Repression and control Flashcards

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1
Q

What kind of state was the GDR?

A

A police state

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2
Q

What was the NVA?

A

The National People’s Army - the East German military force formed in 1956 out of the People’s Police

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3
Q

What were the various branches of the police?

A
  • KVP
  • Criminal police
  • Special police
  • voluntary police
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4
Q

Who were the KVP?

A

The parliamentary police who were responsible for internal security - they had been called out in June 1953

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5
Q

What surveillance methods did the Stasi use?

A
  • Phone tapping
  • Video surveillance
  • Agents following suspects
  • Radiation tags
  • Honey traps (many prostitutes worked for the Stasi)
  • Blackmail
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6
Q

Unofficial collaborator or IM (euphemistically informal collaborator)

A

The “key weapon” of the Ministry for State Security (MfS) - with their help theMfSspied on the population and tried to gather information on its moods and any attempts at “subversion”

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7
Q

What methods did the unofficial collaborators (IMs) use?

A

They reported on all areas of society, infiltrated opposition groups and supplied even the most intimate information about their colleagues, friends or fellow pupils

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8
Q

Mary Fulbrook on the system if informing and infiltration

A

Even though this system was efficient it unwittingly helped destabilise the GDR - by infiltrating opposition groups some informers inevitably aided their work to maintain their credibility

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9
Q

What was the FDJ encouraged to participate in?

A

Festivals and torchlight parades (this reminded many of Hitler Youth)

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10
Q
  • How many newspapers did the GDR have?
  • How many people read these newspapers?
  • How many of them were controlled directly by the SED?
A

The GDR had 38 newspapers read by 8.3 million of its citizens; 66 per cent of them were controlled directly by the SED but all their content was subject to SED scrutiny

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11
Q

What was censored in East Germany?

A

Post from the FRG was censored and telephone calls tapped as a matter of course

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12
Q

In schools, what was the main foreign language taught?

A

Russian

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13
Q

What shows that students were encouraged to embrace Russian with enthusiasm?

A

“Learn the language of our friends!”

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14
Q

What languages were far less widespread?

A

English and French

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15
Q

Why were foreign magazines and newspapers often available to buy?

A

As it was assumed few could read them

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16
Q

In 1952 Otto Grotewohl had stated that…

A

art and culture must be subordinate to politics

17
Q

What was the purpose of art and culture?

A

To engender support for the regime

18
Q

What model did art follow?

A

“Socialist realism”

19
Q

What is “Socialist realism”?

A

A form of modern realism imposed in Russia by Stalin following his rise to power characterised in painting by rigorously optimistic pictures ofSoviet life

20
Q

What was the purpose of “Socialist realism”?

A

To reflect and promote the ideals of a socialist society

21
Q

Examples of Socialist realist art in the East German state

A
  • “The Tractor Driver”
  • “For Peace and Socialism”
  • “The Builders of Socialism”
22
Q

“The Tractor Driver”

A

This mural portrays a tractor driver as a hero and symbol of industrial progress

It represents the emphasis on agriculture and the important role of the working class in advancing the country’s development

23
Q

“For Peace and Socialism”

A

This painting portrays a scene of factory workers engaged in industrial production with an emphasis on unity and cooperation and productivity of the working class

24
Q

“The Builders of Socialism”

A

This monumental painting depicts a group of workers and farmers (both men and women) confidently marching forward - it represents the collective efforts of the working class in building socialism

25
Q

What were removed from libraries, museums and galleries?

A

Politically suspect books and paintings (some work which had been banned by the Nazis now found itself banned again)

26
Q

Who is the famous Socialist German playwright?

A

Bertolt Brecht

27
Q

What were all 16 trade unions affiliated to?

A

The FDGB

28
Q

What per cent of the labour force did the FDGB represent?

A

97%

29
Q

What did the FDGB stand for?

A

The Free German Trade Union Federation

30
Q

What wad the FDGB and what did it do?

A

The official East German trade union organisation - it represented the interests of workers and played a significant role in promoting socialist values and the economic system

31
Q

The FDGB was committed to the fulfilment of the…

A

Five-Year Plans and offered incentives to workers including honorific titles such as Hero of Labour

32
Q

When did workers loose the right to strike?

A

1961

33
Q

In the 1970s the FDGB became much more involved in…

A

the implementation of social welfare such as the provision of pensions and social insurance

34
Q

Why were the youth important?

A

They were the adults and functionaries of the future

35
Q

When was the FDJ founded?

A

March 1946 with Erich Honecker as its head

36
Q

What was the main role of the FDJ?

A

The political indoctrination of the young

37
Q

__________ for the FDJ waned as teenagers grew older

A

Enthusiasm

38
Q

Enthusiasm for the FDJ waned as teenagers grew older - provide evidence to support this

A

66% of 18 to 25 year old left the organisation

39
Q

How did membership in the FDJ affect young people’s lives in the GDR?

A

Membership in the FDJ was highly encouraged and often considered beneficial for educational and career opportunities - it also played a role in shaping their political beliefs and loyalty to the socialist regime