Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
As adopted by West Germany in 1949 as an interim constitution, the preamble of the Basic Law looked forward explicitly to a future free and united German state: "The entire German people is called upon to accomplish, by free self-determination, the unity and freedom of Germany."
The number of members was based on the states' populations, with the restriction that no state could have more than two-fifths of the total – a provision that limited only Prussia's influence [13] [14] since it had three-fifths of Germany's population. [15]
In its initial form, the Constitution came into effect on 8 June 1815. The preamble states that the Constitution's purpose was "the safety and independence of Germany" united in "perpetual Confederation". [1] Each state pledged to protect every other state and Germany as a whole if attacked.
The Constitution is divided into four main parts and contains a total of 188 articles. In the first three articles, it is set that Bavaria is a free state, that authority emanates from the people and that Bavaria is a legal, cultural and social state. The Constitution can be changed only in the way of legislation (article 75).
The Constitution, in spite of its title, already names the federal state 'German Empire' (Deutsches Reich). It came into effect the following day, 1 January 1871. [1] The 'Constitution of the German Empire' of 16 April 1871, which came into effect on 4 May 1871. This is usually the constitution called the Bismarcksche Reichsverfassung (BRV or RV).
Since 1963, it was proclaimed by the President of the Federal Republic as "National Day of Memorial of the German People". However, by the mid-1960s as hope faded that the two Germanys would ever be re-united, this date became more of a holiday and day of recreation than a day to consider national unity. [9]
The 1949 constitution had declared Germany a "democratic republic", whereas the new one described East Germany as a "socialist state of the German nation". [19] Under the old constitution, power derived from "the people", while Article 2 of the new Constitution stated that power emanated from "the worker in city and country". [19]
The Constitution of Berlin is divided into 9 sections and 101 articles: Preamble Resolving to protect the freedom and the rights of every individual, to afford democratic order to the community and the economy, and to serve the spirit of social progress and peace, Berlin, the capital of the united Germany, has adopted the following Constitution: