1.3c What was the role of the Protestant Church in the GDR? Flashcards
Of the 17 million population, how many people belonged to the Protestant Church?
15 million
What event happened in 1954 to create tension between the SED and the Protestant Church?
Arguments over the religious curriculum and Jugendweihe
What was Jugendweihe?
An initiation ritual for a child to enter a Marxist Atheist world
Why were the SED opposed to the Junge Gemeiden?
Seen as having counter Communist ideals
What wad the Junge Gemeiden?
Young Congregation of the Church
When did the State outlaw the work of student Pastors?
1952
What did the SED do against the Junge Gemeiden in 1953?
A concerted Propaganda attack on the Junge Gemeiden
What did the SED accuse all members of the Junge Gemeiden of?
Being part of the Western terrorist organisation BDJ
People taking Jugendweihe:
1954 - ___%
late 1960s - ___%
People taking Jugendweihe:
1954 - 17.7%
late 1960s - 90%
Why was legislation against the Junge Gemeiden overturned?
Because of the 1953 June Uprising
What was the general trend of Ulbricht’s attitude towards the Protestant Church in the 1960s?
He softened his rhetoric
What organisation was created in 1960 to coordinate the work of the Church under the control of the SED?
State Secretariat for Church Questions
In what year did the Church split from the West?
1969
What good things did the Church do in the GDR?
Ran 50 hospitals
Built centres for orphans
How did FRG Church subsidies help the GDR?
It provided some money for the restoration of historical Church buidings
How did the Church benefit the SED in the 1970s?
Played a role in gaining the GDR its UN status
Why did the viewpoint of the Church change in the 1970s?
There was new generations of Church leaders coming through who were more open to the idea of the SED in permanent control of the GDR
What did Pastor Oskar Brusewitz do in 1976?
Publicly set himself on fire in symbolism that the Church and State represented the conflict between God and Marx
How did the Church benefit GDR society throughout the 1970s?
Worked alongside people outside of Society like alcoholics and homosexuals
What accord was passed in 1978 concerning the Church and State?
An accord that recognised the need to work together but that the Church was below the State and not alongside it
What did the Stasi do regarding the Church in 1978?
Placed agents within the leadership of the Church
What kind of things did the SED cautiously agree to discuss with the Church?
Single topics like the environment
