Social change and welfare programmes Flashcards
Living standards would be guaranteed in return for…
at least outward acceptance of the regime (quid pro quo)
What is the meaning of quid pro quo?
Quid pro quo is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services - “a favour for a favour”
How did the Honecker regime hope to secure popular support during the 1970s and 1980s?
Through social and welfare programmes
Honecker in particular had genuine sympathy with the working class - where did this derive from?
The poverty of his earlier life
The Party committed itself to improvements in living standards on the understanding that these would lead to…
greater scientific and technical developments - to modernise society within a socialist framework
When was minimum wage increased?
1976
The monthly minimum wage was raised from ___ to ___ Ostmarks with smaller increases for those earning between ___ and ___ Ostmarks
350
400
400
500
The GDR had faced critical housing problems predating its inception - why?
As much as two-thirds of the housing stock in major cities (such as Berlin and Dresden) had been either destroyed or severely damaged during the war
The price of rents
Rents (subsidised by the state) were cheap - often no more than four per cent of income
What per cent of older homes had no hot water by the 1980s?
44%
What per cent of older homes lacked a bath or shower by the 1980s?
60% lacked a bath or shower
What per cent of older homes lacked an indoor toilet by the 1980s?
65% lacked an indoor toilet
Continuing problems with housing by1989
There was a waiting list of 800,000 for repairs to accommodation and a thriving black market in circumventing this
Healthcare in the GDR was comprehensive and based on two principles - what were these principles?
- Communities needed to be healthy for the strength of the nation
- Individuals needed to be healthy so they could produce more
Healthcare was largely funded through a system of…
National Insurance for which employees contributed ten per cent of their gross income and employers an equivalent amount
Infant mortality rate in 1950 and in 1985
1950 = 21 (deaths per thousand babies)
1985 = 11 (deaths per thousand babies)
What did healthcare in the GDR focus on?
The emphasis was always on prevention of illness so comparatively more was spent on preventative medicine and promotion of healthy lifestyles than on clinical medicine
Problems with healthcare
- The economy could not afford the quality of care it sought
- Provision was not equal
- The environmental pollution took a fierce toll of health
The economy could not afford the quality of care it sought
Much specialist equipment had to be imported and the state lacked the resources to pay:
- It was estimated in 1988 that only 30 per cent of the equipment needed for successful heart surgery and transplants was available in the GDR
- Provision was not equal
The political elite and those felt to be more valuable to the state (for example scientists) received better treatment than the rest of the population - although they were expected to pay ten per cent more from their salaries
The environmental pollution took a fierce toll of health
More bronchial disorders and worse
Why was education crucial in the GDR?
- To give young people the necessary skills to flourish in a modern technological society
- Political indoctrination
In 1959 the system of secondary schools called ____________ was completed
polytechnics
What do polytechnics focus on providing?
Hands-on practical and applied education
Vocational education in the GDR
For less academic students there were developed links with industry which offered work placements and training schemes
In 1951-52, __ per cent of students spent more than eight years in school. By 1971-72 this had risen to __ per cent
16
72
There were two fundamental problems in education - what were these?
- The huge pressure for ideological conformity caused resentment among many
- The workforce became over-qualified (there simply were not the skilled jobs for the number of skilled workers)
The workforce became over-qualified (there simply were not the skilled jobs for the number of skilled workers) - provide examples for this
- 70 per cent of workers were skilled but there were only suitable opportunities for 55 per cent of them
- Other data suggests 20 per cent of workers were doing jobs for which they were overqualified
What did social welfare policies lead to? (negative)
Shortages (essential minimum standards were prioritised and items considered luxuries had to wait)
Essential minimum standards were prioritised and items considered luxuries had to wait - provide two examples of this
- People could wait 12 to 17 years for the delivery of a new car
- People could wait up to 13 years to be connected to a telephone
What did the 1949 Constitution guarantee?
Equality of opportunity and pay
What did the 1966 Family Code guarantee?
- A birth allowance of 1000 Ostmarks per child
- A marriage loan of 5000 Ostmarks
- A generous maternity leave
Why was the GDR birth rate low?
The pressures on women - the double burden
What was the birth rate like in 1975?
10.5 per 1000 inhabitants
Provide an example of the double burden in the GDR
It was estimated in 1972 that 52 per cent of women had no help from their partners with childcare and housework
How many University students were female in 1960?
35%
How many University students were female in 1984?
50%
How much of the labour force did women make up?
half
What per cent of women had jobs in 1984?
80%
What were women noticeably absent from?
Senior managerial roles in all professions
Women were noticeably absent from senior managerial roles in all professions - what exhibits this?
They compromised 82% of teachers but never more than four per cent of departmental heads in the Ministry of Education
Who was the head of the Ministry of Education under Honecker?
Margot Honecker
What was Margot Honecker known as?
“Purple Witch”
Why was Margot Honecker known as the “Purple Witch”?
Her vicious policies across three decades which included forced adoptions of children of dissidents and a notorious prison for those children called “Margot’s Concentration Camp”
How were gender issues treated in Politburo discussions?
They were treated with levity
An official encyclopedia for women in 1987 focused on…
- fashion
- homecare
- cooking
Historian Mary Fulbrook on the treatment of women
Overall policy was geared to making women act more like men in the labour force but had little influence in the domestic sphere where women largely maintained responsibility for home and childcare
What did many women appreciate?
The employment opportunities and childcare provision that gave them a greater independence than elsewhere
Why were some women fearful during the reunification process?
70% of women in the GDR feared employment opportunities and childcare provision would diminish
