On December 22, 1989, the Brandenburg Gate opened. Citizens of the GDR could freely obtain visas and visit West Berlin, Germany. Euphoria, a sense of freedom could not interfere with the opinions of skeptics. However, not everything was so rosy.
tax burden
A unified Germany also received double problems. First of all, they arose in the economic sphere. The western part took on a large financial burden. Funds were needed for the reorganization of the state apparatus, the renewal of production and communications. To this end, a new personal and corporate income tax was introduced, in addition to the regular income tax and corporate income tax. It was called the "solidarity contribution" - Soldaritätszuschlag. I had to reduce the amount of unemployment benefits, benefits for large families. In addition, West Germany undertook obligations to pay off the external debt of East.
economic decline
The industry of East Germany at the time of the unification was not in the best condition: 20% of enterprises operated at a loss, 50% needed urgent investments for modernization, and only 30% were recognized as profitable.
“Germany has remained Russia's largest trade and economic partner, but the opportunities that were built into our economic cooperation during the unification of Germany have been largely lost. The volume of mutual trade decreased, although the German government encouraged it by providing German firms, especially in the territory of the former GDR, with appropriate state guarantees. In 1992 alone, it allocated 5 billion marks for this in the form of Hermes loans, of which 4 billion were to support trade with Russia,” Mikhail Gorbachev wrote in his book “How It Was: The Unification of Germany.”
Poverty
The eastern lands lagged behind in their rates of economic growth. The potential poverty rate here was 19% (that is, one in five), against 13% in the West (one in ten). Federal government specifically for development eastern regions allocated about two trillion euros over 15 years.
Because of the pension recalculation system in the West is lower. For comparison: in 2010, a resident of the former GDR received a pension of 1,060 euros, and a resident of the western federal states - 985 euros.
Unemployment and health
Unprofitable enterprises were closed, agricultural production fell into decay. Unemployment has risen catastrophically in the Eastern part. Since the flow of labor, cheap labor, began to West Germany.
The unemployment rate was as follows: one employed for four unemployed. This also affected the health of the nation - younger and healthier people left. This is why people with type 2 diabetes are more common in the eastern federal states; more than in the west, a heart attack is common. But depression suffers to a greater extent in the western lands.
Due to the fact that compulsory vaccinations were introduced in the GDR, people in the east are less likely to get the flu. And the number of fatal cases of meningitis dropped from 120 to 10 by 1990, also thanks to vaccination.
National strife
Culturologists point to the difference in the mentality of the inhabitants of the eastern and western lands. In their opinion, the citizens of the GDR, who missed abundance, accepted the unification of the country primarily as an opportunity to satisfy the hunger for goods, and democratic values became a beautiful package. The attitude was different to many things: to time, work, superiors, the opposite sex. Different political and cultural experiences also affected after the fall of the Berlin Wall. A new economy, the absence of a guardian state, other social values - these are the tools that reshape the mentality.
Nicknames appeared for East Germans - "Ossi" and for Western - "Wessi". The sociological institute in Allensbach, having conducted a survey among residents of the western and eastern federal lands, received sad data for a single country. For example, "Ossies" speak of neighbors as money-hungry, opinionated, and outspoken bureaucrats.
In 1949, four years after the end of the Second World War, two German states were formed: in the east the German Democratic Republic, the GDR, and the FRG, the Federal Republic of Germany in the west. Although each had its own government, they were not completely independent. In the GDR, policy was dictated by the Soviet Union, while the FRG was influenced by Great Britain, France, and the United States.
In March 1952, the USSR proposed to the United States, Great Britain and France to peacefully resolve the German issue: to unite the GDR and the FRG again into one independent state and make it politically neutral. But the members of the Western Union were against such a plan. They wanted the FRG to belong to the West. They believed that a neutral Germany would come under the influence Soviet Union. The then liberal-conservative government was also strongly in favor of an alliance with the West.
After 1952, the differences between the two Germanys intensified. In 1956, countries acquired their own armies. The GDR became a member of the Warsaw Union, and the FRG joined NATO.
While economic problems in the GDR grew like a snowball, business in the FRG developed and prospered. The standard of living in the two countries differed strikingly. This was the first reason why thousands of East Germans fled to West Germany. In the end, the GDR closed its borders and introduced armed control over them. In 1961, the last stone was laid on the wall that divided the two Germanys.
In the years cold war, from 1952 to 1969, the two German states were in contact only through trade. In June 1953, East Berlin and other East German cities rebelled against the communist dictatorship and economy, but soviet tanks calmed the popular unrest. In Germany, the majority of citizens were satisfied with the government's policy. However, here too, in the 1960s, a wave of protests and student demonstrations against capitalism and too close ties with the United States swept through.
The first political negotiations between the two countries began in 1969. This was the so-called "Ostpolitik" of the then Chancellor Willy Brandt and his government of Social Democrats and Liberals. In 1972, the GDR and the FRG signed an agreement on the foundations of relations. The agreement improved political and economic contacts between the two countries. More and more West Germans were able to visit their relatives in the GDR, but few East Germans were allowed to travel west.
In the autumn of 1989, Hungary opened its Austrian borders, thus giving the citizens of the GDR the opportunity to flee to western Germany. Many have left their country this way. Others fled to the German embassy in Warsaw and Prague and remained there until they received permission to enter the Western Republic.
Soon mass demonstrations broke out in Leipzig, Dresden and other eastern cities. At first, it was only about free travel to the countries of the West and especially West Germany, free elections and a free economy. But soon calls for the unification of the two Germanys sounded louder and louder. Opposition factions sprang up, and a few weeks later the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) resigned.
The process of unification of Germany, which lasts in 1989-90 in the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, is called by the Germans die Wende (Wende). It includes four main periods:
- Peaceful Revolution, a time of mass protests and demonstrations (on Mondays) against the political system of the GDR and for human rights. This period lasted throughout the fall of 1989.
- The fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 and the press conference of the Politburo, where Günter Schabowski announced the opening of checkpoints (border crossings)
- The transition of the GDR to democracy, which in March 1990 led to the first and only democratic elections to the People's Chamber.
- The process of German reunification with the signing of the Unification Treaty in August 1990, the Treaty of the Final Settlement with regard to Germany in September and, finally, the annexation of five German states to the FRG.
Education October 7, 1949 German Democratic Republic was an act of national self-help by the democratic forces Germany. It was their answer to the split Germany the expression of which was the creation of the Federal Republic on September 7, 1949, carried out contrary to the principles of the Potsdam Agreement accepted by the four great powers. Under these conditions, the proclamation of a peace-loving democratic German state became a matter of vital importance for the German people.
While creating GDR it was about frustrating the attempts of the Western powers to transfer all Germany into the hands of German imperialism, which was then resurgent, and provide the democratic forces with Germany a solid state foundation. Therefore, statehood GDR based on broad popular movement that embraced all strata of our people.
GDR- a state in which the working class, in alliance with the class of cooperative peasants and other sections of the working people, exercises political power and leads the cause of socialism to victory. The working people are the masters of the economy and the state. They direct political and economic development in accordance with the will and interests of the majority of citizens. Critical funds production - factories, minerals, means of transport and large estates - belong to the people.
Workers and peasants exercise power through popular representations, the government, state administration bodies, judicial bodies, police bodies, etc. Workers' and peasants' power is based on the forces of the National Front of Democratic Germany, which nominates candidates for popular representation and maintains constant communication between the state apparatus and the population. In addition, citizens have broad rights that allow them to take a direct part in government activities.
The precondition for victory in GDR socialist and democratic forces was the unity of the working class, which found its most striking embodiment in the creation of united trade unions and, first of all, in the unification on April 21, 1946 of the two parties of the working class - the Communist Party Germany and the Social Democratic Party Germany- to the Socialist Unity Party Germany.
German Democratic Republic- a sovereign state that decides independently, at its own discretion, its internal and external affairs and respects the rights of other states and generally recognized norms international law. Thanks to the full participation of the population in solving all political and economic problems, thanks to the influence that the population has on legislation, public administration and justice, in GDR for the first time in history Germany the people exercise their sovereign rights.
TERRITORY AND POPULATION
Territory German Democratic Republic is 107,834 square kilometers. In the north it is washed by the waters of the Baltic Sea; in the east, the Oder and Neisse rivers form the border of the world with the Polish People's Republic. In the West GDR borders on Western Germany; in the south, the Ore Mountains connect GDR and the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The length of the land borders is 456 kilometers in the east, 1381 kilometers in the west and 430 kilometers in the south.
Elba (1112 km) and Oder (861 km)- the most long rivers GDR. The highest mountain peaks are the Fichtelberg in the Ore Mountains (1243 l *) and the Brocken in the Harz (1142.i). Southern and southeastern part GDR occupy medium-altitude mountains, passing on the northwest into a hilly foothill strip and then into the North German lowland. Numerous lakes located in the area Berlin and to the north of it, give the area a special flavor. Territory GDR covered by a dense modern network of automobile and railways and cut through by inland waterways. Along with this, air traffic, carried out by the state organization Deutsche Lufthansa, is becoming increasingly important.
