East Germany 1949-63
- Created by: evecrowley17
- Created on: 03-04-18 12:23
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- East Germany 1949-63
- creation of SED dictatorship
- judiciary
- people's judges
- replaced on political grounds during De-Nazification
- 1950, 86% public prosecutors and 50% of judges SED members
- many 'retrained' and lacked good legal qualifications (needed to be political official of the comm.)
- supreme court
- politbureau played central role e.g. show trials against high ranking critics of Ulbricht
- judges controlled by supreme court and SED
- criminal, civil, labour, and family law
- criminal law adapted to suppress oppositon
- 200,000 prosecuted due to political reasons
- SED critics hindered in career aspirations and travel freedoms
- children could be taken away (climate of fear and insecurity)
- criminal law adapted to suppress oppositon
- people's judges
- stasi
- surveillance (state secret service; modelled on Soviet intelligence)
- IMs (citizen informers)
- 1750,000 by end of regime
- permanent staff
- 1000, reached 13,000 by 1955, and 91,000 by 1989 (Mielke in power until)
- 'sword and shield of the party'
- military forces
- people's police
- founded 1949
- traditional policing roles but with uniformed paramilitary rapid response units
- ineffective 1953 uprising then monitored by Stasi
- mainly to oversee frontier checks
- national people's army
- founded 1956, after FRG army and Warsaw Pact
- means of controlling the population
- structure strongly influenced by Soviets
- SMAD/ Soviet High Comission
- defend USSR if NATO attacked and last line for internal disturbance e.g. 1953 uprising
- stationed in barracks
- people's police
- SED party
- mass organisations
- FDJ - Free GR Youth (comm. inspired youth group)
- FDGB - Free GR Federation of TU (single TU for workers)
- role of other parties
- allowed degree of party pluralism (but all integrated into 'National Front of GDR')
- 'democratic socialism'
- politbureau (highest exe. body)
- Ulbricht (party leader), Pieck (GDR President), Grotewohl (GDR PM)
- mass organisations
- judiciary
- political survival of Ulbricht's GDR
- 1953 worker's uprising
- causes
- Stalin's death (optimism for democratic elections)
- 10% in norms/ economic targets
- began as peaceful protests over norms
- 100,000 protesters in East Berlin
- 50 killed, 20,000 arrested
- reasons for failure
- soviet intervention (martial law; tanks and troops e.g. SMAD)
- poor organisation (spontaneous w/o co-ordination
- no intervention by West
- consequences
- SED purge (20,000 charged and removed)
- security forces reformed (Stasi could suppress anyone and extensive surveillance began)
- some concessions (norms w/d, lowered food prices)
- helped secure Ulbricht's position (Pieck died and President's office merged)
- causes
- 1953 worker's uprising
- GDR economy
- industry
- Five-Year Plan 1951-5
- State Planning Commission
- ambitious aims for heavy industry e.g. iron and steel
- expanded economy (ind. production doubled since 1950)
- issues with over dependence on heavy industry (cost of consumer goods), centralised planning was slow and inflexible
- later plans
- Five-Year Plan 1956
- social improvements but cost economy
- Seven-Year Plan 1959
- unrealistic targets (e.g. increase ind. production by 188%)
- scrapped for 1963 NES (new economic system; decentralisation)
- Five-Year Plan 1956
- Five-Year Plan 1951-5
- agriculture
- land reform
- large estates dispossessed (1/3 of Soviet agricultural area)
- given in smallholdings to workers, refugees, and communities for state-owned farms
- 1948 yields decreased due to farmers migrating, lack of modern tech etc.
- large estates dispossessed (1/3 of Soviet agricultural area)
- 1952 collectivisation
- created LPGs (large collectivised farms)
- attracted small>large farmers (financial incentives)
- 1953, 13% agri. land not farmed and 1958, 2/3 ot collectivised
- created LPGs (large collectivised farms)
- 1960 collectivisation
- strongly enforced
- denied access to collective machinery
- arrests and confiscations
- strongly enforced
- ST results
- disaster
- 1961 refugee peak (farmers left)
- food production declined and 1961 rationing reintro.
- disaster
- LT results
- agriculture did improve
- 1963 SED increased investment
- 1970s LPG productivity higher than most E. Eu.
- agriculture did improve
- land reform
- industry
- GDR society
- welfare and housing
- 1956, centrally controlled system
- free health care, pensions etc.
- no unemployment benefits (found work)
- housing peaked 1959-62 (100,000/y)
- education and youth
- schools cleansed of Nazism (80% teachers dismissed)
- Law for the Demo. of GR schools 1946 (expanded pre-school and abolished private and religious)
- new centralised curriculum
- polytechnic upper schools (POS) emphasised tech skills
- FDJ aimed to indoctrinate and fight capitalist influence
- churches
- repressed
- RE replaced and no financial support given despite 'religious freedom'
- Jugendweine (atheist indoctrination at 14)
- prospects suffered if didn't etc.
- women
- promoted equality but realities limited e.g. lost state pensions due to public finance 1947
- families gained financial support and improved health care (1966 Family Law)
- 1980, nearly 1/2 in HE were female
- abortion restrictions limited until 1972
- SED: working class>women
- social changes
- living standards improved
- rise in material standards due to NES (HO shops)
- workers state
- FDGB purged to be loyal
- equality
- more classless society
- conformity and dissent
- rise in Western influence, still repressed substantial threats/ opposition e.g. church
- living standards improved
- welfare and housing
- Berlin Wall
- significance
- Western powers couldn't legally intervene
- granted GDR stability
- caused FRG shock and frustration
- international context
- disastrous Kennedy-Khrushchev summit
- significance
- creation of SED dictatorship
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