Abstract
Immediately after the Nazi capitulation, Soviet military authorities ordered the establishment of a new German administration for Berlin. On May 17, 1945, the Soviet Commandant appointed a Magistrat — the executive organ of the city government, consisting of sixteen members, together with a similar number of deputies.1 There were certain non-party-front members, but real political power reposed in the hands of Moscow-trained German Communists.2 Upon the arrival of the Western military authorities in the city in July, all actions previously taken by Soviet officials were mutually confirmed, thereby acknowledging the Soviet-appointed city administration.3
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References
Magistrat von Gross-Berlin, Hauptamt für Statistik, Berlin in Zahlen, 1947 (Berlin, 1949), p. 3. For a graphic depiction of the Government of Berlin in 1946, see accompanying Chart 4.
Office of Military Government, U.S. Sector, Berlin, A Four Year Report, July 1, 1945 to September 1, 1949 (Berlin, 1949), p. 8.
For the text of this agreement, see Appendix 6.
Office of Military Government, U.S. Berlin District, Six Months Report, 4 January to 3 July 1946 (Berlin, 1946), p. 41.
Berlin in Zahlen, 1947, op. cit., p. 2. The Charter of 1920 abolished 95 local governments and created in their place a new municipality, which was subdivided into 20 Bezirke (boroughs), each with a measure of administrative autonomy. Greater Berlin was also detached from the Province of Brandenburg and given the status of a separate province; nevertheless, for purposes of state supervision, it was left under the jurisdiction of the Oberpräsident of Brandenburg.
For the text of the Kommandatura letter of approval of the Temporary Constitution of 1946, dated August 13, 1946, see Elmer Plischke, Berlin: Development of Its Government and Administration (Bad Godesburg/Mehlem, 1952), Appendix 13. An English translation of the text of the Temporary Constitution of 1946 is given in ibid., Appendix 14; the German text is to be found in Verordnungsblatt der Stadt Berlin, No. 35, September 4, 1946, pp. 295ff.
This Committee consisted of 8 Social Democratic Party (SPD), 4 Christian Democratic Union (CDU), 4 Socialist Unity Party (SED), and 2 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) members. The Chairman of the City Assembly, Dr. Otto Suhr, of the Social Democratic Party, presided over the Committee.
The majority, against the votes of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) members, decided to restrict this section of the draft Constitution to genuine rights, such as those embodied in the American Bill of Rights and in the first French Constitution, and agreed not to include the party-programlike declarations of the Soviet Constitution. This matter is treated in the address of Chairman Dr. Otto Suhr, on the day of submittal of the Committee draft to the City Assembly, March 22, 1948; see files of the Office of the U.S. High Commissioner for Germany, Historical Division.
There were 83 votes in favor, 20 against, and 27 absentees. The Constitution thus was adopted by some 80 per cent of the members of the City Assembly who were present and voting, or somewhat more than 60 per cent of the total membership. The large number of absentees at the time of such an important vote appears to be somewhat surprising.
See Plischke, Berlin: Development of Its Government and Administration, op. cit., pp. 75-78.
This is the view contained in the communiqué of Colonel Frank L. Howley, United States Sector Commandant, November 20, 1948, as quoted in A Four Year Report, op. cit., p. 19. Colonel Howley branded this action a “flagrant violation of the existing constitution of Berlin and of all quadripartite agreements pertaining to the city.”
At the time, this Soviet sector group consisted of 16 Social Democrats, 11 Communists, and 5 Christian Democrats, a total of 32, but the 11 Communists refused to take their seats in the new Assembly. Also see Table 1 in Chapter 5.
Results of the Paris Session, Four Power Communiqué, June, 20 1949, in Department of State, Germany — 1947–1949: The Story in Documents (Washington, D. C, 1950), pp. 69-70; also see HICOG, 4th Quarterly Report on Germany, July 1 — September 30, 1950, p. 43.
“Protokoll über die 44. Sitzung der Stadtverordnetenversammlung,” 2nd election period, April 20, 1950; also see HICOG, Berlin Element, Public Relations Branch, Press Release No. 0397, April 21, 1950.
“Protokoll über die 54. Sitzung der Stadtverordnetenversammlung,” 2nd election period, August 4, 1950.
When the 1950 Constitution was under preparation, the drafters changed the title “Gross-Berlin” (“Greater Berlin”) to “Berlin.” For discussion concerning changes of the title of the city, see Vorläufige Verfassung von Gross-Berlin, Commentary by Dr. Friedrich Haas (Berlin, 1947), pp. 28-29. The First Instrument of Revision of the Statement of Principles, of March 7, 1951, mentioned in Chapter 2, also revived the title “Berlin” in the usage of the Kommandatura; see Appendix 9.
For additional information on the drafting of the Constitution of 1950, see Plischke, Berlin: Development of Its Government and Administration, op. cit., pp. 80-84; also see Verfassung von Berlin vom 1. September 1950 (Berlin, 1951), with commentary by Kurt Landsberg and Harry Goetz. The complete text of the Constitution of 1950 is given below in Appendix 12. The official German text, as amended, is presented in Landeszentrale für politische Bildungsarbeit Berlin, Die Verfassung von Berlin (Berlin: Berlin-Schöneberg Rathaus, 1960). Parallel German and English versions, as initially approved in 1950, are provided in HICOG, Policy Reports Secretary, 1950 Berlin Constitution and Electoral Law (Bad Godesberg/Mehlem, January 15, 1951). An English translation also is presented in Plischke, Berlin: Development of Its Government and Administration, op. cit., Appendix 18.
The nature of these conditions are described more precisely in ibid., p. 84; also see BK/O(50)75, August 29, 1950. The full text of the Kommandatura letter is given in Appendix 11. The relations of Berlin and the West German Federal Republic are discussed more fully in Chapter 6.
“Protokoll über die 56. Sitzung der Stadtverordnetenversammlung,” 2nd election period, October 1, 1950.
The amending process is described in Article 88 of the 1950 Constitution.
The West German constitutive act was called the Grundgesetz (“Basic Law”) by its framers, rather than Verfassung (“Constitution”) in order to denote its temporary nature, reserving the title Verfassung for the more permanent system eventually to be established by a reunified Germany. See the discussion of Elmer Plischke, Contemporary Government of Germany (Boston, 1961), pp. 21-27.
For a description of the West German amendatory process, see ibid., pp. 26-27, 61–62, 86.
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© 1963 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
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Plischke, E. (1963). Constitutional System. In: Government and Politics of Contemporary Berlin. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-9135-7_3
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