4 The Attitude of the Soviet Government towards the GDR

What had the USSR become increasingly concerned about particularly since the aftermath of the Czechoslovakian invasion?

the attitude of Ulbricht and the GDR’s attitude relative to the USSR

What did Brezhnev remind the SED leadership in 1972?

that the presence of the USSR should always be in the plans and thoughts of the GDR - especially as they had troops barracked there

What had Ulbricht desired that was unacceptable according to the Soviet leadership?

desired genuine co-operation between the two nations as equals

How did Ulbricht damage relations with the USSR?

by describing the GDR as a socialist model to be emulated by others - which (by implication) challenged the superiority of the USSR

When was Ulbricht’s rule ended?

August 1970

Who was Ulbricht’s rule ended by?

Brezhnev who met with the SED leadership without Ulbricht being present

When did 13 of the 21 members of the Politburo sign a letter from Brezhnev calling for Ulbricht’s resignation?

January 1971

Why was Honecker chosen to replace Ulbricht?

he was more willing to conform to the wishes of the USSR

For the most of the 1970s what was the most significant form of Soviet Influence?

the close relationship between Honecker and Brezhnev

What did Ulbricht’s notions of ‘friendship’ with the USSR shift to under Honecker?

the notion of being ‘forever and irrevocably allied’ with the USSR

Who did Honecker have the vital support of?

the USSR

What agenda did Brezhnev pursue?

an agenda in which Honecker could increase his own power base within the GDR, while the USSR had effective control over the GDR’s foreign policy

Who was the dominant partner and why?

the USSR - with overall control of all its satellite states through the Warsaw Pact

What did Honecker play the triangular diplomacy with the FRG and USSR through?

Ostpolitik

What did the Soviet Union also continue to negotiate matters concerning (while Honecker played the triangular diplomacy)?

negotiate matters concerning the GDR directly with the USA, Britain and France

What did the Four-Power Treaty guarantee?

the movement of people, traffic and trade from West Germany and West Berlin

When was the Four-Power Treaty guarantee?

1971

What is the Four-Power Treaty guarantee also known as?

the ‘Berlin accord’

What treaty tied links between the USSR and GDR?

the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance

What was the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance?

the extension of the Warsaw Pact - 10 year renewal

When was the Treaty of Friendship and Mutual Assistance?

1975

Détente?

the relaxation of strained relations

What did Détente move to in the late 1970s and early 1980s?

Cold War hostility

Due to the increasing Cold War Hostility what did the USSR put pressure on Honecker to tighten up on?

tighten up on aspects of Ostpolitik

Specific aspect of Ostpolitik that the USSR put pressure on Honecker to tighten up on?

travel restrictions from West Germany

What had the FRG given permission to NATO to place on its soil?

mid-range nuclear missiles

How did the USSR respond to the FRG having mid-range nuclear missiles placed on its soil?

by placing their own within the GDR

Who co-ordinated the military manoeuvres that forced the Polish government to repress popular protest in 1980?

the USSR

What did the USSR do when Honecker was invited to visited the FRG in 1981 and 1984, by Chancellor Schmidt and then Kohl?

initially advised Honecker to delay and then bluntly told him he was not going

What 2 most important constants in the life of the GDR was the USSR’s constant display of control over the GDR a reminder of?

the USSR being the senior status and that it was the USSR’s military might that underpinned the SED’s regime

The key mechanism to the attitude of the USSR being the senior status and that it was the USSR’s military might that underpinned the SED’s regime being maintained?

the Brezhnev Doctrine

Who was the attitude of the USSR being the senior status and that it was the USSR’s military might that underpinned the SED’s regime hardened by?

Brezhnev’s successors - Andropov and Chernenko

What put a real strain on the USSR’s foreign policy (the attitude of the USSR being the senior status and that it was the USSR’s military might that underpinned the SED’s regime)?

the long-term decline in the Russian economy

What Soviet Leader began to dismantle the Brezhnev Doctrine?

Mikhail Gorbachev

When did Mikhail Gorbachev become the leader of the USSR?

1985

What did the dismantling of the Brezhnev Doctrine do to the dominance of the USSR over the GDR?

relinquished Soviet dominance in the affairs of the GDR

What did the beginning of retracting of Soviet of dominance in the affairs of the GDR actually look like?

far from allowing the SED full independence as the rulers of a socialist state, it actually would remove the very pillar of support the SED needed to maintain control

What is the prominent decade of growing international recognition for the GDR (under Honecker) shown through (2)?

its membership to the United Nations and prominent place at the 1975 Helsinki Accords

What is the prestige gained by the GDR most visible in the form of?

in the form of state visits, not only within COMECON and Warsaw Pact countries, but Western states as well

What kept the GDR in the East as these visits tended to pull the GDR towards the West?

the GDR’s role within the Warsaw Pact kept it in the east - especially when it concerned political matters

The most dominant limit to the GDR as an independent state?

the control of the USSR - the GDR only moved as far as the USSR allowed it to move

Although the GDR may have felt like an independent socialist state who was recognised by most of the world in 1984, what was it still heavily reliant on (2)?

its economic ties with the FRG and its political ties to the USSR