The German student movement (in Germany commonly called "68er-Bewegung", "movement of 1968") was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students. A wave of protests - some violent - swept Germany, fueled by over-reaction by the police and encouraged by contemporary protest movements across the world. Following more than a century of conservatism among German students, the German student movement also marked a significant major shift to the left and radicalisation of student politics. Demonstrators march in the street while protesting the World Bank and International Monetary Fund on April 16, 2005. ... Dr. Seuss Jean Shepherd Ringo Starr John Steinbeck Gloria Steinem Tom Stoppard Hunter S. Thompson Gore Vidal Peter Vincent Kurt Vonnegut Andy Warhol Alan Watts Bob Weir Brian Wilson Tom Wolfe There were six Olympics held during the decade. ... Freshman and Sophomore redirect here. ... Conservatism is a political philosophy that usually favors traditional values and strong foreign defense. ... Politics is the process by which groups make decisions. ...

Historical background

Following the failure in the mid 19th century of the civil revolution in Germany (1848/49), German students largely abandoned radical politics and heavy political involvements. Having failed to turn Germany into a republic in a rebellion involving much of the working class, German students reversed course and began to follow instead the Prussian ideal of a "good citizen". During this period, the students effectively ceased all political activity against existing political institutions and began to become more conservative. // Preliminaries Germany at the time of the Revolutions of 1848 was a collection of over 30 states loosely bound together in the German Confederation after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Motto: Suum cuique Latin: To each his own Prussia at its peak, as leading state of the German Empire Capital Königsberg, later Berlin Political structure Duchy, Kingdom, Republic Duke1  - 1525–68 Albert I  - 1688–1701 Frederick III King1  - 1701–13 Frederick I  - 1888–1918 William II Prime Minister1,2... The word citizen may refer to: A person with a citizenship Citizen Watch Co. ... Conservatism is a political philosophy that usually favors traditional values and strong foreign defense. ...

By the time that the First World War broke out in 1914, students were so steadfastly conservative and nationalistic that many of them went to war voluntarily. When the war ended in humiliation for Germany in 1919, students, like many in Germany, placed the blame for Germany's defeat and subsequent economic collapses on the newly-formed Weimar Republic, its founders and the Treaty of Versailles. Resulting from this, and because German students were so used to being governed by a single figurehead, it was not hard for the German Nationalist Socialist party headed by Adolf Hitler to convince most students to join its student organization (the NSDStB - German Nationalist Socialist Student Union) and to abandon democracy. When Hitler gained full control of Germany in 1933, the universities were generally pliant towards Nazi policies. This explains in large part why so many students and professors worked together with the Nazi regime. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler... The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Central powers. ... The Nazi Party, officially known as the National Socialist German Workers Party (German: , or NSDAP), was a political party in Germany between 1920 and 1945. ... Hitler redirects here. ... Year 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ...

Following the end of the Second World War in 1945, students returning from the European battlefields and their professors wanted to resume normal academic activity as quickly as possible. The Allied forces agreed that everyday life should be restored quickly, and so removed only a few professors from the posts they had already held during the Nazi regime. German students were hence allowed to return to work very quickly, but the university system was not fully denazified. As a result, students kept their nationalist and conservative traditions in student fraternities while liberal student organizations like the SDS (German Socialist Student Union) remained insignificant, and this situation continued until the 1960s. Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Look up ally in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Denazification (German: Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary and politics of any remnants of the Nazi regime. ... Der Sozialistische Deutsche Studentenbund (Socialist German Student Union) was founded 1946 in Hamburg, Germany, as the college organisation of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany). ...

Consequently, by the advent of the 1960s the university system was still deeply conservative in its political leanings, with these attitudes being reflected in the lack of a say for students in the governance of their universities. Similarly, in central government, many politicians and administrators from the Nazi era had survived, leading to a tendency towards authoritarian government and successive conservative administrations.

Early stages of the movement

The situation at the universities was also different from that which may be expected. The students were mostly taught scientific models of economics, politics etc. but were not taught how they worked, that they could be changed and that these models were only partly transferable to the real world. This curriculum was formed to keep the students from seeing the real connections of economy, politics and the general social situation making them as efficient as possible for their future jobs, to keep the Wirtschaftswunder of Germany up and running. For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The term Wirtschaftswunder (English: economic miracle) designates the upturn experienced in the West German and Austrian economies after the Second World War. ...

When the miracle was over, however, the German economy had to be reorganized; with the forming of the national unity government in 1966 the government had all the power it needed to shape the economy the way it wanted: there was no opposition left to question their actions. By this time the students felt that the economic wealth of the nation, instead of improving the standard of living of the working class, would destroy it and lead to an ever-growing gap between the rich and the poor. This and the fact that the government was very powerful led the students to the conclusion that the German people had to become more democratic and that a new opposition had to be formed. Authority, they believed, addicted people. The media, however, perceived this new attitude as an anti-democratic movement because it was aimed against the society that they believed was democratic. Germany is the worlds third largest economy and the largest in Europe. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The Standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people and the way these services and goods are distributed within a population. ... Wealth from the old English word weal, which means well-being or welfare. The term was originally an adjective to describe the possession of such qualities. ... Kevin Jones Definition- A Poor Motherfucker ... Democracy is a form of government under which the power to alter the laws and structures of government lies, ultimately, with the citizenry. ...

