The Chamber of States (German: Länderkammer) was the upper chamber of the bicamerallegislature of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from its founding in 1949 until 1952, at which time it was largely sidelined, when the five Länder (states) of East Germany ceased to exist and were replaced with smaller administrative regions.[1] The Chamber of States itself was dissolved on 8 December 1958. The lower chamber, which continued in existence until German reunification in 1990, was the People's Chamber (Volkskammer).
In the Federal Republic of Germany the expression Länderkammer is sometimes used to denote the Bundesrat although it is not legally classified as a legislative chamber.
A Session of the Länderkammer in 1958. The Minister of the Interior Karl Maron is speaking.
Initially, in 1949, the communists aimed for a quasi-unitary state, with some degree of decentralization. Laws were to be made by the central legislature in East Berlin, and the Länder authorities were responsible for the implementation of the laws.
In practice, due to the democratic centralism of the SED, the GDR rapidly developed strong centralist tendencies. However, it initially operated in this bicameral framework in which the states were represented. The Chamber of States theoretically had the power to introduce bills and to veto laws proposed by the People's Chamber, although another vote in the People's Chamber could overturn such a veto. The Chamber of States never made use of its veto. The two chambers also elected the President of East Germany in joint session.
According to the Constitution of East Germany, in addition to the People's Chamber, a “provisional Land Chamber” was formed. The fifty members of the Land Chamber were to be determined by the assemblies in the various Länder, according to the memberships of these assemblies. Saxony sent thirteen delegates, Saxony-Anhalt eleven, Thuringia ten, Brandenburg nine, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern seven. East Berlin sent thirteen delegates, but they did not have voting rights owing to Berlin as a whole still legally being occupied territory. (A similar arrangement existed in West Berlin, in which the city's delegates in the Bundestag and Bundesrat had no voting rights.)
In 1952, the East German Länder transferred their administrative functions to the smaller regional districts (Bezirke), effectively dissolving themselves. The Chamber of States remained in existence, but became increasingly redundant. Since the Landtage could no longer meet to elect members of the Chamber of States, the 1954 delegates for each Länder were chosen by a special meeting of the District Assemblies (Bezirkstage) of that state. The members of the Chamber of States elected in 1958 were directly elected by their Bezirkstage. These delegates were appointed as a "suicide squad," raising no objection as the People's Chamber abolished the Chamber of States and the Länder on 8 December 1958.
^ [Federal Council compact: 1952-69: Reconstruction and the Cold War] (in German). Archived from the original on 9 December 2011.
External linksedit
Law on the composition of the upper house of the German Democratic Republic.
March 17, 2024
chamber, states, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 20. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Chamber of States news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Chamber of States German Landerkammer was the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic East Germany from its founding in 1949 until 1952 at which time it was largely sidelined when the five Lander states of East Germany ceased to exist and were replaced with smaller administrative regions 1 The Chamber of States itself was dissolved on 8 December 1958 The lower chamber which continued in existence until German reunification in 1990 was the People s Chamber Volkskammer Chamber of States LanderkammerGerman Democratic Republic East Germany TypeTypeUpper houseHistoryEstablished1949 75 years ago 1949 Disbanded1958 66 years ago 1958 Preceded byNazi ReichstagSucceeded byPeople s ChamberSeats50Meeting placeLangenbeck Virchow HausIn the Federal Republic of Germany the expression Landerkammer is sometimes used to denote the Bundesrat although it is not legally classified as a legislative chamber A Session of the Landerkammer in 1958 The Minister of the Interior Karl Maron is speaking Contents 1 Idea and reality 2 Presidents of the Chamber of States 3 Vice Presidents of the Chamber of States 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksIdea and reality edit nbsp Lander in 1947 purple and in 1990 red After 1945 the Soviet military administration established the five Lander of Mecklenburg Vorpommern Brandenburg Saxony Saxony Anhalt and Thuringia Initially in 1949 the communists aimed for a quasi unitary state with some degree of decentralization Laws were to be made by the central legislature in East Berlin and the Lander authorities were responsible for the implementation of the laws In practice due to the democratic centralism of the SED the GDR rapidly developed strong centralist tendencies However it initially operated in this bicameral framework in which the states were represented The Chamber of States theoretically had the power to introduce bills and to veto laws proposed by the People s Chamber although another vote in the People s Chamber could overturn such a veto The Chamber of States never made use of its veto The two chambers also elected the President of East Germany in joint session According to the Constitution of East Germany in addition to the People s Chamber a provisional Land Chamber was formed The fifty members of the Land Chamber were to be determined by the assemblies in the various Lander according to the memberships of these assemblies Saxony sent thirteen delegates Saxony Anhalt eleven Thuringia ten Brandenburg nine and Mecklenburg Vorpommern seven East Berlin sent thirteen delegates but they did not have voting rights owing to Berlin as a whole still legally being occupied territory A similar arrangement existed in West Berlin in which the city s delegates in the Bundestag and Bundesrat had no voting rights In 1952 the East German Lander transferred their administrative functions to the smaller regional districts Bezirke effectively dissolving themselves The Chamber of States remained in existence but became increasingly redundant Since the Landtage could no longer meet to elect members of the Chamber of States the 1954 delegates for each Lander were chosen by a special meeting of the District Assemblies Bezirkstage of that state The members of the Chamber of States elected in 1958 were directly elected by their Bezirkstage These delegates were appointed as a suicide squad raising no objection as the People s Chamber abolished the Chamber of States and the Lander on 8 December 1958 Presidents of the Chamber of States editName Period PartyReinhold Lobedanz October 11 1949 March 5 1955 CDUAugust Bach March 5 1955 December 8 1958 CDUVice Presidents of the Chamber of States editName Period PartyAugust Frohlich 1950 1958 SEDHans Luthardt 1950 1958 NDPDErich Hagemeier 1950 1954 LDPDDr Karl Muhlmann 1954 1958 LDPDMax Suhrbier 1958 LDPDDiedrich Besler 1950 1954 DBDAlbert Rodiger 1954 1958 DBDSee also editAdministrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic Politics of East GermanyReferences edit Bundesrat kompakt 1952 69 Aufbau und Kalter Krieg Federal Council compact 1952 69 Reconstruction and the Cold War in German Archived from the original on 9 December 2011 External links editLaw on the composition of the upper house of the German Democratic Republic Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Chamber of States amp oldid 1169875145, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