IN GDR 17.3 million people live (as of December 31, 1959). The population density is cohabitants per square kilometer. capital GDR is Berlin. In a democratic Berlin 1.1 million people live. Territory GDR is divided into 14 districts: Potsdam, Frankfurt an der Oder and Cottbus in Brandenburg; Neubrandenburg, Rostock and Schwerin in Mecklenburg; Magdeburg and Halle in Saxony-Anhalt; Erfurt, Suhl and Gera in Thuringia; Dresden, Leipzig and Karl-Marx-Stadt in Saxony. Districts merge 24 cities district subordination and 192 rural areas with 9556 communities. 213 communities have more than 10 thousand inhabitants each, and 11 cities - Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Karl-Marx-Stadt, Halle (Saale), Magdeburg, Erfurt, Rostock, Zwickau, Potsdam and Gera - more than 100 thousand each. GDR- a highly developed socialist industrial country. The share of industry, trade and transport in the total volume of the total social product is 90.1 percent, agriculture and forestry - 9.9 percent. 68 percent of all workers are employed in industry, trade and transport, and 18 percent in agriculture and forestry.
POLITICAL FRAMEWORK
What is the basis of the socialist system?
The socialist system means that the exploitation of man by man has been abolished and that the working people decide their own fate. The monopolists and landowners have been expropriated, their enterprises have become the property of the people, and the land belongs to the peasants. Therefore, the monopolists and landlords can no longer dictate what the size of wages and what should be the length of the working day, whom to hire or who to throw out into the street. The labor of millions of working people no longer serves to increase the personal wealth and power of individual monopolists. The results of labor are put at the disposal of the working people themselves and their society, the growth of production serves to increase personal and social wealth. Those who work are honored and respected, and work is also a measure of remuneration.
One of the decisive prerequisites for a socialist system is that the most important enterprises belong to the whole people and are run by representatives of the working class. In 1960, the share of people's enterprises in the total volume of industrial output GDR was 89.1 percent. In agriculture, cooperative production won a complete victory in 1960.
Such transformations are possible only when power is in the hands of the people. The leading role is exercised by the working class, led by its own party, the SED. Representatives of the working class and the peasantry, the intelligentsia and other working strata hold leading positions in the people's representations, in the state apparatus, in the organs of justice and the economy, in scientific, cultural and educational institutions.
This alignment of political forces guarantees planned development, which is reflected in the national economic plans covering the entire economic, political and cultural life. The plans, for example, establish what share of the income of people's enterprises is directed to the construction of new industrial facilities, to raising the standard of living of the working people, to building housing and cultural institutions, to social security, etc.
Of course, in a country with a socialist system, domestic and foreign policy is characterized by a desire for peace and the well-being of all people. Therefore, the People's Chamber, the State Council, the government GDR turned to the West German government with a number of proposals that serve the cause of maintaining peace. However, as long as the monopolists profiting from the arms race and the instigators of the policy of aggression try to destroy this new socialist system, the socialist states will be forced to maintain armed forces equipped with excellent technology to protect their peoples.
Is the GDR a legitimate state?
GDR- not only a lawful state, but also the only lawful German state. This fact follows from many circumstances rooted partly in history, partly in modern times. The most important circumstances are:
IN GDR drawn the only correct conclusions from the past. Arms manufacturers and junkers responsible for starting two world wars were expropriated. Together with them, the militarists also lost power. Since then, state power has been in the hands of the workers and peasants, who have entered into a strong, reliable alliance with other working strata of the population. Here, therefore, the democratic principle "All state power comes from the people" was first implemented. At the head of the state are politicians who - being workers themselves - fight for the interests of the working people all their lives.
The principles of the anti-Hitler coalition fixed in the Potsdam Agreement, for the implementation of which millions of people in many countries of the world gave their lives in the fight against German militarism and fascism, became GDR reality. The struggle for the preservation of peace is the main content of politics GDR. This is evidenced, for example, by the appeal of the chairman of the State Council GDR Walter Ulbricht to the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on December 18, 1960. In this appeal, the Bonn government was invited to come to an agreement with GDR on the preservation of peace at the beginning for 10 years. This would create the prerequisites for peaceful reunification and for the pursuit of a peaceful policy of a united Germany. So thanks to its peaceful policy GDR inspires confidence in every German that it is a reliable stronghold< мирного будущего для него и его детей. Уже одно это делает GDR the only legitimate German state. Legality GDR expressed also in its sovereignty. The republic solves all its internal and external issues independently, without outside interference. Within the territory of GDR no occupying troops, while in Western Germany they have extremely wide rights. Participation in the Warsaw Pact does not in any way affect sovereignty GDR. Therefore, the republic was able to make 150 proposals aimed at peaceful reunification Germany. And the Bonn and Paris Agreements forbid the West German government any independent action with regard to reunification. That's why GDR- the only German state that has a real program of reunification and pursues a national policy.
Development GDR meets the democratic principles of international law, and its policy - the UN Charter.
Chairman of the State Council GDR Walter Ulbricht noted in the policy statement of the Council of State delivered to the People's Chamber on October 4, 1960:
"Those who doubt the legitimacy GDR, also doubts the legitimacy of the peoples' struggle against the bloody regime of Hitler's fascism, the policy of which is continued by the anti-democratic state of Western Germany».
The situation is different with the Federal Republic, whose government claims to be the only legitimate State. But how can a state be considered legitimate in which the gloomy past has come to life again Germany and in which international law is violated?
The same forces that once supported the Hitler regime are now located in Western Germany economic power, which has grown even more during this time. They again dominate the state apparatus, using such figures as Strauss and Schroeder as proxies. More than a thousand members of Hitler's emergency and field courts are in charge of the justice authorities, 140 Hitler's generals are in charge of the Bundeswehr, and SS and Gestapo thugs occupy command posts in the police. The old, obsolete reigns again in Western Germany. Therefore elementary rights are violated, democratic parties and organizations are forbidden. The population, contrary to the constitution, is deprived of the right to express its opinion on such vital issues as universal military service, equipping the Bundeswehr with atomic weapons, etc. Public polls on these issues were banned. ^
International legal principles of the Potsdam agreement on peaceful, anti-militarist development Germany betrayed in Western Germany oblivion; the liquidation of monopolies, agrarian, administrative, judicial, school reforms, reform in the field of culture were not put forward on the agenda at all or were sabotaged at the first attempt to carry them out.
The purge of the West German state apparatus of Brownshirts is being sabotaged. Revanchism flourished. The leading circles are pursuing the same aggressive goals as Wilhelm II and Hitler. At present, the policy of the government of the Federal Republic of Germany is wholly subordinated to the plans for atomic armament, which threaten the lives of the German people and the peoples of Europe.
The Bonn government preferred the atomic weapons of the Bundeswehr to peace and security. By concluding the so-called "General Treaty", it thereby transferred the matter of reunification Germany into the hands of the Western powers. Now it openly seeks to seize GDR. For this reason, it rejected all proposals GDR on easing tensions and peaceful reunification. West German citizens wishing to exercise their right to self-determination and advocating peace and reunification Germany on democratic principles, persecuted and thrown into prison. Thus, Western Germany- a state that threatens the life of the people and betrays national interests - cannot claim to be considered legitimate.
Is there only one party in the GDR?
IN GDR there are five parties, namely: the Socialist Unity Party Germany(SED), Peasant Democratic Party Germany(KDPG), Liberal Democratic Party Germany(LDPD), Christian Democratic Union Germany(HDDU), National Democratic Party Germany(NDPG).
Individual parties represent the interests of certain classes or sections of the population. The SED is the party of the working class. The KDPG primarily represents the interests of co-operative peasants. Christians who are for peace and progress unite mainly in the CDU. The LDPG consists of members of handicraft production cooperatives and progressive representatives of the petty and middle bourgeoisie.
The NPD also appeals to various circles of the middle class and to former military personnel who have broken with their past.
Why is the SED the leading party?
The SED is the party of the working class, the class that creates most of material values necessary for life. As the party of the most numerous, most progressive and most consistent class in the struggle for peace and democracy, it has a leading role in political life. GDR. And in terms of the number of its members and supporters, it is the most powerful party. Along with the workers, who constitute the overwhelming majority of the members of the SED, this party includes representatives of all other sections of the working people. Members of this party lead many decisive sectors in the state, economic and cultural fields.
Unlike the major West German parties, the SED fulfilled its 1946 program. Under her leadership, the working class, the peasantry, the intelligentsia and other sections of the working people made the greatest revolution in history. Germany- the transition from capitalism to socialism. Major economic, social and cultural reforms in GDR mostly carried out on her initiative. At the suggestion of the SED, the most important measures in economic, cultural and social construction were carried out GDR. The SED has drawn up, for example, drafts of successfully implemented five-year plans and the current seven-year plan, proposals for the further democratization of public life and for a systematic rise in the living standards of the population.
At the Fifth Congress of the SED in July 1958, the directives of the seven-year plan were presented to the public. The fulfillment of this plan will prove the superiority of the socialist economic system. GDR over the monopoly-capitalist system of the Western Germany. Even today there is no doubt that, by fulfilling this plan, the working people will ensure the victory of the cause of socialism in GDR.
As a Marxist party, the SED embodies the best traditions of the German working class, systematically putting into practice the old testaments of the socialist labor movement. Under her leadership, as well as with the participation of the other four parties, trade unions and other mass organizations in GDR building socialism. At the same time, the policy of the SED is aimed at drawing all sections of the working people and private entrepreneurs into the cause of socialist construction through persuasion and demonstration of success. As a result, every citizen GDR sees socialism as a reliable prospect.
