Konrad Adenauer

Much has been written about the politics of Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, but no work has dealt extensively and exclusively with the domestic policy of his first term from 1949 to 1953. Günther Dahlhoff remedies this: he provides a detailed yet engaging account of the founding years of the Federal Republic under Adenauer's government, covering the historical compromise with the Basic Law between the CDU/CSU and SPD, the integration of 10 million refugees into a bombed-out country of 45 million, the incorporation of trade unions into the new state, and the establishment of his Westpolitik among the population, leading to the later adoption of his social market economy and West integration by the SPD in 1959/60 - the culmination of Adenauer's founding work. This is a comprehensive reference work for the interested layperson as well as for Adenauer experts.