Explaining Notstandsgesetze

German historians rarely bring up Notstandsgesetze.  But it is one of those odd features of West Germany....after WW II....which brings on a fair amount of chaos and some major moments for Germany from 1968 to the early 1980s.  So I'll try to explain this in basic terms.

German, from the conclusion of the war (May 1945) to May 1968....while a West German government did exist in many forms....there was a overview by the allies (US, Britain, France and the USSR) that existed.  Yes, twenty-three years later, West Germany was NOT yet in full control of their affairs.  So to end this control.....the allies wrote down this one basic requirement that had to be passed and included in the Constitution.....to be referred to as Notstandsgesetze.  In English.....it was the emergency acts clause.

It said in simple terms....the German federal government had the authority in an emergency situation to take and seize power throughout Germany....for examples like natural disaster, uprisings, or war.  This term 'uprisings'?  This was not very clearly spelled out.  What the allies wanted was a clear path to leadership that they could go to, and expect one voice to speak and act. 

So in the spring of 1968, they were discussing the way it'd work, and the government coalition was CDU-SPD (referred to as the Grand Coalition), and the two had roughly 90-percent control of the Bundestag.  So in getting this passed.....it was no big deal.  The opposition? The FDP.  And they clearly made a big deal out of the wording.  As far as they saw it.....the states of West Germany held an enormous amount of power, and giving this over to the federal government....was not appropriate.

What happened next?  For about a year, student and university groups led protests, which centered on this and a dozen-odd problems they saw.  In historical discussions, the 1968-1969 period is a big deal, and hyped up to a major degree.

Should the Notstandsgesetze have been written or done differently?  Looking back, this was the trigger of the Red Army terror period, and the unrest of university student in this period.

Prior to the 1930s....was there something in the Constitution to handle this emergency type of management required?  No.