The
People's Chamber was the unicameral
legislatureA legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on 18 March 1990, all members of the
Volkskammer were elected on a slate controlled by the
Socialist Unity Party of GermanyThe Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED), called the
National FrontThe National Front of the German Democratic Republic was an alliance of political parties and mass organisations in East Germany...
. Despite the appearance of a multi-party system, all these Bloc parties were effectively controlled by the dominant SED. In addition, seats were also allocated to various mass organizations affiliated with the SED, such as the
Free German YouthThe Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
.
Initially, it existed alongside the
Chamber of StatesThe Länderkammer was one of the two legislative chambers of the German Democratic Republic from 1949, when the GDR was formed, until 1952, at which time it was largely sidelined, when the five Länder of the GDR were abolished and replaced with smaller administrative regions. The Länderkammer...
, or
Länderkammer, but in 1952 the states of East Germany (and with it the chamber) were dissolved.
In theory, the
Volkskammer was the highest organ of state power in the GDR. Both GDR constitutions vested it with great lawmaking powers. It also formally appointed the Council of State (after 1960), the
Council of MinistersThe Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic was the chief executive body of East Germany from November 1950 until the GDR was unified with the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990...
, and the National Defence Council.
In practice, like most other legislatures in Communist countries, the People's Chamber did little more than rubber-stamp decisions already made by the SED. All parties were expected to respect
democratic centralismDemocratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
, and the most dissent in voting ever shown by the
Volkskammer to the SED were fourteen nays and eight abstentions on the part of CDU representatives in a vote on liberalising
abortionAbortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
law.
A typical slate was as follows:
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
| Party/Group | Acronym | Members
|
|---|
Socialist Unity Party of GermanyThe Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
| SED | 127
|
| Free German Trade Union Federation The Free German Trade Union Federation, in German Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund , was the trade union federation in East Germany. It was part of the National Front and had representatives in the Volkskammer....
| FDGB | 68
|
| Christian Democratic Union The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ) was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany until 1989....
| CDU | 52
|
| Liberal Democratic Party of Germany The Liberal Democratic Party of Germany ) was a political party in East Germany. Like the other allied parties of the SED in the National Front it had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer.-Foundation:...
| LDPD | 52
|
| Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany The Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany ) was an East German political party. The DBD was founded in 1948. It had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer, as part of the National Front. The DBD participated in all GDR cabinets...
| DBD | 52
|
National Democratic Party of GermanyThe National Democratic Party of Germany was an East German political party that acted as an organisation for former members of the NSDAP, the Wehrmacht and middle classes...
| NDPD | 52
|
| Free German Youth The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
| FDJ | 50
|
| Democratic Women's League of Germany The Democratic Women's League of Germany was the mass women's organisation in East Germany.It was established in March 1947 and had the following official aims:*Removal of fascist ideas...
| DFD | 35
|
| Cultural Association of the DDR | KB | 22
In 1976, the Volkskammer moved into a specially-constructed building on Marx-Engels-Platz (now SchloßplatzSchloßplatz is a common name for squares in many German-speaking countries. Cities which have a Schloßplatz include Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Stuttgart and Dresden.-Overview:...
again), the Palast der RepublikThe Palace of the Republic in Berlin was the seat of the parliament of the German Democratic Republic, the People's Chamber, and also served various cultural purposes...
(Palace of the Republic).
After the 1990 electionsLegislative elections were held in the German Democratic Republic on 18 March 1990. It was the first—and as it turned out, only—free parliamentary election in East Germany, and the first truly free election held in that part of Germany since 1933...
, the disposition of the parties was as follows:
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
|
Party/Group
| Acronym
| Members
|
|---|
| Alliance for Germany The Alliance for Germany was an opposition coalition in East Germany. It was formed on 5 February 1990 in Berlin to stand in the East-German Volkskammer elections. It consisted of the Christian Democratic Union, Democratic Awakening and the German Social Union...
| CDU The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ) was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany until 1989....
, DADemocratic Awakening was an East German opposition political movement. It was founded in October 1989, based on existing politically active church groups. Founding members included Wolfgang Schnur, Friedrich Schorlemmer, Rainer Eppelmann, Günter Nooke and Thomas Welz. The organisation was...
