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GDR - establishing Communist rule > Topic 1: Establishing and consolidating communist rule in the GDR 1949-61 > Flashcards

Topic 1: Establishing and consolidating communist rule in the GDR 1949-61 Flashcards

1
Q

Describe the creation of the zone in 1945

1a - post war divisions of Germany

A
  1. The Big Three met at Yalta, and each agreed it would be allocated a zone of Germany
  2. Berlin was split into 4 sectors
  3. Potsdam after Germany surrenders. Agreed that each power would take reparations from their zone
  4. The Soviets wanted a lot of reparations –>25 million Soviet soldiers died in the War.
  5. The Western Sectors of Berlin were accessible from four roads, two railway lines and three air corridors
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2
Q

Describe the conditions in the Soviet Zone

1a - post war divisions of Germany

A
  1. Rumours of cannibalism
  2. 43,000 women raped by Soviet soldiers. 90% conceived were aborted.
  3. German refugees sent to displacement camps (which replaced concentration camps). The last one closed in the 50s
  4. Universities gave quotas of how many displaced they had to give education to. Working-class allowed to go to uni.
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3
Q

Describe the creation of the SED in 10 steps

1a - post war divisions of Germany

A
  1. A group of German Communists came into the Soviet sector days before the fall of Germany
  2. The ‘Ulbricht Group’ were in exile in Russia during the war
  3. The first priority of the group was to ensure that the KDP could control as many key local administrative positions as possible – they needed to create popular support
  4. The SPD was more popular.
  5. Nazi propaganda portrayed the KPD as the puppets of the USSR and so support was limited
  6. Red Army was hated – it raped women in Germany
  7. In April 1946, the KPD and the SPD were merged into the SED
  8. The merge happened to prevent splitting the vote (same split that allowed Nazis to gain power)
  9. Pre-war SPD members purged. By 1950, 5000 in prison
  10. 1948, SED fully dedicated to Marxist-Leninism.
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4
Q

Bizonia and the Truman Doctrine

1a - post war divisions of Germany

A
  1. US and British governments announced the merger 1947
    2.This one economic unit known as Bizonia
    3.Stalin was annoyed – it was the first step towards an independent capitalist Western state
  2. Truman announced his policy of containment -Truman Doctrine. This involved keeping Western Europe prosperous and led to Marshall Aid
  3. 1948, Britain and the USA introduced a common currency, the Deutschmark
  4. For the USSR, this move was not to accelerate trade or eliminate the black market – it was an act of aggression.
    It disrupted the joint decision making of Germany between the allies
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5
Q

The Berlin Airlift

1a - post war divisions of Germany

A
  1. Six days after the new currency was introduced
  2. Stopped all ground access to West Berlin
  3. This was an attempt to get the Western powers to relinquish West Berlin to the East
  4. USA and UK decided an airlift would work to feed the people of the West
  5. Began 26th June, at its height, every 90 seconds there was a drop off, with 8000 tonnes of goods delivered each day
  6. After 322 days, Stalin gave up and called off the blockade
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6
Q

Impact of airlift and formation of FRG

1a - post war divisions of Germany

A
  1. Transformed Germany in the eyes of many as an ex-Fascist state to the centre of Western democratic values
  2. Greater Western co-operation and the formation of NATO
  3. Western zones liked the CDU’s Adenauer, who wanted a united West Germany even if it meant giving up the Eastern zone
  4. 1949, the FRG was created.
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7
Q

Creation of the GDR

1a - post war divisions of Germany

A
  1. 1949 made arrangements for a German state to be set up in the Soviet zone
  2. Arrangements were already made: the SED were in power, industry was nationalised and far-reaching reform of agriculture had been done
  3. GDR was set up, with Ulbricht in charge
  4. Smaller and less industrial than the FRG, but the government operated from Berlin which added prestige.
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8
Q

Introduction

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. Constitution of the GDR similar to FRG so a reunification could be easy.
  2. Seen to be democratic - would allow freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
  3. Elections were to be held, there was a choice and they had a secret ballot.
  4. This Constitution often ignored by the SED
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9
Q

Head of State

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. From 1945 the role of Prime Minister was held by Pieck and was really only ceremonial. This role was abolished in 1960 when he died.
  2. Council of State set up in 1960 and chaired by SED leader
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10
Q 
The Volkskammer (People's Chamber)
(1b - organisation of gov of GDR)
A
  1. In original 1949 constitution elections to be held every four years
  2. First election held in 1952 but the members of the Volkskammer (who were meant to represent the people) were not elected how we would expect
  3. GDR did allow other political parties to exist e.g. Liberal Democratic Party and the Farmers’ Party. Each could put forward candidates for elections.
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11
Q

