knowledge test Flashcards
Why was the economy of the east so poor?
- It was a communist closed style economy and despite being one of the best in east Europe
- it was comparatively terrible compared to the west
How much money did the east borrow from the west and what did it show about collapsing?
1.95 million DM, their economy was unsustainable and made the west look even more favourable for immigrants
What did the differing levels of prosperity mean for the east with an example??
Lower standard of living, state provided a very basic amount of poor consumer goods eg the trabant car
What infamous companies did the west benefit from??
Siemens electronics, BMW, Mercedes
What epitomised the easts lack of efficiency?
Their attempt at making the worlds largest microchip
How did economic factors lead to the collapse of the east??
differing levels of prosperity prompted migration who wanted to enjoy the benefits of better quality standards of living and better quality goods
How did a closed style economy limit the easts consumer goods??
No competition or pressure on companies to innovate and improve products
What did the Hungarian government do and when to prompt immigration??
2nd may 1989, removed barbed wire from its borders to allow migration
how many people crossed the Austrian borders illegally and what was the name given to this migration?
500, brain drain
What was introduced on the 9th November and by who, which led to the fall of the wall?
The travel permit by Schabowski
What did the travel permit do for reunification?
- created the first legal passage between the two countries
- unified/ interconnected social aspects of west and east which prompted more migration
How many people migrated from GDR to FRG in November and how many per day after that?
133,000
2000 a day
Why did migration become fairly common after Hungarian border reforms??
- illegal border crossing prompted more German people to do the same
- Honecker issued no repercussions
Why was Honecker a failure in the GDR??
He was too concerned with maintaining the basic standard of living to worry about wider issues
What protest happened in October 1989 and how many people did it attract?
Liebzig protest attracted 320,000 people in opposition to the current political system
What prompted the second protest, where was it and when??
When Honecker returned to office following illness, he acted as though everything was fine
-Berlin in november 1989, attarcted 750,000 people
How did Krenz actions increase the failure of the SED??
- wouldnt allow parties to form
- wouldnt allow free elections
How did the SEDs failures lead to the collapse of the GDR??
Their complacency and oppression of political rights prompted even more migration from the east to the west
How did the overall success of Kohl lead to the collapse of the GDR?
. He integrated east and west socially and politically before it had collapsed, given people even more reason to immigrate.
What did the 10 point plan do to help migrating GDR citizens?
1:1 conversion rate to smooth economic transactions
How did Kohl advertise a unified Germany??
alliance for germany propaganda- people voting for the CDU in the east were voting for a unified germany
How did the alliance for germany contribute to further migration?
unified socio-political aspects of the east and west and compared to Krenz political oppression, politics in the west was much more favourable and meant that people would either migrate or the east should just unify with Kohl as leader
Overall judgement for why the GDR collapsed?
Overall it was the effect of mass migration that led to the collapse of the GDR because it was an increasingly failing political and economical system that offered no chance of positive long term reform, despite Gorbachevs hopes. People in the east wanted to leave to enjoy the prosperity of the west, and the failure of the SED in comparison to the success of Kohl saw many thousands immigrate. Economic factors gave even more wait to the argument that the GDR was to collapse imminently
How many people illegally immigrated into the west from the east by 1987
1.2 million
What was the name of gorbachevs new communist policies
Glasnost and perestroika
What did Gorbachev do to allow the Berlin Wall to fall??
-kept back 1.5million soviet soldiers in their barracks when the fall was about to fall, shows no attempt from the soviets to prop up the crumbing east, therefore more inevitable
How did Gorbachev allow increased integration between countries when Krenz was in power?
Allowed krenz to lift a travel ban between communist countries
What did Gorbachev do in June 1989 which increased inevitability of unification
Successfully visited Bonn, which signalled a thaw in the Cold War between east and west and increased political integration
how many people migrated to the FRG and when as a result of Krenz lift on travel ban?
Between 1st and 3rd of November, 10,000 people migrated to the west via Czechoslovakia
How did Gorbachev finally show acceptance of reunification once the wall had fallen and why did he have to do it?
