Establishing an identity as an independent state

Identity?

the sense of a country being a distinct and separate nation, with its own characteristics, government, and recognition by other nations

Independent state?

a self-governing nation with full sovereignty over its territory and people, free from external control

In what way did they develop an identity as an independent state?

in diplomatic and administrative terms (politically separate and internationally recognised)

What was the issue with this ‘independence’?

surface level

Why was this independent identity only surface level (what limited their independence)?

the underlying grip of the USSR (external control) and the lack of actual ‘sovereignty over its territory and people’

Argument 1?

the GDR had successfully established itself as an independent state

When was the GDR founded?

in 1949

What did it have separate to the FRG?

separate economic system and parliament

GDR parliament?

Volkskammer

What was a physical manifestation of their separation from West Germany?

the Berlin Wall

When did the Berlin Wall go up?

1961

What type of control did the wall exercise?

territorial control

What did the GDR do to its borders?

heavily guarded its borders and controlled entry and exit through its own border forces

What type of control does the Berlin Wall demonstrate the GDR exercising?

territorial control over its population and borders

When was the Basic Treaty?

1972

Basic Treaty (1972): what was it?

where the FRG and GDR both acknowledged the existence of each other as states and agreed to settle disputes without threatening or using force

Basic Treaty (1972): what did it form the basis of?

the relations between the FRG and GDR

Basic Treaty (1972): what did it go on to initiate for the GDR?

its acceptance into the wider world

Basic Treaty (1972): what were relations between the FRG and GDR now handled by, in the GDR?

the foreign ministry of the GDR - they viewed the FRG as a foreign country

Following the Basic Treaty, what did the GDR join?

the United Nations

When did the GDR join the UN?

1973

What did joining the UN provide the GDR with?

full international recognition

What did the treaties leading to the GDR joining the UN help the SED leadership to do?

legitimise its rule

What is a UN membership one of the clearest markers of?

international statehood

How many countries had the GDR gained formal diplomatic recognition from by 1978?

123 countries

When did the GDR formally establish its own regular armed forces?

National People's Army (NVA), on March 1, 1956

Argument 1: What is there strong evidence for?

that the GDR was an established state

Argument 2: what was created in the GDR?

the SED created an independent identity

What were there new measures taken to do?

to stress the difference between FRG and GDR

What was Honecker’s aim to stress these differences and the GDR a more confident sense of its own unique identity?

to provide a clear Demarcation between the two states

What did a whole generation grow up under?

socialist state - SED control - all they’ve known

By the 1980s, what were virtually all schoolchildren were educated through?

a Marxist-Leninist curriculum stressing the achievements of socialism

How many members did the FDJ have by the 1980s?

2.3 million members

What were youth groups and education a method for?

ingraining the ideals of socialism into society - distinctly independent from the west

What did media portray the GDR as?

a successful workers' state and contrasted it with the capitalist West

What message did newspapers such as Neues Deutschland constantly put out?

praised socialism, collective work, and loyalty to the state

Neues Deutschland?

SED paper

What did mass media encourage citizens to do?

identify with socialism rather than a broader German national identity

How did the GDR’s television, radio, and newspapers describe West Germany?

as a capitalist state controlled by big business and influenced by the West

Examples of the several official Radio stations (2)?

DDR1 & 2 DT64 (youth station)​

What did the SED increasingly refer to the GDR and West Germany as?

two separate German nations

What idea did presenting West Germany as the "Other Germany" help to create?

that East Germans belonged to a different political and social system

What did the mass media also celebrate?

GDR achievements

What achievements were there a large emphasis on in the mass media?

East German sporting successes, especially at the Olympics

Why did sport become an effective method of attaching large numbers of the population to the regime?

promoted sport as a mass participation activity - sporting organisations controlled by the SED and weren’t overly political

How many East Germans were part of a sporting club by 1982?

3.3 million East Germans

How was the GDR presented in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics?

the FRG and GDR were represented as one all-German team

How was the GDR presented in the 1968 Mexico Olympics (and onwards)?

the GDR and FRG entered separate teams - the GDR’s team was referred to as ‘East Germany’ whereas the FRG’s team was referred to as ‘Germany’

What was the entering of separate teams into the Olympics (1968) a symbol of?

the growing divergence and sense of post-war Germany’s divisions becoming more permeant

By the 1972 Munich Olympics, how was the GDR fully recognised?

by the use of its own flag and national anthem

How many gold medals did the GDR win in the 1976 Montreal games?

