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| 1. The German Federal Republic (West Germany) |
| 1949, May 8 |
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| The western parliamentary council adopted the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) for the FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY. While following the Weimar Constitution in many respects, the Basic Law tried to avoid the main shortcomings of its predecessor. The new constitution provided for freedom of association, banned forced labor, guaranteed private property, and declared that men and women had equal rights. Representing a political compromise, the Basic Law left the federal legislature with far-reaching powers to define economic structures and specific labor rights. It was subsequently ratified by all states except Bavaria. The Federal Republic, with Bonn as its capital, came into existence on May 23. | 1 |
| The creation of two separate nations in Germany was one of the first tangible political results of the outbreak of the cold war. Because the Allies did not carry their wartime cooperation into the postwar period, no general peace treaty to deal with the defeated German state could be agreed on. Two very different German states emerged. West Germany had more than twice the population of its counterpart in the East (45 million versus 18 million), and it possessed, without question, the bulk of the nation's industrial capacity. These structural features contributed to the West German “economic miracle,” a term used to describe the economic takeoff that Germany experienced after 1951. | 2 |
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| May 12 |
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| The Berlin blockade was officially lifted. | 3 |
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| Aug. 14 |
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| Elections for the Bundestag (lower house) in West Germany gave the Christian Democratic Party a small lead over the Socialist Party, with the Free Democrats holding the balance. The division of Berlin, the traditional base of support for the Social Democrats, contributed to the Christian Democrats' success in 1949, and to the party's ability to function as the ruling political power in West Germany for two decades to come. Also on Aug. 14, a U.S. court at Nuremberg concluded the last of its war crimes trials with the sentencing of 19 German government officials and diplomats. | 4 |
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| Sept. 12–15 |
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| THEODOR HEUSS (Free Democrat) was elected president, and KONRAD ADENAUER (Christian Democrat) was elected CHANCELLOR of the Federal Republic. | 5 |
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| Sept 30 |
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| The Berlin airlift ended its operation after 277,264 flights. | 6 |
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| Nov |
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| Industrial production reached 93 percent of the 1936 level, but the influx of more than 8 million Germans from the East caused widespread unemployment. | 7 |
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| Dec. 15 |
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| West Germany received the first allotment of funds from the Economic Cooperation Administration, and thus became a full participant in the Marshall Plan. | 8 |
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