West Germany was a nation of over 50 million people and was home to many of Europe's largest cities. However, its Capital wasn't one of its major hubs like Munich, Frankfurt or Cologne but instead was the small town of Bonn. So why was this town chosen as the capital of one of Europe's most important country? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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After its defeat in World War II, Germany was split into 2 parts.

East Germany with its capital of Berlin and West Germany with its capital of...

Bonn, which is here and had a population of about 110, 000 people in a nation of about 50 million.

And Given that there were much larger, more important cities in West Germany at the time, why was Bonn chosen as its capital?

So as of 1949, Germany was divided into 4 parts, and the 3 controlled by the Western powers were merged into the Federal Republic of Germany.

With the Allies preparing to hand over the role of civilian government to the West Germans, the first thing that needed to be picked was where this government would operate from.

And the temporary location chosen was Bonn.

This was because Bonn was 1 of the larger towns in West Germany that hadn't been bombed to ruins.

However, it was only supposed to be a stopgap until the politicians of West Germany could pick a new capital.

Well, there were many reasons and numerous larger cities were put forward.

Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich were candidates for the capital but all of them were somewhat bombed and occupied.

The buildings that were still standing were either being used as emergency housing or by the Allied armies as bases.

As such, the West German government would need to spend considerable sums of money to build a new parliament, as well as the massive infrastructure needed to support it.

Money which many at the time felt that the government didn't have.

Furthermore, German Chancellor Comrade Adenauer and his opponent Kurt Schumacher didn't want the West German capital to be somewhere with lots of foreign troops around.

Schumacher soon found himself a little bit dead and his successors pushed for Frankfurt because of its central location.

They weren't in power though so it wasn't up to them and largely fell to Adenauer and his party to decide.

Adenauer didn't want the Federal Republic's new capital to be a major city because he felt that such a move would look permanent, and thus it would appear to be a concession that Germany would remain divided forever.

Another concern was that the new capital couldn't be anywhere with a strong association with the previous regime.

With this in mind, Adenauer needed to find a small town without allied troops with no connection to the war that was large enough to house a parliament, which didn't leave much.

The French refused to withdraw from any town in their former occupation zone since they saw it as a sign of weakness, whereas the Americans preferred that the new government would be seated in a larger city but they also refused to remove their soldiers from there.

This left only the British, who had already agreed to withdraw forces from Bonn, not because of any sympathy towards German feeling but because not stationing troops in a town is cheaper than stationing troops in a town and Britain was broke.

Bonn had a lot of unbombed, unoccupied buildings that were suitable for use and also had nothing to do with the previous regime.

In fact, it was the birthplace of Beethoven and thus appealed to a vision of Germany distinct from its Prussian or imperial past.

And another bonus was that it was only a 20-minute drive from Mardenhauer's house.

And given that the government was already there, they just, well, chose to stay.

And in fact, when Germany reunited in 1990, there was a vote to move the capital from Bonn to Berlin.

Most West German politicians voted for it to remain in Bonn.

However, when the votes of East German politicians were included, it tipped the balance by a mere 18 votes.

And thus Berlin took over as the new capital of a united Germany.

I hope you enjoyed this episode with a special thanks to my Patrons James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Korsha Wolf, Sky Chappell, Kartoitska, Adam Stalter, Alex Schwin, Jerry Lambdin, Marcus Arsner, Rod D.

Martin, AF Firefly, Wyan Hockey, Captain Psydog, Boogalewoogalee, Marvin Casale, Winston K.

Wood, Camoon Yoon, Miss Izette, Maggie Patskowski, Gustav Swan, The McWhopper, Anthony Beckett, Copper Tone, Shuenin, Spinning 3 Plates, Words About Books Podcast, Jim Strumberg, Spencer Lightfoot, and Charles I.


Speaker 0: After its defeat in World War II, Germany was split into 2 parts. East Germany with its capital of Berlin and West Germany with its capital of... Bonn, which is here and had a population of about 110, 000 people in a nation of about 50 million. And Given that there were much larger, more important cities in West Germany at the time, why was Bonn chosen as its capital? So as of 1949, Germany was divided into 4 parts, and the 3 controlled by the Western powers were merged into the Federal Republic of Germany.

With the Allies preparing to hand over the role of civilian government to the West Germans, the first thing that needed to be picked was where this government would operate from. And the temporary location chosen was Bonn. This was because Bonn was 1 of the larger towns in West Germany that hadn't been bombed to ruins. However, it was only supposed to be a stopgap until the politicians of West Germany could pick a new capital. So why did they keep it there?

Well, there were many reasons and numerous larger cities were put forward. Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich were candidates for the capital but all of them were somewhat bombed and occupied. The buildings that were still standing were either being used as emergency housing or by the Allied armies as bases. As such, the West German government would need to spend considerable sums of money to build a new parliament, as well as the massive infrastructure needed to support it. Money which many at the time felt that the government didn't have.

Furthermore, German Chancellor Comrade Adenauer and his opponent Kurt Schumacher didn't want the West German capital to be somewhere with lots of foreign troops around. Schumacher soon found himself a little bit dead and his successors pushed for Frankfurt because of its central location. They weren't in power though so it wasn't up to them and largely fell to Adenauer and his party to decide. Adenauer didn't want the Federal Republic's new capital to be a major city because he felt that such a move would look permanent, and thus it would appear to be a concession that Germany would remain divided forever. Another concern was that the new capital couldn't be anywhere with a strong association with the previous regime.

With this in mind, Adenauer needed to find a small town without allied troops with no connection to the war that was large enough to house a parliament, which didn't leave much. The French refused to withdraw from any town in their former occupation zone since they saw it as a sign of weakness, whereas the Americans preferred that the new government would be seated in a larger city but they also refused to remove their soldiers from there. This left only the British, who had already agreed to withdraw forces from Bonn, not because of any sympathy towards German feeling but because not stationing troops in a town is cheaper than stationing troops in a town and Britain was broke. Bonn had a lot of unbombed, unoccupied buildings that were suitable for use and also had nothing to do with the previous regime. In fact, it was the birthplace of Beethoven and thus appealed to a vision of Germany distinct from its Prussian or imperial past.

And another bonus was that it was only a 20-minute drive from Mardenhauer's house. And given that the government was already there, they just, well, chose to stay. And in fact, when Germany reunited in 1990, there was a vote to move the capital from Bonn to Berlin. Most West German politicians voted for it to remain in Bonn. However, when the votes of East German politicians were included, it tipped the balance by a mere 18 votes.

And thus Berlin took over as the new capital of a united Germany. I hope you enjoyed this episode with a special thanks to my Patrons James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Korsha Wolf, Sky Chappell, Kartoitska, Adam Stalter, Alex Schwin, Jerry Lambdin, Marcus Arsner, Rod D. Martin, AF Firefly, Wyan Hockey, Captain Psydog, Boogalewoogalee, Marvin Casale, Winston K. Wood, Camoon Yoon, Miss Izette, Maggie Patskowski, Gustav Swan, The McWhopper, Anthony Beckett, Copper Tone, Shuenin, Spinning 3 Plates, Words About Books Podcast, Jim Strumberg, Spencer Lightfoot, and Charles I.

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Why was Bonn the Capital of West Germany? (Short Animated Documentary)