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Germany, 1945-55 – The Soviet Zone

     

Dismemberment

    •  May 1945: → Germany divided into 4 zones (USSR, USA, Britain, France); Berlin into 4 sectors.

    •   Aug 1948: USA, Britain & France combined zones into ‘Trizonia’ → became Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) May 1949.

    •   Soviet Zone remained separate → German Democratic Republic (East Germany) Oct 1949 (start of Cold War).

   

Denazification

Principles

    •   Destroy Nazism.

    •   Establish Communism.

1.   Public Space

    •  All Nazi symbols (flags, insignia, posters) removed; display = illegal.

2.   Purge of Nazi Party Members

    •  122k Nazi officials removed from govt/admin/industry by Soviet NKVD, imprisoned in camps (80k died).

    •   screened ⅓–½m ppl, convicted ex-Nazis were banned from office/imprisoned; process ended 1948.

    •  GDR criticized Western denazification but also retained useful ex-Nazis.

3.  War Crimes Trials

    •   (1945–46): industrialists prosecuted for using forced labour.

4.  Re-education & Propaganda

    •  Censorship: Children’s literature censored; schools/universities emphasized socialism.

    •  Propaganda: USSR portrayed as liberator; media/youth groups promoted socialism.

    •  1948: ‘Year of the Returnee’ & 1949: (‘homecomer’) conferences + helped by Volkssolidaritat (‘People's Solidarity’) welfare organisation → focused on rehabilitating POWs to prevent anti-Soviet sentiment.

5.  Government

    •   Party of Germany (Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands – SED) established (leader: Walter Ulbricht).

    •  USSR ensured elections secured SED control → began ‘Sovietisation’ of E Germany.

   

Rebuilding

1.   Economic Reconstruction

    •  Industry nationalized under (Volkseigene Betriebe – VEBs): produced >75% industrial output by 1950.

    •  Plans: Two-Year Plan (1949–50) & Five-Year Plan (1951–55) aimed to ↑ industrial output 35%. Growth came w. consumer goods shortages.

    •  Education: Priority to engineering/science; Abitur qualification tested political loyalty.

2.   Land Reform

    •  1945 (Land reform): farms >100ha nationalized, 7k estates (2.5m ha) seized, redistributed to ½m peasants.

    •  Post-1949: Farms >20ha nationalized; collectivization (1952) → resistance → production fell.

3.   Socialist Urban Planning

    •  East Berlin rebuilt as socialist showcase: eg project (grand Stalinist-style apartments).

    •  Rural housing construction failed (only 748/37k planned houses built by 1948).

4.   Removal of Industry

    •  c.1,800 industrial plants removed as reparations → weakened E. German economy.

    •  1949: Comecon (USSR economic bloc) coordinated economies in favour of USSR → damaged reconstruction.

5.   Migration

    •  1945–52: Millions fled to West Germany (better living conditions, freedom) → skilled labour shortages.

   

Life in East Germany, 1945–55

1.   Shortages

    •  Living standards >> West Germany.

    •  Rationing (officially ended 1950) but shortages of food/clothes/consumer goods persisted; black markets flourished.

    •  Housing: WWII bombings destroyed 40% urban housing; rebuilding slow → overcrowding in poor quality housing.

    •  Transport: Limited & unreliable (railways prioritized goods); bad ∵ few owned cars.

    •  Healthcare: Universal aim but equipment & medicine shortages common.

    •  Employment: scarcity of workers (war deaths, POWs) + VEB jobs → job security but low pay.

2.   Society

    •  Oppression: SED controlled govt, w. (1950) → strict surveillance/dissent suppression. voluntary organisations taken under state control.

    •  Inequality: SED elites enjoyed privileges over workers/rural ppl.

    •  Culture: leisure & hobby groups (eg, theatre, local history societies) taken under state control. Western influences banned. Non-productive events such as flower festivals discouraged.

3.   Religion

    •  Church seen as a threat but tolerated; religious leaders monitored.

    •  Few clergy arrested for political reasons (15 Catholic priests, 1945–61).

4.   Women

    •  Women led rebuilding – eg, Trümmerfrauen (‘’), dominated workforce b4 POWs returned.

    •  GDR guaranteed equal pay, and 1949 GDR constitution granted formal equality → childcare/maternity leave improved.

    •  HOWEVER: Dual burden (work + domestic roles), & job discrimination persisted.

5.   Youth

    •  Education reforms/youth orgs (eg, : FDJ) → socialist indoctrination.

    •  Resistance: Youths embraced Western music/dance → govt organized official dances w. socialist propaganda interludes.

6.   Heimat

    •  Celia Applegate (1990): Love of (homeland) fostered loyalty to GDR and fear of the West → Mary Fulbrook (2008): most East Germans were content.

    •  1955: Heimatkunde made compulsory in schools.

7.   Failure

    •  Migration: 1945–52 → 3m fled to West Germany.

    •  1953 : 1m protested Stalin’s death, shortages & conscription; USSR crushed revolt w. 20k troops. >1k imprisoned; 32 executed.

    •  Historian Gary Bruce (2003): Uprising → GDR’s dependence on Stasi for social control.