Koenigsteiner circle
The Königsteiner Kreis was an association of lawyers and economists who had fled from the Soviet occupation zone and the GDR, who analyzed legal developments in the GDR and advised the politicians of the Federal Republic of Germany accordingly. The Königsteiner Kreis worked from 1949 to 1997.
founding
About 100 lawyers and economists who had fled the Soviet Zone met on July 9, 1949 in Königstein im Taunus to “express their concern about developments there ”. The inviting personalities were former holders of high offices in politics, administration and jurisdiction in the countries of the Soviet Zone.
On December 17, 1949, the Königsteiner Kreis was constituted as an association. The memory of Königstein on the Elbe also contributed to the choice of name . The goals of the association were set:
- In political terms, the preservation and recovery of the German legal and economic entity on the basis of generally recognized human rights, the democratic structure and legal control of the state organs, the independence of the administration of justice and the cleanliness, frugality, objectivity and legality of administration and economy;
- from a technical point of view, constant further occupation with the shaping of law, administration and economy in the Soviet Zone and the dissemination of knowledge about it
- and from a social point of view, the promotion of personal and professional cohesion among members and support for members in need.
The official entry in the register of associations took place on February 12, 1952.
activities
The conferences took place in the " House of Encounters " in Königstein. The office was located in Frankfurt am Main, from 1987 in Königstein. The newsletter "Königsteiner Kreis" appeared regularly. MdB Hermann Brill (former Prime Minister of the State of Thuringia) was elected as the first chairman of the Königsteiner Kreis , later long-term chairmen were Gottfried Zieger (Göttingen) and Friedrich-Christian Schroeder (Regensburg).
A constitutional, an economic and a legal committee were formed. They carried out numerous scientific conferences, often together. The Königsteiner Kreis saw itself politically independent, but maintained close relationships with the CDU , CSU , SPD and FDP parties represented in the German Bundestag . There was a party proportion in the board. The Königsteiner Kreis received financial support from the Federal Ministry for Pan-German Issues . Members of the association maintained good relationships with the Society for Research on Germany, which was founded in 1978 .
The Königsteiner Kreis went public with its own publications and numerous legislative and amendment proposals. A constitutional complaint in 1956 led to the finding that criminal judgments by the courts of the GDR in economic criminal matters were not allowed to be enforced. The statutes have been changed repeatedly over the decades, most recently in 1988.
After reunification in 1990, the Königsteiner Kreis dealt with the injustice of the GDR, problems with the adoption of West German law in the accession area and in 1991 carried out a retraining of GDR lawyers in Wustrau . In 1992 a scientific colloquium took place in Königstein on the Elbe.
resolution
At an ordinary general meeting at the end of 1997, it was decided to dissolve the association. With the reunification he saw his main goal as achieved. The extensive documents of the Königsteiner Kreis were transferred to the Federal Archives in Koblenz .
literature
- Articles of Association of the Königsteiner Kreis eV in the version dated November 4, 1988, with a foreword by the Chairman of the Board of Management, Friedrich-Christian Schroeder . In: "Königsteiner Kreis" / Mitteilungsblatt, Königstein / Taunus, Frankfurt am Main, born in 1990.
- Friedrich-Christian Schroeder: Fifty years of the Königsteiner Kreis . Germany Archive 5/95
- The economic committee of the Königsteiner Kreis - a forerunner of the research advisory board? In: Markus Gloe: "Planning for German unity: the research advisory board for questions relating to the reunification of Germany 1952 - 1975". VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2005. pp. 51–57. ISBN 3531144359 , ISBN 9783531144351
Individual evidence
- ^ Friedrich-Christian Schroeder: Fifty Years of the Königstein Circle . Germany Archives 5/95, pp. 709–711