Why Germany moved it's capital from Bonn to Berlin - Research Paper Example

Why Germany Moved Its Capital from Bonn to Berlin The debate over united Germany’s orientation led to the decision to move the German government from Bonn to Berlin and until voting, Berlin had only been united Germany’s ceremonial capital but the real government had been in Bonn. Bonn was seen as the city that epitomized West German economic success and political moderation but Bonn supporters defended it based on this success during the parliamentary debate separating it from Nazi which they believed haunted Berlin and they argued that Bonn was good for upholding the country’s democracy. Moreover, the debate cut across party lines, that is, some social democrats and Christian democrats supporting Berlin and others backing Bonn and this parliamentary division reflected people’s mixed feelings about where to locate their government and set on the newly united Germany. However, some leaders suggested that the debate was not a fight between two cities but a decision about the future of the society for everyone’s good. Most parliamentarians backed the move to Berlin since it symbolizes Germany’s unification. This essay explores what made Germany to move its capital from Bonn to Berlin. German lawmakers engaged in a very heated debate to make a decision whether the capital of the newly reunified country to remain in Bonn or be relocated back to its historic eastern location in Berlin (Cowell). Bonn has served as the capital of West Germany until the reunification of Germany when Berlin was chosen to be the new capital and the move to Berlin has been lengthy and costly but this move had been delayed by construction problems, plan charges and bureaucratic immobilization. Even though the parliament voted to support the move from the West German capital of Bonn to the old German capital of Berlin, most politicians perceived this as a future happening. Bonn supporters argued that a move to Berlin which is under monarchy, chaotic Weimar Republic, and the Nazis would only ruin the country contrary to Berlin backers who claimed that Bonn represented a small town thus a small minded Germany but Berlin was actually the country’s spiritual and cultural heart. More so, this relocation was meant to enhance unity in the country, that is, the unity of people from Berlin and the rest of the east depended on this move. However, everyone was worried about the cost which was high and this was reflected in the parliament’s decision to make a move after a long time. Improving Berlin’s infrastructure required a lot of money. Accordingly, some have argued that the “enormous cost of moving all government ministries to Berlin would never assume Bonn’s role as the sole seat of government” (Quint 107). One major reason why German moved its capital from Bonn to Berlin was to ensure a change from a smaller to a larger city (Slack and Rupak 105). Unlike Bonn which was quiet and small in size, Berlin was “a brash and busy metropolis” and it ranks as a great city recognized worldwide (Holz). Bonn had no symbol of being a capital because being small in size, it cannot contain dominant section like other middle or large sized German cities do especially Berlin (Slack and Rupak 105). This actually made Germany to move its capital to a larger city, Berlin. In addition, Berlin is situated at the heart of the east making it to the best choice as the country’s capital and seat of government. Furthermore, the unification treaty acknowledged Berlin as capital leaving the decision on the seat of government to the future German legislature (Quint 107). Berlin supporters argued that relocating to Berlin would be very important in providing both political and economic support but others opposed this claiming that moving all government offices to Berlin would only add more financial burden (Quint 107). Accordingly, eastern representatives argued that the shift to Berlin is crucial to enhance “economic recovery in the former GDR and bolstering a psychological sense of parity and equality for of eastern citizens” (Quint 108). Back then, Berlin was both administrative and political center and also boosted cultural activities. Therefore, Berlin became to epitomize not only unstable political conditions but also progressive cultural trend in the 20th century, and supporters of the move to Berlin hoped that this blooming culture would repeat itself (Holz). More so, they argued that Berlin was capable of competing with other wealthy cities like Paris and London but Bonn cannot. The move was necessary because in Bonn, the only game was politics but in Berlin establishing admirable cultural environment was possible (Holz). In contrast, some Germans truly believed that going back to Berlin, the old imperial capital, as the country’s capital would only “coax the ghost of Prussian militarism of centralized rule that created fears of neighbors to the east and the west and of Germans themselves” (Cowell). They argued further that the push for the Berlin as the capital of reunified Germany would lead to stagnation and fall of Bonn. For this reason, the voting process for the move from Bonn to Berlin turned out to be 337 for Berlin versus 320 for Bonn (Cowell). Moreover, German neighbors did not support the move with the fear that a more aggressive approach to domestic and international politics would arise (Holz). In a nutshell, Bonn served as the capital city of Germany and sole seat of government until the rise of the debate of moving the country’s capital to Berlin. The backers of Bonn argued that Berlin is under monarchy and is chaotic making it insecure to serve as the country’s capital because this will ruin the country’s future. On the other hand, the supporters of Berlin claimed that Bonn is just a small city which will in turn create a ‘small-minded’ Germany. Germany decided to move its capital from Bonn to Berlin because Berlin is a larger city as compared to Bonn and promoted cultural activities unlike boon where the main game was politics. More so, this was to enhance economic recovery and growth of the form GDR. Additionally, Berlin is located at the heart of the East which helps in unifying all people making it to be an appropriate choice to serve as the capital city and seat of government. All these explain why Germany decided to move its capital back to Berlin. Works Cited Cowell, Alan. Memo from Berlin: In Germany’s Capitals, Cold War Memories and Imperial Ghosts. New York Times. 2011. Web. 03 Nov. 2013 Holz, Erich. From Bonn to Berlin: A New Old Capital for Germany. n.d. Web 2 October 2013. Quint, Peter E. The Imperfect Union: Constitutional Structures of German Unification. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012. Slack, Enid, and Rupak Chattopadhyay. Finance and Governance of Capital Cities in Federal Systems. Montre?al [Que.: Published for Forum of Federations/Forum des fe?derations by McGill-Queen's University Press, 2009. Read More