EAST GERMANY A History from Beginning to End.

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EAST GERMANY

A History from Beginning to End

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"Imagine a society with no unemployment, zero inflation, free healthcare and education, free childcare, virtually no serious crime, and where women and men are treated with absolute equality. Such a society has existed: in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), popularly known as East Germany. For forty years after its creation in 1949, the GDR represented an attempt to create a genuinely egalitarian society where every person had the same opportunities and rights. However, there was a dark side to this social experiment. The Stasi, the secret police of the GDR, monitored the population on a scale never attempted before or since. Freedom of expression simply did not exist, and those brave enough to speak out could find themselves in prison or excluded from society. This was a nation of stark contradictions between rights and benefits and ruthless suppression.

"How did this country come to exist? Why did it end abruptly in 1990? What was life really like in the GDR? ..."

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"All workers in the GDR were guaranteed work by the government, and all had access to free healthcare, housing at subsidized and regulated rents, and a number of other free or reduced-cost social services. In the workplace, the team system encouraged all workers to think not just in terms of their own advancement but of the good of the enterprise as a whole. Workers at all levels were encouraged to take part in meetings, and teams regularly socialized together to celebrate achievements.

"The vast majority of the population lived in rented accommodations in apartment blocks. In contrast to the west, the social mix in these apartments covered all levels of society. A professor might live next door to a bus driver, and a senior civil servant might have a cleaner as a neighbor. In each block, a Hausgemeinschaften (residents’ association) was responsible for keeping communal areas clean and tidy, but often also organized social events such as trips to the theater for all tenants. None of these were compulsory, but all were popular and helped to promote a sense of community.

"The lack of consumer goods meant that the competitive need to own the most impressive home or car that was coming to characterize capitalist societies was almost entirely absent in the GDR. Society was generally more cohesive, and serious crime and anti-social behavior were virtually unknown. It was possible to enter any part of any city in the GDR at any time of day or night in complete safety, even for women. For children, too, the situation in the east was completely different.

"Women entering a shop would often leave their child in a pram outside, something that would have been unthinkable in most western countries. It was not uncommon to see rows of prams left outside large stores, and if a child became distressed, passers-by would often stop to interact with the child in an effort to calm it. Despite this, the abduction of children was virtually unknown throughout the history of the GDR. East Germany also had what was arguably one of the best childcare systems in the world. State-regulated and subsidized nurseries, schools, and colleges provided care and education by well-qualified professionals."

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"By the mid-1970s, legislation covering women and children in the GDR was in advance of that in most other countries in the world. Abortion was legal and free contraception available to all women over 16. Maternity leave (during which 90% of salary was paid) lasted for 26 weeks, and on the birth of a second child, a full, paid year off work was introduced. A payment of 1,000 marks (equivalent to more than one month’s salary for most people) was given to new parents, and an interest-free loan of up to 5,000 marks was available to all couples under the age of 26. All parents had the right to claim up to four weeks of paid leave each year to look after a sick child.

"As a result of this legislation, women were able and encouraged to take a much greater role in the society of the GDR. One-third of all women in the GDR worked in technical and engineering professions. By 1969, 34% of judges in the GDR were women, while in West Germany at the same time, the level was less than 6%. In more than 10% of towns and cities in the GDR, the post of mayor was held by a woman. In the FRG, there were just 12 female mayors out of almost 15,000 towns and cities."

" ... When Germany was finally reunited, many people in the east, particularly women, suddenly found themselves with fewer rights and less access to essential social and support services."

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July 16, 2024 - July 16, 2024.

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Table of Contents

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Introduction

World War II: The Division of Germany

The Berlin Blockade

Creation of the German Democratic Republic

Stasi: The Ministry for State Security

Mass Migration

The Berlin Wall

Ostpolitik: Easing of Tensions

Life in the GDR

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

Reunification

Conclusion

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REVIEW

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Introduction

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"How did this country come to exist? Why did it end abruptly in 1990? What was life really like in the GDR? ..."

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July 16, 2024 - July 16, 2024.

