Gorbachev's influence and opposition groups

What were the two domestic parts of Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’?

Perestroika (economic restructuring) and Glasnost (openness/free speech).

What were the two foreign policy parts of Gorbachev’s new thinking?

The Sinatra Doctrine (end of Brezhnev Doctrine) and détente with the West to reduce military spending.

Give two ways Gorbachev’s ideas affected satellite states.

Inspired reform movements and removed Soviet military backing for communist regimes, exposing the GDR’s stagnation.

Give two reasons the GDR was especially vulnerable to Gorbachev’s reforms.

It relied heavily on Soviet support and any reform made it look more like the FRG, increasing calls for unification.

How did the SED respond to Gorbachev’s new thinking?

It opposed perestroika and glasnost and distanced itself from the USSR.

Give two examples of how the SED distanced itself from the USSR.

Hager’s 1987 speech rejecting reform; anti-Soviet propaganda showing USSR poverty; banning Soviet magazine Sputnik in 1988; censoring Gorbachev’s speeches.

What evidence shows these SED policies were unsuccessful?

Black market for Soviet publications grew; 83% of Leipzig youth supported Gorbachev; crowds shouted “Gorby!” during his 1989 visit.

Give three types of opposition groups in the 1970s/80s.

Peace, human rights, feminism, gay rights, and environmental groups.

What did most opposition groups want?

Their concerns addressed — not necessarily regime change.

Give three long-term reasons protests grew in the 1980s.

Influence of 1960s Western counter-culture; generation raised with the Berlin Wall; disillusionment with socialism.

Give three medium-term reasons protests grew.

1970s oil crisis and pollution; compulsory military training (1978); Concordat allowing Church protection of groups (1978); end of détente (1979); worsening living standards; Western influence through Ostpolitik.

Give three short-term reasons for protest growth in the mid-1980s.

Gorbachev’s reforms gave hope; greater Western contact after 1983/84 loans; growing repression and censorship by 1987.

When did Gorbachev officially end the Brezhnev Doctrine?

July 1988 (told Warsaw Pact ministers) and July 1989 (Council of Europe speech).

How did the Protestant Church contribute to protest groups?

Provided space and shelter; supported some movements; organised peace and youth events like ‘blues masses’.

Why did the SED become frustrated with the Church after the Concordat?

The Church failed or refused to control opposition groups.

How did Church–opposition relations change in the mid-1980s?

New independent grassroots movements emerged; less Church leadership; frustration with Church caution.

What does historian Peter Grieder argue about the Church’s role?

Many protestors weren’t religious; Church infiltration by Stasi limited its support for dissent.

How did the SED’s response change in 1987?

It became more repressive toward opposition groups.

What was the ‘Berlin Appeal’ and when was it published?

January 1982 – a statement by Havemann and Eppelmann calling for peace and withdrawal of foreign troops.

What triggered the rise of peace groups?

Military training in schools (1978) and end of détente (1979) increased fears of nuclear war.

Give two examples of peace movements.

Dresden Peace Forum (5,000 attendees 1982); ‘Women for Peace’ (1982); Olaf Palme Peace March (1987); ‘Peace Weeks’ and ‘Workshops’.

Give an example of a human rights movement.

Initiative for Peace and Human Rights (IFM) — called for democracy and political change.

What was significant about the IFM?

First independent opposition group; outside Church and state; published illegal journal Grenzfall; decentralised structure.

Give an example of ecological protest movements.

80–90 local groups; Church Research Centre (Wittenberg); Ecological Library (Zion Church, 1986); Green Party (1989). and seized 2,000 copies of its journal.

What happened at the Ecological Library in 1987?

Stasi raided the Zion Church and seized 2,000 copies of its journal.

What happened at the Luxemburg-Liebknecht Parade in January 1988?

Protestors joined official march; over 100 arrested; dissidents forced to leave GDR.

Why was the 1988 march significant?

It removed major opposition figures and fuelled wider protest.

How did the Stasi try to undermine opposition groups?

Used informants, arrests, deportations, and agents-provocateurs to incite or divide movements.

How successful was the Stasi’s response?

Ineffective — public fear declined; protests grew (e.g. Leipzig election monitoring in May 1989).