Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Evaluation of East Germany by 1963 - Coggle Diagram
Evaluation of East Germany by 1963
The SED sought to build a socialist paradise. The reality was not so pleasant, as living standards were noticeably worse than in the West.
The ability to express opinions
Although the old elite was eradicated, the SED effectively replaced them.
This meant only a small minority of the population were able to express their views.
No dissident opinion amongst workers was allowed as the trade union was frequently purged to ensure all leaders were loyal to the regime.
Dissidence
Dissidence was primarily seen through people ‘voting with their feet’. The mass exodus of East Germans to the West reflects their dissatisfaction with the GDR.
More subtly, dissidence was expressed through youth culture, which embraced Western influences.
De-nazification in East Germany
In East Germany, 12,890 Nazis were tried and found guilty. 129 were sentenced to death. In West Germany, 6,488 were tried and found guilty. None were executed. Because of the softer treatment of former Nazis in West Germany, many more are thought to have fled there.
423 monuments to Nazi victims were erected in Berlin. 246 were in East Berlin and 177 were in West Berlin.
A 1991 EMNID study found that 4% of East Germans had extreme anti-Semitic tendencies vs 16% in West Germany.
A classless society?
Although the proletariat did gain opportunities and the bourgeoisie was reduced, it would be wrong to say that East Germany was an egalitarian and classless society.
SED leaders governed in a fashion which furthered their own interests, not always representing the interests of the proletariat.
Some questioned the extent to which the government was a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’.
Legitimating ideology
The SED justified their actions by claiming it was 'anti-fascist'.
To the generations who had experienced the Nazi dictatorship and WW2, 'anti-fascism' was an effective and legitimate justification for the SED's actions.
However, this narrative would not have such power for the younger generation.
Comintern (19330: "Fascism is the open terrorist dictatorship of the most reactionary, the most chauvinistic, the most imperialistic elements of finance capital."