3 Relations with COMECON and the Warsaw Pact Countries

What relations were strained due to WW2?

relations between the GDR and some Eastern Bloc countries (e.g. Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia)

What did some East Germans resent about Poland (at the end of WW2)

resented the loss of land in the East to Poland at the end of WW2

What led to Poles working in the GDR?

a labour shortage in the GDR

What was put in place when Poles began to work in the GDR (an example for the strained relationship)?

strict controls were put in place

Why were exchange controls also set up between the GDR and Poland?

resentment grew from Germans at Poles who crossed into the GDR to buy goods that were unavailable in Poland, which created shortages in Germany

Where was a similar exchange control measure also set up?

between Czechoslovakia and Germany

Why was there exchange controls set up between Czechoslovakia and Germany?

to prevent Germans from buying goods in Czechoslovakia such as electrical items and clothes

What were the government of the Warsaw Pact Countries therefore concerned about?

that nationalist sentiments would override socialist solidarity

What did some Warsaw pact countries resent about the East German leadership in the 1960s?

resented their apparent arrogance

What did some Warsaw pact countries fear about the GDR in the 1960s?

any potential or current links the GDR might have with the FRG

Bolster?

support or strengthen

What did Ulbricht sign to bolster (strengthen) the GDR’s standing (and who with - 4)?

bilateral treaties of friendships with Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria

When did Ulbricht sign bilateral treaties of friendships?

1967

What uprising was the first testing of the bilateral treaties of friendships?

the Prague Spring 1968 - the Warsaw Pact’s crushing of the uprising

What was Ulbricht’s role in the invasion of Czechoslovakia?

a fierce supporter of the invasion and took part in the planning

Who from the GDR didn’t take part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia?

the NVA - the GDR’s army

A reason for why the NVA didn’t take part in the invasion of Czechoslovakia?

perhaps because of the memories of the 1938 Nazi invasion of the country would create further unrest

What messages (2) were understood by all Warsaw Pact countries (countries in the soviet union) - including the GDR?

the message that no liberalisation would be tolerated by the USSR and that the Brezhnev Doctrine applied to all

When was the Brezhnev Doctrine announced?

September 1968

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine?

asserted the USSR's right to intervene militarily in any Eastern Bloc communist country where socialist rule was threatened (when ‘hostile’ forces try to implement aspects of capitalism within a socialist country)

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine announced to justify?

the Warsaw Pact’s invasion of Czechoslovakia

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine used to enforce?

USSR control over the Eastern Bloc

When did relations with COMECON and the Warsaw Pact decrease in importance?

during the period following Ulbricht’s replacement by Honecker

When was Ulbricht replaced by Honecker?

1971

Why did relations with COMECON and the Warsaw Pact decrease in importance after 1971?

the GDR began to economically lean towards the West during the Ostpolitik era

What in the GDR was higher than in other Eastern bloc countries during the 1970s and the early 1980s?

the GDR’s standard of living

What was Honecker focused on creating (moving the importance away from relations with COMECON and the Warsaw countries)?

to create a GDR internally and internationally

When did the GDR take action to do with relations with COMECON and the Warsaw Pact (after 1971 - when it wasn’t very important)?

when it threatened the interests of the GDR

What had to monitored due to travel to the West being less restricted from Poland and Hungary?

movement from the GDR to Poland and Hungary had to be monitored

When did the GDR impose the requirement of visas to travel between the GDR and Poland?

1980

Why did the GDR impose the requirement of visas to travel between the GDR and Poland?

when the demands for political reform grew in Poland during 1980

What had happened between the GDR and Poland by November 1980 (to reduce travel to Poland)?

rail links stopped and then the border closed

What reaction to the demands for political reform in Poland growing in 1980 showed that the Brezhnev Doctrine was still strong?

plans for a Warsaw Pact military intervention were drawn up

Why were the plans for a Warsaw Pact military intervention abandoned?

after the Polish authorities clamped down on the reformers

What else did the plans for a Warsaw Pact military intervention being drawn up highlight?

that the GDR was very part of the Warsaw Pact

What relationship carried far more weight than each individual Eastern bloc’s with each other?

Moscow’s relationship with each individual Eastern bloc was dominant