False democracy

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. Number of seats for political party was decided by the SED before the election.
  2. Largest number of seats given to SED to maintain control.
  3. Other groups were represented in the Volkskammer such as the German Youth (FDJ) and the Free German Trade Union Federation, all of whom were controlled by the SED.
  4. Election results looked democratic; 90% of people usually voted, but voting was compulsory
  5. The ballot paper would only have one name on it. If you did not want to vote for this candidate you had to use a different voting booth so everyone could see you
  6. By not voting for the candidate you could lose your job or be interviewed by the secret police
  7. The President of the Volkskammer was usually not from the SED to look democratic.
  8. Volkskammer passed legislation, but was generally only used to agree decisions already made. It could not have been that effective: it only met a few days a year!
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12
Q

Landkammer

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. Represented the five Landers
  2. Made up of representatives from different Lander
  3. Dominated by the SED.
  4. Role was to act as the “upper house”. Could suggest new laws and veto any suggested by the Volkskammer.
  5. Never used its veto and simply agreed to the policies suggested by the SED.
  6. The five Landers removed in 1952 and replaced by 14 Bezirke (districts) each under control of a SED officer. The smaller districts = easier to control
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13
Q

Party Congress

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A

Party members + local regional branches elected members to the Party Congress where issues could be raised. Main function = elect members to the Central Committee of the Party.

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14
Q

The Central Committee

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. 80 -130 members.
  2. Main decision making body of the SED
  3. Too big to be effective.
  4. The Central Committee delegated decision making to the smaller Politburo
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15
Q

The Politburo

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. Policy making committee of the SED.
  2. Chaired by Party’s First Secretary.
  3. People called it the “Council of Gods”
  4. Decisions made here were then passed to SED officials in regional areas and then to local areas then to work places
  5. Most important work done by small circle of senior party officers (usually 15 — 25 members) along with approximately 10 non-voting members too.
  6. Council of Ministers were under the control of Party Committee to ensure their aims were always maintained.
  7. Chairman of the Council of Ministers and the President of the Volkskammer were also members of the Politburo.
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16
Q

Party Organisation

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. Influence of Party extended to general population
  2. Groups controlled by the SED
  3. For example, 75% of people joined the FDJ (Democratic Women’s Federation)
  4. German Gymnastics and Sports Association had 2.8 million members by 1970 out of a population of 17 million.
  5. Groups allowed SED to give impression of mass participation.
17
Q

Dominance of Ulbricht

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. Dominated politics in the GDR from ’50 to ’70, as he was supported in his position by the USSR
  2. Training made him loyal to the Soviet Union
  3. earlier he was reliant on the support of the Ulbricht group in Moscow
  4. His power was rooted in the positions he held in the GDR
    as the first Secretary of the Party, which have him control over the agenda of the Central Committee
  5. Chairman of the Politburo
    Ulbricht secured his position by exploiting the SED’s disputes in the 50s to suppress differing views.
  6. Berlin Wall yet r increased his power – more secure
  7. A cult of personality developed for Ulbricht, with adoration of him and his achievements - but was generally unlikeable
18
Q

Threat to Ulbricht’s dominance

1b - organisation of gov of GDR

A
  1. He was pelted by tomatoes by a football crowd in Dresden in 1950
  2. During a match between a privately owned club and a workers’ co-operative club
  3. Scores tampered to ensure political correctness
  4. By the 1960s, Ulbricht’s ailing health and Honecker’s undermining actions led to his downfall
19
Q

Overview

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Due to WWII the GDR had ruined buildings, Berlin lay in ruins, other cities such as Leipzig were destroyed
  2. Ruhr was in the West
  3. Best scientists were taken to the West, for example, rocket scientist, Werner von Braun who was used by the US government
20
Q

The USSR’s seizure of reparations from 1945

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. USSR steel output in 1945 was half that in 1930
  2. Soviet economy needed urgent rebuilding.
  3. Powers could take reparations from their own zone, with the Soviets taking an extra 10% from the Western Zones in return for the East giving food to them
  4. USSR dismantled factories from the GDR and transported them to the USSR.
  5. 1,500 industrial plants and half of all East German railway tracks taken to the USSR
  6. Took until 1st January 1954 for the reparations to end.
21
Q