The SED is also the party that has put forward numerous important proposals aimed at universal controlled disarmament, the conclusion of a peace treaty with both German states and reunification. Germany in peaceful way.
The rest of the parties and organizations recognize the leading role of the party of the working class and, being independent, independent organizations, closely cooperate with it.
Were parties banned in the GDR?
No in GDR not a single party was banned. On the contrary, the SPD, whose activities were allowed in 1945 in the then Soviet zone of occupation, after a democratic vote of its members, decided to unite with the KPD. A similar decision to merge with the SPD was also made by the KPD. Thus, the working class has learned from the past the lesson that the threat of fascism and militarism can be eliminated and a new socialist order can be created only if the workers act in unity.
Since the unification congress, held in April 1946, in GDR there is a Socialist Unity Party Germany as a united party of the working class. IN Berlin the full unification of the KPD and the SPD was prevented by the right-wing leadership of the SPD, which acted on the orders of the imperialist occupying powers against the will of the members of the SPD. - The vast majority of the SPD members were in favor of cooperation or unification of the two parties of the working class. Therefore, the SED and SPD exist in both parts of the divided capital and have in all areas of the Bolshoi Berlin their boards *.
Of course, the creation of militaristic and fascist organizations that oppose the peaceful coexistence of peoples, in GDR forbidden.
What should be understood by the policy of the Democratic bloc?
The policy of the Democratic Bloc means the joint solution of common tasks with the participation of all peace-loving and democratic forces GDR. It is an expression of the cooperation of all sections of the population, under the leadership of the working class, in building socialism in GDR in solving the national problems of the German people.
The Democratic Bloc was created on July 14, 1945 by the decision of the parties that existed in the then Soviet zone of occupation: the KPD, the SPD, the Christian Democratic Party and the Liberal Democratic Party. Subsequently founded parties and the most important political organizations joined the bloc, so now it includes: Socialist United Nartia Germany(SED), Christian Democratic Union Germany(HDSG), Liberal Democratic Party Germany(LDPG), Peasant Democratic Party Germany(KDPG), National Democratic Party Germany(NDPG), the Association of Free German Trade Unions (OSNP), the Union of Free German Youth (SNM) and the Democratic Women's Union Germany(JSG).
The association was dictated by the desire to overcome
The fragmentation of the democratic forces, which had such fatal consequences for Germany in 1933. On the other hand, the opo was necessary in order to solve the difficult problems of the post-war period. In the course of time this alliance of parties and organizations has justified itself to such an extent that it now belongs to the most important political institutions GDR and has an ever-increasing influence in all areas of the life of the state.
The bloc meets before making all the most important decisions of the government or the People's Chamber on domestic and foreign policy and discusses their future policy. Decision making is based on the principle of unanimity. This means that the discussion of all issues continues until an agreement on fundamental provisions is reached. This ensures the participation of all politically active forces in joint creative activities. The pinnacle of the activities of the Democratic Bloc was the creation of the State Council German Democratic Republic in September 1960.
What is the National Front democratic Germany?
National Democratic Front Germany is a broad movement, not affiliated with any one party, covering the entire Germany. It unites in its ranks the citizens of Eastern and Western Germany, representatives of all segments of the population, regardless of their worldview, members of various parties and organizations whose goal is to reunite Germany on a peaceful, democratic basis. Since such goals are contrary to the intentions of the ruling circles of the Federal Republic of Germany, the federal government and the governments of the lands of Western Germany banned this movement. Supporters of the National Front have been and are being persecuted by the judiciary of the western zone.
The National Front has existed since January 1950: it arose - with a simultaneous expansion of tasks - on the basis of the then people's committees of the struggle for unity Germany and a just peace treaty. The governing bodies of the National Front are
The National Council, re-elected in 1958 by the III Congress of the National Front, and the Presidium of the National Council. The winner of the national award again became the chairman of the presidium professor dr Erich Korrens.
The National Front is not an organization, but a movement of patriotic forces; it does not keep records of members and does not accept membership fees. Its activities are funded by donations from the public. Within the territory of GDR there are 15 district, 219 district and about 17 thousand local, city, district, quarter and village committees of the National Front, in which citizens of all segments of the population are represented. In the electoral committees of the National Front in GDR currently employs about 300 thousand people.
in Western Germany The activities of the National Front, despite the illegal 7 ban, extend to the most diverse segments of the population. This, in particular, is evidenced by the fact that such prominent political figures of the Western Germany, as Münsterskneilrofessor Dr. Hagemann (former member of the CDU), deputies to the Landtags of the SDG1G Scheperkötter (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Berg (Hamburg).
What are the goals of the National Front?
The National Front stands for the conclusion of a peace treaty with the two German states, the peaceful reunification of our fatherland and the democratic development of the whole Germany. In the appeal of the National Front in connection with the elections to the People's Chamber and district assemblies of deputies held on November 16, 1958 (the appeal was adopted by the Third Congress of the National Front in September 1958), it was said:
"National Democratic Front" Germany calls you citizens German Democratic Republic, to the struggle for national revival Germany as a peaceful, democratic state."
Thus, the National Front acquaints the population of both parts Germany with the problems of disarmament, peace treaty and reunification. He supports the actions of the West German population against remilitarization, fascism and atomic weapons.
IN GDR The National Front supports the construction of socialism, because it sees the goal of its activity in ensuring the life of the working people in conditions of peace and well-being. In order for the construction of socialism to develop even more successfully, the National Front calls for voluntary assistance in this matter. Thus, the ruins of the quarters destroyed by air raids during the Second World War have been cleared, green spaces are planted, sports grounds, outdoor pools, children's towns, etc. are being built.
In 1960, more than 447 million marks were carried out by the National Front. If the total cost of the work performed is divided by the entire working-age population (from the age of 15, including pensioners), then 32.64 marks will come to each person. This is the voluntary contribution of the population to the construction of facilities capital construction. If we take into account all the assistance provided on a voluntary basis to agriculture and industry, it turns out that 157 million hours were voluntarily worked.
Of particular importance is the fact that the National Front plays an important role in holding elections to the People's Chamber and local people's representatives. Together with the block of democratic parties and organizations, he nominates candidates for deputies, holds meetings at which candidates for deputies meet with voters, and deputies and employees of the administrative apparatus report. It organizes discussion evenings at which the population expresses its opinion and makes its proposals on the planned activities of the People's Chamber and the government. Thus, in 1956, more than 4.5 million citizens took part in the discussion of the draft law on further democratization (the Law on Local Government Bodies of January 18, 1957). GDR, who made 10 thousand proposals to improve the work of state bodies. These figures were significantly surpassed during the discussion of the draft of a new labor code, held in late 1960 and early 1961, mainly through the trade unions.
How carried out the right of the people to participate in governance state and the economy?
Population GDR enjoys not only broad rights to participate in the leadership of all areas of public life, but also the right to actively participate in the management of the state and the economy. IN GDR the slogan "Together with everyone, plan, work, manage" is being put into practice. Citizens can exert a decisive influence on the development of all public life through the parties, trade unions and other organizations in which they are members, as well as through the National Democratic Front. Germany. There, at meetings and discussions, for example, important government bills are discussed. In particular, the draft law on the socialist development of schooling and the draft Labor Code were subjected to such discussion. This means that citizens can express their opinion, make proposals for changing the projects under discussion, thereby influencing the final version of laws.
The most important form of participation in the administration of the state is popular representation. The People's Chamber" has 466 deputies. Local people's representations employ 270,000 citizens who are deputies or deputy deputies. Consequently, every fiftieth citizen who enjoys the right to vote takes a direct part in the administration of the state. As representatives of the entire population, deputies submit wishes and proposals of voters Each voter can apply to his deputy and use him to influence state and administrative bodies.
Workers and employees of people's enterprises take an active part in the management of production. An important form of their participation in the management of the enterprise is the constant production meetings as elected bodies of the factory trade union organization. They actively participate in the development of production plans and control over their implementation, express critical remarks regarding the organization of production, and submit proposals aimed at achieving the highest production indicators. Such a real participation of workers in the management of enterprises could take place due to the fact that under the conditions of people's property there is no antagonism between the interests of the enterprise administration and the interests of workers and employees.
Can the citizens of the GDR openly and freely express their opinions?
The right to freely express one's opinion is guaranteed to all citizens in accordance with Article 9 of the Constitution GDR. This article expressly prohibits prosecution of citizens for exercising such a right. IN GDR therefore, a situation is unthinkable in which a citizen who criticizes, for example, the work of his boss or minister, reveals certain shortcomings in the work of an institution or administration, etc., would lose his place or even be arrested. Moreover, to openly express an opinion about existing shortcomings is not only a right, but also a duty of citizens. For only in this way can the shortcomings be revealed and the difficulties eliminated more quickly, and thereby speed up socialist construction. At the same time, it does not matter what the citizen is guided by when expressing and defending his opinion - Christian responsibility, liberal views or a Marxist worldview. All citizens have the opportunity to assemble for this purpose.
