Techreport,
The Genesis of the German Constitution - From Total Devastation to the Dawn of a New Era
SSRN Scholarly Paper, ID 1520819. Social Science Research Network, Rochester, NY, (December 2009)
Abstract
The German Constitution ('Basic Law') originated under extraordinary circumstances. It was the result of the most terrible war that the world had ever seen, the Second World War. This paper traces the path towards the Basic Law, from the capitulation in 1945 until the promulgation of the new Constitution in 1949. An examination of the wider context of the post-war period in Germany provides the background for a more focused discussion of the origins of the Basic Law.
