New Constitutions in Germany

When the European Advisory Commission in London debated the zonal division of Germany, the original understanding was that the allied zones of occupation should not disturb existing administrative regions more than was absolutely necessary. Nevertheless, a considerable redrawing of provincial and Laender borders took place, partly in order to prevent a Land from administering territory in more than one zone of occupation, partly in the interest of administrative simplification. The present division of Germany into “independent” Laender and autonomous provinces is, therefore, not a repetition of the pre-1871 set-up, but a new and often simpler form of organization.Under the Weimar Republic, these states had their own constitutions. However, the powers of the Reich government were so overwhelming and the scope of their “enumerated” functions so all-embracing, that relatively small scope was left to the Laender governments. The present situation is radically different.