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Establishing and consolidating communist rule in the GDR, 1949-61 -…
Establishing and consolidating communist rule in the GDR, 1949-61 - Economic Developments
intro
production, prices , quantity were all centrally planned
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series of 5 YP's which were targets set and labour, resources allocated to meet the targets
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the first 5YP
profit motived, supply and demand deemed unimportant
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the SED faced conflict between increasing heavy industries and consumer goods as they cannot produce both
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made worse by membership of COMECON, alliance of Communist countries, each country was given an industry to focus on
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developed heavy industry
iron, steel, energy chemicals etc
socialist economics
advantages
social over personal needs emphasised,
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govt could harness the economy to the needs of the state, therefore a concentration on public transport over private cars
disadvantages
inefficient system, difficult to plan the needs 5 years in advance
goods were produced often that weren't needed, at the opportunity cost of that were need, thus inefficiencies
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socialist spring
by the late 1950's, 29% of land was formed by collectives
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campaign launched to bring all private farms into collectives, a force campaign needs to be done before the big planting season in spring 1960 to overtake the FRG in terms of agricultural production
by May 1960, there were 19,345 collective farms
led to disruption and resentment, farmers left to the West
collectivisation soared from 1959-60, which gave rise to the term 'Socialist Spring'
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the new course:
followed Soviet initiative to slow down socialist development and called for a more conciliatory policy aimed at engendering more support & easing the population into socialist development over having it imposed suddenly
on the 9th June, the Politburo accepted the document, following 11th June, by the Council of Ministers - an example of where decisions were made in the GDR
the GDR may hav hoped for reduced reperations, but what they got from the new Soviet leaders was a document dated 27th May 1953, entitled "Measures for restoring political situation in the GDR" aka "New course"
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at Stalin's funeral, Ulbricht asked his Soviet colleagues, for advice on how to proceed but he was left dissatisfied
SED publicly recognised that it may have been unjust & made some mistakes, they released 4000 political prisoners
led to a period of uncertainty with the Soviet leaders jostling for power and a lack of guidance for countries in the Soviet bloc
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June revolt
in the GDR, the work norms which were the biggest bone of contention among most people remained in force
in protest there were strikes and demonstrations both in towns and the countryside and calls for the govt to resign
when the revolt began it was about living and working conditions and in particular the hated work norms
in Berlin on the 16th June, building workers in the Stalinallee Project, a residential building project, went on strike and marched to SED headquarters demaning to speak
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by time they arrived, protestors' numbers swelled to 2000
this was followed by rebellion in other countries such as Poland, but they tended ot be spontaneous and localised while that in the GDR spread to much of the country
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in June 1953, the first revolt against communist control in the Soviet bloc took place in. the GDR
on the 17th, 25,000 or more converged on the Council of ministers headquarters and their demands widened to include free elections and the resignation of the government
support for the regime
the state did ensure the basic essentials were provided and East Germans came to enjoy the highest standard of living I the communist bloc
following the rebellion, 3.8 billion Ostmarks were spent on welfare provision and subsidies housing, food and utilities
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it is in fact an axiom that care and repression were the two sides of the GDR; if people left the politics to the politicians, they would ensure
many of those whom did not join in the June 1953 protests had their own reasons of apathy, fear of repression or allegiance to the regime on the basis of what they got out of it - such as the economy position or welfare
reasons for the revolt:
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attitude of the West
beyond incitement, the West did nothing to support the rebellion
the FRG indeed may have preferred to see a stable GDR to dissuade the growing influx of penniless refugees who might destabilise their own recovery
role of the USSR
resulted in the deaths of 50 East Germans, although it could've been more
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government response
it order that the numbers of consumer goods be increased by 30% over the second half of 1953 and 10% in the following two years
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the 15th SED Plenum on the 24th to 26th June announced the goal of the party was to raise living standards
govt could afford these measures due to the end of reparations payment to the USSR on the 1st January 1954
as well as an increase of 231 million roubles worth of food and raw material imports from the USSR to be paid on credit
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the SED meanwhile was purged as Ulbricht used the 1953 rebellion to exact retribution against those who had plotted against him
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Ulbricht in control
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in July 1955, the New Course was abndoned
Wilhelm Zaisser and Hernstadt, who shared the wartime exile in the SU with Ulbricht but had endorsed the New Course , were expelled from the Politburo in July 1953 and from the Party itself the following January
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was in firm control again after the fall of Beria in Moscow and the selection of Khrushchev as the new Soviet leader
Ulbricht claimed unequivocally in an SED meeting in 1st June that it was never they intention to choose such a false course and they will never choose it
Stasi was also incorporated into the Interior Ministry and its numbers grew from 10,000 in 1952 to 14,900 in 1954
de-Stalinization
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Ulbricht was ukewarm
beyond agreeing that leaders should not indulge in personality cults, his reponse was muted at best
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in feb 1956, K made a withering denunciation of Stalin
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