Three Germanies by Michael Gehler

Author:Michael Gehler [Gehler, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, History, Germany
ISBN: 9781861899897
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Published: 2013-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Citizens’ Initiatives, Women’s Emancipation, Worker Co-determination,

Alternative Energy and the Broadening Out of the

Traditional Party Spectrum in the Federal Republic

The first citizens’ initiatives were set up in the Federal Republic as early as 1968–9. These were action groups run by parties and associations of people of similar political and ideological persuasion who wanted to further specific causes. The starting point for such campaigns were actual inadequacies in the areas of housing, culture or education, transport and civic affairs or the protection of nature. Initially initiatives were focused on local problems and were often informal rather than professional, but subsequently gained in strength of organization and profile and became wider in scope. The two oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 had shown the dependence of the Federal Republic on imported energy and also highlighted the increased importance of nuclear energy. The government policy was directed towards a reduction in the consumption of oil and was based on natural gas, home-produced coal and nuclear energy. The construction of nuclear power stations, however, met with rejection and opposition in the population, particularly in the vicinity of planned sites for power stations. Local or regional citizens’ initiatives demonstrated and protested or campaigned using legal means. An anti-nuclear power station movement developed throughout West Germany. There were heated confrontations, occupations, large demonstrations and police involvement in places such as Wyhl in Baden or Brokdorf in Schleswig-Holstein. The problems in Wyhl, Kalkar or Brokdorf forced repeated construction stoppages, in Gorleben in Lower Saxony there was opposition to a decision that had already been made by the Land government against a nuclear reprocessing plant.

These planned programmes had to be reversed, particularly since the need for energy proved to be less than had been originally thought. The number of atomic power stations was reduced. The unresolved question about the disposal of radioactive waste caused particular discontent. As the so-called ‘permanent storage’ did not provide total protection for people and the environment, this problem set off a political argument. Unlike nuclear energy, research into alternative energies (biogas, earth warming, solar energy and wind power) received only very little attention and support in the Federal Republic. Having said that, energy saving was promoted as a result of the shortage of resources and for environmental protection. The replacement of home heating units, making use of the natural heat of the earth and use of solar energy and the insulation of buildings, are examples of ideas of new energy use.

The citizens’ initiatives successfully opposed the construction of a car test-track at Boxberg in the Odenwald and caused the firm of Daimler-Benz to modify their projects. They had also put a stop to a referendum due to the constitutional right protecting the free movement of individuals, and it was only after a change in the law a decade later that data protection was introduced.

The declaration of equality enshrined in the ‘Grundgesetz’ made men and women equal, but in fact women were disadvantaged in West German society as regards their representation in the workplace, and they were discriminated against in the social hierarchy.

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