Volkskammer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Volkskammer ("People's Chamber") was the de jure Legislature of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on March 18, 1990, all members of the Parliament were elected on a slate controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), called the National Front. Despite the appearance of a multi-party system, all opposition parties were effectively controlled by the dominant SED. In addition, seats were also allocated to various mass organizations affiliated with the SED, such as the Free German Youth.

On paper, the Volkskammer had great power, appointing the Councils of State and Ministers, and the Chairman of the National Defence Council. However, the Parliament had little real power, and the most dissent ever shown by Parliament to the SED was the nays of fourteen and abstensions of eight CDU representatives in a vote on liberalising abortion law.

A typical slate was as follows:

Party/Group	Acronym	Members
Socialist Unity Party of Germany	SED	127
Free German Trade Union Federation	FDGB	68
Christian Democratic Union	CDU	52
Liberal Democratic Party of Germany	LPDP	52
Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany	DBD	52
National Democratic Party of Germany	NDPD	52
Free German Youth	FDJ	50
Democratic Women's League of Germany	DFD	35
Cultural Association of the DDR	KB	22

In 1976, the Volkskammer moved into a specially-constructed building on Marx-Engels-Platz (now Schloßplatz again), the Palast der Republik (Palace of the Republic).

After the 1990 elections, the disposition of the parties was as follows

Party/Group	Acronym	Members
Alliance for Germany	CDU, DA, DSU	192
Social Democratic Party of Germany	SDP	88
Party of Democratic Socialism	PDS, former SED	66
Association of Free Democrats	DFP, FDP, LDP	21
Alliance 90	B90	12
East German Green Party and Independent Women's Association	Grüne, UFV	8
National Democratic Party of Germany	NDPD	2
Democratic Women's League of Germany	DFD	1
United Left	VL	1