In the period from 1949 to 1990, there were two separate states on the territory of modern Germany - the communist GDR and the capitalist West Germany. The formation of these states was associated with one of the first serious crises of the Cold War, and the unification of Germany with the final fall of the communist regime in Europe.
Reasons for separation
The main and, perhaps, the only reason for the division of Germany was the lack of consensus among the victorious countries regarding the post-war structure of the state. Already in the second half of 1945, the former allies became rivals, and the territory of Germany became a place of collision between two contradictory political systems.
Plans of the victorious countries and the separation process
The first projects concerning the post-war structure of Germany appeared back in 1943. This issue was raised at the Tehran Conference, where Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt met. Since the conference took place after the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk, the leaders of the Big Three were well aware that the fall of the Nazi regime would occur within the next few years.
The most daring project was proposed by the American president. He believed that it was necessary to create five separate states on German territory. Churchill also believed that after the war Germany should not exist within its previous borders. Stalin, who was more concerned about the opening of a second front in Europe, considered the issue of dividing Germany premature and not the most important. He believed that nothing could further prevent Germany from becoming a unified state again.
The issue of the dismemberment of Germany was also raised at subsequent meetings of the Big Three leaders. During the Potsdam Conference (summer 1945), a four-way occupation system was established:
- England,
- THE USSR,
- France.
It was decided that the Allies would treat Germany as a single whole and encourage the emergence of democratic institutions on the territory of the state. The solution to most issues related to denazification, demilitarization, restoration of the economy destroyed by the war, revival of the pre-war political system, etc., required the cooperation of all the victors. However, immediately after the end of the war, it became increasingly difficult for the Soviet Union and its Western allies to find a common language.
The main reason for the split among the former allies was the reluctance of the Western powers to liquidate German military enterprises, which contradicted the demilitarization plan. In 1946, the British, French and Americans united their zones of occupation, forming Trizonia. In this territory they created a separate system of economic management, and in September 1949 the emergence of a new state was announced - the Federal Republic of Germany. The leadership of the USSR immediately took retaliatory measures by creating the German Democratic Republic in its occupation zone.
Former Nazi Germany was divided into several. Austria left the empire. Alsace and Lorraine returned to French protection. Czechoslovakia received back the Sudetenland. Statehood was restored in Luxembourg.
Part of Poland's territory, annexed by the Germans in 1939, returned to Poland. The eastern part of Prussia was divided between the USSR and Poland.
The remainder of Germany was divided by the Allies into four zones of occupation, administered by Soviet, British, American and military authorities. The countries that took part in the occupation of German lands agreed to pursue a coordinated policy, the main principles of which were denazification and demilitarization of the former German Empire.
Education Germany
A few years later, in 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany was proclaimed on the territory of the American, British and French occupation zones, which became Bonn. Western politicians thus planned to create in this part of Germany a state built on a capitalist model, which could become a springboard for a possible war with the communist regime.
The Americans provided considerable support to the new bourgeois German state. Thanks to this support, Germany quickly began to transform into an economically developed power. In the 50s they even talked about the “German economic miracle.”
The country needed cheap labor, the main source of which was Türkiye.
How did the German Democratic Republic come into being?
The response to the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany was the proclamation of the constitution of another German republic - the GDR. This happened in October 1949, five months after the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany. In this way, the Soviet state decided to resist the aggressive intentions of its former allies and create a kind of stronghold of socialism in Western Europe.
The Constitution of the German Democratic Republic proclaimed democratic freedoms to its citizens. This document also secured the leading role of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. For a long time, the Soviet Union provided the government of the GDR with political and economic assistance.
However, in terms of the rate of industrial growth, the GDR, which had taken the socialist path of development, lagged significantly behind its western neighbor. But this did not prevent East Germany from becoming a developed industrial country, where agriculture also developed intensively. After a series of rapid democratic transformations in the GDR, the unity of the German nation was restored; on October 3, 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR became a single state.
Germany in 1945
At the last stage of the Second World War, the territory of Nazi Germany was liberated by all progressive forces. A special role belonged to the Soviet Union, the USA, Great Britain and France. After signing the surrender in May 1945, the Nazi government was dismissed. Governance of the country was transferred to the Inter-Allied Control Council.
For joint control over Germany, the allied countries divided its territory into four occupation zones to transfer it to peaceful life. The division looked like this:
- The Soviet zone included Thuringia, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg;
- The American zone consisted of Bavaria, Bremen, Hesse and Württemberg-Hohenzollern;
- The British zone covered Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia;
- The French zone was formed from Baden, Württemberg-Baden and Rhineland-Palatinate.
