February 27, 1975 West Berlin
At about 9:00 AM, Peter Lorenz leaves his home in the Zehlendorf district. Lorenz is the CDU (Christian Democrat Union) candidate for mayor in the West Berlin city elections to be held in three days. Less than half a mile from his house, his Mercedes is blocked by a large truck, and a Fiat rams [read all]
SPD
Sozialisttischer Parti Demokratic or Social Democratic Party The SPD was (and is) the major left-of-center party of Germany, roughly the equivalent of the Democrats in America and Labour in Great Britain (though not necessarily the ideological equivalent).
SDS
Sozialistischer Deutscher Studentenbund or German Socialist Student Union Though unconnected to its American counterpart that shared its acronym (Students for a Democratic Society), the German SDS shared a similar place in German society. It was the leading left-wing student organization throughout the sixties (the APO — Extraparliamentary Opposition — was more of a movement than an organization). Originally [read all]
Grand Coalition
The Grand Coalition came into being in 1967 when the both the CDU and the SPD — the two major parties in West Germany — failed to win a majority in the national elections. Unable to form a coalition with one of the smaller parties, the CDU and SPD, supposedly arch-rivals, formed a “Grand Coalition” to create a government with a [read all]
APO
Ausser-Parlianentarische Opposition or Extraparliamentary Opposition The APO was the student-initiated opposition movement in West Germany during the late sixties and early seventies. In many ways it was a product of a unique German trait — a strong desire to associate with political parties. When German students grew disillusioned with the so-called “Grand Coalition” of the two major [read all]