Constitution of East Germany

thumb|[[Admiralspalast in Berlin, site of the German People's Congress where the first GDR constitution was drafted.]]

The original Constitution of East Germany (the German Democratic Republic; ) was promulgated on 7 October 1949. It was heavily based on the Weimar Constitution () and nominally established the GDR as a liberal democratic republic. In 1968, the East German government adopted a new, fully Communist constitution that was based on Marxism–Leninism, political unitarism, and collective leadership. There were further amendments to the 1968 constitution in 1974. With the political events of 1989, the 1968 constitution was purged of its Communist character. There were attempts to draft a completely new constitution for East Germany, but these efforts never materialized as momentum grew for unification with West Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany). The following October, East Germany ceased to exist, and its territory merged into West Germany.

Background

In 1947 the German People's Congress met in Berlin. The People's Congress was meant to be an alternative to the Western London Conference of Foreign Ministers taking place at the same time. The People's Congress' aim was to establish an assembly which would represent the entire German nation and determine the nation's political future and prevent the division of post-war Germany. In all there were 2215 delegates sent to the congress (664 of whom represented Germans in zones occupied by the Western Powers). The second Congress, which had by this point been outlawed in Western occupied zones, met a year later and elected a Council (Volksrat). This council would seek to serve as an assembly representing the entire country, irrespective of occupying nation. This assembly designated a committee whose task it was to develop a constitution. Future Minister-President Otto Grotewohl was the chairman of this committee. An election was held in May 1949 to designate a People's Council. The German People's Congress met for a third time in 1949 and accepted the drafted constitution. On October 7, 1949, the People's Council then became the People's Chamber of the East German Republic, and the Peoples' Congress was reformed into the National Front political bloc, a process that was concluded with the formal establishment of the German Democratic Republic.

1949 constitution

Fundamentals of State Authority

The constitution begins by declaring the indivisibility of the German people as a nationality, and primacy of the states () in politics. The federal government is to be limited in its authority to issues which affect the whole of the nation, all other affairs falling to the states. Berlin is declared as the capital of the Republic.

The people are declared as the true source of political authority. Citizens therefore have the right to engage in political life at the local, county, and national level. This participation includes the right to vote in elections, referendums, and initiatives. Citizens also have the right to stand for election, and have the right to enter into public life whether it be political office or in the administration of justice. Citizens also have the right to petition the government.

The Rights of the Citizen

The second section of the constitution deals with the rights of citizens. All citizens are declared equal before the law. However a citizen convicted of a felony is disqualified from certain rights and privileges, including the right to vote and hold public office. Gender equality is enshrined and any law which limits the equality of women is abolished.

Citizens have the right to personal liberty, privacy of the home and of the mail, and the right to live where they choose. Citizens have the right to freedom of expression within constitutionally applicable laws. This includes the freedom to assemble peacefully and unarmed. No person shall have these freedoms infringed based on their employment.

Citizens are free to form societies and associations. Associations which are aligned with constitutional principles and which support democracy may be permitted to stand candidates for election.

The people have a right to labor organizing, and recognized trade unions have the right to call a strike action. The right to work is guaranteed. Every worker is entitled to recreation, annual vacation leave, sick leave and old age pension. Sundays, holidays, and May 1st are protected by law as days of rest. Citizens also have by right social insurance which provides for health, old age assistance, motherhood assistance, disability, etc. These rights shall be exercised through trade unions and work councils. All people have the right to a social insurance which provides for health, old age assistance, motherhood assistance, disability assistance, etc.

The Economic Order

The economy of the Republic is to be structured from the principles of social justice and the need to provide all people with an existence of human dignity. The constitution declares the economy must benefit the whole people and that each person will receive their fair share of the yield of production. Free enterprise is permitted as long as it fits within this scope.

The government will support co-operatives and the development of farmers, traders, and craftsmen. The economy is to be overseen by legislative bodies and it is the task of public officials to supervise and implement this economic plan. Private property is guaranteed by the state if it can exist within this scope. Inheritance is also guaranteed with inheritance tax being determined by law. Any restrictions on private property must be imposed only for the benefit of the general public.

All mineral and exploitable resources are to be transferred to public ownership. The state shall ensure their use for the benefit of the whole of society.

