Topic 1

• Who were the allies of the GDR?

  USSR and the other communist states in Eastern Europe
• Who were the allies of the FRG?

  USA and other Western States including Britain and France
• When was the FRG formed?

  May 1949
• When was the GDR formed?

  October 1949
• When was the Yalta Conference?

  February 1945
• Who met at the Yalta Conference?

  Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin
• What was agreed at the Yalta Conference?

  The USSR, Britain and USA would each be given an occupation zone in Germany, as well as part of Berlin. They agreed to allow free elections in in Eastern Europe countries, known as the Declaration of Liberated Europe. They also agreed that Russian would help against Japan when Germany was defeated.
• When was the Potsdam Conference?

  July 1945
• What was agreed at the Potsdam Conference?

  They agreed that each power could take reparations from its zone.
• Why were there disagreements at Potsdam?

  1) Roosevelt died in April 1945 and was replaced by Truman who was more anti-communist.

  2) The demands for reparations were seen as too high and this would hamper Germany's recovery.

  3) The location of Germany's eastern border with Poland - Western allies viewed Stalin's preferred location as far too West, giving Poland territory that contained millions of displaced Germans.

  4) Truman dropped the atomic bomb so that Japan would surrender before Russian troops could go into Japan. America had the bomb in July 1945, but Truman didn't tell Stalin about it. Stalin was furious.
• When did the KPD (German Communist Party) arrive in Berlin?

  30th April 1945
• What was the KPD's first priority?

  To ensure they controlled as many key local administrative positions as possible and to encourage popular support for the Party.
• What was clear by the summer?

  The SPD (The German Social Democratic Party) had far more popular support
• Why was it unlikely that the party would ever have popular support?

  Due to the intense ant-Soviet propaganda of the Nazi Party.
• What happened in April 1946?

  600,000 KPD members and nearly 700,000 members of the SPD merged to form the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany)
• What was the SED newspaper called?

  Neues Deutschland
• What did the SED do in 1948?

  Officially stated its commitment to Marxist-Leninist Principles
• What happened in 1950?

  Approximately 5000 former SPD members had been arrested and sent to Soviet prison
• When was Bizonia formed?


  January 1947
• What was Bizonia?


  The US and British Governments decided to merge their zones into one economic unit.
• Why was Stalin unhappy about Bizonia?

  He felt it should have been discussed with the USSR and France
• When was the Truman Doctrine?

  March 1947
• What was the Truman Doctrine?

  It stated that the USA would provide political, military and economic support to all democratic nations that were under threat from communism.
• When was the Marshall Plan?

  June 1947
• Why was the Marshall Plan created?

  General George Marshall believed that Europe was so poor that it was about o become communist. Therefore, the Marshall Plan was created to fund the recovery from war.
• What did the Marshall Plan do?

  The congress provided Europe with $17 billion to recover the economy. The aid was given in the form of food, grants to buy equipment, improvements to transport systems and medicine. 70% of the money was used to buy commodities from US suppliers, $3.5 million was spent on raw materials, $3.2 billion on food, feed and fertiliser, $1.9 billion on machinery and vehicles and $1.6 billion on fuel.
• What happened in June 1948?

  Britain and USA announced the introduction of a new currency the Deutschmark into Western zones. This was seen as essential to boost trade, increase industrial production and eradicate the black market. However, the Soviets regarded this as an act of aggression.
• What was the Berlin Blockade?

  Stalin cut off all rail and road links to West Berlin the day after West Germany introduced a new currency. The Berlin Blockade lasted 318 days. It was abandoned by Stalin on 12 May 1949.
• What was the Berlin Airlift?

  The Western allies were faced with the problem of how to maintain access to Berlin and supply food, fuel and medical supplies. They decided to use an airlift. It began on the 26th June. It delivered 8000 tons of supplies each day. In total, 275,000 planes transported 1.5 million tons of supplies.
• What was the impact of the airlift?

  The airlift displayed the West's commitment to protecting the population. The FRG was formed.
• What was the original aim of the constitution of GDR in 1949?


  It was originally designed to be compatible with the FRG, so that it would be easy if Germany did reunite.
• What were the ideas of the constitution of the GDR?

  It claimed that fundamental human rights were guaranteed. It was seen as democratic, e.g. elections were held and there was proportional representation. However, the reality was different.
• What was the Volkskammer?

  People's chamber. They passed legislation, but this was predominantly just approving laws that had already been decided by the Politburo.
• How many members of the Volkskammer were there?

  500
• How were they allocated?

  Not in a fair way. The GDR allowed other political parties, but the number of seats allocated to each political party was predetermined by the SED. The largest number of seats were given to the SED.
• What did the Volkskammer include representations of?

  Mass organisations like the FDJ and the Democratic Women's Federation (DFD) which were both coordinated by the SED
• Why were turnouts in elections high?

  Turnouts were often over 90%, but only because voting was compulsory and there were fines and prison sentences if you didn't vote. If you crossed the name out on the ballot as you didn't want to vote for them this wasn't secret. Therefore, you could lose your job, fail to get into University and be put under surveillance.
• What was the Landerkammer?

  States Chamber. The Landerkammer represented the 5 historic states within the GDR. It was made up of representatives from the 5 states and operated on the same principles as the Volkskammer with representatives chosen from a range of political parties on a predetermined basis and the SED were dominant.
• What was the role of the Landerkammer?

  It had the power to suggest new laws and veto any of the laws approved by the Volkskammer. It never used its power of veto.
• What happened to the five Lander?

  They were abolished in 1952 and replaced with 14 Bezirke (districts), each of which was under the control of an SED officer. These smaller regions made it easier for central Government to repress any dissent and prevent any strongholds of regional power.