IOTL, Bonn was narrowly chosen over Frankfurt, the traditional center of Germany and heart of the 1848 Revolution, to be the capital of the Bundesrepublik. What if Frankfurt is chosen as the seat of government? If/when Germany reunites, does it stay in Frankfurt or does the capital move to a united Berlin?
WI: Frankfurt becomes West German capital after WWII
- Thread starter Snowstalker
- Start date
Well then Bonn will stay a village. We call it "Bundesdorf" for a reason 
.
Frankfurt will see a further increase in population, population density and areal expansion. Smaller cities around Frankfurt in southern Hessen and northern Bavaria might see an increase in population as well and some might get a federal agency or two.
Governmental shelters, bunkers and redoubts would be situated in the Taunus and maybe the Odenwald instead of the Eifel.
AFAIK it was more or less Adenauer's choice to make Bonn the capital as it was in close proximity of his beloved Cologne.
OTOH Frankfurt is much more vulnerable to a soviet assault on West Germany. The allied occupying powers always thought of the "Fulda Gap" as the most likely invasion route for a soviet army and from their to Frankfurt it would be at most a two day trip for the Red Army.
Would the capital be moved to Berlin?
Technically Berlin was always the capital of Germany since 1871, Bonn was only "Regierungssitz" (seat of Government) much like The Hague and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
So yes, probably they will transfer all the ministries and agencies to Berlin after a reunification.
But maybe as Frankfurt is far more prestigious as Bonn parlament may decide otherwise. I guess IOTL they voted for Berlin not only as a symbol for unity but also because it simply was the biggest german city.
.Frankfurt will see a further increase in population, population density and areal expansion. Smaller cities around Frankfurt in southern Hessen and northern Bavaria might see an increase in population as well and some might get a federal agency or two.
Governmental shelters, bunkers and redoubts would be situated in the Taunus and maybe the Odenwald instead of the Eifel.
AFAIK it was more or less Adenauer's choice to make Bonn the capital as it was in close proximity of his beloved Cologne.
OTOH Frankfurt is much more vulnerable to a soviet assault on West Germany. The allied occupying powers always thought of the "Fulda Gap" as the most likely invasion route for a soviet army and from their to Frankfurt it would be at most a two day trip for the Red Army.
Would the capital be moved to Berlin?
Technically Berlin was always the capital of Germany since 1871, Bonn was only "Regierungssitz" (seat of Government) much like The Hague and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
So yes, probably they will transfer all the ministries and agencies to Berlin after a reunification.
But maybe as Frankfurt is far more prestigious as Bonn parlament may decide otherwise. I guess IOTL they voted for Berlin not only as a symbol for unity but also because it simply was the biggest german city.
Last edited:
First, wrong section. Second, the capital will be moved back to Berlin either way. Its symbolic, as the capital of the original unified Germany, and a bit necessary for full reconciliation with the East.
Bonn was seat of government and only considered a provisional capital but nevertheless capital. As far as I know, the "Viermächtestatus" forbade Berlin from becoming capital although the GDR ignored this.
Perkeo
Banned
I cannot imagine moving the capital from Frankfurt to Berlin, because each of the three cities stands for a legacy:
Bonn stands for the provisional character of the German partition: A constitution called "Grundgesetz" (basic law) rather than "Verfassung" (constitution), a preamble that explicitly defines West Germany as a temporary instrument until the unification, and last but not least a capital that is deliberately unsuitable for permanent representation.
Berlin stands for continuity - of Germany as a whole, but perhaps also of Prussian militarism and of the Reich. The latter lead to much controversy on wether Berlin should become the seat of government even IOTL.
Frankfurt stands for the democratic tradition of Germany. Can you imagine Germany deliberately walking away from THAT? I can't - even if the East Germans are pissed off. They were pissed of IOTL anyway.
