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Opposition to Socialist Economics - Coggle Diagram
Opposition to Socialist Economics
General Dissatisfaction
Early 1950s - Widespread dissatisfaction with living standards.
Food was heavily rationed, shortage of consumer goods, housing shortage.
Rising taxation caused by increasing costs of guarding the GDR's border with the FRG.
Almost half a million GDR citizens migrated to the FRG between January 1951 and April 1953.
February 1953 - Church leaders voiced their concerns about possible social unrest.
By early June 1953 - USSR was uneasy so instructed SED to suspend propaganda about building socialism and persuade the government to relax travel restrictions to FRG.
No support for Western Democracy
Opposition did not mean support for Western-Style Capitalist Democracy.
It was less than a decade since end of WW2 and some of the population had strong feelings about life in Nazi Germany.
Much of the opposition of socialist economic focused on the harsh working conditions of workers rather than the aim of building socialism.
Effect of Nazism
For those who risked their lives resisting Nazis, the socialist dream held better prospect for future than the FRG.
There was a view that FRG was a haven for Nazis and this was often used as a basis of propaganda by the SED.
This was partly true as 15 former Nazi officers found new jobs as state ministers.
Impact
Everyone in East Germany was guaranteed employment even if not in the job of their choice or that matched their skills and abilities.
East Germans compared themselves to West Germans who had higher earnings, shorter working hours and generous holidays.
GDR had a much higher proportion of women employed then in the FRG, and children of industrial and agricultural workers were given sufficient educational opportunities.
Basic foodstuffs, housing and transport were heavily subsidised.