“Truth Commissions” as an element of political typology of reconciliation: the German model

In the political system of the Federal Republic of Germany, a particular role is played by commissions of public inquiry. They aim to gather – in the most comprehensive manner possible – and analyze material on a given topic and draw up proposals for legislative solutions. After the two German states were unified, the government and the whole society had to resolve multiple complex issues linked to their past. The socalled truth commissions were appointed for that very purpose. The first one, known as the Inquiry Commission for Working Through the History and Consequences of the SED Dictatorship in Germany, operated from 1992–1994 and significantly influenced German politics of history in the 1990s. The second such body, the Bundestag Inquiry Commission for the Overcoming the Consequences of the SED Dictatorship in the Process of German Unity that functioned in 1995– 1998, shaped the particular image of the GDR in the political culture of contemporary Germany. The present study aims to show how both of the above Truth Commissions were created, how they operated, and their impact on the complicated process of German unification.