State (Germany)

“ Delenda est Prussia, understanding thereby not, of course, the inhabitants of Prussian territory as such, but Prussia as a State-system and as an independent Power in Europe, must be the watchword in the present crisis of every well-wisher of Humanity, Germany included. A united Germany, if that be insisted upon, by all means let there be—a federation of all the German peoples with its capital, for that matter, as of old, at Frankfurt-on-the-Main, but with no dominant State and, if possible, excluding Prussia altogether, but certainly as constituted at present. ”

“ The North German Bund of 1866 was a federation of semi-sovereigns, or Bundes Staat. The present German Republic is still a Federal State, but sovereignty is inherent in the people, not in the constituent governments. ”

“ Politically, there is no such place as "Germany." There are the twenty-five States, Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg, Saxony, etc., which make up the "German Empire," but there is no such political entity as "Germany."
These twenty-five States have votes in the Bundesrat, a body which may be said to correspond remotely to our United States Senate. But each State has a different number of votes. Prussia has seventeen, Bavaria six, Württemberg and Saxony four each, Baden and Hesse three each, Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Brunswick two each, and the rest one each. Prussia controls Brunswick. ”

“ There is, in the mind of the public generally, a theory that Germany with its Bundesrath and Reichstag has a government akin to that of England and even the United States, but the impression is an erroneous one. It is true that Germany has a dual system of government and independent state sovereignties. There is, however, nothing democratic about the system.
To begin with, the Kaiser is a constitutional monarch in his capacity as German Emperor, but as King of Prussia he is a self-appointed and arrogant ruler—all that he advertises himself to be in the way of a God-chosen ruler. ”

“ We believe it right to declare before all—not only before Prussia, but before Germany, if such be the will of God, and before the whole united nation, what are the propositions which we have resolved to make to our German confederates. Above all, we demand that Germany be transformed from a confederation of states into a federal state. We admit that this implies a recognisation of the federal constitution, which cannot be carried into effect save by the union of the princes with the people. ”

“ In the constitution of the new empire two legislative bodies were provided for, the Bundesrath or Federal Council, whose members are annually appointed by the respective state governments, and the Reichstag or Representative body, whose members are elected by universal suffrage for a period of three years, an annual session being required. Germany, therefore, in its present organization, is practically a federal union of states, each with its own powers of internal government, and with a common legislature approximating to our Senate and House of Representatives. ”

“ It will have to be the Reich that will be called upon to preside over the question of new repartition of territories, because it alone is the holder of sovereignty in Germany, and because it alone is in position to maintain an equal balance between the varied and particular interests of the states. No territorial change whatsoever, whether a fusion, a separation, or the creation of a state, will be possible or operative no matter what conditions exist for its consummation, without a law enacted by the Reich. ”

“ The individual states, he pointed out, were the products of purely dynastic politics which almost everywhere ran counter to the natural relations of populations and races, separating what should have been united and uniting elements that had nothing in common. Only the republic has the possibility—it is also its duty—to reunite what belonged together. The fundamental question of the internal organization of Germany is, can a centralized Prussian State be maintained within the future German Republic? This question Preuss, after philosophical, historical considerations, answered in the negative. ”

“ Prussia, which has seventeen votes, may name seventeen members of the Bundesrat or one member, who, however, when he votes casts seventeen votes. The votes of a State must always be cast as a unit. In the usual procedure bills are prepared and adopted in the Bundesrat and then sent to the Reichstag whence, if passed, they return to the Bundesrat where the final approval must take place. Therefore, in practice, the Bundesrat makes the laws with the assent of the Reichstag. The members of the Bundesrat have the right to appear and make speeches in the Reichstag. ”

“ Beyond these limits the former United Provinces, with the whole oceanic coast of Germany as far as the Elbe, and the cities of Bremen, Hamburg, and Lübeck, were incorporated with France. France now stretched to the Baltic, and, as Holstein was now incorporated with Denmark, France and Denmark had a common frontier. The Confederation of the Rhine was a protected state, and the Kingdom of Prussia and the self-styled ‘Empire’ of Austria could practically hardly claim a higher place. ”

“ THE FEDERATION AND THE LAENDER
Article 20
(1) The Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state.
(2) All state authority emanates from the people. It shall be exercised by the people in elections and plebiscites and by means of separate legislative, executive and judicial organs.
(3) Legislation shall be limited by the constitution, the executive and the administration of justice by legislation and the law.
Article 21
(1) The parties shall participate in forming the political will of the people. They can be freely formed. ”

“ In addition to codifying the numerous legislative and social changes which had been instituted in East Germany, the present constitution places particular stress on the sovereign political character of the state, and constitutionally anchors the SED in its leadership role. All political power is nominally exercised by the workers and peasants, led by the SED-dominated National Front and its component parties and mass organizations. ”

“ Domestic The primary goals of the domestic policies pursued by the regime are to assure the perpetuation of SED control of the society and to continue the process of transforming East Germany into a viable state separate and distinct from the Federal Republic of Germany. ”

“ Few of us realize to what extent preparations are made for legislation in Germany. A recent statement by one of the Prussian statesmen shows that half the members, not only of the imperial parliament but also of the various state parliaments, were men who had received some training for their work and most of the officers, in fact nearly all of the administrative officers in Germany, are especially educated for this important work. ”

