GDR - Unit 4 - Growing Crisis and the Collapse of Communist Rule Flashcards
1
Q
The Economy in the 1980s - 7 Points
A
- Propaganda emphasis on citizens enjoyment of life under the SED was somewhat distorted as it did not reveal the increasing rarity of luxuries and queues for basic food and clothing
- By mid 1980s, slow economic growth resulted in a failing income
- 1976 - 1980 saw a 2% growth rate, and 1982 - 1985 saw a 1.5% growth rate
- FYP of 1986 - 1990 failed to improve quality in relation to quantity
- Defence took up 8% of expenditure
- Estimated cost of maintaining and guarding the wall could pay all of the GDR’s gas and electric bills, and was enough to implement a 35 hour working week
- Employment of 91,000 full time Stasi members cost 4 billion DM a year
2
Q
Growing National Debt - 6 Points
A
- National debt amount to 40 billion DM
- 19189 - it would ave taken 500% increase in exports to stabilise debt levels
- GDR resold Soviet oil to the West and used brown coal for its own industry which was inefficient but cheap
- Resulted in inferior goods and exports fell by 30% in 1986 - 1988
- Financial situation was kept from SED leadership, and even its own economic minister
- Part of Gorbachev’s decision to reduce financial support was the GDR’s national debt
3
Q
High Spending on Health and Welfare - 5 Points
A
- Spending on education, housing, heath and welfare increased from 73 billion in 1980 to 123 billion in 1985
- GDR faced additional costs due to its own specific problems
- Air pollution was the worst in Europe and some towns would have been declared uninhabitable under UN criteria
- Industrialisation disregard the health of workers and unsafe machinery caused many accidents
- Ill health of people reflect the failing economy
4
Q
Poor Quality of Consumer and Other Goods - 7 Points
A
- Neglected for heavy industry throughout GDR’s existence
- 1970s - Honecker declared all factories must product 5% consumer goods, resulting in a strand combination of poor quality goods
- Essential goods were obtainable, but people would have to hunt and queue for them
- People often couldn’t get what they wanted and bartering grew
- A ‘second economy’ green of illegal nature
- High quality goods were primarily produced for export and not available to the public
- Media revealed the inferior quality of the GDR’s goods compared to Western standards
5
Q
Economic Relations with the West - 4 Points
A
- Economic focus sifted to the West, with the majority of trade being with non-socialist counties
- By 1989, 20% of all trade was with the FRG, with a special trading friendship that avoided tax and tariffs
- Borrowed heavily, and in 19189, the SED requested a new billion DM loan
- West bought freedom of 34,000 political dissidents, which paid 3 billion DM to the GDR’s economy
6
Q
Gorbachev’s Refusal to Continue Supporting the GDR - 3 Points
A
- Main principles were Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (reconstruction)
- Announced end of the Brezhnev doctrine, meaning the SED could no longer rely on the USSR’s support to intervene in unrest
- SED became concerned with the development of relations between the FRG and USSR, as Chancellor Kohl visited Moscow and Gorbachev visited the FRG in 1989
7
Q
Impact of Gorbachev’s Refusal to Support the GDR - 4 Points
A
- SED propaganda developed into anti-Soviet depictions of widespread failures within the USSR
- Censored any Soviet media that support Gorbachev’s reforms
- Proved counterproductive as East Germans actively sought out this content
- SED would have to politically reconstruct, and would depart from the communist ideology that it was founded on
8
Q
Pressure for Reform – 8 Points
A
- By late 1980, there was a growing and more organised demand for reform
- Issues such as peace, ecological problems, gay rights, etc, led to the formation of small autonomous groups
- 80 – 90 ecological groups, often based in large cities like Leipzig
- One group set up the Environmental Library in 1986, and their self-printed journal gained a circulation of 2,000 copies a month
- Stasi surveillance meant several leading members were arrested, and their printing presses were seized
- January 1988 – 100 activists were arrested and deported to West Germany, after disrupting an SED rally
- Issue of reunification gained little favour
