By Jürgen Hartmann

The political system of the Federal Republic of Germany represents the second democratic system in German history. At the Parliamentary Council when designing the new constitution, the Basic Law, the founders of the Federal Republic took into account the lessons that had been learned from the failure of the first democracy, namely the Weimar Republic, and the Nazi dictatorship. The Federal Republic of Germany was born from the ashes of World War II. And in 1949 democracy was established only in the Western section of a Germany that had been divided into two states. Yet the Basic Law, although originally intended as a temporary solution, stated that its goal was reunification “in free self-determination”.

The second German democracy turned out to be a success. There were several reasons for this, among which were the value placed on a way of life based on the principle of liberty following the dictatorship and a striving for acceptance by the country’s democratic neighbors. But the Basic Law also had its role to play in the success. In 1990, when 40 years of German division came to an end, the Basic Law was adopted as the constitution of a united Germany.