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Germany 1871-1990Society 1
Urban working class
1870-1918 kaiser Reich and bismark
Two-thirds of the German population lived in rural villages, whereas in Britain well over half
the population lived in urbanised centres. However, following on from unification,
Germany's population underwent rapid urbanisation due to the country's increasing
industrial growth. By 1914, 66 percent of the German population lived in urbanised towns.
urbanisation created a range of new problems for Germany. These concerned conditions of
housing and sanitation in the cities for this growing working class. This in turn changed
German politics, as urbanised workers sought greater political representation in order to
achieve better living and working conditions. Trade union membership increased from
around 50,000 in 1877 to 278,000 in 1891.
Subsequent chancellors extended Bismarck's social policies as a means of placating the
working class and encouraging them not to support the SPD. Accident insurance was
extended, child labour further restricted, and sickness insurance lengthened. Bismarck
hoped to gain the support of Germany's working classes by introducing an extensive scheme
of social security. In 1883, free medical treatment for three million workers and their
families was introduced, funded jointly by both workers and employers.
The structure of government established by Chancellor Bismarck after 1871 was aimed at
maintaining the Prussian elite's dominance over the German state. This was significantly
challenged by urbanisation and the subsequent political demands of this growing working
class. Bismarck and the Prussian elite viewed the political developments this unleashed.
particularly
In 1886, both accident and sickness insurance were extended to an extra seven million
workers, and in 1889, workers were given a pension at 70, or earlier if they were disabled, a
measure financed by employers. workers and the state.
Despite this, the legislation failed to achieve its political goals.
first two years of the First World War, the vast majority
of the German working class, along with the SPD and the trade unions. supported the war
effort. However, by the summer of
1916 this support was beginning to deteriorate. Industrial workers
had begun to question the new restrictions on workers' freedom introduced by the Auxiliary
Service Act in August 1916. This was followed by the extremely cold winter of 1916/17 that
led to considerable food shortages. By 1918, the combination of food shortages. mass
casualties and the Russian Revolution had led to large-scale political opposition among the
working class. In January 1918, 400,000 Berlin workers went on strike, and this soon spread
to the rest of Germany, with over a million workers on strike within a month.
1918-33 Weimar
,The new Weimar Constitution guaranteed that employees would have equal rights with
employers in determining working conditions and that workers would be guaranteed an
eight-hour day.
Generally, conditions were quite good for the working class during the Weimar period,
particularly from 1924 to 1929. Real wages increased by 9 percent in 1927 and by 12 percent
in 1928. Two million new houses were built, alleviating overcrowding in the large German
cities, and unemployment insurance for those out of work was established.
However, the progress of the German working class was profoundly affected by the
economic downturn after 1929. By January 1933, the number of German unemployed
reached nine million. By 1932, unemployment had reached 31 percent, compared to ten
percent in 1929.
1933-45 Nazis
Under the Nazis, from 1933 to 1945, urbanised workers experienced increased employment.
due to public work schemes and rearmament programmes, at the expense of their rights,
with the Nazis banning trade unions and the ability to strike. The working class grew by
around ten percent from 1929 to 1938, as the Nazis expanded German industry in
preparation for war.
1945-90 West Germany FDR
During the West German period, from 1945 to 1990, urbanisation increased even further;
with the percentage of the working population remaining in rural communities falling from
23.1 percent in 1950 to 8.3 percent in 1970. West Germany's considerable economic growth
fuelled greater movement to the large, industrialised centres. From 1950 to 1980, West
Germany's population grew by 50 percent to 61.7 million. Of this population, 74 percent of
the West German population lived in communities of over 10,000.
While living standards in the cities were relatively high in West Germany, the introduction of
the 'guest worker' would change the demographics of the country's working class. fill labour
shortages in industries such as electrical engineering and shipbuilding. From 1959 to
1966, this grew from 150,000 to 1.2 million guest workers. This was to have the effect of
creating an 'underclass' of ethnic workers in German cities. who tended to be employed in
the lowest-paid jobs and lacking the same employment rights as Germans. In total, the West
German government called 14 million guest workers.
The artisan tradition
1870-1914 Bismark and Wilhelmian
The industrialisation of Germany not only provided a political challenge to the Prussian elite,
but also undermined the German artisan tradition. These were small, often family-owned
businesses, some of which were hundreds of years old, which prided themselves on their
skilled labour and hand-crafted goods. Under rapid industrialisation after 1871, however, the
artisan tradition came under severe threat. Mechanised factories could produce cheaper
goods at a rate far beyond that which the artisan could produce by hand. Groups of artisan
industry declined or completely disappeared, particularly in those small businesses working
in dyes or weaving. From 1882 to 1895, one-man artisan businesses declined by 13.5
percent and suffered even further decline from 1897 to 1907. Economists feared at the time
that the German artisan tradition was doomed to fade out entirely.
, By 1900, it was clear that the artisan tradition, although being reduced, could survive in
industrialised Germany New methods and better tools allowed many artisans to adapt to
increasing competition. Despite this, along with shopkeepers and small traders, Germany's
artisans formed a particularly angry sector of society. The rapid change Germany
experienced after 1871 significantly affected their traditional way of life. They felt challenged
both by the political elite and the growing power of the Socialists and trade unionism.
1918-33 Weimar
not surprising that skilled craftsmen, shopkeepers and small business owners provided the
first solid basis of support for the fledgling Nazi Party in the early 1920s. their original
programme (known as the Twenty-Five Points) contained several policies meant to assist
small traders. Wholesale businesses were to be shut down and their premises given to small
traders at a cheaper lease rate, and small artisans were to be given greater consideration by
the state. Many artisans felt that their positions were threatened by growing consumerism
and the construction of large shopping complexes in Weimar Germany, and so were
attracted to the Nazi Party, which promised to protect the artisan tradition.
1933-39 Nazis
When Hitler came to power in 1933, the Nazis introduced several measures that helped
Germany’s artisans. department stores were restricted, with all chain stores barred from
growing any larger and unable to offer services such as shoe repairing, baking, barbering or
food catering. The Nazis ensured that the artisan tradition remained lower in importance
than the interests of big industry. Artisan suggestions that industry should be de mechanised
were completely rejected. As the Nazis launched mass rearmament through industrial
production from 1934 onwards, it was clear that the German economy would prioritise big
industry, not the artisan tradition. 1936 to 1939, the number of artisan businesses began to
decline, decreasing by 11 percent. Nazi concern at unemployment thus encouraged them to
help the larger chain stores survive and grow. As the war approached, the Nazis tried to
restrict artisan businesses, declaring that the artisan trades of bakers, butchers, shoemakers
and tailors were too numerous in Germany, and they began to close shops that they
considered were not economically justified.
1945-90 West Germany FDR
Despite the fact that this growth was driven by big industry, the artisan tradition was also to
play an important role. Artisans were given special status within the West German economic
model. The most important aspect of this special status was that artisan organisations were
given the role of organising and overseeing the training of skilled workers. This ensured that
artisan organisations had a key role to play in the highly industrialised West Germany by
1955, over 3.5 million Germans were employed in artisan trades, a growth of one million
since 1939.
decline of the landowning elite
1871-1918 kaiser Reich and bismark
the coalition (political alliance) between the traditional Conservatives and the
National Liberals contributed to the slow decline of the landowning elite. While
maintaining their social status and control of the military, however, the Junkers had to
compromise with big business. and German political policy moved further and further
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