Berlin Wall - Topic 1 GDR - KQ4 Flashcards
Why was emigration a big problem before the Berlin Wall was built?
Between 1949 and 1961 before the wall was built 2.5 million East Germans Emigrated to FRG. The population of the GDR went down from 18 million to 17 million.
What was the problem with people emigrating?
The problem with people emigrating was the people who were emigrating were young, skilled and educated people the very people that GDR couldn’t afford to loose as they contributed a big part to the economic success of the GDR. 1/4 of Doctors emigrated.
What were reasons that people emigrated? (2 Reasons)
-Negative General Living Standards (housing shortages, food rationing +lack of consumer goods)
-SED’s Repressive Nature
-FRG was more prosperous than the GDR and gave East German migrants free citizenship and generous financial aid
What did emigration threaten to do?
Threatened to decrease the available workforce by 10% which had both economic and political consequences
What was Khruschevs Ultamitium?
Khrushchev said to the West that they should withdraw within 6 months the three western powers troops from their sectors in Berlin to make it a demilitarized free city state.
The west didn’t agree to this but the US did agree to negotiate however the two powers were unable to solve their differences and agree on anything.
What happned in 1960 and the start of Operation Rose?
During 1960 a further 200,000 more people left the GDR.
This led to Operation Rose being put into place in Aug 1961 where Ulbricjt firstly made a public annoucncemnt sayin “no-one intends to build a wall”. The operation was taken out in secracy and the Berlin Wall was firstly built with barbed wire to concrete blocks and watchtowers.
What were the positive impacts of the Berlin Wall being built? (4 Positive Impacts)
-It offered a stable border and meant it was easier for GDR to control the lives of people
-Meant socialism could be built without being undermined by depleting workforce
-future plans could be made for the country
-The economy could grow with the production of consumer goods which would then eventually result in the improvement of living standards
What were the Negative impacts of the Berlin Wall being built? (4 Negative Impacts)
-Families were split up
-People who had previously worked in the West but lied in the East couldn’t get work
-Couldn’t visit relatives in West
-Many had to change schools and travel to their new schools
-The cost to build the wall for the GDR was massive (2.5-3 billion Ostmarks)
-as many as 136 fatalities were resulted in the building of the wall from would-be escapers
