On the State Structure of the Federal Republic of Germany at the adoption of the Basic Law of 1949

The article deals with the issues of state structure of the Federal Republic of Germany discussed in the process of adoption of the Basic Law of 1949. The author examines the constitutional and legal situation within which the Basic Law of the FRG was adopted, analyses in detail the ideas of leading constitutionalists on the issues of state structure that were discussed in the process of drafting the Basic Law of the FRG. Germany's partition was initiated by the West. Recently disclosed archive documents show that Germany's split was predetermined already in the course of the war at the meetings of the "Big Three" - the USSR, the USA and Britain. Then they were joined by France. The accusations that the Soviet Union was responsible for the split of that country are untrue. On the contrary, in the first post-war years, the Soviet government proposed free elections in both parts of Germany, on the condition that the united country would be neutral, that is, would not be part of any military blocs. The West rejected this proposal. The Soviet government has repeatedly stated that Germany must be seen as a single economic and political entity. The position of the Soviet Government is supported by the views of scholars of Soviet state law. The question of German state unity was widely discussed at that time in Soviet periodicals. Soviet scholars L. Bezymensky, B.S. Mankovsky, D. Melnikov, D. Monin, E. Tarle and I. Traynin were in favour of a united German state. On this basis, they concluded that the rejection of the political unity of Germany was directed against the democratic restructuring of the country. A dismemberment of Germany is in the interest neither of the German people, nor of the democratic countries of Europe. Only the re-establishment of a united Germany is in the interest of a lasting peace in Europe, consistent with the historical development of the country and the legitimate aspirations of the German people themselves. There were differences of opinion about the future state structure of Germany. The position of prominent Soviet jurists differed fundamentally from that of Western politicians and jurists. The Western allies were in favour of a federal Germany, while the Soviet scholars were in favour of a unitary form of government. Thus, Germany, divided first into four occupation zones, and then into American and Soviet zones of influence, which not only lost considerable territories, but also completely lost its international standing, ceased to exist as a unified nation state for many years. Two independent states, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, were created on German territory. There was a de facto split into two states, which found themselves in different military and political blocs. Since that time, all the aspirations of West and East Germans have been directed towards the unification of Germany and the reunification of the German people. The author declares no conflicts of interests.