Economy 1950-61

Question 1

Who drew up the 5 year plans?

Answer 1

State planning commision

Question 2

Aim of first 5 year plan?

Answer 2

Develop heavy industry

Achieve economic development that could withstand reparation

Question 3

Electricity production

Answer 3

Increased by 10 000 kw but did not meet target of 32 000

Question 4

Cement production

Answer 4

Exceeded target by 400 tons

Question 5

What % of the industrial sector did peoples’ enterprises cover

Answer 5

75%

Question 6

Private enterprise in 1960?

Answer 6

Controlled only 9% of total industrial output

Question 7

Coal production

Answer 7

Fell by 200 tons

Question 8

Impact of long hrs and lack of CGs

Answer 8

Caused a mass exodus

Question 9

Failed targets?

Answer 9

Lignite, electricity and steel

- these targets were very ambitious though!

Question 10

Why did agricultural production fail?

Answer 10

Lack of machinery and beneficiaries lacked experience

Question 11

Voluntary collectivisation

Answer 11

1952-8: only 1/3 of farmland had been collectivised

Question 12

Second attempt at collectivisation?

Answer 12

1960: denied reluctant farmers access to machinery, arrested and forcibly took their land

Question 13

Farmers emigrating?

Answer 13

Disproportionately high rural farmers emigrating due to disarisfaction- 15 000

Question 14

Crop yields?

Answer 14

Fell by 30% from 1960 to 1961

Question 15

Expropriation of land

Answer 15

If Junkers had +100 hectares.
A popular reform
1/3 of GDR’s farmland reallocated to +500 000 beneficiaries

Question 16

State budget in 1952

Answer 16

700 bn osrmarks in debt

Question 17

What did the first 5 year plan not account for?

Answer 17

Cost of Armed forces and reparations to the USSR

Question 18

What was sacrificed at the expense of meeting targets? Give an example of this happening?

Answer 18

CGs through gov. cuts in spending. Paper, clothers and basic foodstuffs were hard to come by

Question 19

What did central planners do to avoid taking blame for economic failures?

Answer 19

They scapegoated emigrants and Junkers for deliberately limiting production and conspiring with the W.

Question 20

Wages and output?

Answer 20

Wages were cut but workers were expected to increase output each quarter

Question 21

What happened to the prison pop.?

Answer 21

Grew by +30 000 from 1952-3

Question 22

What sparked the June revolt?

Answer 22

Poor SoL and working conditions and Stalin’s death created uncertainty about the future of the USSR

Question 23

Was the revolt popular? What did the rebels call for?

Answer 23

Yes

Free elections and they denounced the gov.

Question 24

The harsh side of the gov’s dual approach to dealing with the revolt?

Answer 24

Political prisoners executed

Security tightened in fear of another rebellion

Stasi numbers increased and the GDR joimed the Warsaw Pact

Question 25

The “soft” side to the gov’s dual approach in dealing with the June revolt?

Answer 25

Announced increases in wages, pensions and CGs

Possible because the USSR stopped taking reparations

Question 26

How much land was farmed by collectives?

Answer 26

83.5%