GDR Flashcards
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What was the Ulbricht Group?
A group of German refugees in the soviet union who were communists. They returned to the GDR following the fall of the Nazis
What were the aims of the Ulbricht group?
To create an ‘anti-fascist democratic republic’ that was in fact communist controlled and only “appeared democratic”
How did the Ulbricht Group attempt to create the anti-fascist, communist controlled state?
- Creation of 20 Lander
- Key positions held by communists
- Nationalisation of industry, commerce and agriculture
- Concentration camps and stasi to spread terror
- Merger of the SPD and KPD to create the SED
What mass organisations did the SED have control over?
- The FDJ (youth group)
- The FDGB (trade unions)
When and how was the SED formed?
1946 and formed by a merger between the SPD and KPD
What was the National Front?
- A group made up of parties and mass organisations that supported the ‘anti-fascist bloc’
- Stood in the Volkskammer
When was the GDR National front produced?
1950
What was the Supreme court?
- Created in 1949 and was corrupted and controlled by communists
- Working with the stasi, they ruled by terror with a number of show trials
What were VEB’s?
‘People’s enterprises’ and were state run industry
How much of GDR industry was made up of VEB’s?
75%
What percentage of the GDR worked in industry?
40%
How did the 5 year plan (1951-1955) affect GDR industry?
- Led to high production quotas and output targets as it enforced a planned economy in the GDR
- Aimed to double GDR output from 1936
What was the ‘New Course’?
-Following the death of Stalin in 1953, the GDR wanted to improve standard of living by decreasing quotas and output targets whilst moving towards light industry from heavy industry
What was the positive effect of the ‘new course’?
Improved standard of living as it delivered a greater number of consumer goods to people
What was the June 1953 Uprising?
During the New Course, quotas were again increased which led to strikes and protests in industrial centres, resulting in over 100 deaths of protesters
How did the Second 5 Year Plan (1956-1960) affect industry?
- Redoubled increases in productive quotas (increased by 55%) and output targets as it aimed for technological advancement
- Offered 50% partnership for firms to become VEBs
- By 1959, State owned 91% of industry
Positive affects on industry of the second 5 Year Plan?
GDR developed its first nuclear plant in late 1956
Negative effects of the Second 5 year plan on industry?
Led to mass emigration (republikflucht): 2.5 million between 1949-1961
What was the 7 Year Plan, When was it and what was it aim?
1959-1965, was an economic plan that aimed to match FRG productive output by 1961
What were the negative effects of the 7 Year Plan?
- Led to mass emigration as workers were angry at the hard work (2.5 Million emigrated between 49-65)
- Annual growth slowly declined from 1959 onwards
What was the coffee crisis?
An increase in the prices of coffee around the world led to a severe shortage of coffee from 1976-79 in the GDR which highlighted the structural economic and financial problems in the state
How did the GDR redistribute land?
Confiscated land from Junkers and former Nazis and redistributed it to peasant farmers and war refugees into state owned farms called LPGS
What were LPG’s?
State owned, collectivised farms
How much Land was redistributed to how many peasant farmers?
30,000KM2 redistributed to 500,000 farmers
What was the Land ownership limit?
1KM2 per person
How did the 7 year plan (1959-65) affect agriculture?
Wanted higher State ownership of land
- In 1958, 70% of arable land was owned by state; in 1965, 85% of arable land was owned by state
- Increase from 6000 LPG’s to 19000 LPG’s
- By 1961, State produced 90% of agricultural output
What were the negative effects of the second 5 Year Plan on agriculture?
-Farmers who protested nationalisation of farms were arrested by stasi
What was the role of the SED in the 1950’s-1960’s?
- Produced propaganda and the GDR’s only newspapers
- Maintained good relationship with USSR and eastern bloc
- Maintained discipline over its 2.3 million people through control of the police, stasi and supreme court
- controlled mass organisations such as FDJ and FDGB
How was the Church treated in the GDR from the 1950’s-1960’s?
- Ulbricht saw the church as a threat to the control of the SED
- SED made the Young Christian Organisation illegal
- In 1958, a deal between the church and the state was made which meant that the state would not get involved with the church and the church would not get involved in politics. The church also said that the people must have freedom of expression and thought
How were Women treated in the GDR 1950-1960’s?