There is only one limitation: the opinions expressed and the meetings held must serve the cause of peace and democracy. Incitement against a democratic state and its institutions, incitement to kill politicians and other persons, manifestation of religious, racial and national hatred are prohibited by Article 6 of the Constitution.
The population is protected from militaristic and military propaganda by the Law on the Protection of Peace. It is out of the question for revanchists, militarists and SS men to gather and demand the establishment of a "new order" in Europe, as is the case in the FRG. Such persons in GDR would immediately be arrested and punished according to the law.
PEOPLE'S HOUSE
Does the People's Chamber have all the rights of a sovereign body of people's representation?
The highest state body of the Republic is the People's Chamber. Its deputies are elected by the citizens by universal, equal and direct elections by secret ballot.
Of all state bodies, the People's Chamber has the broadest and most comprehensive rights. No other organ has the right to give instructions to this supreme organ of popular representation or to interfere in its activities. Moreover, for all other state bodies, the decisions of the People's Chamber are binding. All other organs are subject to control by the People's Chamber.
IN GDR there is no so-called separation of powers that puts the judiciary or administration outside the control of the popularly elected parliament. No court has the right to review the laws of the People's Chamber, as is the case with the laws of the Bundestag in the Western Germany. The People's Chamber is sovereign.
The competence of the People's Chamber includes a wide variety of tasks. Thus, the People's Chamber has the right: to establish the principles of government policy; approve the composition of the government, control its activities and, if necessary, deny it powers;
supervise local people's representatives and direct their activities; legislate;
make decisions on the state budget, national economic plan, loans and state credits of the Republic, ratify international treaties;
elect the members of the Council of State and, if necessary, recall them;
elect the members of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General and, if necessary, recall them.
Thus, this popularly elected parliament has the widest rights that have ever been
in history Germany parliament was given. The People's Chamber embodies the unified state power.
How does the People's Chamber work?
The People's Chamber makes all important decisions in its plenary sessions. In order to prepare these decisions and to better organize its work, the People's Chamber forms commissions. These commissions, however, do not have the right to act independently, replacing the plenum of the People's Chamber. Their decisions need to be approved at the plenary session of the People's Chamber.
Legislative activity is democratic GDR. Bills may be introduced by the government or deputies of the People's Chamber. As a rule, two readings are held, between which the bill is discussed in the relevant sectoral commissions of the People's Chamber. Often a draft law before its adoption by the People's Chamber is discussed at thousands of meetings of the population, as was the case in the spring of 1961 during the discussion of the draft Labor Code. At the same time, all proposals on the draft law made by citizens are carefully considered and, of course, if they are useful, they are taken into account.
This makes it possible to understand why the broad legislative activity of the People's Chamber expresses the interests of the population and is an example for the future peaceful, democratic, edipai Germany. Thus, in particular, laws were adopted that, reflecting the changing economic and political conditions, expand the democratic rights of citizens. These primarily include the Labor Code, which guarantees the right to work, the right to the creative participation of workers in the management of production, and provides for the constant improvement of the material and cultural conditions of life for workers and employees. As early as January 19, 1957, the People's Chamber passed the Law on the Reduction of Working Hours, which introduced a 45-hour working week without wage cuts in all industries. Other important decisions of the People's Chamber are: the Law on the Rights of Youth, the Law on the Protection of Mother and Child and on the Rights of Women, which guarantees the full equality of women in all areas of public life, and, last but not least, the Law on the Protection of Peace.
From international treaties ratified in last years The People's Chamber, first of all, should be called the Warsaw Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance of May 14, 1955, on the basis of which all socialist countries guarantee security GDR against aggression. A number of agreements on the provision of legal assistance, as well as consular conventions, have been concluded with various countries. IN Lately numerous trade and shipping agreements were concluded, in particular with the People's Republic of Bulgaria, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, the People's Republic of China, as well as an agreement on cooperation in the field of social security with the USSR.
At any period of its existence, the People's Chamber was aware of its national responsibility. Again and again, she turned to the West German Bundestag with proposals aimed at eliminating the split Germany. On July 6, 1961, the People's Chamber discussed the peace plan of the German people, aimed at a peaceful solution of the German and West Berlin question by concluding a peace treaty. After the adoption by the People's Chamber, it became the basis national policy GDR. However, all these efforts made in the interests of reunification Germany, did not meet with support from Bonn.
Does the People's Chamber
division into government and opposition parties?
All five parties existing in GDR, and politically influential mass organizations are represented in the government GDR and are therefore government parties. This provision is legally enshrined in the Constitution, which establishes that all political associations represented in the People's Chamber by at least 10 percent of deputies must share the responsibility of the government. Therefore, a serious business conversation of all responsible factions occupies a central place in the activities of the government. Joint discussion, which does not exclude criticism and the struggle of opinions when opposing points of view converge, forms the basis of their work. This method is best suited to the interests of the cause and therefore the population. Therefore, in the People's Chamber, as in the parliaments of imperialist states, there are no ostentatious political battles designed to fool the ordinary voter.
It goes without saying that the VL of the party is united by a common political goal. For GDR such a common goal was formulated in the decisions of the bloc of democratic parties and mass organizations (see pp. 17 et seq.), in which, after 1945, all anti-fascist, democratic parties and organizations united. In subsequent years, such cooperation, serving the benefit of the population GDR, has justified itself in the best possible way. It is based on: the policy of peace, the rapid economic recovery, the constant improvement of the financial situation and, last but not least, the numerous proposals aimed at peaceful reunification. Germany. Establishment of a socialist social order guaranteeing people well-being, peace and faith in the future - this is the common goal of all parties GDR.
Only the imperialist and militaristic forces could act as opposition against this progressive policy, which meets the interests of the people, but with them in GDR finished. Their ideas of preparing for war, criminal incitement, etc., are deprived of nourishing soil in GDR.
How are elections held in the GDR?
The deputies of the People's Chamber and local people's representatives are elected, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, by universal, equal and direct elections by secret ballot for a term of 4 years. All citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote. Every citizen who has reached the age of 21 has the right to be elected.
It is important to emphasize that already the nomination of candidates for deputies takes place with the decisive participation of voters. Initially, democratic parties and mass organizations, united on the basis of a jointly developed program in the National Front for Democratic Germany, designate candidates for deputies from all parties and mass organizations. Candidates are required to personally meet with their constituents and tell them about their past activities and their future work as deputies. At the same time, voters have the right to ask questions to candidates for deputies and reject those candidates whom they do not trust.
Such nomination and verification of candidates for deputies by the voters is a fundamentally new phenomenon in the development of German electoral law. The voters, therefore, no longer give their votes to the candidates proposed to them, who in most cases are unknown persons, but decide for themselves who will remain on the lists of candidates for deputies. This method ensures that deputies in GDR are the true representatives of the people.
The elections themselves are held on a democratic basis. Each elector votes in secret. However, this casting of votes on election day has a completely different meaning than, for example, in bourgeois-capitalist countries. It represents the completion of a long democratic process of elections, the approval by the voter of the list of candidates for deputies, whom he had previously checked and approved.
The next elections to the People's Chamber were held on November 16, 1958. The results of the elections showed that the citizens GDR overwhelmingly accepted the program requirements of the National Front as their own. 98.89 percent of the total number of voters participated in the elections. Of these, for candidates for deputies from the National Democratic Front Germany 98.87 percent cast their votes.
To whom are MPs accountable?
Since the deputies GDR are the chosen ones of the people, they are obliged to carry out the will of their voters and are directly responsible only to them. It follows that they must maintain constant and close contact with their constituents in order to know their opinion, to explain to them the policies and laws of the State, and to involve them in active participation in solving government problems.
Deputies are obliged to regularly receive voters, listen to them, quickly and conscientiously consider their orders and advice. They must also report periodically to the citizens of their constituency on all their activities. When reporting, they must, in particular, report on the fulfillment of the orders of the voters and on the fate of the Proposals and complaints of the population. Therefore, in GDR It is unacceptable for deputies to make empty promises before they are elected, which they will not fulfill later. Voters can constantly control their deputies. If they discover that their elected representative does not justify the trust placed in him or does not fulfill his deputy duties, they may demand his recall at a meeting of electors.
Who is a member of the People's Chamber?
The People's Chamber consists of 466 deputies. 400 deputies are elected in constituencies GDR. Capital GDR, Berlin, sends 66 deputies to the People's Chamber.
The People's Chamber at its first meeting elects a presidium, which, headed by its chairman, directs the meetings of the People's Chamber.
Chairman of the People's Chamber - Dr. Johannes Diekmann (LDPG). His first deputy is Hermann Matern (SED). The presidium of the People's Chamber includes, further, as vice-presidents of the People's Chamber: August Bach (CDU), Friedrich Ebert (SED), Ernst Goldenbaum (KDPG), Greta Gros-Kummerlöw (OSNP), Heinrich Hohmann (NPD), Wilhelmina Schirmer-Pröscher (JSG).
The deputies of the People's Chamber are not professional parliamentarians. They all work in one position or another. For the exercise of their rights and obligations as elected representatives of the people, deputies have the necessary time, which is provided to them by the relevant enterprises and institutions.
