Theme One – Establishing & Consolidating Communist Rule in the GDR 1949-61

POST WAR DIVISION OF GERMANY:

· Germany surrendered to the allies on the 8th May 1945

· 4 million Germans were dead and + 10 million would soon be expelled as refugees from areas of Eastern Europe that it had previously controlled.

· Many of the cities like Dresden were completely destroyed by bombs / battle

· No functioning institutions or economy

· Currency had collapsed

· Fear of starvation + disease epidemics

· The 4 major allies [Britain, France, USA + Soviet Union] had no long term plans for Germany.

· The 4 zones of occupation initially focused on denazification and demilitarisation; then later on economic development

ALLIED POLICIES:

o Teheran Conference of winter 1943 there was a plan to divide Germany into zones of military occupation with key industrial areas such as the Ruhr controlled by the proposed United Nations

o 1944 the Morgenthhau Plan: destroy Germanys industrial capacity + refashion it as an agricultural state was favoured à regarded as impractical by 1945

YALTA: [conference held at Yalta in February 1945]

Allies agreed to divide G into 4 military zones, with each ally governing one zone, overseen by the Allied Control Council which had members from each of the allies
Redrawing of Germanys east borders, in which Poland gained some land to the East of the Oder and Neisse Rivers as compensation for USSR keeping land it took from them in 1939.

POTSDAM: [conference held at Potsdam in June 1945] The allies agreed to the following policies -

· DENAZIFICATION: former nazi leaders brought to justice in post war trials à Nuremberg 1945-46

· DEMILITARISATION: military reductions would ensure Germany would never wage aggressive wars again

· DEINDUSTRIALISATION: large German industrial concerns would be dismantled partly to keep Germany weak but also to ship them to the USSR to pay reparations.

· DEMOCRATISATION: it was agreed that Germany would become a democratic state.

· Military zones of occupation were approved, with Berlin also being subdivided

REPARATIONS:

Allies not successful in agreeing on reparations
USSR wanted $20bn for the 20milllion citizens it lost BUT USA wouldn’t agree a fixed sum. They were reluctant to pay for the USSRs recovery
It was finally agreed that each occupying power would take reparations from their own zones, but Stalin could in addition have 10% of the industrial machinery in each of the 3 Western zones and a further 15% in return for food + raw materials from the Soviet zone.
SHORT TERM STRATEGY ^ with no permanent plans to divide Germany, but to eventually reunite it
The Western powers saw Germany as a capitalist democracy whereas Stalin emphasised the demilitarised, neutral aspect.
The priorities of 1945 were to de-Nazify Germany and get it functioning again to ward off humanitarian crisis.

THE SOVIET ZONE:

· Consisted of 5 German states

· Population 17million in 1939, 19 million by 1947

· High ratio of women to men 135:100 and for every 100 persons of employment age, there were 58 who were not à lot of young and elderly people as opposed to wage earners

· Historians now agree that the claims to war damage were over-exaggerated and that largest scale enterprises were able to resume production shortly after the war ended.

SOVIET POLICY:

· inconsistent in policies towards soviet zone= no initial desire to transform it into a communist republic, separate from the other zones, unsure whether communism would work in Germany

· Stalin ideally wanted a reunited Germany under communist control

· To achieve this Stalin needed to control Germany and his tactics involved deploying German communists in key positions under Soviet administrationà created anti fascist democracyàhope that their anticipated success would lead to widespread support from working class in other 3 zones alsoàthey would initiate a revolution à communist controlled Germany.

· Former Nazis would be excluded from public life + communists would govern on Marxist Lenin principles

· Democratic idea is that workers would embrace these principles + a communist gov. would rule according to common will

· Stalin hoped USA would withdraw from Europe as it had done so after ww1 as he thought that without the USA it would be easier to form a reunited communist Germany

· Stalin’s priority at this stage was to keep Germany weak + ensure ideas of Nationalism did not re-emerge

· DILEMA: by keeping Germany weak he would be unable to get the much needed reparations from Germany to rebuild the USSR

MARXIST- LENINISM:

Karl Marx was a C19th German philosopher who believed working classes would rise up to overthrow the bourgeoisie who ruled over them
Believed working class were exploited by capitalist system + that once in power they would create communism and this would develop into the abolition of private ownership à state would control resourcesà state would eventually dissolve as people would work and do it themselves.

THE SOVIET MILITARY ADMINISTRATION:

· The soviet zone of Germany was controlled by the SMAD (soviet military administration) + a group of experienced German communists [e.g. Walter Ulbricht + Wilhelm Pieck who had both spent Nazi years in the USSR]

· In Feb 1945 Pieck was told to select 150 reliable German communists to help administer the Soviet zone and in April, he and 9 other colleagues travelled to Berlin to help in its reconstruction.

· The idea was to ensure that key communists held key positions like security and education. Ulbricht famously said “It’s got to look democratic but we must have everything in our control.”

· SMAD was created in June 1945 and compromised of 50,000 German and Soviet members by November. Including 21 Generals and the support of thousands of Russian troops. Its role was to ensure that the Soviet zone evolved in the ways Stalin wanted and to supervise German administrators.

· SMAD had responsibility for 4 areas: Military affairs, economy, civil administration and political questions.

· BUT SMAD was riddled with incompetence and rivalries because of the vague orders from Moscow and the confusion of its role within Germany and whether or not it had more power than the Soviet government

· It employed administrators in education, health and finance but they lacked any real power to enforce their decisions BUT some administrators did develop a degree of autonomy

· The German Economic Commission which was set up in June 1947 was an example of this. It was responsible for the coordination of the central administrations work and drawing up economic plans. It later became the basis for East German admin.

THE CREATION OF THE SOCIALIST UNITY PARTY:

· June 1945 the SMAD authorised political parties in the Soviet zone to in part develop & influence those in Western sectors

· In the Soviet zone there were two parties that survived the Nazi years- the SPD [socialist party of Germany] and the KPD [communist party of Germany] Both of which sought state control over key industries [nationalisation] & the abolition of private ownership.

