The constitution

For many of us, living in a democracy is taken for granted. We know that in our country human rights are guaranteed by our "Grundgesetz". Free elections are a normal thing for us. We can travel without restrictions and in a constitutional state we do not have to fear arbitrariness. There is no censorship for the press, radio and television. The power of those governing is subject to various controls exercised by: the parliament, the opposition, independent courts, public opinion and not least the voters. Is all that self-evident?
We Germans have experienced many times how much free democracy is endangered and that it has adversaries who want to abolish it. The first attempt at establishing a democracy in Germany - the Weimar Republic - failed. It was disregarded and fought by the right and the left and finally was destroyed by its defencelessness.
The national socialists established their dictatorship and could commit crimes unprecedented in history. Also after the war, millions of Germans had to do without democracy. In the GDR, the people were suppressed by Communist tyranny for many decades. With its totalitarian claim and like-minded individuals in the Federal Republic of Germany, financed and controlled by the GDR, it continued to constantly threaten our freedom, too.
The Federal Republic of Germany has learnt from the Germans' bitter experience. Its "Grundgesetz" is the constitution of a democratic constitutional state committed to peace. Its most important values form our free democratic basic order. Nobody can debate them, they are fully protected.