Through their critical work on many different topics and the reactions of the public and the government itself, these main goals formed in the minds of the students:

• Changing society for more democracy.

• Dealing with Germany's and their parents' Fascist past.

• Reforming the curriculum.

• Stopping the war in Vietnam and improving the horrible conditions in the Third World.

• Keeping the government-controlled mass media (especially publications from the “Axel Springer” publishing house) from controlling the masses and blocking the freedom of press.

• Stopping the planned German emergency legislature from being passed.

The first goal was the source of all the others and thus the most important in their minds. Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and historical terms, above all other loyalties, and to create a mobilized national community. ... The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos (See Secret War) and in bombing runs (Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ... Mass media is a term used to denote, as a class, that section of the media specifically conceived and designed to reach a very large audience such as the population of a nation state. ... Axel Springer (d. ... Freedom of the press (or press freedom) is the guarantee by a government of free public speech often through a state constitution for its citizens, and associations of individuals extended to members of news gathering organizations, and their published reporting. ... The German Emergency Acts were passed on 30 May 1968 at the time of the Grand Coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. ...

To summarise, the students rejected decision making-process and the existing unequal balance of wealth and social injustice. They felt the need to overcome and change these things.

The past

To the students, the German chapter of Fascism was not yet closed. Many former Nazis were still working for the government or at the universities (in fact, then-Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger had formerly been a member of the NSDAP) and the newly-formed right-wing NPD (National Democratic Party of Germany) was attracting more and more voters. In addition to that the students had to deal with the fact that they were identified as Germans and blamed for the crimes committed by their parents’ generation. Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and historical terms, above all other loyalties, and to create a mobilized national community. ... National Socialism redirects here. ... Kurt Georg Kiesinger (April 6, 1904–March 9, 1988) was a conservative German politician and Chancellor of Germany from 1 December 1966 until 21 October , 1969. ... The Nazi swastika The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... There is open debate on rather facism is rightwing or not. ...

The students did not want to be held responsible for their parents’ deeds. But their parents acted as if it was no concern of theirs; when the students tried to show the public that the anti-fascist idea of the constitution was not yet established in German society the government and the press felt extremely offended because they had formed a democratic society and did not want it to be attacked.

Reforming the universities

To support its new economic policies the government wanted to change the universities, producing graduates faster by introducing a time limit on courses and limiting the number of students. The students, however, did not want to adjust to the needs of the economy and the government. In fact, they wanted to adjust the universities to their own needs. They wanted more rights in the running of universities, better-equipped workplaces and the expelling of the professors who had been active during the Nazi period. The university boards did not react to the students protest and introduced the time limit for studying.

When this time limit was introduced at the Free University of Berlin during the summer holidays of 1966 the students were not there so were unable to protest against it; instead, the first big sit-in of the German student movement happened when they returned after the holidays, with about 4000 participants. The events at the Free University of Berlin can be seen as representative of the events at all universities in Germany because the same events were repeated elsewhere a short time later. Satellite photo of Berlin. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

The war in Vietnam and political suppression

Through their increasing interest in politics the students quickly engaged in discussions concerning the war in Vietnam. They formed the opinion that the USA had no right to fight in Vietnam, not only because of the victims but mainly because of what they saw as an imperialistic foreign policy. The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos (See Secret War) and in bombing runs (Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. ... // Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ...

The government, however, had to back the USA since they were still watching over Germany after World War Two. For this reason, university boards put a ban on political activities by students (e.g. discussions) at the universities. They explained this act by saying that science should always be neutral. This was the same explanation the professors had used to justify their behaviour during the Third Reich. The students wanted to be able to act politically, not only because of the war in Vietnam, but to protest against the horrible conditions in the Third World as students and not only as individuals. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ...

Emergency legislature

The students were strongly opposed to the idea of German emergency legislature which was due to be passed, which would allow the government to limit civil rights in the case of an emergency. Among other things, it would allow the government to restrict freedom of movement and to limit correspondence privacy and confidentiality of telecommunications. The German Emergency Acts were passed on 30 May 1968 at the time of the Grand Coalition between the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany. ... Title page of a European Union member state passport. ...

Action and reaction

By the year 1966 the number of students which were interested in the conflict between the students and the authorities had increased. Many of those who had not been interested before became at least passively interested by now. This newly-formed public took part in the demonstrations, sit-ins and other protest actions arranged by the students and their organizations (e.g. the Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund). 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more persons nonviolently occupying an area for protest, often political, social, or economic change. ... Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund(SDS) Der Sozialistische Deutsche Studentenbund (Socialist German Student Union) was founded 1946 in Hamburg, Germany, as the college organisation of the SPD(Socialdemocratic Party of Germany). ...

