Reeasons For The Flood Of Refugees From The GDR In 1989 Flashcards
Who was the leader of the FRG between 1969-74?
Willy Brant
Who was the leader of the FRG from 1982-90?
Helmut Kohl
Who was the US President from 1981-89?
Ronald Reagan
Who was leader of the GDR from 1971-89?
Honecker
Who was the leader of the USSR from 1985-91?
Gorbachev
What was the name of the policy that Brant pursued towards the GDR?
Ostpolitik
What did a treaty in 1972 do to cause an improved relationship between the FRG and GDR?
Basic Treaty
Confirmed the division of Germany as two legal states and led to economic cooperation between FRG and GDR
What did the Basic Treaty of 1972 end?
The Hallstein Doctrine
By the 1980s, why did the FRG and GDR seem to be getting along?
Due to the relationship between Kohl and Honecker
When did Honecker visit the FRG for the first time and what did he do?
1987 - met with Kohl
What was Gorbachev’s communism like?
Concept of communism differed from Honecker’s which caused conflict
What policies did Gorbachev introduce and why?
Openness and Restructuring
An attempt to make the USSR more friendly with the West
Introduced economic chances and paved the way for greater freedom of speech and political participation in the USSR
What did Gorbachev reduce?
The amount of economic aid given to Eastern Europe countries because the USSR had been propping up their weak economies for years
What did Gorbachev do to the USSR’s military budget?
Decided it was too big
Needed to be reduced to improve the standard if living for people in the USSR
What did Honecker have no interest in?
Pursuing a more open society of making economic changes because he believed East Germany was following the right path.
What happened to the GDR in the 1980s?
Declining economic situation
How much money did the GDR borrow from the FRG in the early 1980s?
DM1.95 billion
What did the declining economic situation in the GDR mean?
They failed to invest in new technologies, industry and research
Economy was stagnating
How to Honecker attempt to ease the pressure growing within the GDR?
By allowing a greater number of East Germans to visit their relatives in the FRG
How many applications had the GDR received by 1988 from essential skilled workers to emigrate from, the GDR?
100,000
In 1988, what did the number of East Germans allowed to migrate increase by?
18,500 to 30,000
By the beginning of 1989, how many people had emigrated?
48,000
What did Honecker believe about if people were allowed to visit the West?
They would be less inclined to want to live their permenantly
Why did the FRG not support the continued emigration from the GDR?
It was felt that if the GDR became too depleted, there would be a recession there and a negative impact on the population of East Germany
Becoming increasingly expensive to house the number of migrants coming from the GDR
What did FRG reduce to discourage migrants?
They reduced the benefits given to migrants arriving in West Germany
What did the Hungarian communist government announce on the 2nd May 1989?
They would remove the barbed wire fencing and fortifications along its boarder with Austria
What did the opening of the Austro-Hungarian boarder cause?
New route to the West
Summer 1989 - 10,000s of East Germans travelled to Hungary saying they were going on holiday but really hoping to glee to the FRG through Austria
Under the conditions of a CDR-Hungary treaty, what should happen to citizens caught feeling Austria?
They should have been arrested and sent back to the GDR
Given the numbers involved, this became increasingly difficult
What did the Hungarians initially do when GDR citizens tried to enter Austria?
They tried to stop the,
What did Hungarian officials announce on the 9th August?
They would no longer stamp passports of GDR citizens crossing the boarder to Austria
Meant they wouldn’t send GDR citizens back to the GDR
In July-August 1989, where did 1000s of East Germans live?
Temporary refugee camps in Hungary along the Austrian boarder
On the 20th August, how many GDR refugees crossed the Austrian boarder illegally?
Approx. 500
How did Honecker respond to the migration in September 1989?
He launched a verbal attack on the west, claiming they were promoting the depletion of the GDRs population
What did Honecker call, people who left the GDR?
Traitors to the communist system