- 1985 – Gorbachev began calls for Soviet internal reform, which allowed these groups to expand their message
9
Q
Role of Protestant Opposition Groups – 6 Points
A
- Church was the only organisation allowed outside of the SED
- An accord in 1978 accepting ‘Church within socialism’ allowed controlled freedom of discussion within Church
- Church became a focal point for those dissatisfied with the SED regime, and became a basis for growing opposition from the mid 1980s
- Embraced opposition and gave shelter for new groups to grow
- Began to work with groups like the IFM and Environmental Library
- By 1988, the movement was ready to extend beyond the Church
10
Q
Declining Authority of the SED Government – 5 Points
A
- Rapid decline in support and respect for the system was seen the most in young people
- Oct 1988 – 20% of young workers felt strong identification with the SED, whilst 25% had none at all
- Changes in the 1980s gave the population more self-awareness and confidence to overcome their fear
- Gorbachev’s reforms spreading across Eastern Europe and a failing economy
- Increasing inability of the SED to control events within the State
11
Q
Opening of Hungary’s Border with Austria – 6 Points
A
- Reformation in Hungary in 1980s led to the Government allowing different political parties to stand in elections
- Growing concern for the SED as Hungary shared a border with East Germany, and many East Germans visited Hungary
- 2 May 1989 – Hungary began to dismantle its border with Austria
- By the summer of 1989, 30,000 East Germans had crossed the Hungarian border to Austria in the West, where they would claim a West German Passport
- SED tried to limit this by closing the GDR’s border with Czechoslovakia, but it was too late
- Emigrants were sent on a sealed train to the West, and many unsuccessfully tried to board it
12
Q
Impact of Emigration – 5 Points
A
- January – November 1989 – over 250,000 East Germans had left and 75% of them were under the age of 40
- Many were well qualified and worked in in demand professions like medicine, and the GDR could not afford to lose them whilst in a state of economic decline
- Mass emigration was a catalyst for further opposition within the GDR
- Democracy Now and New Forum were set up in September 1989 and called for reform within the GDR
- Demonstrators at public rallies that gathered outside St Nicholas Church in Leipzig rose from 5,000 in September 1989 to 20,000 in October 1989
13
Q
Gorbachev’s Visit to East Berlin – 9 Points
A
- 6 October 1989 – Parade for the GDR’s 40th Anniversary, with loyal participants being specifically chosen
- Gorbachev received an enthusiastic welcome as the parade chanted for ‘Gorby’ to stay in Berlin
- Celebrations were disrupted by demonstrators and over 700 were arrested
- Gorbachev urged Honecker to implement Soviet style reforms, but Honecker blocked any attempt for change
- 8 October 1989 – Gorbachev returned to Moscow
- 9 October 1989 – 70,000 people gathered outside St Nicholas Church in Leipzig in protest against the SED
- There was a fear of violence among the demonstrators, as Honecker had applauded the Tiananmen Square Massacre in China
- Stasi officers waited the demonstrations, but no order was given or carried out
- Hospitals gathered more blood supplies to prepare for the incoming casualties, which never happened
14
Q
Decline of Honecker’s Influence and His Dismissal – 7 Points
A
- Displayed a complete inability to control events
- Refused dialogue with the protestors, and allowed their mass arrest
- His hard-line approach and failures to act persuaded many Politburo members that he needed to be removed
- Egon Krenz was seen as his natural heir, but his respect for Honecker prevented him from acting against him, until Schabowski persuaded him to do so
- 17 October 1989 - Honecker was asked to resign, and when Mittag joined Krenz he was forced to accept
- Voted for his own removal, showing loyalty to the Party
- 18 October 1989 - officially resigned, and told the public it was for health reasons
15
Q
Krenz and the Opening of the Wall - 4 Points
A
- Seen as a copy of Honecker
- Further relaxed travel restrictions and met up with Church leaders and New Forum, which was a tactical move to retain power
- 20 October 1989 - 500,000 people marched through Leipzig
- Led to more hope for the people, and they changed “Germany - One Fatherland”