Socialist economics and planning

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Marxists believed that Nazism was the end of capitalism
  2. Central planning was introduced to ensure this, with the abolition of the land-owning class and collectivised agriculture
  3. The State Planning Commission would supervise the Five-Year Plans
22
Q

The First Five-Year plan

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Third Party Congress of the SED in July 1960 emphasised need for industrial progress
  2. This led to the First Five-Year Plan the following year
    Introduced state planning, with high production quotas for heavy industry
  3. Accelerated the nationalisation of industry, and factories were converted to People’s Enterprises (VEB)
  4. People’s enterprises were nationalised factories that was run by the government. They were organised on the principle of workers’ brigades, who shared responsibility for ensuring targets were met.
  5. Process of nationalisation covered 75% of the industrial sector, with the private sector only covering small-scale businesses
  6. Problems with technology with ambitious targets – meant increased labour productivity were required
  7. Need for increased productivity meant new propaganda – Hennecke was a miner who was used as a role model – he increased his coal output by 400%
23
Q

Problems with the First Five-Year plan

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Lignite, coal, cement and electricity saw massive gains
  2. Only cement and coal exceeded the target, however
  3. The pressures of plan increased emigration to West
  4. Quantity rather than quality limited penetration into Western markets.
  5. By 1952, the state budget was 700 billion Ostmarks in deficit, as the SED overestimated capacity of the GDR’s economy
24
Q

The Second Five-Year Plan (56-59)

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Tagline ‘Modernisation, Mechanisation and Automation’
  2. Focus on consumer goods and improving living standards
  3. Development of nuclear energy with the first nuclear reactor being turned on in 1957
  4. 1958, tightened SED control when a large number of industrial ministries were passed to the State Planning Commission
  5. Nationalisation of industry started, with SED offering 50% partnership deals for transforming their firms into People’s Enterprises.
  6. End of 1960, private enterprise controlled 9% of total industrial production
  7. Production Co-operatives were formed, -> craft-workers encouraged to work together under direction of the state.
  8. Resulted in one-third of craft-workers under state control by 1960, a rise from six percent in 1958
25
Q

Reasons for the end of the Second Five-Year Plan

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Ulbricht proclaimed in 1958 that the GDR should overtake the FRG
  2. Seven-Year Plan launched in 1959
  3. Integrated the GDR and the USSR economy further
  4. Targeted 200% increase in consumer goods
26
Q

Agricultural collectivisation

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Widespread resentment towards Junker class (a class of wealthy German aristocratic landowners), seen as helping Nazis rise to power
  2. Popular policy in Soviet zone was to make Junkers who owned more than 100 hectares of land forfeit it
  3. This land was given to refugees, peasants and small farmers
  4. One-third of GDR’s entire farmland redistributed to 500,000 beneficiaries.
  5. production suffered due to this measure, lack of machinery and livestock.
  6. Late 1940s, falling food production = serious concern for SED.
  7. 1952, SED tried make agriculture more efficient by introducing voluntary collectivisation.
  8. Within 6 years, one-third of GDR farmland collectivised
  9. Early-1950s, 15,000 farmers left for FRG.
27
Q

The Socialist Spring

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Second attempt at collectivisation in early 1960
  2. Enforced collectivisation by denying private farmers access to collective machinery + higher targets.
  3. Enforced collectivisation = 30% reduction in production between 1960 + 1961, + introduction of rationing in 1961
28
Q

Opposition to socialist economics

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. 1950s, people dissatisfied by living standards.
  2. Food heavily rationed, consumer goods were in short supply + housing shortage
  3. January 1951 to April 1953, almost 500,000 East Germans left for the FRG
  4. Opposition doesn’t mean people wanted a Western-style democracy – the propaganda that the FRG had become a haven for Nazis had an element of truth – 15 Nazi officials became state ministers in the FRG
  5. People held out for the socialist utopia they wanted after Nazi Germany.
29
Q

The Rising of June 1953

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. June 1953, Ulbricht announced change in work norms in the GDR – wanted 10% increase in productivity from industrial workers
  2. 17 June, 300 builders working on Berlin’s Stalinallee went on strike, demanding reduction in new work norms
  3. Builders marched to government’s House of Ministries, thousands of workers joined.
  4. Next day, there were strikes and protests across GDR thanks to East Germans listening to Western radio
30
Q