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World War II: The Division of Germany

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"Germany as a nation has existed only since 1871. In that year, the kingdom of Prussia led a unification with the independent states of Bavaria, Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Württemberg to create the German Empire. In the period from its creation to 1914, the German Empire became one of the most industrialized and powerful nations in Europe. Then, the German Empire entered World War I. Four years of carnage and destruction led to defeat and the end of the empire. After the war, a new constitution saw Germany recreated as a democratic federal republic."

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"In September 1939, Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy led to the outbreak of World War II after German forces invaded Poland. In less than two years, an unbroken string of military victories made Germany the ruler of continental Europe. France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Greece, and parts of the Balkans were all under Nazi occupation or control. Then, in June 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union, which up until this point had been an ally in the war. At first, it seemed that this would lead to another rapid Nazi victory, but then the German attack stalled in front of Moscow and was gradually pushed back."

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" ... the main Allies had very different views of how post-war Europe should be administered and controlled. This was one of the main topics for discussion when the leaders of the “Big Three” nations—America, Britain, and Russia—met in the resort town of Yalta on the Black Sea coast in February 1945.

"The leaders of the Allied nations—U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin—had met once before, at Tehran in 1943. That was a difficult and fractious meeting, where Stalin claimed (with some justification) that Russian forces were doing most of the fighting against Germany and demanded increased Allied participation in the war. That led to Allied invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy and, in June 1944, to the Allied landings in Normandy in France. The meeting in Yalta was different. Although it wasn’t over, it was clear that the Allies were on the verge of winning the war, and the leaders of the soon-to-be victorious Allied nations enjoyed a closer relationship. One senior U.S. politician who took part in the Yalta Conference noted that “there is no doubt that the tide of Anglo-Soviet-American friendship had reached a new high.”

"However, despite the euphoria of impending victory, it was clear that the Soviet Union had different priorities and aims from its American and British counterparts. In particular, Stalin was determined to establish buffer states in Eastern Europe, nations controlled by the Soviet Union that could be used to ensure that never again would a European country be in a position to invade Russia. Stalin had already given guarantees about the post-war independence of nations such as Poland, but what was becoming clear was that Stalin’s view of “independence” was very different from that of Roosevelt and Churchill. Although he agreed to the holding of elections in that country, his ultimate aim was to ensure that Poland and other nations in Central and Eastern Europe would become satellites directly controlled by the Soviet Union. ... "

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July 16, 2024 - July 17, 2024.

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The Berlin Blockade

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"“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe.”

"—Winston Churchill"

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" ... As early as June 1945, Stalin told German communist leaders that he expected the Allied occupation to last no more than two years. After their withdrawal, he predicted that all of Germany would become a communist state under the direct control of the Soviet Union.

"Secretly, America agreed with this prediction. In public, the U.S. accepted the objective of eventual German reunification, but in private, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, Walter Bedell Smith, reflected the fears of many senior U.S. politicians when he noted, “In spite of our announced position, we really do not want nor intend to accept German unification on any terms that the Russians might agree to.”"

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"In early 1948, the London Six-Power Conference brought together representatives of America, Britain, and France to discuss the future of the western zone of occupied Germany. This followed a Soviet-backed communist takeover of Czechoslovakia, and many on the Allied side were fearful of the same thing happening in Germany. The Soviet Union was not invited to the conference, and Stalin made it clear that Russia would ignore any recommendations it might make. The main recommendation of the conference was that a free and democratic Germany should be established within the area of Germany occupied by the Allies. As a direct consequence of this conference, the Soviet Union withdrew from the Allied Control Council, the administrative body formed to coordinate activities within all four occupation zones. The relationship between the Soviet and Allied-controlled regions of Germany immediately began to deteriorate.