Note 1
The capital of Germany, the city of Berlin, was allocated to a special zone. Although it was located on lands transferred to the Soviet occupation zone, its management was transferred to the Inter-Allied Commandant's Office. It also housed the main governing body of the country - the Allied Control Council.
The occupation zones were administered by zonal military administrations. They exercised powers until the election of a provisional government and the holding of all-German parliamentary elections.
Education Germany
Over the next three years, the western zones of occupation (American, British and French) converge. The military administration is gradually restoring representative bodies (Landtags), carrying out reforms and restoring the historical territorial division of the German lands. In December 1946, the British and American zones merged to form Bisonia. Unified governing bodies and a united body of supreme power were created. Its functions began to be performed by the Economic Council, elected by the Landtags in May 1947. he was empowered to make financial and economic decisions common to all the lands of Bisonia.
In the territories that came under the control of the Western powers, the “Marshall Plan” began to be implemented.
Definition 1
The Marshall Plan is a program of US assistance to European countries for post-war economic recovery. It was named after its initiator, US Secretary of State George Marshall.
He served as a unifying factor. New authorities were created in Bisonia: the Supreme Court and the Council of Lands (government chamber). Central power was transferred to the Administrative Council, which reported on its actions to the Economic Council. In 1948, the French occupation zone joined Bisonia to form Trizonia.
The London meeting of the six victorious countries (USA, UK, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium and France) in the summer of 1948 ended with the decision to create a separate West German state. In June of the same year, monetary reform was carried out in Trizonia and the development of a constitution began. In May 1949, the West German constitution was approved, establishing the federal structure of the state. At the next session of the victorious states in June 1949, the split in Germany was officially recognized. The new state was named the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). The Federal Republic of Germany included three quarters of all German territories.
Education of the GDR
At the same time, the formation of a state took place in the Soviet occupation zone. The Soviet Military Administration (SVAG) announced the liquidation of the Prussian state and restored the Landtags. Gradually, all power was transferred to the German People's Congress. The SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany) initiated the adoption of a Soviet-style constitution in May 1949. The inter-party National Front of Democratic Germany was formed. This served as the basis for the proclamation of the East German state of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) on October 7, 1949.
After the surrender 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 took shape in eastern Germany - the communist (KPD), the social democratic (SPD), the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Liberal Democratic (LCPD). In April 1946, the KPD and SPD merged into a single party called the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The ultimate goal of the party was the construction of 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 ownership was created. Local governments were created, where the SED played a leading role. In December 1947, the First German People's Congress was held in Berlin, which advocated the unity of Germany and laid the foundation for the 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 Third German People's Congress approved the text of the constitution, which was to become the basis of the post-war state system in Germany. On October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic was proclaimed. Almost all leadership positions were occupied by SED representatives. Wilhelm Pieck, a veteran of the revolutionary movement in Germany, became the president of the republic, and Otto Grotewohl became the prime minister. The German People's Council was transformed into a temporary People's Chamber (parliament), which adopted the country's constitution. The Constitution established 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 (DKPD) and the National Democratic Party (NDP). Some of them existed formally, while others had no influence. Soon they were finished too. During the political struggle, the CDU and LDPD ceased to exist. Their liquidation was followed by elections to the People's Chamber of the GDR, in which the Democratic Bloc, where representatives of the SED played a leading role, won.
Construction of socialism
In July 1950, the Third Congress of the SED approved a five-year economic development plan. During the five-year plan, 79 enterprises 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 20s and early 30s. However, it soon became clear that the GDR did not have the funds to continue such construction. It was necessary to reduce allocations for social purposes. In the country, food was distributed on ration cards, wages were low. The cooperative movement that began in the countryside finally ruined the country's national economy.
Against the background of economic success (Federal Republic of Germany 1949-1990), the situation in 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 protest against the existing system. Demonstrations took place throughout the country and work was stopped. Shops in cities were looted and set on fire. Weapons were used against the rebels. Three days later the uprising was suppressed and order was restored. These performances were assessed as a “fascist putsch” organized by “provocateurs” from Germany.
