Block edition: 50 years Basic Law - Germany / Federal Republic of Germany 1999

On May 23, 1949, the Parliamentary Council in the former Pedagogical Academy on Bonn's banks of the Rhine ended its eight-month work on the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, which came into force on May 24, 1949. As the restoration of an all-German state had become a long way off, the three Western Allied military governors gave the prime minister of West Germany the task of convening a Constituent Assembly. In order to emphasize the provisional character, however, the term "Basic Law" was chosen instead of "Constitution". Members of the Parliamentary Council attached importance to avoiding the weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution. Therefore, the core of the constitution is inviolable, the fundamental rights are guaranteed in 19 articles. Hardly anyone knew then that the provisional constitution would last for more than 40 years. The most liberal constitution that Germany has ever had shows a remarkable stability over decades. Even after reunification, the Basic Law remains the constitution of Germany. The newly elected People's Chamber of the GDR decides on 23 August 1990 to join the scope of the Basic Law under Article 23 of the Basic Law on 3 October 1990.