"The Soviets now introduced restrictions that severely curtailed the movement of personnel and supplies into the Allied zones in Berlin—a state of affairs that became known as the Berlin Blockade. The Allies responded by increasing transport by air. Many British and American aircraft were “buzzed” by Soviet fighters, and on April 5, 1948, a Russian Yak fighter collided with a British airliner, killing all on board both aircraft. In June, Soviet border guards halted the movement of all passenger trains and traffic on the autobahn between Berlin and the western part of Germany. The Allied zone of control in Berlin was critically short of supplies, and only a massive Allied airlift allowed the population to survive. Stalin seemed to have hoped that this blockade would persuade the Allies to abandon Berlin completely. Instead, the blockade and the massive Allied airlift confirmed that the Allies were determined to maintain control over their zones of Berlin."

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July 17, 2024 - July 17, 2024.

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Creation of the German Democratic Republic

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"East Germany covered the whole Russian zone of occupation, stretching across the present-day German states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Thüringen. However, the city of Berlin remained an anomaly. The city, like the country, became divided into East and West Berlin. East Berlin became the capital of East Germany, but legal technicalities meant that West Berlin could not formally become part of the FRG, though it was closely aligned with that country."

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"In 1952, a new economic policy was announced by the government of the GDR—the “Planned Construction of Socialism.” This policy involved increasing state ownership of key industries and implementing economic policies copied from those used in the Soviet Union. The death of Stalin in 1953 then led to demands from workers in East Germany for improved conditions and higher wages. A wave of strikes and protests swept the country, and these were brutally suppressed by the German police assisted by the Red Army. More than 100 people were killed in what became known as the June Uprising.

"Dissatisfaction among the population led to one of the first major problems to face the new GDR: emigration. In 1951, around 15,000 people were leaving East Germany to move to West Germany every month; very few moved in the opposite direction. This left the GDR critically short of manpower and especially skilled workers. The term used to describe this in the GDR was Republikflucht (“desertion from the republic”)."

" ... any worker could enjoy higher wages and a substantially higher standard of living in West Germany since the economy of the FRG was booming by the mid-1950s. While the Allies had dropped their demands for reparation payments from West Germany, East Germany still paid substantial amounts to the Soviets, severely weakening the East German economy.

"Preventing the passage of people across the new border was the responsibility of the Grenztruppen (Border Guards), a division of the army of the GDR that reached almost 50,000 troops, the largest border guard organization in any Eastern Bloc country. It was clear that the Republikflucht was just one manifestation of a desire of many Germans to move from east to west. However, while the Border Guards were able to slow the tidal wave of emigration (and to kill many who attempted to make the crossing illegally), it was obvious to the government that a means was required to keep a closer watch on all citizens of the GDR. This led to the creation of one of the most efficient secret police units in all of Europe and perhaps in history: the Stasi."

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July 17, 2024 - July 17, 2024.

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Stasi: The Ministry for State Security

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"“The Stasi was much, much worse than the Gestapo, if you consider only the oppression of its own people.”

“—Simon Wiesenthal"

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"On February 9, 1950, just four months after the formal creation of the GDR ... Stasi, as it soon became known, would be responsible not just for conducting espionage operations in other countries but also for domestic political surveillance. Although it started as a small organization, over the next forty years, the Stasi came close to achieving the Orwellian nightmare of controlling not just the actions but also the thoughts of the population.

"When it was first created, the Stasi was mainly concerned with finding and arresting western agents who had entered the GDR and with eliminating any remaining vestiges of Nazism. Then, in 1957, a new minister for state security was appointed. Erich Mielke would be the head of the Stasi from that time to the fall of the GDR, and under his leadership, it would aspire to flächendeckend (“blanket coverage”), the continual surveillance of every member of the population."

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"Although it continued to be an effective counter-intelligence organization, under Mielke’s ruthless leadership, the Stasi sought to monitor and control almost every aspect of life in the GDR in the most far-reaching surveillance of a population ever attempted. At its peak, the Stasi employed over 100,000 full-time officers. At least one Stasi officer was appointed to every major employer in the GDR. A team of over 2,000 officers permanently monitored over 100,000 telephone lines in East Germany as well as East and West Berlin.