Nevertheless, the leadership of the GDR was forced to make concessions: the production of consumer goods increased, prices decreased slightly, and the USSR refused to further collect reparations. At the same time, a course was set for the accelerated development of the socialist foundations of the economy. During the 50s, 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 village began. The year 1960 was called the “socialist spring in the countryside,” when free farming was eliminated and agricultural production cooperatives took its place. 84% of all agricultural areas were 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 industries that are important for scientific and technological progress developed at a particularly high pace. They accounted for approximately 40% of all goods produced. Complex automation was deployed in industry. Its own industry of electronic computers was created. In terms of production volume, the GDR entered the top ten industrialized countries of the world and ranked fifth in Europe according to this indicator.
The rapid growth of industrial production was accompanied by an equally rapid growth of the public sector in the economy. Structural reforms 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 on the shaft, that is, on quantitative indicators. Most of the enterprises were unprofitable, and losses were covered by other enterprises. The rapid growth of industrial production was mainly due to heavy industry (here, over 23 years, production increased 4 times), and the production of consumer goods increased only 2.5 times.
At the same time, agriculture developed at an extremely slow pace.
German reunification
In May 1971, Erich Honecker was elected first secretary of the SED. He managed to improve the economic situation of the country and raise the living standards of the population. But this had no impact on the further development of the country. The people demanded Democratization. Demonstrations took place throughout the country demanding democratic reforms and truly free general elections. A mass exodus of the population from the country began. Over the course of 10 years, from 1970 to 1980, the population of the GDR decreased by almost a million people: they all fled to the Federal Republic of Germany.
Erich Honecker (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 expelled from the SED in December.
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 gender and age. Border posts have been strengthened. But this did not help prevent a mass exodus from the GDR.
On October 7, 1989, when the leadership of the GDR was going to solemnly celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first socialist state in German history, mass rallies and demonstrations swept across 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 police dispersal of the demonstration, 3 thousand people were arrested. However, this did not stop the movement against the existing system. 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 victory for the CDU party. It 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 Social Democrats. The government immediately raised the issue of German unification. Negotiations began between Germany and the USSR on a solution to the German problem, and on September 12, 1990, Chancellor He. Kohl and USSR President M. Gorbachev signed the Treaty on the final settlement in relation to Germany. At the same time, the issue of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Germany by the end of 1994 was resolved. On October 3, 1990, Germany became united.
Consequences of the country's unification
The consequences of such a rapid unification were severe for both parts of Germany. Throughout the entire territory of the former GDR, deindustrialization occurred, 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 sales in the West German market, not to mention the world market. At the same time, all markets in eastern Germany were absorbed by West German industrialists, who thus received new opportunities for their development.
For Germany, the most serious problem was the restoration of East German industry on a solid market basis. The state is annually forced to provide 150 billion marks of 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 jobs are artificially subsidized by special government programs.
Summary
1945 - East Berlin - in the Soviet zone of occupation, West Berlin - under the control of Western states
July 1945 - formation of the KPD, SPD, CDU and LDPG parties; April 1946 - The KPD and SPD unite to form the SED
the property of German monopolies was nationalized and transferred to state ownership
October 7, 1949 - proclamation of the GDR. President - V. Pik
50s - economic difficulties, transition to a card system, reduction in allocations for social needs
60s - nationalization of all industry, complete collectivization in the countryside. The economic crisis has been overcome
70s - in terms of production volume, the GDR is among the top ten industrialized countries and ranks fifth in Europe
May 1971 - Erich Honecker leads the country. Attempts to improve the economic situation. Demonstrations demanding democratization
mass exodus to 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 reunification. Solving the problems of restoring GDR industry
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GDR in the 50-90s. Updated: December 6, 2016 By: admin
MOSCOW, April 1 - RIA Novosti, Anton Lisitsyn. The Bundeswehr received a directive asking what examples from the military past German soldiers should be proud of. As far as the GDR army is concerned, only those who “revolted against the rule of the SED or have special merits in the struggle for German unity” are supposed to be honored. In a united Germany there live two culturally different peoples - from the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. Why citizens of the former German Democratic Republic feel “nostalgia” for the times of “totalitarianism” - in the material of RIA Novosti.
"They want to show how their parents lived"
Ostalgie Kantine - the Ostalgie buffet is located in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in the territory of the former GDR. Buffet is a conditional name. Rather, it is a park of the socialist period. There are interiors from those times, exhibitions of Soviet military equipment and “people’s democracy” cars, including the legendary “Wartburg” and “Trabant”, shelves with toys.
Manager Mike Silabecki says that 80 percent of visitors are former East German citizens. “They often come with children to show them what the GDR was like, how their parents lived. Schoolchildren are brought in classes for history lessons,” he explains.
