In 1949, four years after the end of the Second World War, the ruins still monopolize the appearance of the largest urban centers. The country had lost significant territory in the east, the population had been decimated and millions of refugees had poured into western Germany. The last free elections were held 17 years earlier. Within months of coming to power in 1932, Adolf Hitler overthrew democracy. On August 14, just a few months after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany, Germans were called to the polls for the first time since the war. In the first free, democratic elections since 1945.

“This is not only the first federal election, but also the first free election since the fall of 1932, in the last phase of the Weimar Republic,” historian Benedikt Widgens told DW: “In that sense, it was a new beginning in the democratic processes, but also in the creation of a state framework that did not exist in this form”.

Not all Germans were allowed to vote, however. After the war, the country was divided into zones of occupation by the four victorious powers. Only the three victorious Western powers—the United States, Great Britain, and France—allowed the vote. In the eastern zone of occupation the Soviet Union installed a communist system without free elections.

The Germans hoped for a short return of the capital to Berlin

The roughly 31 million eligible voters had a wide range of parties to choose from. In addition to the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), the Free Democrats (FDP), the Communist Party, the Bavarian-only Bavarian Party, the ultra-conservative German Party, and many others were on the ballot.

The new parliament would meet in Bonn, which had been chosen as the temporary capital, since the Germans’ medium-term goal was to return the capital to Berlin, which eventually happened many years later with the reunification of Germany in 1990 and 2000 with the return of the federal parliament to Berlin.

In August 1949 the citizens seem to have heeded the appeals of the country’s leading politicians and turned out 78.5% at the polls. This high percentage was interpreted as broad acceptance of the new political order in post-war Germany.

Foreign and economic policy under the supervision of the Allies

Eleven parties entered the Bundestag. The CDU and CSU were the strongest parliamentary group with 31% of the vote and 139 of the total 402 seats in parliament. The SPD Social Democrats received 29.2% and 131 seats. The Liberals of the FDP emerged as the third party with 52 MPs, while the conservative German Party and the Bavarian Party received 17 each. The Communist Party entered parliament with 15 MPs.

The first post-war Parliament was assembled in a body on September 7, 1949. After tough negotiations the conservatives formed a coalition with the Liberals and the German Party. Konrad Adenauer was elected Federal Chancellor on September 15 with a lead of only one vote: his own.

The new state managed to overcome significant obstacles. But Adenauer’s first official action shows how limited the new chancellor’s powers still were. He visited the High Commissioners, the representatives of the Western powers, who were overseeing the new government. Despite the establishment of the state, important areas such as foreign policy and the economy remained under the control of the victorious powers.

“Everything had to be put in order and reorganized”

But the first internal test for the new German state has been successfully overcome. What lessons can we learn for today? Historian Benedikt Widgens responds to today’s fears of extreme political positions and upheaval in the party system as follows:

“If you look back to 1949, you will find that even then everything had to be put in order and reorganized. Through the politicians, through the proposals of the parties and through the political process, a development was set in motion that turned this almost chaotic country, which had been badly hurt by National Socialism and the subsequent cold war, into a stable democracy. Perhaps the lesson is that a difficult situation can only be resolved through political initiatives and participation.”

Editor: Stefanos Georgakopoulos