"In addition to its full-time personnel, the Stasi also used a vast network of unofficial informers. Those who were reluctant to inform were subject to blackmail and coercion, while those who outright refused ran the risk of finding themselves on a Stasi blacklist, something that would mean they were barred from most jobs. In every building in East Germany, there was at least one Stasi informer reporting on the activities of the people who lived and worked there. In schools, colleges, and universities, informers ensured that everything was done according to the wishes of the government. Many hotel rooms featured tiny holes in the walls through which Stasi informants or officers could film the occupants.

"The outcome was a society where every aspect of daily life, including personal and family relationships, was monitored by the government. The Stasi maintained files on over six million people, more than one-third of the total population of the GDR. Telephone lines were routinely tapped and monitored, and mail was intercepted and read. Those who were deemed subversive were subjected to bizarre harassment. Stasi officers would enter empty apartments and rearrange furniture, reset clocks, and even rearrange items in cupboards and refrigerators. Some people would receive packages of pornography through the mail (and those who failed to report this would then be subject to blackmail). Others would have their vehicle tires deflated on a regular basis. Now, we would call this gaslighting, but for over forty years, it was simply a fact of life for those who lived in the GDR."

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" ... In the Soviet Union, where the KGB occupied a similar role, there was approximately one KGB agent for every 6,000 people. In the GDR, if informers are included, there was one agent for every six people! In any gathering of six or more people in East Germany, it was virtually certain that one was an informer who would make a full report to the Stasi.

"The Stasi also conducted operations outside the GDR. These included the placement of spies in West Germany but also the kidnapping, imprisonment, and execution of former residents of East Germany who had fled to the west. The Stasi also supported terrorist groups that they hoped would destabilize West Germany and the countries of the NATO alliance. Members of the Baader-Meinhoff Group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Abu Nidal, and Black September were all brought to East Germany, where they received training at the hands of the Stasi. Stasi advisors also served with a number of rebel movements in Africa, including SWAPO in Namibia, the MPLA in Angola, and ZANLA in Rhodesia."

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" ... one popular East German joke was, “Why do Stasi officers make the best taxi drivers? Because you get in the car and they already know your name and where you live.”"

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July 17, 2024 - July 17, 2024.

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Mass Migration

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" ... Under the Marshall Plan, the U.S. poured millions of dollars into West Germany to develop its industrial infrastructure. The Soviet Union offered no financial help to East Germany and even removed a great deal of its industrial infrastructure in the period immediately following the end of the war. Over 2,000 East German factories were dismantled and shipped to the Soviet Union in 1945/46. In the early period of the division of Germany, the east of Germany had been heavily dependent on trade with the western part of the country. When the GDR and FRG were created, West Germany adopted a policy of deliberately isolating East Germany, and trade between the two halves of Germany reduced from an annual peak of over 200 million Deutsche marks to less than 10 million."

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"The level of education, and particularly technical education, in the GDR was well above that of most contemporary Eastern Bloc countries. The workers in the GDR were just as capable as their counterparts in the west, but the economic and political system offered no rewards for innovation or development. Everything was standardized and set by the government, and no effort at change was looked on kindly. Many workers were actively discouraged from considering technical improvements or even quality control. What mattered was not how good the finished items were but that managers could show that they had achieved the production quotas set for them from above. Workers became apathetic and cynical, and the outcome was shoddy goods and archaic production methods. Nothing illustrates this more clearly than the history of a vehicle produced in East Germany from 1957 to 1990: the Trabant, often called “the worst car ever made.”"

" ... Everyone, including its designers and producers, understood what was wrong with the Trabant and what could have been done to improve it. However, no major changes were permitted, and the Trabant of 1990 was essentially identical to the vehicle produced in 1964."

" ... Even within the GDR, the Trabant became the butt of many jokes (“it has a heated rear window, to keep your hands warm while you’re pushing it” is only one of many, many examples)."

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" ... There was little prospect of job satisfaction in an environment where improvement and change were proscribed. In those circumstances, and combined with the ever-present threat of the Stasi, it is perhaps unsurprising that so many workers in the GDR began to wonder whether they might be able to enjoy a better life in the west.