· 2 other parties were also authorised: the CDU [Christian Democrat Union] and the LPD [Liberal Democrat Party]

· in June the KPD launched a manifesto that focused not on communism but the expropriation of property belonging to former Nazis. à Denazification was v pop. Policy because it implied that ordinary Germans did not share the guilt & that the Nazis were totally to blame. Through the isolation of former Nazis, the KPD established itself as the party which would allow Germans to move forward from the evils of the past which active Nazis had been solely responsible for.

THE MERGER OF KPD + SPD:

· Anton Ackerman, communist theorist argued that Germany needed to take a peaceful path towards communism without a Russian styled revolution. àhe believed that there would be no Russian styled revolution, but instead a democratic voteà this paved way for proposed merger of KPD + SPD throughout all zones. à Aim of reunited Germanyà and a party big enough to stand and win elections for the entire of Germany. à Idea was that the merger would create a party large enough to win at free elections

· SMAD in favour of merge, as it would create one large communist party, whilst KPD followed SMAD line, the SPD saw the merge as a way of keeping Nazi parties from attaining power

· April 1946 conference agreed the merger and the Socialist Unity Party [SED] was born.

· At first it had about 1,200,000 members but by Summer 1948 this number had grown to 2,000,000.

· This support did not reach all zones! In a referendum held in Western zones of Berlin on 31st March 1946 almost 20,000 members voted against + 3000 in favour. à in Western zones of both Germany + Berlin the two parties remained separate.

· So: historians argue the merger was forced + archives show that Russians were v influential in its creation.

· It was quickly made apparent that communists could not win free elections. In October 1946 elections to create Berlin administrations the SED won less than 20% of popular vote and in the regional elections they failed to get over 50% in a single province. \

DEVELOPMENTS WITHIN THE SOVIET ZONE:

· The priorities for the authorities were to eradicate Nazism and what was perceived as the preconditions which gave rise to it, and to organise reparations.

ERADICATION OF NAZISM:

· Thousands of former Nazi party members + officials were arrested + sent to concentration camps such as Sachsenhausen were inmates were beaten, worked as slaves + kept in inhumane conditions. They were joined by dissident communists who might oppose the new regime [including former SPD members] à between 1945-50 43,000 died in the CC.[not including prisoners sent to USSR & to Gulags]

· The eradication of Nazism was also used as a cover for the purging of opposition

· It was perceived that elitist nature; wealthy classes & inequalities were what gave rise to Nazism. So the removal of these preconditions took various forms:

o Land reforms

o Confiscation of property

o Education reforms

· With the aim to reduce elitism, widen opportunity and bind beneficiaries to the new regime.

LAND REFORMS:

In September 1945 all landowners who were tainted with supporting Nazism that owned + 100 hectares lost their land without compensation.

à affected 3.3million hectares/ 33% of useful agricultural land in the Soviet zone alone.

à 2 million hectares redistributed to formerly landless peasants/smallholders. à average size of holding was 0.6 hectares which is so small, & without machinery + livestock many holdings were abandoned.

PROPERTY CONFISCATION:

In October 1945 property + firms belonging to prev. Nazis / leading officers in wartime armed forces were confiscated by regional administrations. With property being redistributed to the USSR as reparations, or being maintained as public enterprises. à managers recruited from working class BUT SED were involved heavily.

EDUCATION REFORMS:

Higher education was opened up to members of the working class à creating a graduate class.

In 1945 members of working class represented 3% of university students; by 1950 this figure had risen to 58%.

Schools within the Soviet zone taught a curriculum that favoured communist ideologies and engendered support for Russians.

PAYMENT OF REPARATIONS:

· USSR extracted harsh reparations to keep Germany weak + to help rebuild its shattered economy

· Reparations took several forms to pay for damages perpetrated by Germany in the Soviet Union during ww2.

o Dismantling industrial plants + equipment for shipment to USSR

o Actual monetary payments

· 1945-1954 estimates show that in this time 54bn Ostmarks were transferred, of this 16.8bn were for occupation costs.

· Keeping Germany weak is evidenced by the dissembled industrial plants being left to rust.

· System only became efficient when the Russians realised that they weren’t benefitting from such wastage.

· By the time dismantling Germany ended in 1948, the Soviet zone had lost 11,800km of railway and had suffered a 29% loss in wartime industrial capacity

· The cost of reparations was bitterly resented and together with the repression in camps made the USSR very unpopular.

· Others were apathetic and would support any gov that provided them with food and shelter.

· Many fled the soviet zone

· Few were active supporters as the regime moved in different directions to the Western zone and tensions mounted.

GROWING DIVISIONS:

· The Western zones became increasingly at variance with the USSR as to how Germany should develop.

THE WESTERN ZONES CO-OPERATION:

· The costs of rebuilding and reparations were destroying the German economy with Western Germany dependent on food imports from the East, most of which dried up + conditions of semi-starvation continued

· The USA and UK realised that a poverty stricken starving Germany had no benefit to them and so they began to cooperate in an attempt to improve efficiency. So in Summer 1946 they merged their zones together to form Bizonia. Then in April 1949 the French joined- thus creating Trizonia. Logically, the joining of the 3 Western zones made economic and political unification more likely, but at the same time created a divide between two distinct Germanys- one capitalist and Western, the other communist and dominated by USSR.

TENSIONS IN ALLIED CONTROL COUNCIL:

· Consequently, co-operation between the Russians and the Western powers was beginning to falter in the Allied Control Council [ACC]

· The American zone suspended reparation payments to the USSR in May 1946 in retaliation for the Russians refusal to deliver foodstuffs; there were also disputes about coal distribution between the 4 zones.