The government tried to fight the situation by decreasing the funds for universities and student organizations and by turning public opinion against the students with help of the press. The view that students should study and not demonstrate grew stronger. The students were also repressed in the streets by the police. Yet, the more pressure the government put on the students, the more the students would stick together.

On June 2nd 1967 the conflict would finally escalate. Students had organized demonstrations against the official visit by the Shah of Iran. In their opinion, the German government was demonstrating a positive attitude towards a dictatorial government that was suppressing and torturing its own people. June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... His Majesty Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (اعلیحضرت محمدرضا شاه پهلوی; October 26, 1919 – July 27, 1980) also knows as Aryamehr, was the last Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 until... Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ...

During the first demonstration in front of the Opera House, which the Shah was visiting, the police of Berlin and the Iranian service attacked the protestors. In the turnmoil, the student Benno Ohnesorg was shot in the head from behind by Polizeiobermeister (Police Seargant) Karl-Heinz Kurras and killed. Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera house located in Berlin, Germany (in what was formerly West Berlin). ... Berlin is the capital city and one of the sixteen states of the Federal Republic of Germany. ... Benno Ohnesorg (October 15, 1940 - June 2, 1967) was a German university student killed by a police officer on June 2, 1967, during a demonstration in Berlin against the visit of the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to Germany. ...

The following days saw many demonstrations throughout the whole republic against police brutality. The students in Berlin, however, were anxious and in a desperate situation. The police was preventing them from gathering in public, the universities had submitted their authority to the government and the press wrote that the students were the brutal and aggressive component of the demonstrations and that they had provoked the death of Benno Ohnesorg. Even though there were some students groups supporting the idea of a violent revolution the protesting students were mostly peaceful.

For the following days the students took over control of the Free University of Berlin. Finally being able to meet again, they used the time to discuss and reflect on the events of the past days.

The revolt continues

The spirit of the students in Berlin spread across the whole country. In autumn 1967 there were organized protest groups at nearly all universities of Germany. In the following months some of the largest and most brutal demonstrations in the history of the German republic happened. The press, especially the tabloid Bild-Zeitung newspaper was telling the public what to think about those protestors. Its publisher, Axel Springer, did not publish any positive articles about the students. Springer supported the government and was spreading the government's views among its readers. 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Bild-Zeitung (often abbreviated Bild, lit. ... Axel Springer (d. ...

At Easter 1968, there was an attempted assassination of one of the most important members of the SDS, Rudi Dutschke. The students were outraged because the “Springer” press and the government had named Rudi Dutschke their “public enemy”. Overnight students all over Germany organized actions to block the delivery of the Bild-Zeitung by building blockades and protesting in front of “Springer” buildings. During these actions about 400 students were injured and two died. Rudi Dutschke died in 1979 of the late after-effects of his injury. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday. ... Alfred Willi Rudolf Dutschke, commonly called Rudi Dutschke (March 7, 1940 – December 24, 1979, Ã…rhus, Denmark) was the most prominent spokesperson of the German student movement of the 1960s. ... The Bild-Zeitung (often abbreviated Bild, lit. ... For the song by The Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ...

The climax and the decline

The revolt against the government reached its climax in May 1968. Students, schoolchildren and members of workers' unions formed a group of 80,000 people who demonstrated in the capital Bonn against the emergency legislature. Even though the students mobilized as many people as possible to support their actions they could not stop the parliament from passing the new law. A May 1968 poster: Be young and shut up, with stereotypical silhouette of General de Gaulle. ... Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. ...

This failure marks the beginning of the end for the student movement. The former union of many small student groups representing different theories on the same topics was falling apart because they were blaming other groups' theories and thinking for the failure of the whole movement. This meant that the students were not working together anymore but against each other. By the end of the year even the SDS, the strongest of all student organizations, was falling into pieces.

The effect

Although the students failed to overthrow the status quo, the effects of the student movement are still visible today because the movement did change things in Germany.

The students were the first in Germany to carry their opinion onto the streets and the first to protest against the government with demonstrations, sit-ins and other actions. While this seems normal for us today it was absolutely new and provoking at that time.

Another side-effect of the student movement was the emancipation of women in Germany. Through their political work the women discovered that they were being suppressed by male society and that they had to change this condition. In addition to that the student movement brought up many theories on education and the raising of children which have influenced the modern forms of these processes. These changes and the huge influence on culture and art were probably the most important effects of the student movement.

An indirect effect was the "radical decree" which was passed in the year 1972. It allowed the government to remove people from public service if they had a “questionable” political view. 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

The student movement, although it failed to achieve its main goals, brought many new and important elements to German society and culture which influence the country even today. A number of ministers in the Gerhard Schröder government were student activists back in the 1960s and early 1970s.   [] (born April 7, 1944), German politician, was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. ...

It is widely believed that the conservatism of Pope Benedict XVI stems from his reaction to student protests at the University of Tubingen in 1968, when he served as a professor of theology. Papal Arms of Pope Benedict XVI. The papal tiara was replaced with a bishops mitre, and pallium of the Pope was added beneath the coat of arms. ...

See also

• May 1968 in France
• Daniel Cohn-Bendit
• Anarchism
• Elmar Altvater
• Ernest Mandel