"Many of those who moved from east to west were skilled workers, precisely the people that the GDR needed to retain. By the early 1950s, the situation became so serious that the government of the GDR issued booklets noting that “Both from the moral standpoint as well as in terms of the interests of the whole German nation, leaving the GDR is an act of political and moral backwardness and depravity.”

"The closure of the inner German border in 1952 was an attempt to slow the drain of skilled workers from the GDR. However, one place remained where it was still possible to move from east to west: the city of Berlin."

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July 17, 2024 - July 17, 2024.

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The Berlin Wall

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"Although the inner German border was effectively closed to migrants from 1952, Berlin remained open. The boundary between the original occupation zones in Berlin was subject to international treaties agreed upon at the end of World War II and was treated differently from most international borders. Roads, trains, and subways ran across the border, and people moved freely between east and west to work, shop, and visit family and friends. For almost ten years, Berlin became the only place in East Germany where residents of the GDR could legally cross to the west. However, for many, a visit to West Berlin was not a temporary situation, and the level of permanent migration became so significant that it began to threaten the economic viability of East Germany.

"Precise numbers are difficult to obtain, but it is believed that between the end of World War II in 1945 and 1961, up to four million people (almost one-quarter of the population of the GDR) crossed from East Germany to West Germany. Initially, these were mainly refugees, people displaced by the war who had found themselves stranded in the Russian occupation zone. After the creation of the GDR, however, many were economic migrants seeking a better life in the west."

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"In the first 11 days of August 1961, over 16,000 people crossed the border into West Berlin. On August 12, 2,400 people left East Berlin, the largest number to cross the border in a single day. Late that night, East German soldiers and engineers began work on the erection of a physical barrier between East and West Berlin. This barrier, which would become one of the enduring symbols of the Cold War, became known in the west simply as the Berlin Wall. In the GDR, it was formally known as the Antifascistischer Schutzwall (“anti-fascist barrier”). Its declared purpose was to prevent fascists from infiltrating East Germany from the west. Most residents of East Germany understood that it was really intended to prevent movement in the opposite direction."

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" ... Most politicians in the west recognized that the GDR could not allow this to continue, and some were afraid that it might lead to war. Still, none were prepared to be seen to act to prevent this mass migration. U.S. President John F. Kennedy probably summed up the feelings of many when he heard about the construction of the wall: “A wall is a hell of a lot better than a war.”"

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" ... Despite the erection of the wall, agreements reached by Russia and America at the end of World War II meant that, in theory, American diplomats still had unrestricted access to East Berlin. On October 22, 1961, a senior American diplomat was stopped at Checkpoint Charlie and refused entry into East Berlin. General Lucius Clay, the senior U.S. Army officer in Berlin, responded by ordering American M48 tanks to the checkpoint. They stopped only 80 yards (75 meters) from the crossing with their guns trained on the East German side. In response, an equal number of Russian T55 tanks took position 80 yards on the opposite side of the border with their guns aimed at the U.S. tanks.

"For 16 hours, fully armed tanks of Russia and America faced each other in Berlin. It would have taken only one nervous gunner to begin a conflict that might have escalated to nuclear Armageddon. In the event, first the Russian and then the American tanks withdrew but, with the exception of the Cuban Missile Crisis the following year, this was probably the closest that America and Russia ever came to direct warfare during the Cold War."

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July 17, 2024 - July 17, 2024.

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Ostpolitik: Easing of Tensions

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"“We must not be a ‘no man’s land’ between East and West, for then we would have friends nowhere and a dangerous neighbour in the East.”

"“—Konrad Adenauer"

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" ... Ostpolitik (“eastern policy”). After a series of negotiations in the early 1970s, East and West Germany signed the Basic Treaty, under the terms of which each recognized the authority, borders, and independence of the other."

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"In 1973, both East and West Germany were admitted for the first time to the United Nations. The treaty also brought a number of economic benefits to East Germany, which was then under the control of the First Secretary of the SED, Erich Honecker. Trade between East and West Germany increased significantly, bringing much-needed western currency into the east. For the first time, West Germany paid for the right for its people to use the highways and rail links that allowed access to West Berlin from West Germany. Larger numbers of visitors from West Germany were allowed to travel into the GDR, and these people were required to pay for visas and also brought with them valuable currency."