- GDR wanted to utilise women and thus wanted them on the workforce
- Women were given the right to work and equal pay
- Men were encouraged to take an active role with house work
- However, most women had unskilled, low paid jobs and very few women made it up the political hierarchy
When was the FDJ formed?
1946
What was the GST and when was it formed?
The society for sport & technology in the GDR and it was formed in 1952
How did the SED affect the school system in the GDR?
- Comprehensive school system formed in 1959 which aimed to create the next generation of communists, with the curriculum heavily focussed on socialism and Marxist Leninism was a compulsory subject
- Weekly day trips to factories to learn about the planned economy
Explain the set up of the FDJ
The only youth group in the GDR. Sub-group was the ‘Young Pioneers’ (JP) for 6-14 year olds
Was the FDJ compulsory?
No, but so many people joined because it was very important for future university and job applications
Was there any youth resistance to the GDR?
- Some wore blue jeans and listened to Rock N Roll which was a symbol of the Americanised Western culture
- The Umwelt-Bibliothek was a library who’s members made up an intellectual resistance group to the GDR. It was raided by the Stasi in 1987 which gained it international acknowledgement
Explain what was the FDGB and how it interacted with it’s workers
- All workers were represented by the FDGB and it was run by the SED so it could relay information on any rebellious workers
- Had little to do due to the strictness of the SED and the good conditions for workers
- Ended up having a lot to do with leisure: organised football matches and was the largest tourist provider in the GDR
How did firms and factories treat workers in the GDR?
Firms provided food, sport and accommodation
-It was not uncommon for a worker to work at the same factory for their whole life
Were the wages fair in the GDR?
All people earned equal wages but they were comparatively low to that of the West
How did the GDR encourage workers to be highly productive?
- Productive work was rewarded with bonuses, titles and rewards
- Highly productive workers were made propaganda symbols of the state to encourage work. eg. Adolf Henneckes was a miner who achieved 387% of his output target and thus was made a national symbol
What was societies view of work in the GDR?
There was full employment so it was considered very anti-social not to work
How were the arts treated in the GDR?
- Arts were controlled and moderated by the states
- Western literature and art, and Jazz was considered decadent and irrelevant
What was the state of the consumer goods in the GDR?
- Lack of variety and quantity of consumer goods caused envy of the West
- Created a culture of buying what’s available rather than what is needed
What was the state of housing in the GDR
- Severe housing shortage
- Extremely cheap and undervalued rent
What was society’s opinion of divorce in the GDR?
- Relatively high divorce rates in the GDR
- Led to a high number of single parent families
Was there any major protest movements in the GDR?
The ‘Free Body Culture’ (FKK) promoting freedom of expression supported nudity and gained mass support
How did households improve in the GDR?
By 1969, 70% of households had a TV and 50% had a fridge
What was the purpose of the Stasi?
The secret police force of the GDR: they spied on political dissidents (‘enemies of the state’)
What did the Stasi claim they did?
- Their motto was “To know everything”
- They claimed their role was to defend against the threat of the West as they could only rely on the USSR
How many people did the Stasi hire?
- 100,000 people were officially employed by the Stasi
- 200,000 to 300,000 were unofficially employed as informants
- 1 in 30 people in the GDR were linked to the Stasi
How many of the Stasi took up political positions?
17,000 former Stasi members took up positions in politics throughout the GDR period
What methods were used by the Stasi to gain information?
- Non stop interrogation
- Gathering information on all matters
- Surveilling millions of GDR citizens
- Psychological torture eg. isolation, sleep dep. etc.
- Forced adoption of children of political prisoners
What was Hohenschönhausen?
- A secret Stasi prison, which carried out torture and interrogation on political prisoners
- Most civilians had little idea of what happened there
- Comparable to Nazi concentration camps
What did informants do in the Stasi?
- 200,000-300,000 informants provided information on general civilians
- Due to the ‘Just-in-Case’ attitude of the Stasi, informants were often paid to gather trivial information on general GDR citizens
Give three examples of things in the GDR that the Stasi would search for
- People attempting to escape to the West
- People trying to help others to get to the West
- People forming protests
How was the Stasi linked to sports?
