How did the West German student movement of 1968, primarily defined by a generational conflict over the Nazi past (“the revolt against the fathers”), fundamentally democratize and liberalize the sociocultural landscape of the Federal Republic, despite failing to achieve its revolutionary political goals?

This article examines the seismic cultural shifts of the late 1960s in West Germany, centering on the “68er” generation. It analyzes the movement’s dual origins: the global anti-Vietnam War protests and the specifically German confrontation with the “Auschwitz generation.” The article explores the formation of the Extra-Parliamentary Opposition (APO) in response to the Grand Coalition and the Emergency Acts, the radicalizing impact of the shooting of Benno Ohnesorg, and the leadership of Rudi Dutschke. It argues that while the movement failed to overthrow capitalism or the state, it succeeded in a “cultural revolution.” It dismantled the authoritarian structures of the Adenauer era, revolutionized parenting and education, liberalized sexuality, and enforced a critical public memory of the Holocaust, thereby transforming the Federal Republic from a post-authoritarian state into a modern, liberal democracy.

Introduction

In the mid-1960s, West Germany was a country of stifling conformity. The “economic miracle” had provided washing machines and televisions, but the social atmosphere remained rigid, patriarchal, and hierarchical. Universities were run by “ordinariates” (powerful professors) who tolerated no dissent; sexual morality was strictly Catholic or Protestant; and the government was led by old men who had served in the Wehrmacht.

By 1969, this world had begun to crumble. Long hair, rock music, co-ed dormitories, and sit-ins had replaced the order of the Adenauer years. This transformation was driven by the “68ers”—a generation born during or just after the war, who grew up in the ruins and the boom, and who finally turned to their parents with the question: “What did you do?”

This article investigates the West German 1968 movement. It distinguishes the German experience from its counterparts in Paris or Berkeley by highlighting its unique obsession with the Nazi past. It traces the trajectory from peaceful protest to the radical fringe of the Red Army Faction, and concludes that the true legacy of 1968 was not the requested socialist revolution, but the unintended liberalization of civil society.

The Grand Coalition and the Void of Opposition

The political catalyst for the unrest was the formation of the “Grand Coalition” in 1966. The two major parties, the conservative CDU/CSU and the center-left SPD, joined forces to govern, leaving only the tiny FDP in opposition.

For the intellectual left, this was a disaster. It seemed to confirm that parliamentary democracy was a farce, a cartel of elites with no real debate. The SPD, historically the party of the working class and opposition, was seen as having sold out (following its shift to the center with the Godesberg Program in 1959).

In response, the Außerparlamentarische Opposition (Extra-Parliamentary Opposition or APO) was formed. If parliament would not provide opposition, the streets would. The APO was a loose coalition of students, intellectuals, and trade unionists, centered around the Socialist German Student League (SDS).

The Emergency Acts and the Ghost of Weimar

The specific legislative spark was the Notstandsgesetze (Emergency Acts). These laws were intended to give the government special powers in times of crisis (natural disaster, war, insurrection), replacing the rights retained by the Allied powers.

To the students, sensitive to history, this looked like a replay of the Enabling Act of 1933, which had allowed Hitler to seize power legally. The slogan “Bonn is not Weimar” was flipped; the students feared Bonn was becoming Weimar. The protests against these laws mobilized thousands who feared a return to authoritarianism.

The Revolt Against the Fathers: “Unter den Talaren – Muff von 1000 Jahren”

The unique engine of the German 1968 was the generational conflict. Unlike American students protesting the draft, German students were protesting their heritage.

The slogan “Under the gowns – the mustiness of 1000 years” (Unter den Talaren – Muff von 1000 Jahren), chanted at university rectors, captured the mood. The “1000 years” referred to the “Thousand Year Reich.” The students accused the university professors, the judges, and the politicians of being former Nazis who had effortlessly transitioned into democrats.

They were largely right. The Adenauer era had reintegrated ex-Nazis to build the state. The 68ers tore open this silence. They viewed the authoritarianism of their fathers—in the family, the school, and the state—as the precursor to fascism. To fight their fathers was to fight fascism. This psychological dimension gave the German movement a ferocious, almost Oedipal intensity.

June 2, 1967: The Shooting of Benno Ohnesorg

The movement lost its innocence on June 2, 1967. During a protest against the visit of the Shah of Iran in West Berlin, the police attacked the demonstrators with batons. In the chaos, a police officer named Karl-Heinz Kurras shot a 26-year-old pacifist student, Benno Ohnesorg, in the back of the head, killing him.

The state and the conservative press (specifically the Springer press) blamed the students, calling them violent rioters. However, the truth—that an unarmed student was executed by a policeman—radicalized the movement overnight. (It was later revealed, decades later, that Kurras was essentially a spy for the East German Stasi, adding a bizarre Cold War twist, though his motivation for the shooting remains debated).

For many students, Ohnesorg’s death proved that the West German state was indeed a “fascist police state” behind a democratic facade. This event led to the rise of militant groups and the justification of violence as “counter-violence.”

Rudi Dutschke and the Long March

The charismatic face of the movement was Rudi Dutschke. A brilliant sociology student from East Germany, Dutschke preached a “long march through the institutions.” He argued that throwing stones was insufficient; revolutionaries had to enter the schools, the media, the courts, and the bureaucracy to transform the system from within.

Dutschke was a target of hate for the right-wing press. Bild newspaper ran headlines like “Stop Dutschke now!” In April 1968, a young right-wing extremist, Josef Bachmann, shot Dutschke in the head on the streets of Berlin. Dutschke survived (though he died years later from complications), but the assassination attempt triggered the “Easter Riots,” the most violent unrest in the history of the Federal Republic, targeting the distribution centers of the Springer press.

Terrorism vs. Reform: The Splintering of the Movement

By 1969, the movement began to splinter. The “Emergency Acts” passed despite the protests. The revolution did not happen.

One faction, frustrated by the failure of peaceful protest, went underground. Figures like Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof (formerly a celebrated journalist) formed the Red Army Faction (RAF). They engaged in arson, bank robberies, and assassinations, terrorizing the state throughout the 1970s.

However, the vast majority of the 68ers took Dutschke’s advice. They joined the SPD or the trade unions. They became teachers, journalists, and judges. They fueled the victory of Willy Brandt in 1969, the first SPD Chancellor, whose slogan “Dare more democracy” (Mehr Demokratie wagen) channeled the spirit of the times into policy.

The Cultural Revolution: A Different Republic

The legacy of 1968 lies in the “fundamentally liberalized” Federal Republic.

1. Education: Corporal punishment was banned; universities were democratized; authoritarian teaching styles were replaced by critical pedagogy.
2. Gender and Sexuality: The movement coincided with the sexual revolution. Commune 1 (Kommune I) in Berlin challenged the nuclear family. Abortion rights became a central issue.
3. Memory: The 68ers forced the Holocaust into the center of German identity. They ended the “communicative silence” and established the culture of critical remembrance (Erinnerungskultur).

Conclusion

The 68ers failed to destroy capitalism. They failed to prevent the Emergency Acts. But they succeeded in destroying the “authoritarian personality” of the post-war German. They transformed West Germany from a society of subjects (Untertanen) into a society of citizens. The “Federal Republic” that existed in 1989 was socially, culturally, and psychologically a different country from the one in 1966, largely due to the intervention of this generation.