· This was exacerbated by external tensions such as Communist take over in Czechoslovakia in Feb 1948 and the Treaty of Brussels in March 1948 when the Russian representative stormed out of the ACC over plans to introduce a new currency [Deutschmark] in the 3 Western zones. à he argued that as the Western zones had no plans for the whole of Germany the council had no future

· As tensions grew the USA cancelled their plans to withdraw troops from their zones and said they would remain in Germany. à this period saw the development of the cold war.

MARSHALL AID:

· Following the harsh winter of 1946-47, influential Americans such as Secretary of State General George Marshall realised that the continent couldn’t recover without help

· In June 1947 the Marshall Plan was introduced to provide the finance Europe needed to aid recoveryà known as Marshall aid

· The USSR and most of its satellite countries did not attend this July conference in Paris when this plan was discussed. Many historians see this event as formal divisions of the two zones.

THE BERLIN CRISIS:

· The soviet representative withdrew from the ACC [allied control commission] and thus allowed the Deutschmark to be introduced into the three zones in June. Preparations to create the new state FRG [Federal Republic of Germany] were also able to be made

· The deutschmark was an immediate success and most price controls and rationing were abolished in western zones, and whilst benefitting from Marshall aid the FRG began to make huge economic progress.

· The Soviet zone still languished in comparative poverty even though the Soviets retaliated with the introduction of their own currency the Ostmark.

THE FORMATION OF THE GDR:

· After the creation of the FRG in May 1949 the SED leaders began to speak about a People’s Democracy along the lines of other communist states

· Stalin seemed reluctant as he doubted the SEDs power to impose a communist regime and he was worried about international reactions to the formation of a communist state

· In 1947 a People’s congress had been set up to supposedly work towards German unity, although the few delegates from Western zones were KPD members.

· Third peoples Congress 1949 made the decision to create a new state

· Congress were presented with a single list of candidates for possible members, and they were either voting for them all or to reject them all. 66.1% approved it.

· The 330 members of this congress agreed a draft Constitution of the German Democratic Republic and announced the formation of the GDR on the 7th October

· SMAD technically abolished, but in fact transformed into the Soviet Control Commission whose role was to supervise the new states implementation of allied directives relating to Germany as officially Germany was still under control of the wartime allies.

THE BERLIN BLOCKADE AND AIRLIFT:

· Berlin lay geographically within the Soviet zone with no guarantees of access for Western powers.

· Stalin wanted to drive the Western powers out of Berlin in the hopes of including the city into the Soviet zone.

· He did this by ordering the blockade of West Berlin, in which he ordered electricity supplies [which were generated in the East] to be cut off in the West and on the 24th June 1948 all land and canal routes from the Western zones to West Berlin were blocked.

· It intended that the West Berlin authorities would face the alternatives of starvation or agreeing to join the Soviet zone.

· But Western powers organised an airlift and by September they were flying 4641 tons of supplies I per day. In April 1949, a month before the blockade was called off, they were managing almost 8000 tonnes, including such items as coal.

· Altogether 2,325,808 tonnes were flown into Berlin

· In May Stalin realise the allies would not give in and he called off the blockade. à showed allies support in Germany à division

CONCLUSION:

· The allies had no long term strategies for Germany in the post war world. Stalin favoured reunification albeit as a socialist state. But he recognised communism was not fit for Germany. So the creation of the GDR was not his most desired outcome. Hence the idea that the GDR was Stalin’s ‘unloved child.’ It was born out of external factors such as the development of the cold war and internal factors such as the growing co-operation of the 3 western zones

· The GDR was not recognized by any countries except the USSR and other communist regimes in Eastern Europe.

The System of Government –

» 1949 Constitution founded a federal republic with a Peoples chamber – the Volkskammer and the Landerkammer which represented the states.

» Supreme authority still resided with the Politburo of the SED

» The constitution offered guaranteed free speech and religious toleration, however Article 6 undermined this, and allowed for repression to be used.

» March 1950 Ministry of State Security was formed from which the Stasi / Secret Police emerged.

» SED proposed single lists of candidates that voters could either reject or accept in their entirety

» The SED was effectively the government of the GDR and its head Walter Ulbricht became its dictator.

How democratic was the system of government?

» Volkskammer or People’s Chamber was to be the supreme authority within the GDR, its members were elected by secret ballot and seated according to PR. It’s head was the Minister President, elected by the largest party in the Volkskammer.

o Personal rights such as freedom of speech, religion and assembly were assured, as was the right to send uncensored letters in the post

o Trade unions were recognised and given the authority to call industrial action

o Religious intolerance was outlawed and people were free to worship as they chose.

o The five states were represented in the Landerkammer- the States Chamber

» Volkskammer members were chosen by secret and direct ballot and all those over the age of 18, considered as citizens, could vote.

» Highest Authority was the council of Ministers with a Minister President at its head. Ministers were elected by members of the Volkskammer and were supposed to be representative of all the other political parties.

» Council of Ministers was officially the government but it wasn’t formally recognised as that until the constitution was reformed in 1972

» Landerkammer represented the 5 states of the GDR and delegates were selected from the 5 legislative bodies of each state that determined policy at Land level. The Landerkammer’s role was to reflect the wishes and interests of each lander, and they could veto legislation if they deemed it disagreed with the best interests of the lander, however, the Volkskammer could always override this.

Political Control

- Article 6 and 8

The constitution appeared democratic, but beneath the surface there were important provisos. Article 6 and 8 effectively gave the authorities to act ruthlessly as they could choose the rules of what behaviour was deemed acceptable and what was considered undesirable.

- Supreme Court and Department of Public Prosecutions created in 7th December 1949

SC was given the authority and power to enact article 6 and 8 to its own choosing, and the DPP was given the power to deal with the persecution of those who broke the law

- Central Commission for State Control

Was responsible to the minister President and was ordered to investigate any potential threats to the regime. It was responsible for the oversight of security forces.