- allowed the east to join NATO after the 2+4 negotiations in March 1990
- financial crisis in the USSR meant they couldnt prop up the east by itself
- economic integration started in the summer of 1990 so he could no longer stall reunification
What 2 other reasons were there for inevitable unification?
- Liebzig and Berlin protests
- fall of the Berlin Wall
When was the Berlin protest?
4th november
What other reasons were there for unification??
- alliance for germany
- economic collapse of the GDR
- storming of the Stasi headquarters in January 1990
What % of the east favoured reunification in late November 1989 and why??
70%, fall of the Berlin Wall integrated social and political factors between the two
What two factors showed unification was not completely inevitable??
- foreign powers
- domestic political oppositions
What was Bushs opinion on reunification???
he would only support reunification if the east were allowed to join NATO, a farfetched demand considering the last 30 years of Cold War
What was Mitterands and Thatchers view on unification??
What did mitterand call eastern germans??
‘bad germans’
Why was the role of foreign powers of importance In germany??
-they had occupied the state since after the war so their involvement and opinion was relevant
What does the actions of Europe show about the lack of inevitability??
- European commissioner still considered giving the east separate EU membership
- even by the end of 1989, Britain and France thought the east could be propped up by loans, showing they were taking all actions to prevent unification
Who was the SED leader in the east and how did he try and prevent unification??
Hans Modrow- called elections in March 1990 to spark a national East German revival
What politician in the west also tried to slow down unification, how, and why did it fail??
SPD leader Oskar Lafontaine in the FRG encouraged people to vote SPD and advertised that reunification would cause massive economic problems
- failed because SED leader in the east, mazziere, formed a co alition with the CDU and league of free democrats, gaining 192 of 200 seats
What co-alition was formed in March 1990 and how many seats did it have??
CDU x SED x League of free democrats
gained 192 of 400 seats
What is the judgement for the reason for unification??
other factors of inevitability like the growing socio-political tensions of the east, prompting the fall of the Berlin Wall after multiple riots in liebzig and Berlin
What happened on the 11th December 1989??
300,000 east germans gathered in Dresden, waving German flags and singing about unification
when did Kohl visit Dresden and what kind of reception did he get?
19th December- 100,000 people gathered to hear him talk
What did Honecker in October 1989 do for people camped in Prague which prompted further agitation and what did it lead to?
Allowed 14,000 people camped in the west German embassy to Migrate, leading to 10,000 people trying to get on the train as it passed through the GDR
Who was the leader of the SED after Krenz resignation and what did he try and introduce?
Hans Modrow
- tried to replace the hated Stasi with a more watered down version
- wanted to encourage a more open and encouraging economic and political relationship with the west to stop the flood of migrants
What did Kohl say In his ten point plan?
- Wanted to regain German National unity
- suggested moving towards a confederate state within 5-10 years
- promised immediate assistance to the GDR
What economic problems did the GDR have in 1990?
- Rush to buy FRG consumer goods saw industries and markets in the east dry up
- 1:1 conversion rate allowed for East Germans when it shouldve been 1:4
- rising unemployment and falling living standards
Why did the USA become increasingly accepting of reunification?
-They feared the FRG leaving NATO if their demands for a reunified Germany weren’t met
-Also the collapse of the GDR on the iron curtain was a cause for concern
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What did Gorbachev announce in February 1990 which made unification even more inevitable??
-It would be down to the people of the GDR to decide and the USSR would not get involved
What did Gorbachev ask for in return for reunification?
Loans from the FRG after USA and GB refused to give them
When were the 2+4 negotiations and what was agreed/ discussed??
The size of the German military
the GDR requested reunification despite the USSR obviously trying to stall negotiations
What did Gorbachev believe for the GDR in December 1989??
The GDR could be propped up by loans and a reformed SED could stabilise the country
What did the USA demand in December 1989?
That the GDR join NATO
What was Ostpolitik
improved political situations between the east and west which ended the Hallstein doctrine with some level of economic cooperation
What did Glasnost and Perestroika mean?
Glasnost = openness Perestroika= restructuring
How much was it estimated was required to prop up the GDR economy in October 1989?
9million marks
