Germany’s Cultural Policy Agnieszka Sokół-Arz
T
he basic tenets of Germany’s cultural policy were formulated in Article 5 of the Basic Law, ratified May 23rd, 1949, in Bonn by the Parliamentary Council. (1) Every person shall have the right freely to express and disseminate his opinions in speech, writing and pictures, and to inform himself without hindrance from generally accessible sources. Freedom of the press and freedom of reporting by means of broadcasts and films shall be guaranteed. There shall be no censorship. (3) Arts and sciences, research and teaching shall be free. The freedom of teaching shall not release any person from allegiance to the constitution. [FRG Constitution, 1949]
Article 30 of the Constitution makes it clear who is responsible for their implementation: Except as otherwise provided or permitted by this Basic Law, the exercise of state powers and the discharge of state functions is a matter for the Länder. [FRG Constitution, 1949] The Länder, however, are not the only actors on the cultural policy stage. Cities and municipalities also have a constitutionally guaranteed right to their own decision-making and policies, as contained in Article 28 of the Act: (2) Municipalities must be guaranteed the right to regulate all local affairs on their own responsibility, within the limits prescribed by the laws. Within the limits of their functions designated by a law, associations of municipalities shall also have the right of self-government according to the laws. [FRG Constitution, 1949]
It is perhaps significant that the word “culture” does not appear in the German Constitution, which does not mean, of course, that Germany does not have a defined framework and principles of cultural policy at home, nor that they do not promote their culture abroad.
Culture Management 2012, Vol 5 (5)
Germany is a federalist country in which culture is the essence of the autonomous 16 federal states. It is therefore not the state but the individual Länder that mainly decide upon the promotion of the arts and artists. This is called the cultural sovereignty of the states (Kulturhoheit der Länder). The general responsibilities at each level are as follows: yy Municipalities are primarily responsible for funding arts and culture, managing cultural institutions within their own budgets, making decisions in regards to the expansion, reduction or maintenance of the cultural infrastructure in their area; yy Federal States are primarily responsible for education and media policies; yy Federal Government is responsible for copyright law, social policy (the Arts Fund), and cultural promotion abroad and art education. The idea of cultural federalism fits well within the German mentality; the Germans are wary of treating cultural goods in the name of a national cause. The disastrous effects of National Socialism are surely at the core of this belief. Post World War Two, a belief arose that the avoidance of any excessive semblance of national pathos would give the country an opportunity to return to the global community and change the perception of Germany. [http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland. de/pl/kultura] It seems that this type of thinking is encoded in the German mentality still today, whether it be in their sense of national identity, creating an image of national culture, or in the creation of national cultural policy. As it turns out, Germany’s cultural policy model, based on the sovereignty of the Federal States, is not optimal and faces many difficulties, especially in the era of a united Europe and globalisation. One of the primary problems is Germany’s inability to come together as one voice when making decisions at the
Agnieszka Sokół-Arz Graduate of the Music Academy in Krakow (the violin class) and postgraduate studies of culture management at the Institute of Public Affairs, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, JU (B.A.). She studied at Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Utrechcie (The Netherlands), where she finished an international programme of media and culture management in the European context, obtaining M.A. degree, signed by the Open London University. Currently she has finished working on her PhD dissertation at the Institute of Public Affairs, Faculty of Management and Social Communication, in which she is concerned with the management in Polish and German cultural institutions and the cooperation between them. For 14 years she has lived in Germany, where she is a successful violinist, educator and culture manager. In 2009 she received the scholarship of Johanna Loewenherz Foundation for her artistic and pedagogic contribution, especially her engagement in building Polish – German relations.