Die DDR in der deutschen Geschichte: Vortrag vom 24.10.2001 in Berlin

In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte, Band 50, Heft 2, S. 171-200

Abstract

The Soviet model, on the one hand, and on the other, the tradition of the German workers' movement, particularly among its communist elements, played significant roles in the process of transforming German society in the GDR. Here, in light of the debate on continuity and discontinuity in German political development before 1945, the questions of the scope of GDR dictatorship and the tension between the SED leadership's will to exert total control and the obstinacy of the GDR's people in trying to maintain a measure of autonomy are addressed. The essay examines the impact of a planned economy, the overall militarization of GDR society, the attempt to establish a new elite and the resistance by certain segments of the old elite to change. Land reform and, later, forced collective ownership did effectively transform the entire structure of rural society. However, attempts to win over the citizens of the GDR completely failed, because the state could not meet the growing demand for consumer goods. Furthermore, the policy of adhering to minimum standards in providing social services such as social security and health care led to a sharp decline in the standard of living, especially among the elderly and the disabled. Overall, with its conservative industrial policy derived from late l9th century and early 20th century models, the GDR failed to attain standards set by modern societies in the second half of the 20th century. Apart from its being unfree, its failure to meet these standards was a principal reason for its collapse at the end. (Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte / FUB)