History Lecture Notes Flashcards
What was the GDR’s public transcript?
GDR is a workers state, built by workers for workers.
Anti-fascist state that has transcended capitalism by creating an equal, just society which is superior in material and cultural terms to the West.
It was the means through which the state legitimised its authority.
Why was there dissatisfaction with the SED in the 1950s-70s?
Which 2 key events occurred during this period?
Why did it stabilise in the 1970s?
Increasing dissatisfaction with its claims to represent materially and politically the “better Germany”.
Clash between ideology (the public transcript) and social reality:
— 1953 Berlin Workers’ Uprising
> spontaneous uprising with mass arrests and executions of protestors
> violent suppression ended public opposition for some time
— 1961 Construction of Berlin Wall
> international crisis with US, USSR
> domestic crisis; ongoing dissatisfaction with supply/quality of GDR goods
> exodus of population continued, esp. young, educated, qualified workers
In the 1970s, there seemed to be a period of relative stability under Erich Honecker:
— @ SED party conference, the unity of economic and social policy was announced > ambition to raise living standards, increase wages and pensions > intensify housing construction > mass initiatives: voluntary work to beautify towns/parks etc as an exercise of citizenship
What was “die sanfte Revolution” in the 1980s?
In the 1980s, the GDR’s public transcript unravels. There’s a clash between the public transcript and the reality of lived experience.
— 1980s Stasi surveys of popular mood revealed widespread criticism of poor quality and supply of goods, travel restrictions, unwillingness of leadership to reform
An important reason for the implosion of the GDR is Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms in the Soviet Union:
— Glasnot = openness and transparency
— Perestroika = restructuring (political and economic reform)
SED’s showed resistance to these reforms because they realised they can’t counter political reforms and that the reforms represent an existential threat to the state. It was also a dangerous position for the SED leadership - they were out of touch with the popular mood.
What caused the Monday Demonstrations? And what were the demonstrations?
Long term frustration in the GDR > political protests in 1989 against the GDR government, in Leipzig
> demanding reforms (at this point, not unification), democratic elections, more freedom/rights > protests grew in scale and size, spreading to other cities > 1000+ people took part > “Wir sind das Volk” - an attempt to turn the GDR’s public transcript against its own leadership - a workers state should be listening to its workers - slogan stressed that the protestors are the people the government should be listening to - applying slogan to the public transcript helped legitimate their demands for democratic reform
What were the 3 main internal stages of GDR implosion?
- Rise of opposition groups
- gradually gained support of wider population
- Development of new regime policies/tactics to respond to these groups
- initially a violent response with protests broken up by police
- but this is unsustainable, so they move to a policy of ‘reform from above’ (Honecker replaced by Krenz)
- but this is too little, too late - it will not save the GDR
- Changes in leadership
- series of developments that lead to the opening of the Berlin Wall on the 9th November
These stages led to a situation where unification became a realistic possibility.
“Wir sind das Volk” (demand for reform) > “Wir sind ein Volk” (demand for unification)
Talk about the reasons/slogans behind mass exodus from the GDR
“Wir wollen raus!”
These people decided with their feet to leave the GDR; a mass exodus happened.
This shows the lack of legitimacy of the GDR at this point. Interaction between domestic and international factors caused mass exodus, as shown below.
Exodus intensified towards the end of 1989:
> mass flight from the GDR had been impossible since 1961
> political reforms in the Soviet Union opened up escape routes through relaxation of border controls between Hungary and Austria > FRG embassies in Budapest, Warsaw, Prague flooded with GDR citizens, putting pressure on West Germany
Talk about the people who remained in the GDR and what they wanted
“Wir bleiben hier!”
These are people who didn’t want to leave but instead wanted a reform — “Reform statt Massenflucht”
New organisations began to emerge, but generally, these groups didn’t reflect the wider population mood for unification:
- Neues Forum
What was the Neues Forum?
Created in response to the mass exodus — open, uncensored public dialogue about the need to reform the GDR
Communication between state and society had broken down.
Mass exodus was happening unnecessarily
— other refugee movements were caused by poverty/hunger/violence - none of that existed in the GDR
Demands were quite contradictory — need to have democratic dialogue on the responsibilities of the state, economy and culture
This political platform helps resolve the problems in the GDR.
What was the Central Roundtable?
Forum where gov delegates came together with reps from popular citizens’ movements to discuss reforms in the GDR.
Concerned about the country’s long-term development — wanted communication and transparency between state + society:
> demanded disclosure of economic and financial situation of country
wanted to be informed of and included in important legal, economic and financial policy decisions by the gov
Acknowledged their lack of executive and legislative power but wished to turn to the public with proposals
What 2 dimensions were at play in the process of unification?
Domestic Factors
— Kohl’s 10 point plan
— Volkskammer elections
— Decision made - Article 23 and Staatsvertrag
International Factors
— 4VP
— US, USSR concerns
— Camp David
— Two-Plus-Four negotiations
Talk about Kohl’s 10 Point Plan and Volkskammer Elections in the process of unification
Kohl’s 10 Point Plan (2 weeks after fall of Berlin Wall)
— GDR and FRG needed to cooperate together with a view toward eventual reunification, but this would be a long-term, incremental process
— view was to stabilise situation, then move towards a confederate state before a full reunification within the next 10 years
— WG aid contingent on GDR reform and democratisation
Volkskammer Elections (18th March 1990)
— victory for Alliance, 48% of vote
— over 50% of EG workers voted for Alliance
— CDU part of Alliance, led by Kohl - symbol of WG prosperity, promise of unificatio
— campaign slogans: “für soziale Marktwirtschaft” / “für die deutsche Einheit”
Talk about the decision of reunification, including Article 23 and Staatsvertrag
Article 23
— old EG Länder reconstitute themselves and accede to WG
— accelerates process
Staatsvertag
— established monetary, economic and social union between 2 states
Monetary — D-Mark would be sole currency; exchange rate 1:1 for wages/salaries/benefits/pensions
Economic — GDR move to social market economy
Social — Federal German order transferred to GDR
What was the role of international politics in the process of reunification?
4VP - USA, USSR, France, Britain had veto over decisions concerning Germany and they feared German independence.
Key players = US, USSR
US, George Bush gave early support to Kohl but wanted Germany to continue to be NATO member; did not want neutrality
USSR, Gorbachev concerned over speed of process; wanted Germany to be neutral
Camp David Summit = breakthrough moment
Two-Plus-Four Negotiations
— sealed foreign policy aspects of reunification
— 4VP waived their rights over Germany, gave country full sovereignty
— allowed NATO membership
— all Soviet troops would withdraw from EG
— Bundeswehr reduced to 370,000 soldiers
Financing Unification
1990-2018 est costs = €2 trillion
Building the East; infrastructure projects:
— railway lines
— road and motorway networks
— telephone lines
Per capita, GDP of East grew from 35% in 1991 to 62% of western level in 2001
Is Germany Unified: What was socio-economic unity?
GDR went from planned > social market economy
Mass privatisation of Volkseigene Betriebe
— led to mass unemployment
— EG dissatisfied bc in the Volkskammer elections they were promised prosperity, flourishing landscapes, overnight transformations etc but that was not the immediate experience
— unemployment still higher in East today
Restructuring of eastern economy
— downsizing to smaller companies with fewer employees
— withdrawal from collective bargaining
Enduring differences still today
— income
— values of goods/share of export trade (higher in West)
— unemployment
— Hartz-IV recipients
