GDR

• at the end of April 1945 there was a small group of German communists under the leadership of Walter Ulbricht who flew into the ruins of Berlin trying to make contacts and take control on the ground
• Stalin didn't want to worry the west too much so initially encouraged cooperation with democratic parties
• in September 1945 German communism was pushed ahead with Stalinist policie. communist and liberal parties formed
• in 1948 democracy was abandoned
• issued order number 2 which allowed the formation of political parties
• people seen as political threats were put back into concentration camps which lead to many deaths
• 'normal' Nazis who became committed communists returned to political life as they needed to run the country
• the gestapo were asked to join the secret police
• some of the German equipment was dismantled and taken to the Soviet Union as reparations. they kidnapped some experts and scientists to help reconstruct this equipment
• large landed estates were confiscated and redistributed
• German civilians were forced to clear ruble
• in 1949 the Comecon was created to strengthen its buffer zone through increased economic ties with the Eastern Europe nations
• in 1954 the Warsaw pact was formed as a counterbalance to NATO
• the Warsaw pact was a collective defence treaty established by the Soviet Union and seven other soviet satellite states in central and eastern europe
• the Berlin blockade was the main reason for the start of the cold war
• they built a wall with barb wire on around the east side of Berlin to keep out America and Britain
• in 1945 Berlin was in ruins due to WW2
• Berlin was being built up from scratch and the only reason the USSR agreed to help is they thought after the first 3 votes Berlin would vote communist
• the soviets illegally rearmed east Germany, stopped trains into Berlin, closed roads, blocked canals and cut the power
• the only way onto Berlin was by air so that's how necessities were brought in
• German forces disbanded after their surrender in May 1945. As there was no German government, there could be no independent German military force. This remained the case until 1955.
• The Nazi Party was disbanded and major war criminals were tried at Nuremberg. The Soviet zone interned large numbers of former Nazis, many of whom died in the former concentration camps where they were held. Later, 'normal' Nazis who committed themselves to communism returned to political life
• The Soviets argued that Nazism resulted from capitalism, therefore capitalism had to be destroyed:

  • Large landed estates were confiscated and redistributed among landless agricultural labourers.

  • Former Nazis' property was taken; some was kept by the state.

  • A similar process was adopted later for banks and factories.

  • Some equipment was dismantled and taken back to Russia as reparations. Russia also removed experts to reconstruct technical equipment in Russia.
• • German communists, led by Walter Ulbricht, arrived in Berlin at the end of April 1945. They planned to gain control in Berlin, but give the appearance of democracy.
  • The Soviet Military Administration (SMAD) issued Order Number 2 on 10 June 1945, which licensed the formation of political parties.
  • All parties were brought together in an anti-fascist bloc, or National Front, against Nazism in July 1945
• • The KPD, or Communist Party, was established, followed by the Social Democratic Party (SPD). These were merged in 1946 to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED).
  • The SPD distrusted communist policy and its links with the army, but agreed to unite as they saw it as the only way for them to influence policy.
  • Liberal parties also merged to form the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LPD).
  • The Catholic Centre Party and Protestant parties formed the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
• At first, it appeared as if the Communist Party would adopt a democratic approach, but by 1948 it had formally abandoned democracy.
• • the KPD, SPD, CDU and LDPD were forced to join the "block of anti-fascist parties
  • they were technically independent but in reality SMAD forced their cooperation over all important decisions
• exiled German communists were flown to Berlin under the leadership of Walter ulbricht
• The SED was the leading communist party in the East, led by Walter Ulbricht. It claimed to be a liberator from fascism and argued that ordinary workers and peasants were innocent of Nazism and war guilt. Property belonging to absentee factory owners, Nazis, war criminals and Junkers was confiscated. This helped the SED to win popular support
• Initially, the Communist Party encouraged the development of parties with which they could work, but the SED increasingly gained control of other parties in the Soviet zone and set up two new parties, the National Democratic Party, aimed at former Nazis, and the Democratic Peasants Party of Germany, aimed at peasants.
• • Initially, the Communist Party did not have mass support and could not control all areas of life.
  • In some areas of East Germany, non-communists were appointed as mayors.
  • However, the communists ensured that they did control education and the appointment of personnel, so as to build up a group of reliable supporters in key areas and ensure that future generations were educated in communist principles.
• • Having gained popular support, the communist SED gradually eliminated other political groups and views.

  • The Soviet military command suppressed political party activity in Berlin. CDU and LDPD activities were ended.

  • Free expression was severely limited and political dissent was restrained.

  • The military government determined appointments and dismissals.
• Democracy was formally abandoned in 1948-49, and the SED announced a Marxist-Leninist 'Party of a New Type'. It was based on the principle of democratic centralism. It also established 'mass organisations' under communist control of youth, women and unions in the Soviet zone.
• the SPD led by Grotewohl the strongest political party across germany
• CDU led by Kaiser
• LDPD was established in 1945 and led by Külz
• some pluralism (more than one party) but only to give the impression of democracy and disguise the dominance of the SED/ one party dictatorship
• • the SED maintained control as elections weren't democratic
  • the figures were distorted and the public was pressured
• the GDR was a multi-party system with two parliamentary chamber like the FRG:

  • the volkskammer- the highest institution in the state with free and secret general elections on the basis of proportional representation: its purpose was to represent the people
  • the Länderkammer- to represent the interests of the five Länder (regions)
• the constitution of the GDR claimed it to be a democratic state with is power coming from the people and with guaranteed civil rights