The German Democratic Republic 1949-90

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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

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:

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

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:

Land reforms

Confiscation of

property

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.

Dismantling

industrial plants + equipment for shipment to USSR

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

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.

Personal rights such

as freedom of speech, religion and assembly were assured, as was the right to

send uncensored letters in the post

Trade unions were

recognised and given the authority to call industrial action

Religious intolerance

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

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:

The German Democratic Republic 1949-90

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