, DSUThe German Social Union is a small right-wing conservative political party active in the eastern German states since 1990. It was started as a conservative opposition group during the "Wende" in the German Democratic Republic...
| 192
|
Social Democratic Party of GermanyThe Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
| SPD | 88
|
| Party of Democratic Socialism | PDS, former SED | 66
|
| Association of Free Democrats The Association of Free Democrats was a liberal coalition formed in East Germany on 12 February 1990. It originally consisted of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Free Democratic Party and the German Forum Party. In the Volkskammer election of the 18 March 1990 the Association of Free Democrats...
| DFP The German Forum Party was an opposition political party in East Germany. It was formed from the New Forum citizens' movement. It was founded in Karl-Marx-Stadt on 27 January 1990. Its first chairman was Jürgen Schmieder...
, FDP, LDPThe Liberal Democratic Party of Germany ) was a political party in East Germany. Like the other allied parties of the SED in the National Front it had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer.-Foundation:...
| 21
|
| Alliance 90 Alliance 90 was an alliance of three non-Communist political groups in East Germany. It merged with the German Green Party in 1993 to form Alliance '90/The Greens....
| B90 | 12
|
| East German Green Party and Independent Women's Association | Grüne The Green Party in East Germany was founded in February 1990. At the first free Volkskammer elections it stood with the Independent Women's Association and received 2.0% of the vote. They received 8 seats but could not resolve how to allocate them...
, UFV | 8
|
National Democratic Party of GermanyThe National Democratic Party of Germany was an East German political party that acted as an organisation for former members of the NSDAP, the Wehrmacht and middle classes...
| NDPD | 2
|
| Democratic Women's League of Germany The Democratic Women's League of Germany was the mass women's organisation in East Germany.It was established in March 1947 and had the following official aims:*Removal of fascist ideas...
| DFD | 1
|
| United Left The United Left was an alliance of several leftist opposition groupings in the German Democratic Republic. Among them were Christian Socialists, Trotskyists, adherents of the Titoistic system of self-management and some SED-members, who were critical of their party's policy. It was founded on...
| VL | 1
Chairmen of the People's Chamber
List of Presidents of the People's Chamber
Below is a list of office-holders:
{|class="wikitable"
!Name
!Entered office
!Left office
!Party
|-
|Johannes DieckmannJohannes Dieckmann held the office of State President of East Germany on an acting basis in 1949 and again in 1960....
|October 7, 1949
|February 22, 1969
|LDPD
|-
|Gerald GöttingGerald Götting is a former East German Christian Democratic politician.-Life:Götting was born in Nietleben, Province of Saxony, now part of Halle/Saale. During World War II, he served in the Reichsarbeitsdienst, an auxiliary support and supply organization, and later in the Wehrmacht...
|May 12, 1969
|October 29, 1976
|CDUThe Christian Democratic Union of Germany ) was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany until 1989....
|-
|Horst SindermannHorst Sindermann was a Communist German politician and one of the leaders of East Germany.-Early life:Sindermann was born in Dresden as the son of the Saxon Social Democratic politician Karl Sindermann...
|October 29, 1976
|November 13, 1989
|SEDThe Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
|-
|Günther MaleudaGünther Maleuda is a former East German politician. From 13 November 1989 to March 1990 he was the President of the People's Chamber .-Early years:...
|November 13, 1989
|April 5, 1990
|DBDThe Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany ) was an East German political party. The DBD was founded in 1948. It had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer, as part of the National Front. The DBD participated in all GDR cabinets...
|-
|Sabine Bergmann-PohlSabine Bergmann-Pohl née Schulz is a German politician. A member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany , she was president of the People's Chamber of the German Democratic Republic from April to October 1990 and as such the last head of state...
|April 5, 1990
|October 2, 1990
|CDUThe Christian Democratic Union of Germany ) was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany until 1989....
|}
Sabine-Bergmann-Pohl was also head of state of the German Democratic Republic, due to the State Council having been abolished.
External links
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