They were involved in doping athletes in order to improve the changes of GDR in sport, and to be used as a propaganda tool to show the strength of the GDR
Why did the Stasi dope their athletes?
- To reduce international isolation and increase international recognition of the GDR
- To create a sense of national pride within the GDR
What was the GDR’s greatest sporting achievement?
When they came 3rd in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games
How could the Stasi be seen as a weakness in the GDR?
They highlighted the mistrust and instability within the GDR
When and why did the GDR abandon their utopian communist goals?
In 1971, they decided to focus on improving current living standards rather than striving for the utopian society
How did the GDR abandoning it’s utopian goals affect society
It destroyed the utopian vision and hope that communism and socialism was built upon
What were the ‘Helsinki Accords’ and when was it?
The 1975 agreement between the West and the Eastern bloc to improve relations and for Eastern countries to provide more liberties and rights to their citizens
Did the GDR honour the Helskini Accords of 1975?
No; they still limited GDR citizens from emigrating to the west- to national & international condemnation
When and why did relationships between the GDR and USSR start to deteriorate?
1987- Gorbachev wanted to reform the communist system to provide more freedoms, however Honnecker did not agree with this
-In 1987, the GDR began to censor Soviet speeches and they banned the soviet magazine ‘Sputnik’ following anti-stalin articles
What were the evident political weaknesses within the GDR by 1985?
- Stasi highlighted instability and mistrust in GDR
- GDR abandoned utopian goals in 1971 in favour of improving current living standards: damaged communist ideal
- Despite the Helsinki Accords (1975) GDR still limited rights such as emigration to the west
- In 1987, relationships between the GDR and the USSR deteriorated due to disagreements between Gorbachev and Honnecker (resulting in censorship of soviet speeches, and banning of ‘Sputnik’)
To what extent were the GDR reliant on loans?
- The GDR were reliant on FRG loans following the 1972 Basic Treaty for their economy to survive
- The GDR were also reliant on USSR loans and subsidies
What was the trend in GDR economic growth?
- The annual GDR growth rate grew up until 1959
- From 1959 onwards, the annual growth rate gradually decreased
When was the second oil shock and what effect did it have on the GDR?
1979
-Reduced subsidised oil from the USSR and forced the GDR to use it’s abundance of ‘brown coal’, which seriously damaged the environment
What were some evident economic weaknesses in the GDR by 1985?
- Reliant on loans from the USSR and- following the 1972 Basic Treaty- the FRG
- From 1959 onwards, the annual growth rate gradually decreased
- The second oil shock of 1979 greatly decreased the subsidies on oil from the USSR and forced the GDR to use ‘brown coal’ which greatly damaged the environment
What and when was the ‘Coffee Crisis’?
1972-1974
An increase in the price of coffee meant that the GDR could not afford it and had to use bad substitutes
What was the effect of the coffee crisis on GDR citizens?
Made them realise how weak the economy was and made them envious of the West who had a large abundance of consumer goods
What was the GDR’s ‘no taboo’ policy
In 1971, Ulbricht said there would be “no taboos” in the fields of art and literature as he appeared to loosen the censorship or art
Did the GDR’s ‘No Taboos’ policy last?
No- in 1976, the poet and singer Wolf Biermann was arrested for touring in the FRG
-His arrest led to a protest of over 100 poets and artists
How did the church protest against the GDR government?
- They held protest marches every monday
- They created a protest movement “Create Peace Without Weapons” which was directly protesting the forced military education of 15 & 16 year olds
When did Honnecker decommission the trip wire weapons on the Berlin border, and what was the effect of this?
1974
-Led to more GDR citizens attempting to flee to the West
What were the evident social weaknesses in the GDR by 1985?
- 1972-1974 Coffee Crisis displayed the weakness of the economy and highlighted to GDR citizens the benefits of living in the West to general consumers
- “No Taboos” policy came to an end in 1976 with the arrest of poet Wolf Biermann
- Church held weekly protests in Leipzig and created the protest group “Create Peace Without Weapons”
- More GDR citizens attempted to flee following the decommissioning of the trip wire weapons in 1974
What strengths did the GDR have by 1980?
- Guaranteed job & zero unemployment
- Guaranteed housing
- Cheap rent
What was the ‘Niche Society’?
