Volkskammer
Volkskammer
Truncated cuboctahedron
<catset>Category="East Germany"</catset>The <b>Volkskammer</b> ("People's Chamber") was the <a href="Parliament">Parliament</a> of the German Democratic Republic (<a href="East Germany">East Germany</a>). From its founding in <a href="1949">1949</a> until the first free elections on <a href="March 19">March 19</a>, <a href="1990">1990</a>, all members of the Parliament were elected on a slate controlled by the <a href="Socialist Unity Party of Germany">Socialist Unity Party of Germany</a> (SED), called the <a href="National Front (East Germany)">National Front</a>. On paper, the Volkskammer had great power, appointing the Councils of State and Ministers, and the Chairman of the National Defence Council. However, the Parliament had little real power, and the most dissent ever shown by Parliament to the SED was the nays of fourteen and abstensions of eight CDU representatives in a vote on liberalising <a href="Abortion">Abortion</a> law.<p>A typical slate was as follows:<p><table cellpadding=3 border=1><tr><th>Party/Group<th>Acronym<th>Members<tr><td><a href="Socialist Unity Party of Germany">Socialist Unity Party of Germany</a></td><td>SED</td><td>127 </td><tr></td><td><a href="Free German Trade Union Federation">Free German Trade Union Federation</a></td><td>FDGB</td><td>68 </td><tr></td><td><a href="Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)">Christian Democratic Union</a></td><td>CDU</td><td>52 </td><tr></td><td><a href="Liberal Democratic Party of Germany">Liberal Democratic Party of Germany</a></td><td>LPDP</td><td>52 </td><tr></td><td><a href="Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany">Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany</a></td><td>DBD</td><td>52 </td><tr></td><td><a href="National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)">National Democratic Party of Germany</a></td><td>NDPD</td><td>52 </td><tr></td><td><a href="Free German Youth">Free German Youth</a></td><td>FDJ</td><td>50 </td><tr></td><td><a href="Democratic Women's League of Germany">Democratic Women's League of Germany</a></td><td>DFD</td><td>35 </td><tr></td><td><a href="Cultural Association of the DDR">Cultural Association of the DDR</a></td><td>KB</td><td>22<br></table><p>In 1976, the Volkskammer moved into a specially-constructed building on <a href="Schlossplatz">Marx-Engels-Platz</a> (now <a href="Schlossplatz">Schlossplatz</a> again), the <a href="Palast der Republik">Palast der Republik</a> (Palace of the Republic).<p>After the 1990 elections, the disposition of the parties was as follows<p><table cellpadding=3 border=1><tr><th>Party/Group<th>Acronym<th>Members<tr><td><a href="Alliance for Germany">Alliance for Germany</a></td><td><a href="Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)">CDU</a>, <a href="Democratic Awakening">DA</a>, <a href="German Social Union">DSU</a></td><td>192</td><tr></td><td><a href="Social Democratic Party of Germany">Social Democratic Party of Germany</a></td><td>SDP</td><td>88</td><tr></td><td><a href="Party of Democratic Socialism">Party of Democratic Socialism</a></td><td>PDS, former SED</td><td>66</td><tr></td><td><a href="Association of Free Democrats">Association of Free Democrats</a></td><td><a href="German Forum Party">DFP</a>, <a href="Free Democratic Party (GDR)">FDP</a>, <a href="Liberal Democratic Party of Germany">LDP</a></td><td>21</td><tr></td><td><a href="Alliance 90">Alliance 90</a></td><td>B90</td><td>12</td><tr></td><td>East German Green Party and Independent Women's Association</td><td><a href="East German Green Party">Grüne</a>, UFV</td><td>8</td><tr></td><td><a href="National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)">National Democratic Party of Germany</a></td><td>NDPD</td><td>2</td><tr></td><td><a href="Democratic Women's League of Germany">Democratic Women's League of Germany</a></td><td>DFD</td><td>1</td><tr></td><td>Others</td><td>other</td><td>1<br></table><p><h2 style="margin: 0; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaaaaa; font-size: 150%;">Chairmen of the People's Chamber</h2><table border=2><tr><td><a href="Johannes Dieckmann">Johannes Dieckmann</a> </td><td><a href="Liberal Democratic Party of Germany">LDPD</a> </td><td>1949-1969</td></tr><tr><td><a href="Gerald Goetting">Gerald Goetting</a> </td><td><a href="Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)">CDU</a> </td><td>1969-1976</td></tr><tr><td><a href="Horst Sindermann">Horst Sindermann</a> </td><td><a href="Socialist Unity Party">SED</a> </td><td>1976-1989</td></tr><tr><td><a href="Günther Maleuda">Günther Maleuda</a> </td><td><a href="Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany">DBD</a> </td><td>1989-1990</td></tr><tr><td><a href="Sabine Bergmann-Pohl">Sabine Bergmann-Pohl</a> </td><td><a href="Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)">CDU</a> </td><td>1990</td></tr></table><p>