- The People’s Police [KVP]

This group stood at 50,000 men and formed the base for the future National People’s Army and army of the GDR

- The Ministry of State Security

The Stasi was set up in February 1950 and didn’t report to any state organisation but the Politburo of the SED. It was given the remit to detect all internal opposition to the state and to conduct espionage abroad and provide security for all political institutions and installations, public buildings and so on.

On the one hand it was democratic

» Article 6 and 8 of the constitution provided citizens with free speech, personal liberties, equal rights and religious toleration—> people felt the unlike in previous ruling of Germany (nazi) they could express their views through elective representation. (representative democracy)

» Volkskammer (peoples chamber) was one of the leading authoritative bodies within the GDR and its members were elected through a secret and direct ballot, with parties being represented by proportional representation. PR creates a sense of participation within the public and citizens who can vote, as they feel that their vote truly has an effect on the percentage of seats per party in the Volkskammer.

» within the Volkskammer people had personal rights such as free speech and uncensored letters

» trade unions recognised + given authority to call for industrial action. As a result, members of trade unions such as workers, will feel like they are supported and if they are struggling, their voices will be heard

» religious intolerance outlawed. Whereas during the Nazi regime, different religious views were very much restricted; this new found freedom provided the public, specifically those persecuted and prejudiced during the war, with freedom and civil rights. So more people were content with the GDR and its rules.

» 5 states (lander) were represented through the Landerkammer’s.

EFFECT ON PEOPLE / HOW IT WAS DEMOCRATIC:

» sense of freedom, civil rights, representation—> feels like participation and as if they have an influence and effect on the constitution and any reforms or new policies.

» all those over 18 could vote for members of Volkskammer so felt directly represented, and those over 21 could apply for political office and implement their view with the constitution

» the 400 members of the Volkskammer then directly elected members of the Council of Ministers, who supposedly represented political parties and their members—> people again felt that they could influence these members by electing members of the Volkskammer that would agree with them. Also mass organisations were represented—> people felt they had influence.

» The job of the council of ministers was to then instrument the requests of the Volkskammer (and to an extent the people) over policy, finance and the economy.

» Citizens around Germany also felt represented through the Lander or the Landerkammer’s, which consisted of delegates selected from the five legislative bodies / states of the GDR. They determined policies at a state level, and the aim was to convey the wishes, interests and requests of the people within each Lander and transfer this into policy within each level.

» National front was set up by the Volkskammer in February 1950

» role to speak and represent all parties and institutions within the GDR, draw up candidate lists in elections (effectively control elections)

» consisted of the SED (leading party)

» the block political parties (peasants party and national democratic party)

» mass organisations

» Volkskammer also elected the President (Head of State) and the Prime Minister (Head of Government)

» many saw GDR as a better Germany than it was when run by Hitler, as it was now run by hero’s of the ‘anti racist resistance to Hitler’

» democratic centralism claimed authority was from the people upwards

» people—> Volkskammer—> council of ministers—> state council

» suggested the view of people was carried to the highest level

» that the ‘centre’ had contact with people + their representatives and that they passed decisions back towards them.

IT APPEARED DEMOCRATIC On the other hand it wasn't democratic (beneath the surface/ facade)

» although the constitution offered guaranteed civil rights through free speech and religious tolerance Article 6 and 8 made many contradictions to these proclaimed freedoms, that in fact inhibited and repressed rights. Any acts that involved attempting to persuade the public into not participating in elections, state run activities / organisations, or prophesying militaristic propaganda, warmongering and other discriminative acts are FELONIOUS crimes and result in = disqualification of the right to hold public office, right to vote and the right to stand for elections. Consequently, the state authority may restrict / revoke freedoms like privacy within the home, secrecy of mail and the right of residency if these crimes were committed. —> This effectively gave authorities the power to act as brutally as they choose in order to curb behavior that they considered undesirable and wrong. This meant that voicing opinion that was out of the understood perimeter of acceptable and tolerable things to say in the GDR would result in an invasion of personal freedom and a prevention of further voicing opinion through voting. —> Examples of things that would be deemed unacceptable or undesirable could include opposing opinions, being a member of a non socialist political party, someone who disagreed with the GDR ( such as people that favoured the Hitler regime or many Marxists)

» Any clear opposition to the central regime were dealt with by the Central Commission for State Control that were responsible for the ordering of investigations into anyone who they believed were a possible threat to the control of the SED and the GDR itself. This group were responsible and overlooked the activities of the people police and the Stasi

o people police (KVP)

o Stasi 1950- duties left vague, members secret—> control through fear. Job was to discover any internal opposition to the state, provide security for the constitution and political institutions and conduct espionage abroad.

» although the Volkskammer portrayed itself to be representative of the people through its election of members through secret and direct ballots and PR, the number of seats that a party could gain in each election were already pre allocated by the leading SED members within. This therefore meant that the SED had control over who had influence within the Volkskammer, and so the peoples elected representatives were not necessarily always chosen by the people. Conveying, that on appearance the Volkskammer appears to be democratic, but beneath the surface, its democratic power is undermined by the dictatorial control that the SED held over its electives. —> This then influenced the control the SED had over elections of the Landerkammer, members of whom were decided of by the Volkskammer

» the first elections that established the Volkskammer and Landerkammer occurred in 1950, although they appeared to be democratic as citizens of the GDR over the age of 18 could vote on them, the variation in whom they could vote for, however, was not. The public had little electoral choice as the National Front composed a single list of candidates during several meetings at local levels; most non- SED candidates at these selections were rejected. Additionally, this further supports the idea that the GDR state was not democratic as the SED undermined the influence that the public had through electing representatives they feel convey their beliefs and ideologies, therefore undermining the democracy of the GDR.

» Additionally, the SED undermined the democracy that the central committee held. The central committee met four times a year and decided on the passing of resolutions onto the Council of Ministers and state council

» local regional party organisations members, whom had an input into the congress of the SED, central committee and politburo, were carefully chosen by secretaries and the SED to ensure the support and control was maintained.