That GDR citizens would retreat into the own private worlds rather than participate or protest against society
What historians were associated with the ‘Niche Society’
Mary A Fullbrook
What is the evidence for the ‘Niche Society’?
- Very few protests against the GDR until the end of the regime
- ‘Free Body Culture’ (FKK) became a very appealing protest movement within the GDR, with nudism the most popular aspect
- Many people retreated to their country houses to feel free of the tight controls of the government and overarching presence of the Stasi
What is the evidence against the ‘Niche Society’?
Some form of resistance and protest
eg. the June 1953 uprisings; the Umwelt Bibliothek intellectual resistance group
What was a ‘Participatory Dictatorship’?
When the citizens of the GDR participate in society and decisions within society but eventually all the final decisions are made by one person (a dictator)
Evidence for a participatory dictatorship?
- Citizens were encouraged to have a say in what was happening in society with letters of complaint, called ‘Eingaben’
- Dictatorship looked to help the people, and aimed for the good of the people: State strove for ‘workers paradise’
- Mass organisations were present and included many people
Evidence against participatory dictatorship?
- ‘Eingaben’ couldnt directly complain about the SED government or the socialist system
- A lot of participation was due to fear of the Stasi and of fear of future prospects
When was Mikhail Gorbachev elected?
1985
How did Gorbachev aim to change the USSR and why?
- He was elected at a time of great USSR weakness
- He wanted to reform the USSR through a process of “openness” and “reconstruction”
- He stopped soviet interference with the satellite states: the economic expense was not worth the political gain
How did Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies affect GDR citizens?
- GDR citizens greatly supported him: as shown during the GDR’s 40th anniversary where the crowd chanted “gorbi” rather than “Honecker”
- made GDR citizens question the policies within East Germany and increased the number of protests they held
Did Honecker agree with Gorbachev’s reformist ideas?
No:
He began to cut down ties with the USSR- censorship of soviet speeches and banned USSR magazine ‘Sputnik’
How did satellite states in Eastern Europe change following the election of Gorbachev?
- In 1989, Poland’s communist government collapsed- ‘solidarity’ party won 99 out of 100 seats in June elections
- In the summer of 1989, Hungary moved towards a multi-party system and cut down it’s barbed wire fence with the west- reburied those who died in the 1956 uprising to mark the start of a new Hungary
How did reform in Hungary and Poland affect the GDR
- Honecker begged Gorbachev to stop the reforms
- Many GDR citizens travelled to Hungary from which they could flee to the West
- made GDR citizens more aware of the possibility of freedom
When was the Tianemen Square protest, and what happened in it?
1989
Students, who were holding a peaceful protest, were shot down by the police and army
What was the SED’s response to the Tianemen Square protests?
SED supported the violence used against protesters
How did GDR citizens view the SED’s response to Tianemen square?
- were angered by the GDR response as it highlighted the oppressive, totalitarian government
- were afraid that a similar outcome could occur in the GDR
How did the USSR’s attitude towards it’s satellite states change following Gorbachev’s appointment?
- Soviet Union was no longer willing to support Eastern bloc with force or the military
- The economic expense was no longer worth the political advantage of holding the eastern bloc
- Gorbachev wanted to end the Cold War tensions
- Gorbachev hoped that by increasing freedoms and loosening control, people would choose socialism rather than rebel against it
- Gorbachev told satellite states they were responsible for their own reforms
What were ‘freedom trains’?
Trains that took GDR refugees from the embassies of Prague and Budapest to the West
How did Honecker treat and label GDR refugees who wanted to travel to the west?
- Called them ‘republikflucht’ and ‘moral outcasts’
- ordered Stasi to confiscate their identity cards and officially expel them from the GDR if they were fleeing west
What was the US response to Gorbachev’s appointment and the impending collapse of the Berlin Wall and of communism in Eastern Europe?
- they were looking for an end to the Cold War
- they benefitted from the USSR’s decision to leave control of satellite states to themselves
- supported Hungary and Poland morally for their moves towards democracy: with visits from George Bush 1st to both countries
Did the USA provide any economic support for Hungary and Poland when they were moving towards democracy?
Yes, but they were very modest packages
-the US didnt want to overreact to the changes in Eastern Europe as they feared the countries could return to socialism or that they would anger the USSR
What were some of the growing protest movements towards the fall of the GDR?
