The year 1949 meant both new beginnings and continuity for the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). From an organizational point of view, the post-war provisional arrangements ended, the EKD found a new headquarters in Hanover and a new chairman in Otto Dibelius. However, there can be no question of a break with the previous work, either in terms of personnel or material. The comprehensively annotated Council minutes published here, as well as the minutes of the first meeting of the EKD Church Conference, document the by no means conflict-free work of this governing body, which dealt with theological, political and social questions as well as with questions of its own self-image. The edition is made accessible through differentiated registers and a document index.