Topic 2

• What impact did the Berlin Wall have on the economy?

  The labour supply was no longer dwindling. A secure workforce meant that the Government could more effectively plan for the economy. However, there were housing shortages and the SED could no longer blame problems on emigration.
• When was Ulbricht replaced with Honecker?


  1971
• When was the New Economic System (NES)?

  1963-1968
• What was the aim of the NES?

  For the Government to retain overall control over economic planning
• What were the features of the NES?

  1) Profit-making was introduced as a key indicator of performance, as a means to focus more on the production of quality goods.

  2) Incentives for workers were introduced, such as financial bonuses and increasing wages for those with higher skill levels.

  3) Focussed on scientific and technological developments, especially in the chemical, optics and electronic industries.

  4) Encouraged industries and universities to make links.
• What did Khrushchev think of the NES?

  He didn't approve of it, but he tolerated it.
• Who was appointed chairman of the State Planning Commission?

  Erich Apel
• What were the problems with the NES?

  1) Workers were often overqualified for available jobs, which caused dissatisfaction and high labour turnover.

  2) Managers didn't often have appropriate turnover financial skills.

  3) Frequent difficulties in obtaining necessary resources.

  4) Opposition to the NES by those committed to the ideological aims of creating a communist state.

  5) Some individuals deliberately sabotaged industrial production such as breaking machinery or taking extended sick leave from work.
• What were some problems with the NES?

  1) People disagreed with profit incentives as they felt this would create some very wealthy individuals, not in keeping with communist ideas.

  2) It may have worked give more time, but in 1964 Brezhnev replaced Khrushchev as leader of the USSR. Brezhnev made it cleat that he wanted a return to more communist ideals.
• Why did the NES end?

  Apel shot himself in 1965.
• When was the ESS?

  1968-1971
• What was the aim of the ESS?

  To be more centrally planned and extended to include agriculture and trade as well as industry
• What were the features of the ESS?

  1) It restored price subsidies by the state to promote key industries.

  2) Placed more emphasis on developing computer technology and chemical and plastic industries, with higher production quotas.
• What were the failures of the ESS?

  1) The GDR didn't have the required facilities, experts, and financial investment to match those of the West.

  2) The GDR didn't meet Ulbricht's aim of overtaking the economy of the FRG.

  3) Demand still often exceeded supply.

  4) The desire to overtake the FRG placed emphasis on a few industries and not enough on consumer goods.

  5) Not followed when Ulbricht was replaced by Honecker.

  6) Consumer goods were of inferior quality to the FRG causing dissatisfaction.
• What were the successes of the ESS?

  1) Between 1968 and 1971, the GDR economy grew by an average of 5.7%.

  2) Industrial production rose considerably across all sectors, including electronics and light industry. This helped to improve the supply of consumer goods.

  3) Industrial production rose 43% between 1958 and 1965.

  4) Progress was made rebuilding urban areas, such as Berlin, Dresden, and Leipzig.
• What is meant by COMECON?

  An economic union of communist states, where they would each provide economic aid to each other.
• When did the GDR become a member of COMECON?

  1950
• What percentage of trade was with the USSR and the Eastern Bloc?

  76%
• What was life in the GDR like?

  Highest standards of living of all Eastern Bloc countries.
• What was the impact of COMECON on the GDR?


  Membership of COMECON did little to protect the GDR from the financial woes of the late 1970s and 1980s.
• What was more important for the GDR in the 1980s?

  The growing trade with the FRG. This was more important in terms of trade, agricultural production and loans.
• Why did Ulbricht view establishing an identity for the GDR as less important than Honecker?


  Ulbricht believed Germany would be unified under socialism.
• What did Honecker aim to create?

  Honecker aimed to create demarcation between the two German states.
• How did Honecker try and achieve this?

  Exports from East were no longer labelled 'Made in Germany', but instead 'Made in the GDR'.

  Mass media and sport were used to create a sense of national identity.
• How were newspapers used to create a sense of national identity?

  1) The main national newspaper was the SED's Neues Deutschland.

  2) All newspapers were given instructions on what to write.

  3) The only Western newspapers on sale were those published by Western communist parties.

  4) All newspapers had the same message - SED leadership was successful, and there was widespread problems in the FRG (homelessness, unemployment and addiction).
• What percentage of newspapers did the party control?

  70%
• What publications weren't controlled?

  Newspapers by Church organisations, but these had to be solely based on religious matters.
• How often did Honecker meet with the editor of Neues Deutschland and why?

  Every day to approve the front page.
• What was it illegal to do in the GDR?

  Read or display Western newspapers.
• What are some examples of radio stations in the GDR?

  Radio DDR 1 - August 1953

  Radio DDR 2 - 1958

  DT64 (A Youth Music Station) - 1964
• How many licensed radios were there by 1985?

  6.6 million
• What was a problem with the radios?

  Often Western radio stations wee broadcast, which were popular with the GDR.
• How did the Government try and solve this problem?

  They tried to jam foreign signals, but this was outlawed by international agreement.
• When were televisions widely available in East German homes?


  By the 1970s.
• Who controlled the TV?

  Television was controlled by Fernsehen der DDR (DDR-FS)
• Why was TV a problem?

  Most homes in the GDR could pick up Western stations broadcast from West Berlin.
• When did colour programming begin?

  1969
• What was specifically done about news programmes?

  It was made sure that they weren't broadcast at the same time as FRG news programmes as they were more popular.
• What was shown during FRG news?

  Popular GDR shows
• Who was the leading propagandist?

  Karl Eduard Von Schnitzler