40

What were sporting victories were portrayed as?

proof of socialist superiority

What did the sporting success in the Olympics provide the GDR’s population with?

a genuine feeling of pride in representing the GDR internationally

What did the acceptance that many younger East Germans (that had spent their entire lives under socialism) had for aspects of East German identity reflect?

adaptation, rather than genuinely believing in the country’s distinct ideologies

Argument 3: what did the GDR fail to do?

create a fully independent national identity

Issues with mass media?

western media (although being illegal) was more popular and the mass media was a huge form of propaganda as well as heavily censored

What were other newspapers that were allowed controlled by?

the SED

How did the SED control these other newspapers?

Told them what to write, given daily instructions: all had the same themes​

How many news agencies?

one (SED run)

From when were no western newspapers allowed unless they were pro- communist?

1961

What was often more popular than Eastern media?

Western media

What were Eastern News bulletins scheduled to avoid?

western news bulletins (as GDR citizens would rather watch those).

Due to the preferred consumption of western media, what did many East Germans remain connected to?

remained culturally connected to West Germany - rather than embracing a separate socialist culture (not full sovereignty)

Why was the Berlin wall constructed?

to prevent the mass migration to the west

How many East Germans emigrated to the FRG between 1949-61?

2.5 million

How were most of those that emigrated?

young, skilled and educated (brain drain) - most productive citizens

What did Large numbers of East Germans choosing life in West Germany suggest?

limited loyalty to the socialist East German state and the lack of sovereignty over its people

When did the construction of the Berlin Wall start?

13 August 1961

What did East Germany have to do to stop them leaving?

physically prevent citizens from leaving by erecting a heavily fortified border

What an independent state with a widely accepted national identity would not normally need to do?

imprison its population to stop emigration

If East Germany was as strong as its mass media tried to create its identity to seem, what wouldn’t the regime have had to do?

would not have needed such extensive restrictions to stop people leaving

What did persistence of a wider German identity/the influence of the FRG undermine?

claims that (ideologically) a separate nation had been fully created

Argument 4: what limited true independence?

dependence on the Soviet Union and the Soviet Union’s control

Despite the GDR having their own army, what did the Soviet union deploy into the GDR?

massive military forces in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) as part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG)

How many soldiers were part of the GSFG at its peak?

338,000 troops

Whose control did GSFG remain under?

Soviet control

What would a truly independent state would normally control?

all armed forces on its territory

When was the first (large-scale) East German protest?

East German Uprising of 1953 (17 June 1953)

Who did Ulbricht appeal to, asking them to directly intervene?

the Soviet Union (uncertain as to whether or not he had the loyalty of the East German police)

East German Uprising of 1953: how many Soviet soldiers that were stationed in the GDR moved in to supress the revolts?

20,000 Soviet soldiers

East German Uprising of 1953: how many Soviet tanks that were stationed in the GDR moved in to supress the revolts?

600 tanks

Therefore, what did the survival of the GDR state depend on?

depended directly on Soviet military intervention

When did the GDR become a member of COMECON?

1950

What did its economy become integrated into, due to joining COMECON?

the Soviet-led economic bloc

COMECON: what did the GDR rely on the Soviet Union for?

lots of raw materials

COMECON: what percentage of the GDR’s iron-ore, oil and wood did the Soviet supply?

90%

COMECON: what percentage of the GDR’s rolled steel and sheet material did the Soviet supply?

80%

COMECON: what is to tied closely to Soviet interests due to it?

Economic policy was tied closely to Soviet interests rather than being fully autonomous

What did key German leaders depend on?

Soviet Backing

Who retained power after 1953 largely because of Soviet support?

Walter Ulbricht

What type of leaders did the Soviet Union place in the GDR?

leaders that were loyal to the Soviet Union - an extension of the USSR

When did the Soviet Union pressure the removal of Walter Ulbricht?

1971

Who was Walter Ulbricht replaced with?

Erich Honecker

What does this change in leadership show?

Leadership changes could be determined by Soviet preferences

Therefore. although the GDR possessed Sovereignty on paper, what did they remain constrained by?

Soviet power and the need for their support

Therefore, what was the GDR not fully independent in the same way as?

Western sates