundestag and Landtag should take place. The Bundestag could not be dissolved and the Federal Constitutional Court should remain functional.
Later, the right of resistance was also added to the Basic Law. According to Article 20, every citizen has the right to resist attempts aimed at destroying democracy. In addition, the right to constitutional complaints was included in the Basic Law. This enabled the Bundestag, with the approval of the Bundesrat, to declare the state of defense at an end at any time.
Protests against emergency laws in 1968
Massive protests took place due to the emergency laws. Students, unions and the Board of Trustees (an association of student, church and academic representatives) feared that the state would gain too much power from the emergency laws and would resemble a dictatorship. They were of the opinion that the constitution and laws no longer served to protect citizens, but were being misused as a means of state authority.
Emergency Laws 1968 criticism
The student movement called Extra-Parliamentary Opposition (APO) emerged from citizens’ initiatives. She called for protests and mass rallies against the emergency laws.
SPD and CDU: Leave the Basic Law alone!
Therefore, on May 11, 1968, more than 40,000 people gathered in the current capital Bonn for a march. Prominent opponents such as Heinrich Böll also took part in the star march.
Heinrich Böll was a famous writer who was born in 1917. As a result, he witnessed the Nazi seizure of power in his youth. He was very critical of the emergency laws because he feared the possibility of total mobilization in the event of a crisis.
Based on my experiences with various emergencies in German history, I am convinced that emergencies cannot be regulated by laws.
However, the protest failed. Nevertheless, on May 30, 1968, the emergency laws were passed. Nevertheless, in the course of the emergency laws, according to Art. 20, Para. 4 GG, a right to resistance was established, which should accommodate the trade unions.
The entry into force of the emergency laws led to the collapse of the APO. Because one of their most important crystallization points (besides the demonstrations against the Vietnam War and nuclear armament) was the passing of the emergency laws.
Emergency Laws Today
The emergency laws are still anchored in the Basic Law today. The German population looks at them soberly and is not afraid of the collapse of democracy because of these laws. The emergency regulation in Germany is one of the most detailed emergency regulations in Europe.