» The council of ministers ( main executive organ of government) had to agree and act on decisions made by the SED. The council again was another aspect of the GDR constitution, that was dominated by members of the SED; one of whom being Walter Ulbricht himself.

» SED dominated public sector jobs at all stages and levels—> through the promotion of members of the working class. The SED also selected any potential public official personnel + trained them on courses that reflected their ideologies as well as administrative efficiency.

Elections in the GDR –

- 1950 the National Front for a Democratic Germany was set up, with the role to speak for all parties and institutions within the GDR as well as draw the single candidate list up for elections. It effectively had full control over elections.

- 1950 = first elections to Volkskammer and Landerkammer

- most non SED candidates were rejected

- Voting wasn’t actually in secret and elections were carried out in a climate of fear as a result of mass bribery and purges

- SED took 110 seats in the Volkskammer and the CDU and LPD each taking just over 60 and mass organizations such as the FDJ also supplied delegates to the Volkskammer and seeing as all mass organisations who gained seats were dominated by the SED it was clear that the SED was thus enabled to dominate proceedings and control the government.

Dominance of the SED-

» SED dominated the GDR, with the Volkskammer simply rubber stamping its proposals. Ulbricht was effectively the dictator, he only held the position of deputy PM but he also ruled through the Ministry of State Security [Stasi] which enabled his presence to be felt.

The Purges –

The Stasi had a workforce that grew from 1100 to 8800 in two years [1950-52] and its role was to arrest potential opponents, including SED members. It included anyone who spend time in the West and may have been contaminated with capitalist attitudes, anyone who had been in contact with spies [e.g. Noel Field] anyone who supported Zionism. Arrests were random and were often a result of people trying to settle scores, seek revenge. Ulbricht disliked SED members who had suffered under Hitler and the Nazis e.g. served time in concentration camps, and so Ulbricht ordered the arrest of many members of the SED who had, as well as those who had supported the creation of Israel for the Jews. Secret show trials occurred and they all led to arrest and then exile, they could not be made public for fear of western journalists infiltrating.

- Were used in extreme examples to push the blame of failed policies onto those who had obviously attempted to ‘sabotage it’

SED and the State

- The SED dominated all aspects political society and the social society that every day citizens experienced. The SED dominated public sector jobs at all levels and promoted the employment of members of the working classes. By 1940s 49% of public officials had a working class background

- this was also reflected in how 60% of those in secondary school and centres of higher education had come from working class background, with special courses to enable working class citizens to achieve the education of the higher class.

- The SED selected potential public official personnel and even trained them through their own courses, with the emphasis on ideological purity as much as administrative efficiency.

The SED Governance –

The SED was governed by the Central Committee and Politburo

The construction of Socialism-

- By 1950 Stalin gave the go-ahead at the the third SED conference for socialism to be accepted in the GDR, and the pathway towards communism to be created.

- By 1952 the 5 Lander were replaced by 15 regional organisations known as Bezirke, also controlled by the SED.

Economic Developments 1949-61 under Ulbricht

Key Focus of economic policies-

As the GDR moved to developed socialism it centralised economic planning and concentrated on the development of heavy industry and the collectivisation of agriculture.

To do this the government

- Introduced cuts in production of consumer goods and social welfare provision

- Wage reductions

- Introduction of new work norms

Socialist Economics and Planning –

- GDR has a centralised system of economic planning that was very much based and similar to that of the Soviet model.

- 1950 a State Planning Commission was created as the supreme planning authority which included a series of 5 year plans in which targets were set, and labour and resources were allocated to meet them.

- Production, prices, quantity were all centrally planned. And the single role that production managers had to do was to ensure that these targets were met.

Advantages to a centrally planned economic system [mostly ideological] included: à Success

» The gov could harness the economy to the perceived needs of the state and the desired outcomes e.g. a concentration on public transport rather than on private cars.

» Social and collective needs were emphasised and held greater importance over the needs of the individual personal needs- this led to items being produced for the good of the community rather than consumer goods which could be considered as unnecessary.

Disadvantages to a centrally planned economic system [mostly economical rather than ideological] included: à Failure

» Emphasis was placed on quantity rather than quality of goods

» The system was too centralised and this stifled innovation and creativity as managers only produced what the central planners told them to.

» Very inefficient as it was difficult to plan needs 5 years before and often goods that were produced were produced at the expense of goods that were required and needed.

» With all production planned and the resources provided there was no profit motivation and goods that were produced were still produced despite whether they were cost effective or not.

» Prices didn’t always reflect economic value or even costs of production and economic rules of supply and demand were not always considered.

The First Five Year Plan-

Key Focus-

- To develop heavy industry in key industries such as iron, steel, chemicals and energy

- To increase standard of living to well above pre war levels

- To overtake the FRG in terms of standard of living and to make the GDR more appealing to all German workers as a result

Key Information-

Projected levels of increase over the 1950 level:

National income to increase by 60%

Labour productivity to increase by 72%

Agriculture by 25%

Heavy Machine building 114.8%

These targets were to be achieved with continuous central planning, provision of resources and work norms. It was up to the planners to decide what should be produced and how it should be done, economic ideas such as supply and demand were not considered as important.

Successes

Superficially the first 5 year plan achieved some success, records show a man called Adolf Henneke being celebrated for increasing his daily output by 380%. GDR statistics also show that:

Product

Tonnes in 1950

Tonnes in 1955

Pig Iron

37,000

1,517,000

Steel

999,000

2,508,000

Failures

It was up to the planners to decide what should be produced and how it should be done, economic ideas such as supply and demand were not considered as important.

However, increases in pig iron and steel were at the expense of living standards. The GDR always faced conflict between the heavy industry and provision of consumer goods. The focus of economic policy constantly shifted between the two areas.

The GDRs membership of COMECON exacerbated the problems and tensions between the provision of living standards and that of heavy industry.