Property and income shall be progressively taxed with consideration made for family obligations.

Education

Every citizen has an equal right to an education, may freely choose their vocation, and the teaching of art and science shall be free.

The Laender will establish public school systems and the logistics for their operation, the Republic shall issue legislation to outline their basic function, and provide for the training of teachers.

It is the duty of the school to educate the students in the spirit of democracy and culture, to the end of making them responsible individuals who take part in their community. Parents shall be involved in the educational system through parent's councils. In practice, both the prohibition of an imperative mandate and the constitutional guarantees of proportional representation and free elections were not followed; Volkskammer elections were done by a single "unity list" drawn up by the National Front of East Germany, and the allocation of seats between the SED and its bloc parties was based on pre-agreed quotas rather than voters' preferences.

All citizens over 18 years of age were eligible to vote and citizens over 21 years of age were permitted to stand for election.

The Volkskammer was also to convene a Constitutional Committee. This committee was made up of representatives of political parties chosen in proportion to the composition of the Volkskammer, three members of the Supreme Court, and three German professors of constitutional law who were not also members of the Volkskammer. The Constitutional Committee was the only authority allowed to review the constitutionality of legislation; however, this was not true judicial review, as its decisions required confirmation by the Volkskammer. At least a third of the Volkskammer's membership, as well as the Volskammer presidium, the president, the government, and the Länderkammer, had the right to submit questions on unconstitutionality of laws to the Constitutional Committee; however, this right was not extended to the courts.

Like the Volkskammer, the Länderkammer also elected a Presidium made up of a president, vice-presidents, and associate members. The President of the Länderkammer was to convene the chamber whenever he deemed it necessary, or when one fifth of the members requested them to.

The Länderkammer had the right to introduce legislation to the Volkskammer and could (nominally) reject legislation from the Volkskammer. The Volkskammer and Länderkammer may present their opinion to the other chamber.

At the Seventh Party Congress of the SED in April 1967, Ulbricht called for a new constitution, declaring that the existing constitution no longer accorded "with the relations of socialist society and the present level of historical development". A new constitution was needed to conform with the Marxist–Leninist belief in the progression of history and the role of the working class led by the SED.

As a result, the 1968 constitution was amended by the Volkskammer on 27 September 1974 to delete the reference to the German nation; indeed, the use of the word "German" was cut back almost to a bare minimum. The amended document increased the emphasis on solidarity and friendship with the Soviet Union. In practice, however, ties between East Germans and their West German countrymen increased, in part due to the policies of Ostpolitik and détente followed by both East and West during the 1970s.

Article 1 of the amended constitution began with the words, "The German Democratic Republic is a socialist state of workers and farmers. It is the political organization of the workers in the cities and in the countryside under the leadership of the working class and their Marxist-Leninist party."

1989–90 amendments

In the wake of the Peaceful Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall, the constitution was significantly revised in 1989 and 1990 to prune out its Communist character. Most notably, the phrase "under the leadership of the working class and their Marxist-Leninist party" in Article 1, which effectively gave the SED a monopoly of power, was deleted in December 1989; the State Council was abolished in April 1990, with its powers transferred to the Volkskammer presidium pending the re-establishment of the office of President of East Germany; a Law on Constitutional principles was passed on 17 June 1990, replacing statements about East Germany being a socialist state with those appropriate for a liberal democracy and social market economy on the West German model; and on 22 July 1990, the State Implementation Law was passed, providing for the re-establishment of the States of East Germany and the division of powers between the federal and state governments.

Article 1 of the Law on Constitutional Principles began with the words, "The German Democratic Republic is a free, democratic, federative, social and ecologically oriented Rechtsstaat. With regard to the federal system, this shall apply in accordance with a special amendment to the Constitution and legal provisions which are yet to be enacted."

1990 proposal

In April 1990, the democratic forum Runder Tisch (Round Table) developed a proposal for a new GDR constitution to reflect the democratic changes that swept across the GDR. However, by that time, the newly freely-elected Volkskammer (parliament) was moving in the direction of outright unification with the Federal Republic, and so the draft constitution went nowhere.

Notes

References

"Constitution of the German Democratic Republic (7 October 1949)" United States Department of State, 7 March 2015.