The composition of the People's Chamber according to the affiliation of deputies to parties or mass organizations, according to their social origin, age groups th floor looks like this (as of January 1959):
Faction affiliation
52 German Kulturbund
social background
53 29 29 18 12
SED LDPG CDU NPD CMR
Workers 286 Peasants 36 Employees 57 Intellectuals 41
Artisans
Priests
Entrepreneurs
42 2 2
Up to 25 years old From 26 to 30 years old From 31 to 40 years old
Age groups
22 From 41 to 50 years old 27 From 51 to 60 years old 117 Over 60 years old
There are 95 women among the deputies of the People's Chamber, that is, almost a quarter of the total number of elected people. The number of young deputies representing the interests of the youth is also higher than in any capitalist country.
The composition of the People's Chamber testifies to the fact that in the German Democratic Republic, state power, in contrast to the Western Germany- is in the hands of the working class, acting in alliance with the peasantry and other sections of the working people.
STATE COUNCIL AND GOVERNMENT
Why was the State Council created in the GDR?
The establishment of the State Council is a completely new phenomenon for Germany. As the first president of the German Workers' and Peasants' State until
Until his death, there was a respected Wilhelm Pick, who headed the state of workers and peasants - the German Democratic Republic.
Since the entry into force of the constitution in 1949, the territory GDR fundamental changes have taken place. During this time, the republic turned into a socialist state. The principles of governing a socialist state are different from those of bourgeois states. One of these principles says: >commonly build socialism and jointly govern the state. In other words, representatives of various parties and mass organizations—workers, office workers, peasants, intellectuals and artisans, Christians, liberals and socialists—cooperate in a spirit of unanimity at all levels of government. With the election of the State Council, this principle also extended to the highest body of state power. Members of all parties and mass organizations, representatives of all sections of the population work in it with a full consciousness of responsibility.
The creation of the State Council was also dictated by another consideration - the need to introduce the principle of collective leadership. Everywhere in the state bodies and institutions, management should be carried out by collegiums, taking into account the responsibility of each individual. The collective knowledge and experience of several individuals makes it possible to make the best decision, taking into account all the circumstances of the case. A group of people knows and sees more than one person. The principle of collegiality has been implemented in all areas of public life for a number of years. That is why the People's Chamber, at its meeting on September 12, 1960, decided to abolish the post of President of the Republican Communist Party and create a State Council.
Are the powers of the Council of State only representative?
The principle of collective leadership of the state was consistent with the provision of the State Council GDR broader powers than the normal functions of representation vested in the president.
Article 106 of the Constitution, set forth in the Law for the Establishment of the Council of State, September 12, 1960,
installs:
“The Council of State of the Republic calls elections to the People's Chamber and convenes its first session after the elections;
may conduct a public inquiry; ratifies and denounces international treaties German Democratic Republic;
appoints and dismisses plenipotentiaries German Democratic Republic in foreign countries;
accepts letters of credence and revocable letters of diplomatic representatives of foreign states accredited to him;
gives a generally binding interpretation of laws; issues decisions having the force of law; takes fundamental decisions on issues of defense and security of the country;
approves the policy orders of the National Defense Council German Democratic Republic;
appoints members of the National Defense Council German Democratic Republic;
establishes military ranks, diplomatic ranks and these special ranks;
awards orders and other high awards and awards honorary titles; exercise the right of pardon. State Council GDR has the right to make important political decisions, for which he, however, is obliged at any time to report to the People's Chamber as the highest organ of popular representation.
Who is on the Council of State?
The State Council consists of 24 people. It consists of a chairman, six deputies, 16 members and a secretary.
Chairman - Walter Ulbricht, First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party Germany. Vice Chairmen:
Otto Grotewohl, Chairman of the Council of Ministers German Democratic Republic, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the SED;
Dr. Johannes Diekmann, Chairman of the People's Chamber, Deputy Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party;
Gerald Götting, member of the People's Chamber, general secretary of the CDU;
Heinrich Hohmann, Deputy Chairman of the People's Chamber, Deputy Chairman of the NPD;
Manfred Gerlach, member of the People's Chamber, general secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party;
Hans Ritz, member of the People's Chamber, head of the main department under the board of the KDPD.
Among the members of the State Council are the famous worker Louise Ermisch, the advanced peasant woman, member of the SHPK Irmgard Neumann and the famous scientist - Professor Dr. Erich Correns. So the State Council GDR embodies the cohesion and growing moral and political unity of our population. Members of the State Council are elected for a term of 4 years. The chairman, his deputies, members and the secretary of the State Council may be recalled by the People's Chamber, to which they are accountable. And this provision, enshrined in law, is another evidence that the highest body of people's representation is the main body of state power, endowed with the most extensive powers.
Is the government elected by parliament?
Yes. According to the Constitution, the largest faction of the People's Chamber nominates a candidate for the post of chairman of the Council of Ministers, which then forms the government. The People's Chamber approves the composition of the government. Members of the government take an oath to the President of the Council of State that they will act in accordance with the Constitution. The government must enjoy the confidence of the People's Chamber, to which it is accountable. In accordance with democratic principles, the People's Chamber can deny confidence to a minister or several members of the government - and not just the chancellor, as in Germany - and force them to resign.
In order to ensure the participation of all democratic forces of various political trends in the management of state affairs, all factions of the People's Chamber, numbering at least 40 members, must, according to the Constitution, GDR, are represented in the government in proportion to their number by ministers or secretaries of state.
Who is in the government?
The government includes: the chairman of the Council of Ministers, his deputies, the chairman of the State Planning Commission, the chairman of the Council of the National Economy, ministers, the state secretary for higher and special education, the state secretary for scientific research and technology and the chairman of the Central State Control Commission.
In accordance with the nature of the state, the government is composed of workers' representatives. It contains all parts GDR. Most members of the government are from the working class. Other sections, exercising power in alliance with the working class, are also represented in the government. Composition of the government GDR reflects the totality of parties and organizations represented in the National Front for Democratic Germany.
The government includes such figures as the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Otto Grotewohl. A printer by profession, he participated in the labor movement for many years, was a member of the Reichstag from the Social Democratic Party. After 1933, while in hiding, he fought against fascism, and after 1945, as chairman of the Central Board of the Social Democratic Party, he actively advocated the unification of the two parties of the working class.
Paul Scholz, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers, was a former agricultural worker. He was arrested for his underground anti-fascist activities. After 1945, he worked as deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper Der Freire Bauer. In 1948 he participated in the creation of the Peasant Democratic Party Germany.
Here is the current composition of the Council of Ministers GDR:
Chairman of the Council of Ministers Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers for Coordination and Control Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Health Deputy Chairman of the Council
Ministers Deputy Chairman of the Council
Ministers Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers for the Coordination of Fundamental Issues of the National Economy Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers for Trade, Supply and Agriculture Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers for Culture and Education Chairman of the State Planning Commission and Minister Chairman of the People's Council
Economy and Minister Minister of the Interior Minister of Finance Minister of National Defense
Minister of Foreign and Domestic
Mansk Trade Minister of Trade and Supply Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
Economy and Procurement Minister of Transport Minister of Posts and Communications Minister of Construction
Otto Grotewohl
Willi Shtof
^.Max Zephrin Dr Max Zurbir Paul Scholz
Dr. Lothar Bolz Bruno Leischner
Dr. Greta Witkowski
Alexander Abush
Carl Mavis
Alfred Neumann Karl Maron Willy Rumpf General of the Army Heinz Hoffmann
Julius Balkow Kurt-Heinz Merkel
Hans Reichelt Erwin Kramer Friedrich Burmeister Ernst Scholz
Minister of Culture
Minister of Public Education
Minister of Justice Minister of State Security
Stats -secretary for higher and special education Secretary of State for Scientific Research and Technology (Secretary of the Research Council) Chairman of the Central Commission for State Control
Hans Bentzius prof. Dr. Alfred Lemnitz
Dr. Hilda Benyamip
Erich Mielke Dr. Wilhelm Girnus
prof. Dr Hans frueuf
Hans Jendrecki
What is the difference between the tasks of the governments of the two German states?
Tasks of the Council of Ministers (i.e. government) GDR more extensive and versatile than the tasks of the Bonn government. He is the highest level of government GDR. He is charged with the responsibility of conducting government affairs. The Council of Ministers, on the basis of and in pursuance of the laws and decisions of the People's Chamber and the decisions of the State Council, leads the cause of socialist construction in the political; economic and cultural fields. It directs, checks and improves the activities of the state administration, ensuring a harmonious combination of central planning and leadership with the widest participation of workers in the management of the state and the economy. The Council of Ministers represents the Republic in the field of diplomatic relations with foreign states. It ensures the maintenance of calm and order within the country and the protection of the socialist achievements of the working people from encroachments by internal and external enemies. For this purpose, the People's Police, the organs of state security and the National People's Army are at his disposal.
In accordance with the peace policy pursued by GDR, the Council of Ministers is entrusted above all with the task of securing peace and the future of the nation. Therefore, he has repeatedly addressed the West German government with numerous proposals for negotiations on disarmament, reunification Germany and the conclusion of a peace treaty. Bonn rejected all these proposals.
Of particular importance are the tasks of the Council of Ministers in the economic, cultural and social fields, which are fundamentally different from the functions of the previous governments in Germany and the Bonn* government. The socialist state carries out planning and direction of the entire national economy and development in the cultural and social fields. It became for the government GDR possible because the main means of production are in the hands of the people.
Based on the national economic plan adopted by the People's Chamber, the Council of Ministers outlines specific measures for the development of the economy, culture and social security and determines the general line in raising the living standards of the population. To this end, it has at its disposal the State Planning Commission, the Council of the National Economy, ministries and other economic, cultural and social institutions.
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According to the Constitution, the Council of Ministers has the right to submit bills to the People's Chamber. In addition, the Council of Ministers itself can issue resolutions that do not go beyond the laws and decisions of the People's Chamber.
New provisions on the tasks and procedures for the work of local people's representatives and their bodies, developed as a result of a comprehensive exchange of experience with all sections of the population and state bodies and adopted on June 28, 1961, consolidate the best methods of state administration. On their basis, the activities of all local bodies are now developing.
Residents of the former GDR: the USSR abandoned us, and the West Germans robbed and turned into a colony
KP special correspondent Daria Aslamova visited Germany and was surprised to find that even 27 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the country remains divided ...
– Tell us later what life is like there in East Germany...
I'm sitting in a Berlin pub with my German colleagues, Peter and Kat, and I can't believe my ears:
- Are you joking?! Dresden is two hours away by car. Have you really never been to the former GDR?
My friends look at each other in embarrassment.
- Never. For some reason you don't want to. We are typical "Wessies" (Western Germans), and between " Vassey" And " ossi(by East Germans) there is always an invisible line. We are just different.
– But the Berlin Wall was destroyed more than a quarter of a century ago! I exclaim in confusion.
- She hasn't gone anywhere. As it stood, so it stands. It's just that people have poor eyesight.
This is how the ancestors of the Germans looked menacing (sculpture in Dresden)
Risen from the ashes
All my life I've been avoiding meeting Dresden. Well, I didn't want to. “There, in the ground, tons of human bones crumbled into dust” (Kurt Vonnegut "Slaughterhouse Five"). My mother-in-law, who was half German, was nine years old in 1945 and survived the night of 13/14 February when the full force of British and American air power descended on Dresden. She survived only because her grandmother managed to pull her into the cornfields.
She lay with other children, who were frozen in the grass like rabbits, and looked at the bombs falling on the city: “They seemed to us terribly beautiful and looked like Christmas trees. We called them that. And then the whole city went up in flames. And all my life I was forbidden to talk about what I saw. Just forget."
Overnight, the city collapsed 650 tons incendiary bombs and 1500 tons high-explosive. The result of such a massive bombardment was a fiery tornado that engulfed an area four times the size of the destroyed Nagasaki. The temperature in Dresden has reached 1500 degrees.
People flashed like living torches, melted along with the asphalt. It is absolutely impossible to calculate the number of deaths. The USSR insisted on 135 thousands of people, the British held on to the figure in 30 thousand. They counted only the corpses pulled out from under the destroyed buildings and cellars. But who can weigh human ashes?
One of the most luxurious and ancient cities in Europe, "Florence on the Elbe" was almost completely wiped off the face of the earth. The aim of the British (namely, they insisted on destroying history Center Dresden) was not only the moral destruction of the Germans, but also the desire to show the Russians what the aviation of the so-called “allies”, who were already preparing an attack on the war-exhausted USSR (Operation Unthinkable), was capable of.
After that, I heard many times how stubborn, die-hard Germans stubbornly collected ancient, charred stones, how for more than forty years they carried out unprecedented construction work and restored Dresden, but only shrugged her shoulders. I don't need props. I do not like, for example, the toy center of the restored Warsaw, similar to the Lego construction.
But Dresden shamed my unbelief. These German pedants have achieved the impossible. Dresden has again become the most beautiful of European cities. I have two conflicting feelings: admiration for the Saxon industriousness, their passionate love for their land, and ... fury at the thought of our stupid Russian generosity.
GDR: a country that disappeared from the map
We are well aware of what was BEFORE the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it is almost unknown what happened AFTER. We know nothing about the tragedy experienced by the "socialist" Germans, who broke down the wall with such enthusiasm and opened their arms to their "capitalist brothers". They could not even imagine that their country would disappear in a year, that there would be no equal unification treaty, that they would lose most of their civil rights. There will be an ordinary Anschluss: capture West Germany East and the complete absorption of the latter.
“The events of 1989 were very reminiscent of the Ukrainian Maidan,” recalls historian Brigitte Queck. – The world media broadcasted live how thousands of young Germans break the wall and applauded them. But no one asked, what does a country of 18 million people want? The inhabitants of the GDR dreamed of freedom of movement and "better socialism". They had a hard time imagining what capitalism looked like.
But there was no referendum, as, for example, you have, in the Crimea, which means that the "Anschluss" was absolutely not legitimate!
Merkel in Nazi uniform
“After the start of perestroika and Gorbachev’s coming to power, it became clear what kind of end awaits the GDR without the support of the Soviet Union, but the funeral could have been worthy,” says Dr. Wolfgang Schelike, Chairman of the German-Russian Institute of Culture. - A united Germany was born as a result of a hasty and unsuccessful birth. Helmut Kohl, Federal Chancellor of Germany, did not want to delay, fearing that Gorbachev would be removed. His slogans were: no experiments, the FRG is stronger and has proved with its history that it better GDR. Although the intelligentsia understood that if all West German laws were poured overnight into another country, this would cause a long-term conflict.
On October 3, 1990, the GDR ceased to exist.. The Federal Republic of Germany created a special humiliating Guardianship Authority for the former GDR, as if the East Germans were backward and unreasonable children. In essence, East Germany simply capitulated. In just one year, almost two and a half million people lost their jobs, out of a total workforce of 8.3 million.
“The first to be expelled were all government officials,” says Peter Steglich, former ambassador of the GDR to Sweden. - We, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, received a letter: you are free, the GDR no longer exists. I, unemployed, was saved by my Spanish wife, who was left to work as a translator. I was a few years away from retirement, but for young diplomats who received an excellent education, this was a tragedy. They wrote applications to the German Foreign Ministry, but none of them were hired. Then they destroyed the fleet and the army, the second most powerful in the countries of the Warsaw Pact. All the officers were fired, many with miserable pensions, if not no pensions at all. They left only technical specialists who knew how to handle Soviet weapons.
Important people arrived from the West gentlemen-administrators, whose goal was to dismantle the old system, introduce a new one, draw up “black” lists of objectionable and suspicious ones, and carry out thorough cleansing. Special "qualification commissions" to identify all "ideologically" unstable workers. The "democratic" FRG decided to brutally crack down on the "totalitarian GDR". In politics only the vanquished are wrong.
Daria and a German holding a flag, half German, half Russian
On January 1, 1991, all employees of the Berlin legal services were dismissed as unfit to ensure a democratic order. On the same day at the University of Humboldt (the main university of the GDR) liquidated the historical, legal, philosophical and pedagogical faculties and expelled all professors and teachers without saving their seniority.
In addition, all teachers, professors, scientific, technical and administrative staff in educational institutions the former GDR was told to fill out questionnaires and provide details of her political views and party affiliation. In case of refusal or concealment of information, they were subject to immediate dismissal.
School purges have begun. Old textbooks, as "ideologically harmful", were thrown into a landfill. But the Gader system of education was considered one of the best in the world. Her experience, for example, was borrowed by Finland.
“First of all, the directors, members of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany that ruled the GDR, were fired,” recalls Dr. Wolfgang Schelike. Many teachers lost their jobs humanities. The rest had to survive, and fear came to them. The teachers did not go underground, but they stopped discussing and expressing their point of view. But it affects the upbringing of children! Russian language teachers were also fired. English became the compulsory foreign language.
Russian, like Czech or Polish, can now be learned at will, as a third language. As a result, East Germans forgot Russian and did not learn English. The atmosphere has completely changed everywhere. I had to work with my elbows. The concepts of solidarity and mutual assistance have disappeared. You are more at work not a colleague, but a competitor. Those who have a job are working up a sweat. They have no time to go to the cinema or the theater, as was the case in the GDR. And the unemployed fell into degradation.
Many people have lost their homes. And here's an ugly reason. Many East Germans lived in private houses that were badly damaged during the war (West Germany suffered much less than East). Building materials were in great short supply. For forty years, the owners of the houses restored them, collected literally stone by stone and could now be proud of their beautiful villas.
But after the fall of the wall, beloved relatives who used to send cards for Christmas came from the West and claimed to have a share in these houses. Come on, pay! And where did the former “GDR member” get his savings from? He received a good salary, had social guarantees, but he is not a capitalist. Oh, no money? We don't care. Sell your house and pay our share. These were real tragedies.
But the most important thing is there was a complete change of elites. The Germans, who were not very successful there, poured in from the West, who immediately seized all the highly paid posts in the former GDR. They were considered reliable. So far in Leipzig 70% administrations make up "vassies". Yes, there is no mercy for the powerless. In fact, all control over the former republic fell into the hands of the new colonial administration.
Russian flag and poster "Friendship with Russia" at a rally in Dresden
– The USSR abandoned the GDR just like that without even leaving any agreement between the owners of the FRG and the GDR,” says former diplomat Peter Steglich bitterly. – Clever, statesmen foresaw conflicts over property and the Anschluss of the GDR instead of uniting the two Germanys on equal terms. But there is a saying by Gorbachev: let the Germans figure it out themselves. This meant that the strong take what they want. And the West Germans were strong. The real colonization of the GDR. Having removed local patriots from power, slandering and humiliating them, the Western colonialists proceeded to the most “delicious” part of the program: full privatization state assets of the GDR. One system intended to completely devour the other.
The ability to "clean" other people's pockets
At the state level, it is necessary to rob skillfully, gracefully, in white gloves and very quickly, until the victim comes to his senses. The GDR was the most successful Warsaw Pact country. Such a fat piece had to be swallowed immediately, without hesitation.
First, it was necessary to show the future victims a gesture of generosity by setting the exchange rate of the eastern mark for the western one for the citizens of the GDR. All the West German newspapers were loudly shouting about it! In fact, it turned out that you can only exchange 4000 stamps. Above this, the exchange proceeded at the rate two eastern marks to one western. All state enterprises of the GDR and small businesses could exchange their accounts only on the basis of two to one.
Poster "We want a free Germany: without the euro, without the EU, without NATO and with real democracy"
Therefore, together they lost half of their capital! At the same time, their debts were recalculated at the rate 1:1 . You don't have to be a businessman to understand that such measures led to the complete ruin of the industry of the GDR! In the autumn of 1990, the volume of production in the GDR fell by more than half!
Here now western "brothers" could speak condescendingly about the unviability of the socialist industry and its immediate privatization "on fair and open terms."
But what the hell are fair conditions if the citizens of the GDR had no capital?! Ah, no money? It's a pity. And 85% of the entire industry of the country fell into the hands of the West Germans, who actively led it to bankruptcy. Why give your competitors a chance? 10% got to the foreigners. Only 5% were able to buy the true owners of the land, the East Germans.
- Were you robbed? - I ask the former general director of the metallurgical plant in the city of Eisenhüttenstadt, Professor Karl Döring.
- Certainly. The inhabitants of the GDR had no money, and all property fell into Western hands. And we don't forget who sold us. Gorbachev. Yes, there were demonstrations for freedom of movement and nothing more, but no one demanded that the GDR disappear from the world map. I emphasize it. For this, the corresponding position of Gorbachev, a man who did not pass the exam of history, was needed. No one can take this glory from him. What is the result? East Germans are much poorer than West Germans. Many studies show that we are second class Germans.
What was important for Western industrialists? A new market nearby, where you can dump your goods. It was a fundamental idea. They got so carried away destroying our industry that they finally found out: the unemployed cannot buy their goods! If at least the remnants of industry in the East are not preserved, people will simply flee to the West in search of work, and the lands will become empty.
That's when I managed to save at least part of our plant, thanks to the Russians. We increased our exports to Russia, sold 300-350 thousand tons of cold-rolled steel sheets in 1992-93 for your auto industry, for agricultural machines. Then the Cherepovets Iron and Steel Works, one of the largest in Russia, wanted to buy our shares, but Western politicians did not like this idea. And she was rejected.
– Yes, it looks like “fair privatization,” I remark with irony.
Poster "Merkel must go"
– Now the remains of the plant have gone to the Indian billionaire monopoly. I'm glad the plant at least didn't die.
Professor Karl Döring is very proud of his small town of steelworkers, Eisenhüttenstadt (former Stalinstadt), which is only 60 years old. The first socialist city on ancient German soil, built from scratch with the help of Soviet specialists. A dream of justice and equal rights for all. An exemplary showcase of socialism. Creation of a new person: a worker with the face of an intellectual, reading after the labor shift of Karl Marx, Lenin and Tolstoy.
“It was a new organization of social life,” the professor tells me with slight excitement, walking along the completely deserted streets of the city. - After the factory, the theater was the first to be built! Can you imagine? After all, what was the main thing? Kindergartens, houses of culture, sculptures and fountains, cinemas, good clinics. The main thing was the man.
We walk along a wide avenue with restored houses of Stalinist architecture. The neatly trimmed lawns turn wonderfully green. But in the spacious yards, where flowers are fragrant, children's laughter is not heard. Quiet so that we can hear the sound of our own footsteps. The void is depressing for me. As if all the inhabitants were suddenly blown away by the wind of the past. Suddenly, a married couple with a dog comes out of the entrance, and in surprise I shout: “Look! People, people!”
“Yes, there aren't many people here,” Professor Dering says dryly. - Previously, 53 thousand people lived here. Almost half have left. There are no children here. Girls are stronger than boys. As soon as they grow up, they immediately pack their things and go west. Unemployment. The birth rate is low. They closed four schools and three kindergartens because there are no children. And without children, this city has no future.
Sculpture of mother and child in Eisenhüttenstadt (former Stalinstadt), in a city where there are no more children
Women had the hardest time
With Marianne, a waitress from a cafe in Dresden, we first had a fight, and then became friends. A tired woman in her fifties threw a plate with a wonderful pork knuckle onto my table with such force that the fat spilled onto the tablecloth. I was indignant at first in English, and then in Russian. Her face suddenly lit up.
- You are Russian?! Sorry,” she said in Russian with a thick accent. - I used to teach Russian at school, and now you can see for yourself what I do.
I invited her for an evening cup of coffee. She came in a smart dress, with lipstick on her lips, suddenly rejuvenated.
“It’s awfully nice to speak Russian after so many years,” Marianne told me. She smoked cigarette after cigarette, telling her story - the same as that of thousands of women from the former GDR.
- When the Vassies came, I was immediately thrown out of work as a member of the party and a Russian teacher. We were all suspected of links with the Stasi. And about the Stasi, the Wessies have now created a whole legend - they say that animals worked there. As if the CIA is better! If we had good intelligence, the GDR would still exist.
My husband was also laid off - he then worked at a mine in the town of Hoyerswerda (we used to live there). He didn't get over it. Drunk, like many. For Germans, work is everything. Prestige, status, self-respect. We divorced and he went west. I was left alone with my little daughter. I did not know that this was only the beginning of all troubles.
In the west, women hardly worked at that time. Not out of laziness. They did not have a system of kindergartens and nurseries. To get a job, you had to pay an expensive nanny, which practically ate up all your earnings. And if you sit at home with a child of five or six years, then you lose your qualifications. Who needs you after this?
Everything was fine in the GDR: it was possible to go to work six months after pregnancy. And we liked it. We are not homebodies. The children were looked after reliably and responsibly, they were engaged in their early education.
The vassies came and canceled the whole system, closed most of the kindergartens, and in the remaining ones they introduced such a fee that most could not afford it. I was rescued by my parents, who were forcibly retired. They could sit with my daughter, and I rushed about in search of work. But I was stigmatized as an "unreliable communist". With my university education, I even worked as a cleaner.
Empty Stalinist yards in the former Stalinstadt
“But didn’t you get unemployment benefits?”
– Ha! The Vassies then introduced a new rule that benefits should only be paid to women with children who have lost their jobs and who can prove they can provide day care for children. And then my parents and husband worked half-time. There was no one to sit with the child. And I never received any benefits. In general, I went to the waitress. Sorry for throwing the plate. Life just seems so hopeless sometimes. My daughter grew up and moved to the West, where she works as a nurse. I hardly see her. Lonely old age ahead. I hate those who broke Berlin Wall! They were just fools.
Why am I not going west? Do not want. They invited all this terrorist trash to their place. One and a half million idle refugees, when Germany itself is full of unemployed! I will stay here because we are real germany. The people here are patriots. You saw? There are German flags on all the houses here. And you won't see them in the west. This, they say, can offend the feelings of foreigners. I go to the meeting every Monday "Pegids"- a party that opposes the Islamization of Europe.
Come and you will see real Germans.
"Putin in my heart!"
Monday. The center of Dresden, surrounded by many police cars. Musicians in folk costumes play folk songs, elderly women and men sing along with them, merrily stamping their feet. There are also many young men with a defiant expression on their faces. What I see makes me dizzy. Everywhere proudly fluttering Russian flags. One flag is just amazing: half German, half Russian.
The standard-bearer is trying to explain to me in bad Russian that his flag symbolizes the unity of Russians and Germans. A lot of guys in T-shirts with a portrait of Putin. Posters with Putin and next to Merkel with the ears of a pig. Or Merkel in a Nazi uniform with a euro sign resembling a swastika. Posters with Muslim women in burkas, crossed out crosswise. Calls for " friendship with Russia" And " war with NATO". People where am I? Is this Germany?
Many protesters are carrying plush pigs. A good, fat pig is a symbol of well-fed, Christian Germany. No halal food! " Long live Russia!' they shout around me. Some enthusiastic old woman keeps telling me: "Putin is in my heart." My head is spinning.
A protester in a Putin T-shirt
The situation is clarified by a young man named Michael.
Why do you trust Putin so much? I wonder.
“He is the only strong leader who fights against terrorism. And who to believe? This pro-American puppet Merkel, who opened the borders to outsiders? They rape our women, kill our men, eat our bread, hate our religion and want to build a caliphate in Germany.
“But here in East Germany I hardly see any foreigners.
No women in burqas!
“And we will do everything so that you do not see them.” We are not racists. But everyone who comes to this country must work and respect its laws.