The SED had overestimated the GDRs economic capacity and their calculations for the first 5year plan were too high. It had failed to account for the development of the armed forces and the continued payments of reparations to the USSR, It proposed to pay for the high reparation price through reductions in welfare budgets and cuts in consumption, but these were insufficient and by 1952 the GDR was 700 billion Ostmarks in deficit.

Additionally, heavy industry, which saw a 60% increase in mining and steel and yet only a 2% increase production of consumer goods, sparked many complaints from consumers about the shortages of goods. There were shortages in paper, basic foodstuffs and clothes and yet the central planning system made further cuts in

- Transport

- Working mothers monthly day off to catch up on domestic chores was cancelled

- Prices rises in subsidised foodstuffs.

This still failed to reduce the deficit and by 1953 shortages were beginning to appear in all aspects of services including in the construction industry with lacks of materials such as bricks.

Failure also lay in the inability for planners to be wrong, failure was as the state believed it, a result of sabotage and opponents deliberately limiting production through the vandalising of equipment etc. Wealthy owners were blamed and their food ration cards removed.

Wages were cut further and harsher work norms introduced. Workers were expected to increase production by 10%, which was impossible due to the lack and shortage of essential equipment and materials. As a consequence bonus payments were missed and there was a 25% reduction in the wages of many employees.
April 1953 saw prices rise is essential goods and many people resented the fact that they were working harder for less wages which bought less items.

This triggered many people to flee to the West and in the first 4 months of 1953, 120,000 people left for the FRG. Repression grew with political unrest and objections to these harsh work norms resulted in an increase in the prison population by around 30,000 people between July and May of 1953.

Overall Judgement

Agriculture during 1949-61:

Collectivisation of agriculture was a key focus and a key component of the centralised planning process. The idea was that larger farms would mean more could be achieved, there would be able to afford more and larger machinery and they would achieve more economies of scale.

Collectivisation was promoted by offering tax relief and essentials as equipment and seeds, but those who refused would suffer higher taxation and no provision of materials and equipment. So the number of collectives increased from 1999 to 6000 by 1955.

The huge collectivisation during 1959-1960 gave rise to the term ‘The Socialist Spring’ because by 1960 there were 19,345 collective farms. The intention of the collective farms? To make the GDR self sufficient in food production. By the late 1950s, 29% of agricultural land was farmed by collectives, but the leaders still deemed this insufficient. In 1959 it was announced at the Central Committee that collectives were superior to private farming and agricultural policies would now focus on turning all farms into collectives. With a goal to overtake the FRG in agricultural production, the GDR failed to achieve this and caused huge resentment and disruption to farming, again, resulting in farmers leaving for the West.

Opposition to socialist economics:

Many farmers resented collectivisation, attempting to remain outside the system for as long as they could. Many fled from the GDR, by 1953 there were 750,000 hectares unused as landowners fled.

Removal of the profit motive within agriculture and industry led to disincentives to innovate and take risks. Lack of motivation was exacerbated by the shortages in equipment, essential foodstuffs and goods like clothing, shoes and paper. Unofficial strikes were commonplace, especially over unrealistic work norms, poor quality equipment and health and safety issues. à came to a head in June 1953.

The New Course:

Stalin died in March 1953 and his death was followed by a period of uncertainty for Soviet leaders, and a period in which there was a considerable lack of guidance for the satellite countries in the Soviet bloc. Ulbricht was left dissatisfied in knowledge of what the plans were for the GDR, but this was established in the signing and introduction of the New Course in 9th June 1953. The New Course aimed to slow down socialist development to ensure that the people accepted and truly supported socialism and more support was engaged. The New Course had the following effects:

» Withdrawal of the April price rises

» Restoration of ration cards that had been confiscated

» End to discrimination against Christians

» Discontinuation of collectivisation process

» Restoration of property that had been confiscated when emigrants had left

» Production of more consumer goods

June Revolt:

This was the first revolt in the against communist control in the Soviet bloc and it sparked a series of other revolts, strikes and rebellions in other Soviet bloc countries, especially Poland. Originally the revolt was over the debilitating and harsh work norms that meant the workers worked incredibly hard, for less wages and no profit. Work norms were central to resentment in the GDR and there were unofficial strikes and and demonstrations in towns and the countryside. On June the 16th 1953, building workers on the Stalinallee Project, a huge residential building, went on strike and marched to the SED HQ demanding to speak to Pieck and Grotewhohl, at this point numbers had grown to 2000 protestors. They called for a general strike the next day, and US radio stations encouraged them to rebel. On the 17th June, 25,000 or more converged on the Council of Ministers HQ demanding for free elections and the resignation of the government.

The government were ill-equipped to deal with these rebellions and had come to believe their own propaganda – that people were happy with the government and the economic situation. The GDR government were reluctant to call military action, but it was the Russians who showed their firmness and called a state of emergency by 1pm, banning assemblies of more than 3 people, sending in troops and tanks and by evening ‘order’ was restored.

However, the revolt had spread to much of the country and there was unrest in 373 urban centres and between 17th and 23rd June, 497,000 workers throughout the GDR went on strike. In the countryside SED leaders were beaten up and members of collectives refused to met targets. The rebellions called for free elections and there seemed a real threat to the GDR.

Why did the revolt fail?

» ROLE OF THE USSR à USSR troops and tanks were deployed to deal with the rebellion and it resulted in the deaths of 50 protestors

» MOTIVES OF DEMONSTRATORS àThe revolts were triggered by economic grievances, and although they soon became political there was no coordinated leader or idea as to what the specific demands were. The protesters were disunited with different demands, some were Nazis and others simply wanted work norms abolished or reduced.

» ATTITUDE OF THE WEST à Attitude to the West- the West did nothing to support the rebellion

GDR response-

- 17th June: it was announced that wages would rise and rises in pensions would follow

- the next annual SED meeting and plenum announced the shift in focus from collectivisation and heavy industry to raising the living standards of the GDR citizens, with an overall target of 40%.

