3.4: Western influences on the GDR

How were East-Germans monitored by the Stasi if they were permitted to travel West?

They were monitored through reigorous pre-travel screenings and extensive intelligence gathering which included informants among travellers. Travellers were frequenylu interviewed upon their reurn to the GDR, they would be made to discuss behaviours, friendships and conversations they had.

While not occuring while abroad, they did maintain surveillance on mail and wiretapping, even tracking activities they did.

What was the impact of West-East travel?

It was allowed that those with ‘urgent family business’ could travel to the West.

The FRG assured the SED that it had no interest in depopulating the GDR but if its citizens could travel more freely, they would be less likely to apply for permanent emigration. The SED appeared to agree and unofficially relaxed what ‘urgent’ meant.

In November 1988, they codified the legal conditions by which citizens could apply to leave and also said that public officials must explain their reasons for denying such applications.

In January 1989, at a Conference on European Security and Co-operation in Vienna, the GDR signed a document agreeing of the freedom of every citizen to leave his/her country and return.

This increased the number of people leaving.

In 1986, the GDR saw as many as 573,000 GDR citizens under retirement age visiting the FRG.The year before it was 200,000. 20% of the population visited the FRG in 1987 but they returned.

Why did emigration become an issue for both states?

For the FRG: Welfare resources were coming under pressure; competition for jobs, and housing in the poorest areas had a toll on the people financially and socially. Officials were worried it’d spiral out of control and become a political concern.

For the GDR: Could cause political tension with the FRG that was suffering due to it’s lax travel policies, again caused by the same issue which the 2 nations tried to resolve. Hatred and jealousy emerged within the people - those without western ties.

What were the main features of popular music in the GDR? How did the SED try and use popular music to engage young people in the activities of the FDJ?

The GDR was ambivalent in its attitude to pop music which it called ‘beat’. Ideologically it was seen as decadent.

But with the proximity of the West, young people could not be prevented from listening to it.

Also, leaders of the FDJ realised it could be a useful means of engendering support for the regime among the young. Throughout the GDR, leaders had been worried about the lack of engagement of young people due in part to the tediousness of many of the activities and entertainments on offer. They genuinely wanted to improve engagement, to make the message of socialism more appealing.

Pop music was not going to go away. Which could be seen in the ‘Germany Meeting’ was a massive youth rally of 500,000 participants in Berlin in 1964. Journalists likened it to a giant street party with music, dancing and theatre.

A new radio station, DT64, was introduced and played nothing but pop music.

How did the state’s attitude to popular music change over time?

1965 - Honecker reverses the tolerance of beat (44/49 groups were banned) - protests of this led to arrests

• Some 2500 young people protested.

  • They were met with police brutality and 267 arrests.

Beat music which morphed into other forms, notably rock, was circumscribed until the early 1970s, although it survived and was tolerated so long as it remained low profile.

1970-80s - Punk was deemed completely unacceptable → followers of it were deemed subversive delinquents.

What was the GDR’s film industry like? What were ‘Red Westerns’?

Cinema tickets were very cheap and accessible and the average ages of those going to the cinema was 24 or younger so the SED was able to use this as an opportunity to please and teach the youth subtly.

The 1960s gave rise to "‘Red Westerns’ or Ostern - these were movies which showed Native Americans in a heroic light (heavily contrasting Western films where minorities were depicted as animalistic or ostracised)

The 1960s and 70s was a time of anti-facist movies.

James Bond films were actually banned by the DR for ‘glorifying Western spies’ - Honecker did love them though.

What American movies were encouraged/shown in the GDR and why were these films chosen?

American films were often rarities in GDR cinemas this was not because they were suppressed but because there were licensing problems. However, they did often appear on television.

In 1969 audiences saw Twelve Angry Men about a potential miscarriage of justice and The Man with the Golden Arm about heroin addiction.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest concerning mental illness and its treatment was also widely viewed.

They also saw British ‘kitchen sink’ dramas from the early 1960s such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, which showed the realities of working-class life, were also shown.

The GDR, in an effort to distract television viewers from FRG programmes, showed French soft porn films on television on Saturday evenings.

How did Western media usage develop and increase in the GDR?

FDJ members were instructed to remove antannaes but to no avail it did not stop the spread of Western media. The black market of antennas grew as well as home made ones which were kept indoors to avoid being caught.

The mass production of TVs allowed for the increase in broadcasting of Western music and shows.

By 1971, 90% of people watched Western TV programmes (85% of families owned a TV).

In 1973, Western TV was allowed entirely and not fought against by the SED (had been illegal up until 1972).

Magazines were able to contain Western fashion trends and Western clothing wasn’t seen as a problem - Fulbrook had quoted a 1979 report from the GDR Youth Institute to illustrate the change in attitudes: ‘It took the authority of the Party and its General Secretary to make it clear that the length of hair and the tightness of trousers are not sufficient indicators of political attitude and societal involvement."‘

How did attitudes to Western goods develop in the GDR?

After the Wall limited personal contact, West Germans regularly sent their GDR friends and family ‘care-packets’. At first these only contained essentials like flour and vegetables, which it was believed were in short supply in the GDR, but later came to include luxuries such as real coffee and chocolate.

In the first part of 1962, the East German Post Office impounded 51,000 such packages – and the Stasi, in particular, were notorious for stealing Christmas presents to give to members of their own family.

From 1974, when East Germans were allowed to keep Western currency, Western goods could be purchased in hard currency from those who afford it.

What impact did Western radio and television have on the GDR? How far did these encourage Western attitudes among people in the GDR?

The authorities could not prevent FRG influences although they tried to portray it in the media as the enemy.

Young people enjoyed popular music and films as elsewhere, these often conveyed Western ideas.

The authorities were inconsistent in their attitudes toward the media and popular music was attacked from time to time. Most East Germans had access to Western television and with FRG citizens increasingly able to visit, they brought Western goods and hard currency.