When the war ended on May 8, 1945, another period of bitterness began for most Germans. The country lay shattered, living conditions were desolate, all hopes were gone. But then the story took an unexpected turn. The fact that the country was raised out of ruins so quickly, as the SZ journalist Herbert Riehl-Heyse once put it, was primarily thanks to the American occupation forces. This fact is hardly noticed today. “Why it was lucky to have lost the war against the Americans” was the title of Riehl-Heyses article from 1995. In fact, it has not often happened in world history that a victor over the vanquished, whose guilt was plain to see, did not want to punish but help them. The Americans were certainly also pursuing global political goals. “And yet it is unique how those who fell were helped back on their feet, financially and ideally,” said Riehl-Heyse in recognition of this unusual commitment by the Americans.
It is astonishing in every respect that the cornerstones of democracy were laid in Bavaria shortly after the war. When the first nationwide democratic elections since 1933 took place on June 30, 1946, this balloting was not yet a state election, one only took place six months later, but the state constituent assembly was elected. This should work out a constitution. “That was a milestone in the history of democracy in Bavaria,” says the historian Ferdinand Kramer.
“I was always amazed how it could all happen so smoothly and, above all, in such a short time. After all, in May 1945 all of Germany and Bavaria were still riddled with a large number of National Socialists, and the worst economic hardship prevailed,” says the Munich lawyer Florian Besold, who feels particularly close to the Bavarian constitution. As President of the Bavarian Unification / Bavarian People’s Foundation, he has been the driving force behind them for decades Constitutional celebrations, which are supposed to remind every year that the Bavarian constitution was adopted by the people on December 1st, 1946 by free vote. The Bavarian Unification established the celebration of the Bavarian Constitutional Day in 1967 and since then has made a significant contribution to ensuring that constitutional history does not fall into oblivion.
American assistance
Besold regrets all the more that the celebration of the 75th anniversary, which would have taken place this Friday, had to be canceled due to the Corona crisis. This celebration of all things, which should have paid tribute to the Americans’ contribution to the constitution and the development of democracy in Bavaria. A contribution “which is indeed noteworthy and worthy of merit,” as Besold says. From the relevant work of historians, he learned to his own surprise that the Americans in particular have promoted the formation of state constituent assemblies. It is high time for Besold to highlight this at the constitutional ceremony. The historian Hermann Rumschöttel has therefore prepared a celebratory speech on this subject, in which he discusses the Constitution of the Free State of Bavaria from 1946 as part of the American democratization policy after the war. Since it cannot be presented, it should now be published in the journal published by Bavarian Unification Bavaria mirror to be published.
“The fact that we were not and is not always adequately aware of the American support, especially on constitutional anniversaries, can perhaps be seen as a late aftermath of the skepticism with which some contemporaries viewed the democratization activities of the military government,” says Rumschöttel. But there were also tactical reasons for the whole thing. Personalities of the reform forces at the time, such as Wilhelm Hoegner and Hans Nawiasky, sometimes belittled American influence, with the good intention of increasing the acceptance of the constitution among the Bavarian population.
After the war, US General Lucius D. Clay headed the Office of Military Government for Bavaria (OMGBY) and promoted the democratization of Bavaria.
(Photo: DENA-Bild)
The principle of US General Lucius D. Clay fits this very well: “The constitutions must represent their will and not that of the occupation forces” . After the war, Clay headed the Office of Military Government for Bavaria (OMGBY), which was directly subordinate to the American military government in Berlin.
As early as the fall of 1945, Clay planned that the countries under US rule should not only have a constitutional basis, but also governments that were supported by a parliamentary majority. Clay saw the time had come earlier than others to strengthen democracy and changing values through elections.
Both in his desire for elections and in his idea of bringing state constitutions into force in the US zone as quickly as possible, he had to override strong resistance from his advisors and concerns from Washington, says Rumschöttel. Clay also urged the drafting of the constitution. His schedule stipulated that the states should have approved constitutions and democratically legitimized governments by the end of 1946 at the latest. “So it is not an exaggeration to see General Lucius D. Clay as the initiator and spiritus rector of the Bavarian constitution,” says Rumschöttel. So there are several constitutional fathers, in addition to Wilhelm Hoegner, Clay must also be mentioned.
Besold lists many examples that show how immensely the American occupying power helped to rebuild the country, for example with the restoration of the residences in Munich and Würzburg. For him it is generally true that “almost all those born immediately after the war experienced the extraordinarily caring and humane treatment of the Americans”. This resulted in the positive image of America among the population, “which, however, has deteriorated significantly in recent years.”
A friendship book celebrates the work of the century
For the 75th birthday of the Bavarian Constitution, the Bavarian State Center for Political Education A friendship book was published under the title “My Constitution”. 62 personalities from different social areas have formulated their opinion on the work of the century. In the comments, they each deal with an article of the Bavarian constitution. The President of the Landtag, Ilse Aigner, took on Article 20 and thus her own role in the Landtag. When she recently presented the friendship book at the Maximilianeum together with Rupert Grübl, the director of the Bavarian State Center for Political Education, and students at the Franz-Marc-Gymnasium Markt Schwaben, she emphasized: “The Bavarian Constitution sets values that are non-negotiable – and it has been doing so successfully for 75 years. It thus forms solid guard rails for our democracy, as the constitutional mothers and fathers had hoped, and sets a stable framework for the best state we have ever had. “
Director Grübl said that it quickly became clear to the state headquarters “that in the anniversary year we wanted to focus on the people in Bavaria and their relationship to the constitution in addition to scientific employment.” Two academic introductory texts deal with the creation and content of the constitution. As before, citizens can submit contributions to the constitution in words, images and sound to: [email protected].