- Foodstuffs were reduced. [ government could afford to do this as reparation payments had officially ended January 1954]

- The revolt was blamed on western provocateurs, however the 1300 arrested and imprisoned were all GDR citizens, with at least 18 executed. Ulbricht used the June 1953 rebellion as a way of purging the SED and anyone who had attempted to plot against him.

Support for the regime:

There was also evidence, amongst all the rebellions and apathy towards the GDR, of support for the regime. It was clear that there was some improvement in the basic [very basic] provision of food, clothes, standard of living and equal opportunities within education and the workplace [working class people in Universities and schools increased] housing and health care. The 1954 elections showed support as 99.46 % voted for the single lists.

Results of the Revolt:
Ulbricht used the June uprising to purge the party of those who plotted against him, and to consolidate power. The fall of Beria in Moscow also enabled Ulbricht to establish a firm hold over power in the GDR. The purge of the party involved the removal of anyone who criticised how he handled the revolt, those who agreed with the people running the revolt, and by 1954, 62.2% of members of local SED committees elected in 1952 had been removed. The Politburo also announced that 1.2 million rank and file members of the SED had no true allegiance to the party and were expelled.

The revolt also resulted in a tightening of government controls of the population, and a loss of trust in the population’s loyalty towards the SED regime. Through fear of another revolt and losing power, the government tightened security in the GDR.

The New Course was abandoned in 1955 and replaced with one that focused on establishing socialism as fast and as securely as possible. The Stasi were incorporated into the interior ministry and the government, growing again to one officer per 320 citizens. Factory combat groups were established for national defence and the KVP formed the basis of the National Peoples Army. And the GDR joined the Warsaw Pact.

DEFENDING THE GDR –

A major problem for the GDR was the fact that it was losing millions of its citizens to the West every day. Despite Ulbricht’s claims to overtake the FRG economically, it was obvious to many people that this was an impossible task. In the meantime, there were many debates about Berlin becoming an international city, after Khrushchev suggested it, offering ultimatums for Western forces to leave. Reluctantly, Khrushchev agreed to the building of the Berlin Wall, which effectively stemmed the flow of migration and stabilised relations by the removal of a pressure point during the cold war. It also had devastating human consequences for those that lost their jobs in the West and were separated from their family. This resulted in huge resentment towards emigrants and escapers, particularly those who had learnt skills in the GDR and were taking them elsewhere.

IMPACT OF EMIGRATION IN THE 1950s –

The Berlin wall, constructed in August 1961, also known as the ‘Anti Fascist Protection Rampart’ was seen as a major event in the early history of the GDR, as well as the turning point to a real beginning of the GDR as a sovereign state. The wall was built with both internal and external developments and its most immediate affect on the GDR was the was the prevention of GDR citizens from leaving. Citizens flooded to the FRG and West berlin daily, often as a result of the poor performance of the GDR in comparison to the FRG, the lack of essential freedoms and the open border with the FRG which made it possible to leave.

INTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS –

After the 1953 rebellion, Ulbricht was the undisputed ruler of the GDR and was as a consequence confident enough to set a bold agenda at the July 1958 SED congress. The GDR would be able to overtake the FRG, after he promoted accelerated economic growth and developments in science & technology. This would result in the GDR overtaking the FRG by 1961, which appeared a difficult task as the FRG produced 25% more goods than the GDR and had far more available and disposable raw materials. However, Ulbricht’s aims fitted in with the goals of Khrushchev in the USSR, which was aiming to also overtake the USA economically

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS –

The GDR faced a continuing series of economic problems: frequent food shortages, especially of foodstuffs & high quality products, the GDR became increasingly economically dependent on the USSR, facing shortages in its currency reserves. Meanwhile the USSR was also facing economic problems and it imposed a new Seven Year Plan from 1959-65, which involved the satellite countries support. The GDRs priorities changed to electrical engineering, energy production, chemicals and machine building. There was a high target of increase in worker productivity, of 58% over the 7year -period and consumer goods and rising living standards were shelved as no longer a priority. The development was to be focussed on a fully fledged socialist economy based around heavy industry.

However, it was clear that the GDR faced severe economic problems, rather than overtaking the FRG it appeared to be lagging further behind. Ulbricht told his colleagues not to believe the statistics and doctored production reports written for those outside leadership. Economic problems were compounded by the decision of the FRG to cut its trade with the GDR in retaliation for the restrictions placed on west German citizens seeking entry into the GDR and East Berlin. It was clear that the question of continued migration was the underlying issue, and that the economic performance of the FRG was a result of the quality of migrants from the GDR to the FRG, which accounted for the growth rates of 8% a year in the 1950s. The GDR compared with annual rates of 2.9% for industry and consumer good rate well below.

CONTINUED EMIGRATION –

Up until the building of the wall on 13th August 1961, there was continuous flow of migrants that were young, well educated and who the GDR couldn’t afford to lose. ¼ of all the doctors migrated. The reason? An overwhelming number of push factors, that made people want to leave the GDR, coupled with some pull factors from the FRG.

Push factors –

Pull Factors –

» Unrealistic targets

» Inefficiencies

» Shortages of goods

» Heartless bureaucracy

» Better life

» More freedom

» More prosperous careers

From 1949-early August 1961 a total of 2,687,041 people left the GDR to the FRG. This huge volume had a huge impact on the GDR: there was a shortage of skilled personnel [many had moved to the FRG and were accountable for the economic successes.]

THE CRISIS OF 1960-61 –

From the late 1950s to 1961 Berlin became the front line of the cold war and a huge factor in external developments relating to superpower relations.

» The 1958 Crisis= In Nov 1968 Khrushchev gave the west an ultimatum: that Berlin should become an international city, governed by the UN and if the west didn’t agree within 6 months, the USSR and GDR would implement these plans anyway.

» February 1959 K announced that the USSR would sign a peace treaty with the GDR, unless the West signed one with the GDR, and thus recognised that the GDR was an independent nation.

