Methods for maintaining power in the SED summarised

Question 1

What had the SED party begun to reform itself as before the GDR had been created under directives from who?

Answer 1

-before the GDR (German Democratic Republic) had been created, the SED, under directives from Moscow, had begun to reform itself into a so-called ‘party of a new type’

Question 2

What new principle was introduced that was as practised by the CPSU (the Communist Party of the Soviet Union)?

Answer 2

-the new principle introduced was that of ‘democratic centralism’, as practised by the CPSU (the Communist Party of the Soviet Union)

Question 3

Who was the main power force in the SED and Party system?

Answer 3

-under this system, there was a formal head of state in the role of the president, and a prime minister as head of government but the main power force was the general secretary of the SED

Question 4

What did many people believe about the SED and Party system despite it not aligning with the Western democracy?

Answer 4

-the democracy outlined may not have appeared to be in line with Western democracy, but there were many people in the GDR who believed that they were building a new socialist and anti-fascist society that would shake off the horrors of the Nazi past that had arisen from the capitalist system

Question 5

The Communist Party were told they would be a ‘Vanguard Party’, what was this?

Answer 5

-the new Communist Party, they were told, would be a ‘Vanguard Party’ that would re-educate the working class away from the old capitalist and bourgeois interests towards understanding their real political interests and building a better Germany

Question 6

How was de-Nazification in the Soviet zone used by the communist leaders?

Answer 6

-de-Nazification in the Soviet zone was used by the communist leaders to reform the judiciary and to centralise the system->the large majority of judicial appointments were replaced on political grounds and by 1950, half of judges and 86% of public prosecutors were members of the SED

Question 7

What was an impact of many new judges being ‘retrained’ on short intensive courses?

Answer 7

-many of the new judges were ‘retrained’ on short intensive courses and many lacked good legal qualifications->the real criteria required to become a people’s judge (Volksrichter) were a good political reputation and a solid record as a political official of the communists

Question 8

Who/what were judges guided and controlled by?

Answer 8

-contrary to the constitution, judges were not independent, but were guided and controlled by the Supreme Court and the SED’s institutions

Question 9

What was criminal law adopted over the years by the communists to do?

Answer 9

-criminal law was adapted over the years by the communists to suppress all opposition->accusations of ‘Nazi crimes’ or ‘agitation against democratic institutions’ (etc) were used to control dissent

Question 10

How many people were prosecuted in 40 years and what was the impact of this?

Answer 10

-it is estimated that in the 40 years about 200,000 people were prosecuted in the GDR for political reason->served to intimidate and criminalise any kind of opposition

Question 11

How was the Politburo used to play a central role in political trials?

Answer 11

-the Politburo also played a central role in political trials->show trials against higher ranking critics of Ulbricht were staged publicly->in these cases members of the Politburo often gave minute instructions to the court as to the proceedings and the sentence

Question 12

What were the impacts of being critical of the SED in the judiciary?

Answer 12

-in addition to criminal law, civil, labour and family law were all controlled by the GDR political authorities->critics of the SED and their families were hindered in their career aspirations and their freedom to travel

Question 13

What would happen to parents who had committed severe ‘crimes’ against the state?

Answer 13

-for severe ‘crimes’ against the state, parents could have their children taken away from->created a climate of fear and insecurity reinforced by the secret police, the Stasi

Question 14

What was the Stasi’s official name and when was it founded?

Answer 14

-the SED leaders had one or more very effective means of keeping down any opposition, the state security service, which was commonly called the Stasi, was founded in February 1950

Question 15

What propaganda was used by the Stasi?

Answer 15

-the official propaganda of the Stasi was called ‘the sword and shield of the party’->their aims were ‘to fight against ‘saboteurs’ and ‘capitalist agents’ who were trying ‘by order of the American imperialists to undermine the progression of the young socialist state’’->it was closely modelled on the Soviet secret intelligence service and from the start the two organisations were closely connected

Question 16

What was the structure and organisation of the Stasi like?

Answer 16

-the structure and organisation of the Stasi were the same as the army, with a military-like hierarchy, ranks and punishments

Question 17

How many members did it start with? How many did it have by 1955?

Answer 17

-it started with only 1,000 permanent members of staff but by 1955 the number had grown to 13,000

Question 18

Who was Erich Mielke? How long had he remained in power? (date)

Answer 18

-the real expansion of the system and the extent of it’s surveillance can be seen by the dominating influence of Erich Mielke as the Stasi Minister->he had remained in power until 1989

Question 19

How many people worked full time for the Stasi by 1989?

Answer 19

-91,000 people worked full time for the organisation, including its own parliamentary units

Question 20

Was the Stasi bigger than the Nazi Gestapo?

Answer 20

-far bigger than the Nazi Gestapo which had overseen a much larger country

Question 21

What were informal members (IMs) of the Stasi’s role?

Answer 21

-there were informal members (known as IMs)->they comprised citizens from all walks of like who could be trusted to spy on and denounce colleagues, neighbours, friends or even family->they were contacted and guided by a Stasi officer and for each IM a file was kept meticulously under a pseudonym and code

Question 22

How many IMs did the Stasi have to help spy on the 16.1 million people in the population?

Answer 22

-by the time of the fall of the regime the Stasi had 175,000 IMs to help spy on the population of 16.1 million people

Question 23

What did the Stasi work under?

Answer 23

-worked under the strictest secrecy and with direct authorisation from the SED Politburo

Question 24

Did the Stasi have direct authorisation from the SED? What was a result of this?

Answer 24

-yes->in reality there was no legal restraint on it’s aims or methods

Question 25

When was the People’s Police founded?

Answer 25

1949

Question 25

How did the Stasi control and suppress opposition?

Answer 25

-to control and suppress the opposition the Stasi stopped at nothing->they opened private letters, homes were bugged and searched secretly, the bank statements and patients’ records combed through to criminalise or ruin critics of the state->people could be arrested or questioned without charge and kept in prison under psychological torture->over the years the Stasi developed into an omnipresent organisation used to the surveillance and control of the whole population

Question 26

How did the People’s Police prove quite ineffective and what was the result of this?

Answer 26

-it proved quite ineffective in the 1953 uprising and was then closely monitored by the Stasi

Question 26

What was the SED’s last line of defence?

Answer 26

-the last line of defence for the SED dictatorship was the use of military forces

Question 26

What was the People’s Police?

Answer 26

-traditional policing roles but also with uniformed paramilitary rapid response units

Question 27

What was the People’s Police’s most obvious function?

Answer 27

-to oversee frontier checks, especially after the erection of the Berlin Wall

Question 28

When was the National People’s Army founded?

Answer 28

1956

Question 29

How was the National People’s Army founded?

Answer 29

-after the creation of the Bundeswehr and the Warsaw Pact in 1955

Question 30

What was the National People’s Army’s doctrine and structure?

Answer 30

-it’s doctrine and structure were strongly influenced by the Soviets->it was not a traditional army but also a means of controlling the population->it described itself as ‘the instrument of power of the working class’

Question 31

What was SMAD renamed as? When?

Answer 31

-renamed as the Soviet High Commission in October 1949

Question 32

What did the Soviet troops remain stationed as?

Answer 32

-Soviet troops remained stationed in barracks throughout the GDR

Question 33

What were the Soviet troops role?

Answer 33

-their role was the defend the USSR in the event of a NATO attack but they also served as the last line to crash international disturbances, most obviously during the 1953 uprising and the creation of the Berlin Wall