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    "title": "Report, History of the Allied High Commission for Germany: Its Establishment, Structure, and Procedures, Research Project Number 107",
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{
    "seq": 13,
    "pageIndex": 0,
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    "ocrText": "13\n12\nTHE ALLIED HIGH COMMISSION\nPRELIMINARY STEPS\ncentralistic and federalistic points of view. The Christian Democratic\nall.20 The City Assembly of Berlin, although not one of the participat-\nUnion-Christian Social Union supported federalism, epitomized by a\ning states, approved the Basic Law unanimously.\nsecond legislative chamber composed of members of the Land cabinets,\nThe Parliamentary Council convened for the last time on May 23.\nwith legislative powers equal to those of the lower chamber.18 The\ntwo-thirds of the participating Laender and its President engrossed\nIt proclaimed the adoption of the Basic Law by more than the requisite\nSocial Democratic Party (SPD), on the other hand, preferred a less\npowerful upper house which would have veto powers only on legislation\nand promulgated it. The Basic Law then was published in the first issue\npassed by the lower house. Furthermore, the Social Democrats advo-\nof the Federal Gazette (B undesgesetzblatt). It did not go into\ncated a strongly centralized finance administration, a plan which the\neffect, however, and therefore the Federal Republic of Germany was\nChristian Democrats opposed.\nnot created, until the Occupation Statute was effectuated on Septem-\nAfter three and one-half months of deliberations, often critical in\nber 21.\nnature, an agreed draft text of the Basic Law finally was accepted by\nan interparty committee of the Parliamentary Council and submitted\nto the Military Governors. Joint meetings were held in which the latter\nNegotiating the Occupation Statute\nindicated their criticisms and recommendations. These continued for\nWhile the Basic Law was being drafted, other tripartite negotiations\nseveral months, and it was only in April, 1949, following the Washington\nwere under way culminating in the Washington Foreign Ministers'\ntripartite Foreign Ministers conference, that the Parliamentary Council\ncould proceed satisfactorily with its work on the Basic Law.\nConference in April 1949, referred to above, which arrived at a number the\nof agreements respecting German affairs, including approval of\nTwo plenary sessions of the Parliamentary Council followed on May\nOccupation Statute. The latter is an Allied instrument issued by the\n6 and 8 at which the Basic Law finally was approved. It was submitted\nOccupying Powers to formalize on a legal basis their mutual relations\nto the Military Governors, and four days later, at their fifteenth meet-\nwith the Federal Republic of Germany.\ning,\nthey approved it with certain reservations. That afternoon they\nThe need for negotiating the Occupation Statute grew out of the\nmet with representatives of the Parliamentary Council and the Mini-\nLondon Deputy Foreign Ministers' Conference of 1948. In order to\nsters President. General Robertson, serving as chairman, announced\nintegrate policy and procedure in the American unilateral element, the\nthat the Military Governors, having been so instructed by their govern-\nUnited States Committee on Tripartite Military Government Organi-\nments, agreed to grant their approval to the Basic Law. At the same\nzation was established on June 19, 1948, under the chairmanship of\ntime General Robertson handed Dr. Adenauer an official letter of\nMr. J. Anthony Panuch. It included Messrs. Jack Bennet, James\napproval specifying the reservations. The letter stipulated that all\nL. Sundquist, Lawrence Wilkinson, and Dr. Edward H. Litchfield; later\nGerman governmental powers would be subject to the provisions of the\na legal expert also was added; and Mr. Albert G. Sims was designated\nOccupation Statute, and further dealt with such matters as the police\nexecutive secretary. This committee was delegated to serve as the ex-\npower of the federal government, the status of the City of Berlin, and\nclusive American agency for the development, formulation, and\ninternal boundary modifications, that had been raised at different\ncoordination of plans for the organization and operation of tripartite\nstages in the negotiation of the Basic Law.19\nmilitary government in Western Germany.21 In practice, however, the\nBetween May 18 and 21 the 11 Laender parliaments met individually\ncommittee rarely met in plenary session and operated largely on an\nto consider the ratification of the Basic Law. Ten approved it with\nad hoc basis as its chairman deemed necessary.\ncomfortable majorities; only the Bavarian legislature, acting on a\nSome months later, on September 9, the three Military Governors\nrecommendation of the Bavarian government, voted to disapprove it.\nestablished the Tripartite Committee on the Occupation Statute, com-\nThis, however, did not affect its coming into effect, since an adoption\nprised of Dr. Edward H. Litchfield (U.S.), Mr. Chaput de Saintonge\nby two-thirds of the Laender was sufficient to render it binding upon\n(U.K.), and M. Maurice Sabatier (France). This committee held frequent\nmeetings and its members worked many long hours at their difficult\n18 Office of Military Government for Germany (U.S.), Civil Administration Division,\ntask.\nGerman Constitutional Proposals, mimeographed, no date, pp. v-vi.\n19 For text, see Office of Military Government for Germany (U. S.), Civil Administration\nDivision, Documents on the Creation of the German Federal Constitution, September 1, 1949,\np. 138.\nHeadquarters, European Command, Berlin, General Order No. 58, June 19, 1948.\nBasic Law, Art. 144, par. 1."
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