Western Allies approve new Germany constitution

On May 12, 1949, the Western allied powers, the United Kingdom, United States, and France, approved the Grundgesetz (Basic Law) as the legal foundation for the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The document served as the constitution of West Germany during the Cold War and remains the governing law for the unified Germany today.

Learn more about the legal framework of the German government from the Bundestag (Parliament of Germany).

THIS DAY @ LAW

US signed peace treaty with Germany ending World War I

On August 25, 1921, the United States, which never ratified the Versailles Treaty ending World War I, finally signed its own peace treaties with Germany, Austria and Hungary.

Former East Germany leader convicted of manslaughter for Berlin Wall policy

On August 25, 1997, Egon Krenz, the former of East Germany was convicted of manslaughter for promulgating a policy of shooting any East Germans who attempted to cross the Berlin Wall. Krenz was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, of which he served four before being released into retirement from political life.