Silabecki believes that Socialism Park is popular because many from the former GDR have “good memories of those times, of socialism and the USSR.”
From the same Saxony-Anhalt, the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung reports alarming news. In the town of Börde, the local GDR era museum is closing. The building housing a collection of artifacts from the times of socialism is being demolished.
East is east, west is west
Germany reunified in 1990. Legally, it looked like this: in August, the parliament of the German Democratic Republic made a decision (long ago agreed upon by East Berlin, Bonn and the interested powers) to join the Federal Republic of Germany. On October 3, all government bodies of the GDR and its armed forces were abolished. The German Constitution of 1949 came into force throughout the country. That is, the GDR was disbanded, its lands were included in West Germany.
The united Germans called each other diminutively - "Ossi" and "Wessi", from the German words ost and west, "east" and "west", respectively. Soon the term “ostalgia” arose - longing for the times of “people's democracy”.
In terms of economic development, the GDR lagged behind the Federal Republic of Germany, however, East Germany in the 1980s was in sixth place in terms of industrial production in Europe. Enterprises such as Robotron and ORWO operated in the republic; they produced trucks, wagons, locomotives, and cranes exported abroad. Most of the industrial potential of the "people's democracy" was destroyed in the 1990s. Vessey's business behaved like a winner on the annexed lands.
The GDR existed for only 41 years, but, as it turned out, left a deep mark on the collective German conscious and unconscious.
One of the Russian bloggers interviewed Ossi in 2015, and he described to him the economic realities of a united Germany. “About 15 years later, in 2003-2004, some managers realized the mistake: why ruin part of their own country? And get the problem of subsidies? — the former citizen of the GDR was surprised.
How much does German unity cost?
In 2014, Germany decided to calculate how much it cost to reunify the country. On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the unification, Welt am Sonntag published the results of a study by experts from the Institute of Economics: “Two and twelve zeros - German unity is currently worth two trillion euros.”
“According to the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the five eastern states and their populations have consumed approximately 1.5 trillion euros more than they produced themselves since reunification,” the journalists continued.
Gorbachev: The USSR did the right thing regarding the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic RepublicAccording to Mikhail Gorbachev, everyone in the Politburo was in favor of the unification of Germany and the GDR. Various forms of unification were proposed, including a confederation, he said.Two years later the situation has not changed much. In 2017, Berlin officially recognized that the lands of the former East Germany still lag behind Western Germany in terms of socio-economic development. The government expressed fears that the gap between the former GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany would not narrow, but widen. The volume of gross domestic product per capita in the East does not exceed 70 percent of West Germany. And, what is extremely significant, 30 companies - the flagships of the German economy, included in the main German stock exchange index DAX, do not have headquarters in the east.
"Everyday Racism"
In the German segment of the Internet, popular tests are “Who are you - Wessy or Ossie?” Sociologists record the negative attitude of citizens of the former GDR and West Germany towards each other. Thus, in 2012, it turned out that East Germans consider their Western compatriots arrogant, overly greedy, and prone to formalism. And many Vessies characterize Ossies as always dissatisfied, suspicious and fearful.
How seriously this problem is taken in Germany can be judged by the title of the sociological article - “Vessi vs. Ossie: Everyday Racism?” There are also common stereotypes - “Wessies are just using Ossies”, “But these Ossies are simply not capable of anything!”
“According to German politicians, in 1990 they hoped that they would be able to “digest” the east in five years, well, not in five, but in ten, not in ten, but in fifteen. However, twenty-eight years have passed, and politicians admit: the difference between the two parts of the country remains. One spoke directly: we still, in fact, live in two countries,” says Alexander Kokeev, a leading researcher at the Department of European Political Studies at IMEMO RAS, Candidate of Historical Sciences. “And this, of course, concerns politics For example, in the former GDR, right-wing populist parties such as the Alternative for Germany enjoy greater support.
At the same time, as the expert emphasizes, this problem is not as acute now as it was immediately after reunification. Berlin solves it and treats it with the utmost care. “There is a so-called ostalgia, but it is largely irrational. The standard of living of East Germans has increased significantly, it’s just that many compare it with higher indicators in the western part of the country, and, naturally, this causes dissatisfaction among some. In addition, some former citizens The GDR, mostly elderly, feel like second-class citizens who have been put out on the stairs from their apartment and at the same time are being taught how to live correctly,” Kokeev sums up.