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" ... Each year, the government of the GDR published reports analyzing production and productivity within East Germany. Each time, these showed impressive improvements. Only much later would it become apparent that the reports were little more than fiction. The truth was that the industrial capacity and infrastructure of the GDR were in sharp decline. Roads, railways, and buildings received little in the way of even basic maintenance, and many were in a very poor state of repair. While products produced in West Germany had become renowned for their excellence in quality and durability as well as advanced design, those produced in the east were, in comparison, crude and shoddy."

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" ... Virtually for the first time, people in the GDR could meet with West Germans. Exposure of its population to potentially subversive notions of western democracy was something that concerned many leaders of the GDR. They first tried to limit the number of visitors by increasing the cost of visas. When this didn’t work, they turned to the Stasi. Over two million people in the GDR were classified as “bearers of secrets” and absolutely forbidden any contact with those from the west under the threat of draconian punishment. Artists and intellectuals were targeted, and thousands were arrested and imprisoned. Stasi surveillance was, of course, extended to cover visitors from the west."

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"By the early 1980s, growing pressure in the GDR led to concessions that, for the first time, allowed people from East Germany to visit relatives in West Germany. Following Stasi recommendations, only one member of a family was allowed to leave at any one time. If they failed to return, they knew that their families remaining in East Germany would be punished. The vast majority returned as planned. By the mid-1980s, it was estimated that more than a quarter of a million East Germans had visited West Germany.

"While this increased freedom to travel was certainly welcomed, it also inevitably caused those from the east to reconsider the society in which they lived. In the west, they found free speech and an absence of the kind of repressive surveillance seen in the east. They encountered an advanced consumer society with a vast range of high-quality products. They also discovered that they couldn’t afford to buy any of these as their East German currency was virtually worthless in West Germany. For many East Germans, visits to the west or contact with those who had visited simply increased their dissatisfaction with life in their own country. Although it was barely discernable, a movement was growing that would lead to the demise of the GDR."

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July 17, 2024 - July 17, 2024.

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Life in the GDR

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"“In East Germany there were very few things, but there was also a feeling of solidarity that no longer exists.”

"—Till Lindemann"

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" ... what is now often forgotten is that the GDR also represented an effort to build a completely new and egalitarian society.

"Gender equality and equal pay for men and women were part of the GDR from the very beginning. The 1949 constitution was direct and very clear: “Men and women are equal.” A law introduced in 1950 ensured that women retained their rights after marriage and introduced financial support for mothers who devoted their time to looking after their children. This applied not only to married women but also to single mothers. It would be decades before equivalent legislation was enacted in the west.

"Even today, the pay gap between men and women remains significantly higher in the western part of unified Germany than in the eastern states. The pay gap between workers and managers was also significantly less in East Germany, and most housing areas included a mix of blue and white-collar workers. There is no doubt that some people were able to use personal connections to improve their quality of life, but few were able to amass personal wealth or possessions as happened in the west."

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" ... When Germany was finally reunited, many people in the east, particularly women, suddenly found themselves with fewer rights and less access to essential social and support services."

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July 17, 2024 - July 18, 2024.

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The Fall of the Berlin Wall

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"“The Wall will be standing in 50 and even in 100 years, if the reasons for it are not removed.”

"—Erich Honecker"

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" ... Gorbachev began a series of fundamental reforms through two new approaches.

"The first was perestroika (“restructuring”). This was begun in earnest in 1987 and represented a bold attempt to transform the Soviet Union from a command economy to a mixed, semi-free market economy. The second was glasnost (“openness”), an attempt to introduce freedom of speech and transparency in regard to the activities of state institutions. While these reforms did not immediately improve the Russian economy, they did allow protests against Soviet control in many countries in Eastern Europe that had been part of the Soviet sphere of control. In Poland, Communist Party members voted to legalize the formerly banned Solidarity trade union, which went on to win seats in elections in the summer of 1989. In Hungary, there were mass demonstrations calling for the introduction of some form of democratic rule."

