The Return of the Political

Chapter 7 discusses the writing of the Basic Law. In both Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, under the leadership of Carl Friedrich, the US Military Government intervened in the legislative process behind creating a constitutional court. This chapter examines the preliminary constitutional framing conference on the island of Herrenchiemsee and the work of the Parliamentary Council in Bonn. In mid-1948, constitutional experts met on the Bavarian island of Herrenchiemsee to discuss the structures of the future West German constitution. The Hessian contingent was led by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) jurist Hermann Brill. Brill, and others from the Hessian group split with the party leadership over the issue over the issue of basic rights to be outlined in the constitution, and whether there should be a constitutional court at all. The battle between Brill and the Hessian SPD and Kurt Schumacher, Walter Menzel, and the so-called SPD Hanau Circle lie at the center of this chapter. Brill won out and was able to successfully insert clauses regarding a constitutional court into the Herrenchimsee draft.