How successful was Honecker in developing an identity for the GDR 1971-1985?

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How successful was Honecker in developing an identity for the GDR 1971-1985?

Advantages

  • Mass media was strictly controlled by the SED
  • Media coverage of the West said negative things about the capitalism
  • All newspapers were given instructions on what to write
  • The Party directly controlled 70% of all publications in the GDR
  • Popular entertainment was scheduled at the same time as West German news broadcasts to discourage Eastern citizens from watching it

Disadvantages

  • Western radio stations were broadcast across most of the GDR
  • Young people wanted to listen to Western music
  • The SED attempted to jam foreign signals but this was outlawed by international agreement
  • Most homes in the GDR could pick up Western stations broadcast from West Berlin
  • In 1974 it was legal access Western media

Evaluation

The SED saw language as a key element in developing Abgrenzung (demarcation) from West Germany. By the 1970s, the impact of media with education had produced distinct differences in the use of language. East Germans did their shopping in a Kaufhalle (buying hall) not a Supermarkt (the term used by the FRG). Overall, the population listened to GDR radio and watched GDR television but this was undermined by access to Western media. 

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