Expert committee for the reorganization of the federal territory

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The expert committee for the reorganization of the federal territory was an expert committee that existed from 1952 to 1955, which dealt with the discussion and planning of the restructuring of the federal territory . The main task was to check the cultural integrity and economic viability of the countries in preparation for the reorganization required by the Basic Law and suspended by the Allied control authorities until the German Treaty, as the previous limits had been determined by military regulations. The committee's proposed solutions were postponed by politicians as not being urgent. The constitutional requirement was reformulated into an optional provision on August 23, 1976.

Establishment and work of the committee

The committee was set up by the federal government on January 15, 1952 , after the CDU / CSU parliamentary group applied for it on May 9, 1951 and the 1st German Bundestag asked for it in June 1951 (Bundestag printed paper No. 2222).

The committee of 40 experts was chaired by the former Chancellor Hans Luther , which is why the committee was also called the Luther Committee . The committee existed until August 29, 1955 and submitted its report on the restructuring of the federal territory to the federal government. The expert committee appointed by the federal government . However, the final report was no longer drafted by the committee itself, but by the government.

Members (selection)

As chairman of the Federation for the Renewal of the Reich ("Luther Bund"), Hans Luther had already dealt with the question of the reorganization of the Reich and the individual states before the Second World War . The question of the reorganization of Prussia and the problem of small states, which were then in the foreground, no longer existed after the Second World War.

Result of the committee

The main result of the committee was the finding that no comprehensive country reorganization was necessary. The federal states represented viable units, which, however, rarely fulfilled all 4 criteria of the constitutional requirement of the then GG Art 29, Paragraph 1:

The federal territory is to be restructured by federal law, taking into account the ties to the country team , the historical and cultural contexts , the economic expediency and the social structure . The reorganization is intended to create countries which, in terms of size and capacity, can effectively fulfill their tasks. (GG, version of May 23, 1949)

The committee proposed seven variants for a reorganization of the west-central German area; these related primarily to the states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Baden-Württemberg and mostly also included North Rhine-Westphalia and partly Bavaria:

  • Rhineland-Palatinate receives the Rheingau district and the right-bank parts of the cities of Mainz and Worms from Hesse, and the northern Baden cities and districts of Mannheim, Heidelberg, Sinsheim and Mosbach from Baden-Württemberg.
  • Rhineland-Palatinate is dissolved, with the Palatinate going to Bavaria, Rheinhessen to Hesse and Koblenz-Trier to North Rhine-Westphalia.
  • The new federal state of Baden-Palatinate is formed from the Palatinate and the northern part of Baden-Württemberg; the rest of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate falls to Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.
  • The Palatinate is added to the state of Baden-Württemberg, while Rheinhessen and Koblenz-Trier are added to Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.
  • Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Baden form a new middle-west state.
  • The Palatinate, Rheinhessen, Hesse and North Baden form the middle-west state, Koblenz-Trier falls under North Rhine-Westphalia.
  • The Palatinate and North Baden form the new federal state of Palatinate on both sides of the Rhine, while Rheinhessen and Koblenz-Trier join Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Baden-Württemberg

On December 9, 1951, the first referendum on the formation of a south-west state in the federal states of Baden , Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern had already taken place, as a result of which the new state of Baden-Württemberg was formed on April 25, 1952 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Federal Archives. Retrieved March 25, 2016 .
  2. ^ Federation for the Renewal of the Reich, Guidelines. Retrieved March 26, 2016 .
  3. ^ Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany (1949). In: www.verfassungen.de. Retrieved March 25, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Reorganization / federal states. It stays the way it is. In: Der Spiegel , December 7, 1955. Retrieved April 3, 2018.