The claim

In 1949 the German Basic Law was to be ratified, which the individual federal states voted on. Except Bavaria. The Basic Law was allegedly rejected there.

Our conclusion

Bavaria was the only federal state to reject the Basic Law. However, this had no consequences. The Basic Law was adopted by two thirds of the federal states and the necessary majority was achieved. The German basic law applies throughout Germany.

Every now and then, special rights are declared for the Bavarian state government. Bavaria's current Prime Minister Söder also insisted on his own Bavarian solutions when it came to the pandemic or wind turbines, even if the federal government had already decided otherwise. It seems as if he wants to oppose federal laws and decisions in the federal system. Would that be possible? apply in the southern Free State ?

The Free State of Bavaria

The word Free State is used in the sense of republic, it comes from the Roman Republic ( libera res publica ), i.e. “free state”. This does not mean that people there are freer than in other federal states. In the Middle Ages there were free estates, free imperial cities and free Hanseatic cities, which meant certain rights such as: B. tax exemption or its own jurisdiction.

The prefix “free” refers to the fact that these countries had freed themselves from the rule of a sovereign and are ruled by its citizens. Bavaria was a kingdom until 1918. Then there was a revolution, the new masters proclaimed a republic and from then on called the country the Free State of Bavaria.

Today two other federal states have the official name “Free State”, namely Saxony (since 1990) and Thuringia (since 1993). From 1945 to 1952 the name was also used for the state of Baden .

The term Free State has no special legal meaning in the federal system of the Federal Republic. There are no special positions for the federal states; the use of the Free State is only used for historical reasons.

The Basic Law applies throughout Germany – without exceptions

On the night of May 19th to 20th, 1949, the following vote took place in the Bavarian state parliament: 101 of 180 representatives voted against the Basic Law.
The CSU, which had a majority in the state parliament and rejected the Basic Law, was responsible for this decision. They didn't want the federal government to have too much influence on Bavaria. But the refusal of consent was a purely symbolic act.

The rejection of the constitution, which was not originally planned to be permanent, had no consequences. In order to ratify the Basic Law, two thirds of the federal states were required. All states except Bavaria voted in favor, so the majority was easily achieved. Even though the Free State has not officially approved it to this day, the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany has been in force since May 23, 1949. – Also in Bavaria.

Source: fjs.de , deutschlandfunk.de , historicals-lexikon-bayerns.de

You might also be interested in: Not a fake: The waving rainbow flag in front of the Chancellery


If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:

📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.

Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!

* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!


Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )