East Germany
On the 7th of October 1949, the German Democratic Republic officially came into existence within the Soviet occupation zone. This new state emerged from a landscape scarred by World War II and divided among four Allied powers. The Potsdam Agreement had established the Soviet-occupied zone bounded on the east by the Oder, Neiße line. Before this date, the territory was administered directly by Soviet forces following the Berlin Declaration which abolished German sovereignty. The ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany formed on the 21st of April 1946 through a merger between the Communist Party of Germany and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. Wilhelm Pieck became the first president while Walter Ulbricht assumed most executive authority as the party general secretary. The SED maintained close ties with the Soviets who kept military forces in East Germany until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. By 1950, the GDR joined the COMECON trade bloc to align its economy with other socialist states. The early years saw significant political pressure applied to ensure the merger remained under communist control despite claims of voluntary cooperation.
The Ministry for State Security operated a vast network of informants known unofficially as collaborators. At the end of the GDR in 1990 there were approximately 109,000 still-active informants at every grade. These individuals spied on people more directly and reported to Stasi handlers from all walks of life. They had access to nearly every organization in the country including workplaces and social groups. Between 1985 and 1988 the Stasi conducted about 4,500 to 5,000 operational cases per year targeting writers artists youth sub-cultures and church members. Zersetzung methods included sending offensive mail to a person's house spreading malicious rumors banning them from traveling sabotaging their career and breaking into their house moving objects around. Many people suffered mental or nervous breakdowns due to these psychological decomposition tactics. The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims estimates between 300,000 and 500,000 victims of direct physical torture Zersetzung and gross human rights violations. The Stasi also carried out assassinations of officials deemed threats such as killing General Director of the German Reichsbahn Willi Kreikemeyer and finance minister Siegfried Böhm.
In 1976 the average annual growth of the GDP was 5 percent making the East German economy the richest in all of the Soviet Bloc until reunification in 1990. By 1985 collective state enterprises earned 97% of the net national income. The estimated 1984 per capita income was $9,800 based on an unreal official exchange rate. Notable exports included photographic cameras under the Praktica brand automobiles under the Trabant Wartburg and IFA brands hunting rifles sextants typewriters and wristwatches. Until the 1960s East Germans endured shortages of imported basic foodstuffs such as sugar and coffee. The government used money and prices as political devices providing highly subsidized prices for a wide range of basic goods and services known as the second pay packet. In 1991 alone 153 billion DM had to be transferred to eastern Germany to secure incomes support businesses and improve infrastructure. From 1991 to 1999 this resulted in a total of 1.634 trillion DM which more than doubled public debt in Germany. Production of computers began to accelerate dramatically in the 1980s with VEB Robotron becoming the largest manufacturer of electronics.
On the night of the 12th of August 1961 East German soldiers began erecting the Berlin Wall to stop emigration. Many people attempting to flee were killed by border guards or booby traps such as landmines. At its peak the border troops numbered approximately 47,000 men guarding the inner German border fence. The red tape marked the area work details were permitted to operate and workers stepping beyond the tape would be shot. Before the wall was completed one quarter of East Germans left the country before 1961 causing a brain drain that weakened the state economically. The GDR closed the inner German border in response to the significant problem of emigration. By 1985 about 80% of all GDR youths between the ages of 14 and 25 were members of youth organizations but many tacitly ended their membership after completing apprenticeships. The population declined by three million people throughout its forty-one year history from 19 million in 1948 to 16 million in 1990. Some four million were deported from lands east of the Oder, Neisse line which made the home of millions of Germans part of Poland and the Soviet Union.
On the 9th of November 1989 a few sections of the Berlin Wall were opened resulting in thousands of East Germans crossing freely into West Berlin for the first time in nearly 30 years. Kurt Masur conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra led local negotiations with the government and held town meetings in the concert hall. The protests became a weekly occurrence with a turnout of 10,000 people at the first demonstration on the 2nd of October peaking at an estimated 300,000 by the end of the month. Half a million demonstrators turned out against the regime in East Berlin on the 4th of November. Erich Honecker resigned in October replaced by Egon Krenz who later faced prosecution for offenses committed during the GDR era. On the 3rd of October 1990 the five states officially joined the Federal Republic of Germany while East and West Berlin united as a third city-state. A free and fair election was held in March 1990 won by Alliance for Germany which advocated speedy reunification. Negotiations between the two German states and former Allies led to the signing of the Final Settlement treaty replacing the Potsdam Agreement on borders and status.
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Common questions
When did the German Democratic Republic officially come into existence?
The German Democratic Republic officially came into existence on the 7th of October 1949 within the Soviet occupation zone. This new state emerged from a landscape scarred by World War II and divided among four Allied powers.
How many active informants were there in the Ministry for State Security at the end of East Germany?
At the end of the GDR in 1990 there were approximately 109,000 still-active informants at every grade. These individuals spied on people more directly and reported to Stasi handlers from all walks of life.
What was the average annual GDP growth rate of East Germany in 1976?
In 1976 the average annual growth of the GDP was 5 percent making the East German economy the richest in all of the Soviet Bloc until reunification in 1990. By 1985 collective state enterprises earned 97% of the net national income.
On what date did East German soldiers begin erecting the Berlin Wall?
On the night of the 12th of August 1961 East German soldiers began erecting the Berlin Wall to stop emigration. Many people attempting to flee were killed by border guards or booby traps such as landmines.
When did sections of the Berlin Wall open allowing free passage into West Berlin?
On the 9th of November 1989 a few sections of the Berlin Wall were opened resulting in thousands of East Germans crossing freely into West Berlin for the first time in nearly 30 years. The population declined by three million people throughout its forty-one year history from 19 million in 1948 to 16 million in 1990.