People's Chamber

People's Chamber Volkskammer
Type
Type	unicameral parliament (until 1958 lower chamber)
Timeline
Country	German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
Established	1949
Preceded by	Reichstag
Succeeded by	Bundestag
Disbanded	1990
Members	400
Meeting place
Palast der Republik

The People's Chamber (German: Volkskammer) was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on 18 March 1990, all members of the Volkskammer 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 these Bloc 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.

Initially, it existed alongside the Chamber of States, or Länderkammer, but in 1952 the states of East Germany (and with it the chamber) were dissolved.

In theory, the Volkskammer was the highest organ of state power in the GDR. Both GDR constitutions vested it with great lawmaking powers. It also formally appointed the Council of State (after 1960), the Council of Ministers, and the National Defence Council.

In practice, like most other legislatures in Communist countries, the People's Chamber did little more than rubber-stamp decisions already made by the SED. All parties were expected to respect democratic centralism, and the most dissent in voting ever shown by the Volkskammer to the SED were fourteen nays and eight abstentions on the part of 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	LDPD	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).

Protestor, January 1990

Ballot for the 1990 elections (Text reads "Sample")

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	SPD	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

Chairmen of the People's Chamber

List of Presidents of the People's Chamber

Below is a list of office-holders:

Name	Entered office	Left office	Party
Johannes Dieckmann	October 7, 1949	February 22, 1969	LDPD
Gerald Götting	May 12, 1969	October 29, 1976	CDU
Horst Sindermann	October 29, 1976	November 13, 1989	SED
Günther Maleuda	November 13, 1989	April 5, 1990	DBD
Sabine Bergmann-Pohl	April 5, 1990	October 2, 1990	CDU

Sabine-Bergmann-Pohl was also head of state of the German Democratic Republic, due to the State Council having been abolished.

See also

• List of Presidents of the People's Chamber
• Presidium of the People's Chamber

External links

• A Successful Policy Seared to the Needs of the People "Deliberations" of the Volkskammer on nuclear disarmament, 1981.