Einbuergerungstest Study Guide

All 3 official topic areas from the BAMF test. 300 federal questions distributed across these themes.

Leben in der Demokratie

Living in a Democracy -- ~50% of test

-Grundgesetz (Basic Law) is the constitution -- Article 1: Human dignity is inviolable

-Bundestag (lower house) elected every 4 years, Bundesrat (upper house) represents 16 states

-Chancellor (Bundeskanzler) is head of government, President (Bundespraesident) is head of state

-Gewaltenteilung: Legislative (Bundestag), Executive (Government), Judicial (Courts)

-Federal Constitutional Court is in Karlsruhe, NOT Berlin

-Voting: universal, direct, free, equal, secret -- age 18+

-16 Bundeslaender, each with own Landtag and Ministerpraesident

-EU founding member (1957), Euro currency, Schengen area, NATO member

-Basic rights (Articles 1-19): speech, religion, assembly, press, equality, property, asylum

History and Responsibility -- ~30% of test

-1848 Revolution -- first democratic movement, Frankfurt Parliament

-1871 German Empire founded under Bismarck

-1919 Weimar Republic -- first German democracy

-1933 Hitler comes to power, end of democracy

-Holocaust/Shoah: 6 million Jews murdered -- Germany has special historical responsibility

-8 May 1945 unconditional surrender (Tag der Befreiung)

-1949 two German states: BRD (West) and DDR (East)

-Berlin Wall built 13 August 1961, fell 9 November 1989

-3 October 1990 German reunification (national holiday)

-2024 reform: dual citizenship now allowed, residency reduced to 5 years

People and Society -- ~20% of test

-Religious freedom -- no state religion, secular government

-Equality of men and women enshrined in Grundgesetz

-Education is Laendersache (state responsibility)

-5 social insurance pillars: health, accident, care, unemployment, pension

-Same-sex marriage legal since 2017

-Ehrenamt (volunteering) important in civic life

-Flag: Schwarz-Rot-Gold (Black-Red-Gold)

-National anthem: 3rd stanza of Deutschlandlied (Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit)

-Capital: Berlin. National holiday: 3 October.