“ Nevertheless the country seemed predestined by nature itself to form a part of Germany. The broken surface of the Ardenne hilly region and the extension of the plateau of Lorraine are drained by the Sauer and Moselle into German territory. The life of the inhabitants of the entire state is influenced by this easterly drift and tends yearly to greater dispersal in the same direction. This is the danger which prompts them to cling to their independence with patriotic tenacity. ”

“ Guided by the interests of preservation of peace and security of peoples and with the desire to assure further reconstruction of the political life of Germany on a democratic basis, the Control Council enacts as follows:
Article I The Prussian State together with its central government and all its agencies is abolished. ”

“ Section I Foundations of the socialist social and state order Chapter 1 Political Foundations Article 1 The German Democratic Republic is a socialist state of workers and peasants. It is the political organization of the urban and rural working people under the leadership of the working class and its Marxist-Leninist party. The capital of the German Democratic Republic is Berlin. The state flag of the German Democratic Republic consists of the colors black-red-gold and carries on both sides in the middle the state coat of arms of the German Democratic Republic. ”

“ Subject to all rights and objections of the interested parties, the State treaties concluded by the German Reich concerning matters for which, under this Basic Law, Land legislation is Competent remain in force, if they are and continue to be valid in accordance with general principles of law, until new State treaties are concluded by the agencies competent under this Basic Law, or until they are in any other way terminated pursuant to their provisions.
Article 124. Law affecting matters within the exclusive power to legislate of the Federation becomes Federal law wherever it is applicable. ”

“ I am speaking to you from the cabinet room of 10 Downing St. This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany. ”

“ As at October 2010 Preamble Conscious of their responsibility before God and man, Inspired by the determination to promote world peace as an equal partner in a united Europe, the German people, in the exercise of their constituent power, have adopted this Basic Law. Germans in the Länder of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia have achieved the unity and freedom of Germany in free self-determination. ”

“ That Empire rests upon a basis of twenty-six autonomous governments, varying from autocracies at one end to republics at the other. The German Empire contains within it every form and shape of human community, varying from sheer mediævalism to extreme modernism. But whatever the form or shape of these separate governments, they are all alike in having control over their own local affairs. Most of the great states of Germany still possess control even over their own railways. ”

“ In the Palatinate the people seized the Bavarian Government officials, and the public moneys, and instituted a Committee of Defence, which placed the province under the protection of the National Assembly. In Würtemberg the people forced the King to acknowledge the Imperial Constitution, and in Baden the army, united with the people, forced the Grand Duke to flight, and erected a Provincial Government. In other parts of Germany the people only awaited a decisive signal from the National Assembly to rise in arms and place themselves at its disposal. ”

“ To us to-day, Germany means the German Empire, one of the three or four best organized and most powerful of the European states. It is a compact federation, somewhat like that of the United States, made up of twenty-two monarchies and three little city republics. Each member of the union manages its local affairs, but leaves all questions of national importance to be settled by the central government at Berlin. ”

“ Almost totally deprived of political spirit and personal judgment the German people had let themselves be convinced that it was only in the hands of the monarchy, the army, and the bureaucracy that the affairs of the nation were best and most safely conducted; and they naturally came to think that the prosperity in Germany in economic and in technical matters, as well as its development in social matters, was undeniable proof of the excellence of the monarchical system. No political party dreamed of incorporating in its program the establishment of a republic. ”

“ We demand a German federal tribunal, to settle all political differences between the princes and their estates, as also between the different German governments. We demand a common law of settlement for all natives of Germany, and perfect liberty for them to settle in any German country. We demand that, for the future, there shall be no barriers raised against commerce and industry in Germany. ”

“ From now on, there is only one national authority: The one of the Reich! Thus, the German Reich has become a unified state, and the entire administration in the states is only carried out by order or in the name of the Reich. The state borders are now only administration, technical are boundaries but no longer boundaries of sovereignty! In calm determination, the Reich Cabinet (Reichsregierung) realizes step by step, supported by the confidence of the entire German people, the great longing of the Nation. The creation of the national socialist German, unified state. ”

“ Ebert, Scheidemann and Landsberg, and three Independents, Haase, Dittmann and Barth. [5] In the evening there was held at the Busch Circus a plenary session of the Workers and Soldiers Councils of Berlin. This assembly passed a resolution which declared among other things the following: “Old Germany is no more. The dynasties are gone forever. The holders of thrones are stripped of their power. Germany is now a Republic, a Socialist Republic. The Workers and Soldiers Councils are now the holders of political power.” ”

“ Father can dispose of but one-fourth of the property; nobles, however, are allowed to bestow upon one of their children the half of their fortune. Germany: No uniform civil legislation exists as yet for the whole empire. In the majority of the smaller states, in a part of Bavaria, Rügen, eastern Pomerania, Schleswig-Holstein, the Corpus Juris Civilis of Justinian is in force, while the Napoleonic code obtains in Rhenish Prussia, Hesse, and Bavaria, in Baden, Berg, Alsace-Lorraine. ”

“ The rivalry of the European states in constantly increasing their forces has reduced them to the necessity of having recourse to universal military service, since by that means the greatest possible number of soldiers is obtained at the least possible expense. Germany first hit on this device. And directly one state adopted it the others were obliged to do the same. And by this means all citizens are under arms to support the iniquities practiced upon them; all citizens have become their own oppressors. ”