" ... Seemingly without recognizing the irony involved, many publications emanating from the new regime in Moscow were banned in the GDR because they were seen as dangerously liberal. Despite this, within the GDR, there was a growing wave of unrest and protest. Many people were enthusiastic about Gorbachev’s proposed reforms and wanted to see something similar in East Germany. These protests culminated in a series of massive demonstrations against the government, called the Monday demonstrations, starting in September 1989.

"The leader of the East German government, Erich Honecke, requested military intervention by the Soviet Union to quell the unrest, but Gorbachev refused. On October 18, Honecke, who continued to reject any reforms, was removed from his post and replaced by the more liberal Egon Krenz. Yet it was too late. When Krenz and other new leaders addressed a crowd of more than one million people who had gathered at and around Alexanderplatz in East Berlin, they were booed, something that would have been unthinkable only a few months before."

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"Then, on November 9, a mistake by a senior member of the government of the GDR led to chaos. In an interview broadcast live on East German radio and television, Günter Schabowski gave a rambling response to a question about travel restrictions that seemed to suggest that all such restrictions on travel between East and West Germany were being lifted. This was not true—the government of the GDR was simply considering easing the restrictions on travel to the west.

"West German television and radio, which was also available in East Germany, quickly began to broadcast that everyone would now be permitted to travel freely between East and West Germany. Later that evening, vast crowds assembled at the checkpoints on the East German side of the Berlin Wall, demanding to be allowed to cross into West Germany. Outnumbered and overwhelmed, the border guards opened the gates, and thousands of people crossed into West Berlin. Meanwhile, people began to dismantle the wall itself, smashing the concrete barriers and dragging away barbed wire coils. The evening of November 9, 1989, is now remembered in Germany as the time the Berlin Wall fell."

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July 18, 2024 - July 18, 2024.

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Reunification

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"Discussions on an economic merger between East and West Germany began in early May 1990. On May 18, a treaty was signed between the two nations that brought fundamental changes for people living in the GDR. The Treaty Establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union came into force on July 1, with the West German mark replacing the East German mark as the official currency of the GDR. This was much more significant than a simple change of currency; the GDR was, in effect handing its financial sovereignty over to the government of West Germany. In exchange, it agreed that many West German laws would be enacted in the east, and the West German government agreed to begin paying immediate subsidies to support the social system of the GDR."

"At midnight on October 3, the five states that constituted East Germany—Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia—formally became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. East and West Berlin became a single city-state that was also incorporated into the FRG. From that time, the GDR ceased to exist, and Germany finally became a single, unified nation once again."

" ... Some estimates suggest that, between 1990 and 2010, reunification cost Germany up to 2 trillion euros, an average of 100 million euros each year."

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July 18, 2024 - July 18, 2024.

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Conclusion

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" ... In the early 1990s, a new word entered the German language: Ostalgie, a word combining Ost (“East”) and nostalgie (“nostalgia”). This longing for a return to the stability of the GDR was particularly prevalent among women in the east. The free childcare facilities they had used disappeared, and their rights and benefits were curtailed. Anything up to 70% of the female workforce in the former GDR lost their jobs after reunification."

" ... For all its faults, the GDR did seem to have engendered genuine feelings of camaraderie, of working together for a common purpose amongst its population. Many felt that they had lost this when they abruptly became part of the capitalist, competitive west. Surveys suggest that few Germans, even those living in the east, want to see a return to the days of the GDR. Still, many look back on that regime with something close to longing.

"For those in the west, the fall of the GDR (and the fall of the Soviet Union itself that followed soon after) seem overwhelmingly positive developments. For those who experienced East Germany firsthand, things are less simple. ... "

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EAST GERMANY

A History from Beginning to End

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July 16, 2024 - July 18, 2024.

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Purchased April 30, 2024

ASIN: B0BZQVWPFP

Publisher: Hourly History

(26 March 2023)

Language: English

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Thursday, July 18, 2024

EAST GERMANY A History from Beginning to End.

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