The demands for the June Uprising

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Ridicule of Ulbricht in the first instance
  2. Then, overt political tone emerged, demands such as end of SED and return of SPD, free elections as well as release of political prisoners
  3. Attacks on prisons, police stations, offices and court houses
  4. Protestors climbed onto the Brandenburg gate and burnt the Soviet flag
31
Q

The response to the June Uprising

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Ulbricht wasn’t sure if he had support of East German army and police force
  2. Called on Soviet Union to intervene, and they did with 20,000 Soviet soldiers and 600 tanks who suppressed the strikes and imposed martial law.
  3. 21 killed in the incident.
  4. Acknowledged the role workers’ grievances had, but blamed Western agitators
32
Q

The impact of the June Uprising

1c - the development of the GDR’s economy 49-61

A
  1. Strengthened Ulbricht’s rule
  2. 20 protestors were executed, 500 received prison sentences and several hundred ‘anti-communists’ were sent to Siberia
  3. Used to justify a purge of the SED with around 20,000 SED functionaries replaced
  4. New work norms were scrapped
  5. Ulbricht announced economic planning would now give priority to consumer goods
  6. Food rationing would end following year
  7. Milk, butter and coffee prices were reduced.
  8. Increase in pensions
33
Q

Emigration in 50s and its impact

1d why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961

A
  1. 1952, emigration from GDR was illegal and called ‘flight from the republic’
  2. From the creation of the GDR until building of the Wall, 2.5 million people left for the FRG.
  3. Most were young, skilled men who were vital to GDR’s development.
  4. Emigration of doctors was worrying for SED
  5. To stop doctors leaving the GDR. They allowed foreign travel for doctors. Gave doctors’ children preferential places at university.
  6. Mid-50s, the GDR had best living standards in Eastern Bloc, but FRG’s living standards were better.
  7. Emigration to FRG meant you got immediate citizenship as well as housing assistance and financial aid.
  8. FRG economic miracle led to a shortage of labour, so jobs were easy to find. Western agents of the FRG went into the GDR to court skilled labour
34
Q

Operation Vermin

1d why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961

A
  1. 1400km inner German boarder was closed in 1952
  2. 5km wide restriction zone created on border of FRG and GDR
  3. Construction destroyed towns and replaced them with watch towers and walls
  4. Only loyal GDR citizens could live there, anyone else was evicted
  5. Border guards were told: shoot if the person doesn’t stop when told
  6. If failed to escape you were shot or locked up
    If you succeeded in your escape, your family was persecuted
35
Q

Leaving the GDR

1d why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961

A
  1. Many got visas to leave for the FRG then never returned
  2. The Berlin border was still open, and presented the best opportunity for migration, as the USSR blockade failed
  3. Mid-50s onwards, Stasi employed to identify those thinking of leaving by checking mail.
  4. Length of the Seven-Year Plan, there was risk of 10% drop in the workforce.
  5. FRG exploited emigration to undermine GDR, by calling it a failing of socialism and called migrants ‘refugees’
36
Q

Reasons for the 1960-1 crisis

1d why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961

A
  1. Second Berlin Crisis began 1958, when Khrushchev demanded withdrawal of army within 6 months
  2. Khrushchev wanted ‘free city state’ which was demilitarised but guaranteed by the four powers
  3. USA offered to negotiate, but there was no agreement reached
  4. Khrushchev ultimatum
  5. Kennedy with all-out war if the Berlin question was not solved.
  6. Kennedy responded by making it clear he’d leave East Germany and East Berlin alone
37
Q

Building of the Wall and its importance.

1d why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961

A
  1. 15 June, Ulbricht made the surprise announcement that ‘no one intends to build a wall’
  2. After intense and secret meetings with USSR and Warsaw Pact states, it was decided the Berlin border must be sealed
  3. Until early 60s, USSR refused SED requests to seal boarder, arguing that it was not economically or diplomatically viable
  4. ’61, the GDR was in genuine crisis
  5. 13 August, Operation Rose was carried out.
  6. Border was closed and telephone lines were cut
  7. The original wall made of barbed wire and concrete slabs, and West didn’t retaliate so made into a concrete wall.
38
Q

Impact of the Wall

1d why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961

A
  1. As a solution to a crisis, the Berlin Wall worked
  2. Economic plans could be laid with a constant labour supply
  3. Standards of living went up after the building of the Wall

GDR - establishing Communist rule (3 decks)

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