Many historians disagree over Ks motives for this sudden aggressive action and his new found confidence as a result of the 1956 de-Stalinization speech and in the USSRs superiority over the West

à the USSR launched its first satellite- Sputnick - in 1957, taking the USSR by surprise

à the USSR mistakenly believed that the USSR had nuclear superiority over the USA.

His aims as a result were straightforward:

- To neutralise Berlin as a centre of subversion against the GDR by which emigrants could flee to the FRG

- To secure the Western recognition of the GDR

- To prevent what he believed NATO was planning: to deploy nuclear missiles in West Germany

K also hoped to absorb the entire of Berlin into the GDR. He hoped that the withdrawal of western troops and the reunification of Berlin as one city, under a UN stewardship would mean that absorption of the city as a whole would one day be possible.

K saw the new US President John F. Kennedy as inexperienced and weak, especially after the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961. Kennedy’s strong response to K’s proposal of withdrawing troops as a result came as a surprise, and Kennedy’s threat that he was prepared to use nuclear weapons in order to defend the freedom of West Berlin if necessary was most shocking.

K never intended to risk war over Berlin and he was sceptical when Ulbricht insisted that the GDR couldn’t survive unless the wall was built, so K only reluctantly agreed to the building of the Berlin Wall.

OPERATION ROSE AUGUST 1961 –

This was the codename for the construction of the Berlin wall in August 1961. It was a highly secretive operation, and so many top SED officials had no knowledge of its plans until the night of its erection. As late as June 1961, K had been promising that he had no plans to build a wall, and so he tasked one of his most trusted colleagues, Honecker, with its planning and implementation.

The walls construction began on the night of the 12th/13th of august and its first development was little more than barbed wire both in and around the city. Anyone visiting the west could choose to remain their, or return and those Westerners visiting the East were allowed to return to the West. Border crossers, or those who lived in the East but worked in the West couldn’t get to work and people were unable to visit relatives or friends.

The wall was developed in the following weeks as a barrier of concrete blocks and watchtowers and eventually it ran 97 miles around the three western sectors and 27 miles through the centre of Berlin. It comprised of a 4m high concrete wall, 30 watchtowers, guard dog tracks, tripwires and floodlights. Eventually it was made up of 45,000 separate blocks of concrete.

The wall didn’t just stop immigration it was also significant because –

» Border crossers were resented as they were paid in valuable western currency and could take advantage of subsidised housing and cheap goods that were available in the East

» Many children who lived in the East were educated in the West

» Westerners often travelled to the East due to the cheaper goods and the vibrant nightlife

» Families were split

The wall was an act of defence rather than an act of aggression towards the West and was designed to keep people in.

IMPACT OF THE WALL – the wall offered a stable border and meant that the leaders of the USA and USSR no longer needed to respond to the demands of their clients [FRG and GDR] At worst the wall maintained the status quo and whilst West Germany didn’t recognise the GDR it accepted its presence.

The cost to the GDR through loss of skills was estimated at 2.5-3billion Ostmarks and the GDR had paid for the education of many workers who were k

now living and working in the West. This has resulted in a source of resentment within the GDR as people didn’t like the fact that they were working in the West and earning more money.

PROBLEMS –

» Border crossers were regarded with suspicion

» Those who had worked in the West had lost their jobs and often found themselves in the worst placed vacancies in the East

» There were restrictions on the education of those in the East who had been educated in the West: numbers were restricted in classes so that they didn’t contaminate the classmates with talk of western freedoms

» Those who may have expected to go to university were given menial jobs

» Those who had any involvement with the West found discrimination throughout their lives.

ESCAPERS –

It was estimated that 1/15 attempts to escape the wall were successful, and as the wall developed escaping became harder and less frequent. In the early 1960s there were various networks of underground tunnels built, other escapers swam across rivers, canals or crashed vehicles through the barriers and one train driver drove his train through the station barriers so that people could get to the East.

There were many fatalities, people died jumping from windows onto streets in the West, being shot, dying of hypothermia when attempting to swim lakes etc.

It is estimated there were as many as 223 fatalities, the last being in march 1989 when a balloonist escaped into Western Berlin but crashed into a power-line. There were also penalties for guards on watch when people escaped.

Ulbricht –

Economic Policy

Both:

Centrally Planned Economy -

- GDR has a centralised system of economic planning that was very much based and similar to that of the Soviet model.

- 1950 a State Planning Commission was created as the supreme planning authority which included a series of 5 year plans in which targets were set, and labour and resources were allocated to meet them.

- Production, prices, quantity were all centrally planned. And the single role that production managers had to do was to ensure that these targets were met.

Advantages to a centrally planned economic system [mostly ideological] included:

» The gov could harness the economy to the perceived needs of the state and the desired outcomes e.g. a concentration on public transport rather than on private cars.

» Social and collective needs were emphasised and held greater importance over the needs of the individual personal needs- this led to items being produced for the good of the community rather than consumer goods which could be considered as unnecessary.

Disadvantages to a centrally planned economic system [mostly economical rather than ideological] included:

» Emphasis was placed on quantity rather than quality of goods

» The system was too centralised and this stifled innovation and creativity as managers only produced what the central planners told them to.

» Very inefficient as it was difficult to plan needs 5 years before and often goods that were produced were produced at the expense of goods that were required and needed.

» With all production planned and the resources provided there was no profit motivation and goods that were produced were still produced despite whether they were cost effective or not.

» Prices didn’t always reflect economic value or even costs of production and economic rules of supply and demand were not always considered.

Success= increase in pig iron and steel production [but at the expense of living standards]

Failures= cuts in welfare and wages and an harsh increase in work norms + shortages of goods, materials and food essentials led to an increase of people fleeing to the West and an increase in the prison population as political unrest grew. From July-May 1953 the prison population increased by 30,000.

Agriculture:

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Edexcel AS history

The German Democratic Republic 1949-90