I tell Michael about what I saw in January in Munich. Young hysterical fools, shouting "Munich must be colored!", "We love you refugees!". I remember how five thousand liberals rushed to beat a hundred sane people who came out with a single slogan "No to the Islamization of Germany!" Only the police saved them from massacre, clearing the way for the “fascists” with batons.
“So it’s a Wessy,” Michael says with indescribable contempt. “They believe everything their stupid newspapers say. BUT we were born in the GDR. We are different and not easy to deceive.
People carry plush pigs to the rally as a symbol of protest against halal food
Immunity to propaganda
That's how we are alike! We both agreed on this expression! Me and the deputy from the party "Alternative for Germany" Jörg Urban:
– Yes, we are distrustful, East Germans and Russians, and we hate everything that even remotely resembles propaganda. And this saves us from illusions. West Germany, as a showcase of ideal capitalism, lived without problems for 50 years. They grew up in the spirit that nothing could happen to them. "Vassie" are not realistic and are not able to reasonably look at what is happening.
The State Duma proposes to consider the unification of Germany as the annexation of the GDR
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After the capitulation of Germany, the eastern regions of the country - Saxony, Thuringia, Mecklenburg and Brandenburg - with a territory of 108 thousand square meters. km and a population of 17 million people moved to the zone of occupation of the USSR. Berlin was in the Soviet zone of occupation, but by decision of the Potsdam Conference it was divided into four zones, three of which were under the control of the Western powers.
At the end of June - July 1945, the main political parties- Communist (KKE), Social Democratic (SPD), Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Liberal Democratic (DTsPD). In April 1946, the KPD and the SPD merged into a single party called the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The ultimate goal of the party was to build socialism in Germany.
Proclamation of the GDR
By order of the SVAG (Soviet Military Administration of Germany), the property of German monopolies, war criminals, and the fascist party was expropriated. On this basis, the foundation of state property was created. Local self-government bodies were created, in which the SED played a leading role. In December 1947, the First German People's Congress took place in Berlin, which advocated the unity of Germany and laid the foundation for a movement for its democratic reorganization. II German People's Congress in 1948. elected the German People's Council as the executive body of the movement. In May 1949, the III German People's Congress approved the text of the constitution, which was to become the basis of the post-war state structure in Germany. On October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic was proclaimed. Almost all leadership positions were occupied by representatives of the SED. Wilhelm Pieck, a veteran of the revolutionary movement in Germany, became President of the Republic, and Otto Grotewohl became Prime Minister. The German People's Council was transformed into a temporary People's Chamber (Parliament), which adopted the country's constitution. The constitution approved the dictatorship of the proletariat as the basis of state power. In addition to the SED, there were three other political parties in the GDR - the CDU, the Democratic Peasants' Party of Germany (DKPG) and the National Democratic Party (NPD). Some of them existed formally, while others had no influence. Soon they were done with. During political struggle CDU and LDPG ceased to exist. Their liquidation was followed by elections to the People's Chamber of the GDR, in which the Democratic Bloc, where the leading role belonged to the representatives of the SED, won.
Building socialism
In July 1950, the Third Congress of the SED approved a five-year plan for economic development. During the years of the five-year plan, 79 were restored and 100 new enterprises were built, among them shipyards in Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund and Warnemünde, and two large metallurgical plants. Such gigantic construction was reminiscent of the USSR in the late 1920s and early 1930s. However, it soon became clear that the GDR had no funds to continue such construction. It was necessary to cut appropriations for social purposes. In the country, food was distributed by cards, wages were at a low level. The cooperative movement that had begun in the countryside finally ruined the national economy of the country.
Against the backdrop of economic successes (Federal Republic of Germany 1949-1990), the position of the GDR (German Democratic Republic 1949-1990) seemed catastrophic. Dissatisfaction with the existing regime began in the republic, which on June 16-17, 1953 grew into an open uprising against the existing system. Demonstrations took place all over the country, work was stopped. Shops were smashed and set on fire in cities. Weapons were used against the rebels. Three days later the uprising was crushed and order restored. These speeches were assessed as a "fascist coup" organized by "provocateurs" from the FRG.
Nevertheless, the leadership of the GDR was forced to make concessions: the production of consumer goods increased, prices fell slightly, and the USSR refused to continue collecting reparations. At the same time, a course was set for the accelerated development of the socialist foundations of the economy. During the 1950s, the "socialization" of industry was carried out, as a result of which it was nationalized, and private capital was liquidated. The complete collectivization of the countryside began. The year 1960 was called the "socialist spring in the countryside", when free farming was abolished and agricultural production cooperatives took its place. 84% of all agricultural land was already cultivated by cooperatives.
Development of the country's economy
As a result of the measures taken, it was possible to overcome the economic crisis and increase quantitative indicators. During the period from 1960 to 1983, gross industrial output increased 3.5 times. New branches of industry, which are of great importance for scientific and technological progress, developed at a particularly high rate. They accounted for approximately 40% of all manufactured goods. Complex automation was deployed in industry. It created its own industry of electronic computers. In terms of production, the GDR entered the top ten industrial developed countries world and in this indicator ranked fifth in Europe.
The rapid growth of industrial production was accompanied by an equally rapid growth of the public sector in the economy. Structural transformations in industry carried out in 1972 led to the fact that the state's share in gross industrial production increased from 83 to 99%. As a result, the entire industry began to work for the shaft, that is, for quantitative indicators. Most of enterprises was unprofitable, and losses were covered by other enterprises. The rapid growth of industrial production was mainly due to heavy industry (here, in 23 years, production increased 4 times), while the production of consumer goods increased only 2.5 times.
In the same time Agriculture developed at an extremely slow pace.
German unification
In May 1971, Erich Honecker was elected first secretary of the SED. He managed to improve economic situation countries and raise standard of living population. But this did not affect the further development of the country. The people demanded Democratization. Throughout the country there were demonstrations demanding democratic reforms, truly free general elections. Mass exodus of the population from the country began. For 10 years, from 1970 to 1980, the population of the GDR decreased by almost a million people: they all fled to the FRG.
Honecker Erich (1912-1995) - Chairman of the State Council of the GDR (1976-1989), General Secretary of the Central Committee of the SED (1976-1989). In October 1989, he was removed from all posts, and in December he was expelled from the SED.
The leadership of the GDR established a "draconian" regime on the border, closing the country from the outside world with barbed wire. The order was given to shoot at all refugees, regardless of sex and age. Border posts were strengthened. But this did not help prevent a mass exodus from the GDR.
On October 7, 1989, when the leadership of the GDR was about to solemnly celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first socialist state in the history of Germany, mass rallies and demonstrations swept through the country, demanding the resignation of E. Honecker, the unification of Germany and the elimination of the power of the SED.
On October 7-9, 1989, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig and other cities demanding fundamental changes in the country. As a result of the dispersal of the demonstration by the police, 3,000 people were arrested. However, this did not stop the movement against the existing order. On November 4, 1989, more than 500 thousand people took to the streets of Berlin.
Elections held on a multi-party basis on March 18, 1990 led to the victory of the CDU party. She received 41% of the vote, the Social Democrats 21%, and the SED only 16%. A new coalition government was created, consisting of representatives of the CDU and the Social Democrats. The government immediately raised the question of German unification. Negotiations began between the FRG and the USSR on a solution to the German problem, and on September 12, 1990, Chancellor G. Kohl and USSR President M. Gorbachev signed the Treaty on the Final Settlement with respect to Germany. At the same time, the issue of withdrawing Soviet troops from Germany until the end of 1994 October 3, 1990 Germany became united.
Consequences of the unification of the country
The consequences of such a rapid unification were severe for both parts of Germany. Throughout the former GDR, deindustrialization took place, reminiscent of a general collapse of industry. The entire economic system of the GDR turned out to be unprofitable and uncompetitive. Even after the measures taken by the German government to support the industry of the eastern territories, its products did not find a market for the West German market, not to mention the world market. At the same time, all the markets of East Germany were absorbed by West German industrialists, who thus received new opportunities for their development.
For the FRG, the most serious problem was the restoration of East German industry on a solid market basis. The state is compelled to give annually 150 billion marks in subsidies to raise it. Another problem was unemployment, about 13% of the working population of eastern Germany are unemployed, not counting those who work part-time or whose place is artificially subsidized by special state programs.
Summary
1945 - East Berlin - in the Soviet zone of occupation, West Berlin - under the control of Western states
July 1945 - formation of the KKE, SPD, CDU and LDPG parties; April 1946 - KPD and SPD merge to form the SED
the property of the German monopolies was nationalized and transferred to state ownership
October 7, 1949 - Proclamation of the GDR. President - V. Peak
50s - economic difficulties, transition to a rationing system, reduction in social spending
60s - the nationalization of all industry, complete collectivization in the countryside. The economic crisis has been overcome
70s - in terms of production, the GDR is among the top ten industrialized countries and ranks fifth in Europe
May 1971 - Erich Honecker at the head of the country. Attempts to improve the economic situation. Democratization demonstrations
exodus in Germany
October 7, 1989 - mass rallies: demand for the unification of Germany and the elimination of the power of the SED
March 18, 1990 - multi-party elections
October 3, 1990 - German unification. Solving the problems of restoring the industry of the GDR
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GDR in the 1950s and 1990s. Updated: December 6, 2016 By: admin
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