- protests every Monday at churches around the GDR
- Formation of the ‘We are staying here’ protest movement about how they wanted the GDR to have democracy and that they shouldn’t have to move to the west
What were the main public demonstrations towards the end of the GDR regime?
- protests in Berlin during the GDR’s 40th anniversary
- protests of 70,000 people in Leipzig
Was there any protest within the GDR government towards the fall of the regime?
- a small part of the politburo tried to devise a plan to remove Honecker from power
- 10 days after the GDR’s 40th anniversary, Honecker was voted out of power and Egon Krenz was elected
When was Egon Krenz elected?
18th October 1989
What led to the opening of the Berlin Wall?
- Schabowski told the press that the borders were being opened immediately on the 9th November 1989, when they were in fact meant to open the next day
- this caused massive crowds of people going to the Berlin Wall and attempting to get through
- eventually, the Stasi allowed the gates to open
What were some of the new political groups that were formed in 1989 in opposition to the regime?
- The SPD had unofficially reformed in the east by October 1989
- The ‘New Forum’ group was set up in Sept. 1989: made up of intellectuals
What was the most influential of the new groups formed in the GDR in 1989?
The ‘New Forum’
What were the aims of the ‘New Forum’ group in the GDR?
- deliberately aimed to challenge the control of the SED
- It aimed for the ‘third way’ within the existing framework of the GDR
- did not propose the reintroduction of capitalism or the reunification of the Germany
Was the New Forum and the ‘third way’ successful in the March 1990 elections?
- No, support for these groups had dwindled dramatically
- The majority of GDR citizens now wanted a full return to capitalism and reunification
What freedom reforms did Egon Krenz attempt to implement?
- encouraged opposition parties
- free elections
- freedom for the media
- economic reforms
What was ‘glasnost’?
The policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev to increase ‘openness’ and ‘transparency’ within government, institutions and society
What was ‘perestroika’?
- Was the restructuring of the soviet (communist/Stalinist) political and economic systems
- argued to be the cause of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the GDR revolution and the end of the Cold War
Who was Hans Modrow and when was he appointed?
- He was the prime minister of the GDR
- he was appointed on November 13 1989
What did Hans Modrow offer the people of the GDR?
- specific economic and political reforms
- cooperative existence with the FRG and stronger links to the EEC
- separation of state power and the SED to give more power to the volkskammer
What was the ‘third way’
A middle path between socialism and capitalism
What was popular opinion on the ‘third way’?
Nov 1989: 86% of population supported the third way (“socialist reform”)
Feb 1990: 56% of population wanted ‘third way’—31% wanted a complete return to capitalism
What were the ‘Round Table Discussions’?
- A mixture of SED and opposition leaders coming together to discuss the future of the GDR
- most of the round table supported the ‘third way’
What was the Stasi renamed as in 1990?
The ‘Office for National Security’
What was the SED renamed as? And when?
1990- renamed as the PDS
Was Egon Krenz a popular prime minister?
No:
- His approval rating was below 10%
- Government thought that Krenz’s changes were too radical but people thought that they weren’t enough
What things at the the end of the GDR regime discredited the SED and began to make collapse and reunification inevitable?
- Mass emigration from East to West following the opening of the borders (20,000 in each December, January and February)
- movement towards a democratic, capitalist GDR meant there was no justification for the separation of the two states
- On 1st December 1989, SED’s leading role in the constitution was formally removed–> Krenz stepped down on December 3rd
What was the effect of the liberation of the media on the SED and Stasi?
- Revelations of corruption of the SED emerged and of the wealth of the leaders in comparison to the people
- Brutality of the Stasi was uncovered
- permanently damaged the credibility of the SED
How did the protest leading to the opening of the Berlin Wall effect future protests?
- A number of new protesters now felt comfortable to join as they no longer feared their safety
- increasing protests for reunification
What were common GDR chants towards the collapse of the regime?
“We are one People”
“We are staying here”
“United fatherland”
How did the opening of the Berlin Wall affect the immigration problem in the GDR?
- The attraction of living in the West was highlighted by GDR citizens being able to visit West Berlin
- there was nothing to stop emigration: 20,000 people moved to the West in December 89, Jan 90 and Feb 90
When were the first free elections of the GDR?