Frankfurt was in many respects the logical choice. Economically, it was a major center of commerce, transportation, and manufacturing; politically, it had been the place where Holy Roman Emperors had been elected, and was the site of the assembly which tried to unify Germany in 1848; culturally, it was the birthplace of Goethe (though of course Bonn had Beethoven). In fact, maybe Frankfurt was *too* logical a choice; choosing it would seem to indicate that the Federal Republic as a West German state was considered permanent. Bonn seemed more obviously a "provisional" capital. (Note that the Federal Republic's constitution was called a "Basic Law" rather than a constitution, and stated that it would cease to have effect when the entire German people could adopt a new constitution.) Of course, another (maybe the main?) reason Bonn was chosen was stated very simply by Lucius Clay: "Frankfurt was so logical...except that Mr. Adenauer loved the Rhine. Period." http://books.google.com/books?id=5HVmAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA409
Had Frankfurt been chosen, the only historical effect I can think of is that it is uncertain (though still likely) that the capital would have been moved to Berlin after reunification. The vote in the Bundestag on moving the capital to Berlin was a fairly close one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_on_the_Capital_of_Germany I am not sure, had the issue been one of moving the capital from Frankfurt to Berlin, it would have carried. (BTW, Willy Brandt caused some controversy during the debate by saying that after France had been liberated it would have been unthinkable to keep Vichy as the capital...)
Had Frankfurt been chosen, the only historical effect I can think of is that it is uncertain (though still likely) that the capital would have been moved to Berlin after reunification. The vote in the Bundestag on moving the capital to Berlin was a fairly close one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_on_the_Capital_of_Germany I am not sure, had the issue been one of moving the capital from Frankfurt to Berlin, it would have carried. (BTW, Willy Brandt caused some controversy during the debate by saying that after France had been liberated it would have been unthinkable to keep Vichy as the capital...)
And yet the vote in the Bundestag was close---338-320. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_on_the_Capital_of_Germany True, technically, the Unification Treaty had already provided that Berlin would be the capital, but it also provided that "The question of the seat of the parliament and government shall be decided after the establishment of German unity." http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/einigvtr/art_2.html
Another vote for the idea that a FRG-capital of Frankfurt would have gained so much prestige and legitimacy from the legacy of 1848 that it would probably have remained the cqpital after 1989, with Berlin getting a few symbolic goodies. Like perhaps seat of Bundespräsident and Bundesversammlung and one of the Karlsruhe courts.
Perkeo
Banned
The capital of the original unified Germany is Frankfurt, not Germany. Berlin was the Prussian capital and just became the German one when Prussia sort of annexed all the rest of Germany.
When the continuation of pre-1871 traditions isn't considered, there's no reason to consider Frankfurt as capital in the first place. It never was the largest of most important city of West Germany.
One should not forget the two other reasons why Bonn was chosen:
Frankfurt was essentially destroyed, meaning it lacked both the living and office space necessary to work. Bonn had a number of immediately available buildings, because it was hit far less by the war.
Much of the room available in Frankfurt was occupied by the command of the American occupational authorities. A lot of people wondered whether the Americans would be willing to leave, since the perception of the new government as independent might have been impaired otherwise.
So Frankfurt will have to be rebuilt essentially as government city, unlike the provisional buildings in Bonn. That will favour the side wanting to keep it as capital. Otoh if the East German propaganda plays up the close proximity between German government and the US occupation forces, acceptance for Frankfurt might be lower in the former GDR than it was for Bonn otl.
Frankfurt was essentially destroyed, meaning it lacked both the living and office space necessary to work. Bonn had a number of immediately available buildings, because it was hit far less by the war.
Much of the room available in Frankfurt was occupied by the command of the American occupational authorities. A lot of people wondered whether the Americans would be willing to leave, since the perception of the new government as independent might have been impaired otherwise.
So Frankfurt will have to be rebuilt essentially as government city, unlike the provisional buildings in Bonn. That will favour the side wanting to keep it as capital. Otoh if the East German propaganda plays up the close proximity between German government and the US occupation forces, acceptance for Frankfurt might be lower in the former GDR than it was for Bonn otl.