ABSTRACT
The crisis of West German agriculture is illustrated by two figures. Firstly, between 1949 and 1965 the number of farms declined by 488,000. Secondly, between 1950 and 1965 the number of those working in agriculture fell from over five million to just under three million. Due in large measure to the efforts of the Social Democrats, the West German soldier has far more rights than either earlier German soldiers or the soldiers of most other countries. The Social Democrats had the numbers, and in recent years had come to favour a 'Grand Coalition' with the Christian Democrats. The new coalition faced some tough problems, the principal one of which was how to stay in existence, and attacks on government policy by former free democratic party (FDP) leader Erich Mende did not augur well for its future.