Originally scheduled for May 1990 but they were brought forward to March
Why were the GDR elections moved from May 1990 to March?
Increasing domestic crises:
- growing strikes
- mass emigration
- growing black market
What was the result of the March 1990 elections?
The CDU won as the ‘Alliance’ group won 48% of the vote
What did the March 1990 election show about the GDR citizens?
They wanted a swift reunification:
The CDU wanted the fastest possible reunification out of the parties
What were the main causes of the disintegration and collapse of the GDR? (4)
- lack of soviet intervention in satellite states
- renewed haemorrhage of skilled labour through mass emigration
- Gorbachev’s lack of support for Gorbachev and his preference for reformist politicians
- GDR’s decision to avoid violent response to protests
When was the Stalin Note, and what was it?
1952
Stalin’s reunification proposal to the Allies
When was the Stasi formed, and who by?
1950
Walter Ulbricht
When and what was the Warsaw Pact?
In 1955, following the FRG joining Nato, the Warsaw Pact was the defensive alliance of the Soviet bloc
It provided military backing for comecon
What was the impact of comecon on GDR trade?
75% of GDR’s trade was within the Eastern Bloc
What was the GDR stance on the middle east?
The GDR saw Israel as an American puppet, and supported the Arab struggle against Israel
What were the benefits of the construction of the Berlin wall? (3)
-Stemmed the constant flow of emigration and allowed the SED to continue the reformation of the GDR economy
-After the construction of the wall, Ulbricht implemented the “New Economic System” which led to higher wages, more consumer goods and more agricultural production
(Although the USSR soon forced them to backtrack on this)
-People in the GDR had to come to terms that they could not travel to the West and so worked harder on creating a better society
What were the negative impacts of the construction of the Berlin Wall? (2)
- The wall split friends and families
- It could be used as propaganda to show that the communist world had to wall in its citizens
What was evidence of the Soviet influence of the GDR?
The creation of the ‘New Economic System’- a series of policies which led to higher wages, more consumer good and more agricultural production- was put down by the USSR as they believed that it encouraged unhealthy consumerism
What was Honecker’s opinion on reunification? (2)
- Throughout the 1970’s and 1980s, he rejected the idea of reuniting Germany
- He worked on creating a distinct national identity for the GDR and in 1974, a new constitution titled the state as the ‘Republic of Workers and Peasants’
What was the East German opinion of the USSR? (3)
- Many East Germans disliked the USSR due to either anti-communist propaganda during the Nazi rule or the soviet brutality during their occupation of Germany
- The SED made strong attempts to develop a sense of friendship between the nations eg. with the GDR-Soviet friendship treaty in 1975
- Most citizens saw the USSR as oppressors, in comparison to the West, who saw the USA and UK as liberators
What were the GDR economic achievements during Honecker’s presidency (1971-1989) (3)
- The GDR was ranked as one of the top industrial nations in the world
- The country became also agriculturally self-sufficient in the 1970’s
- By 1975, the GDR had the highest living standards in the Eastern bloc
What was Honecker’s policy towards women? (2)
- Women received the best maternity benefits in the world in 1984
- ->This encouraged women to have more children and solve the GDR’s ageing population
-By 1987, 90% of women were in paid employment; one of the highest figures in the world
What were the limitations of the GDR economy under Honecker? (2)
-Although the GDR had the highest living standards of the Eastern bloc, they were still significantly lower than in the FRG
- Although more women were employed, there was only ever one woman in high level politics: Honecker’s wife, Margot
- ->The majority of women worked low skill jobs
What was the superpower importance in German reunification? (2)
- George Bush Sn called for the rights of all East German states to free and fair elections
- In 1989, Gorbachev visited the FRG- he was well received and spoke to Kohl about the prospect of reunification
How did Honecker’s decision making affect the reunification of Germany?
-His refusal to make any sort of reforms accelerated the reunification process as citizens saw this as the only way of gaining liberties
What was the international opposition to reunification? (2)
- The USSR saw Kohl’s 10 point plan as too sudden and feared that the GDR would join Nato
- Margaret Thatcher feared a unified Germany, whilst British and French press opened the idea of a “Fourth Reich”
