In particular, it examines the role played by the East German church in that country's bloodless revolution. Although some scholars and political commentators.
Table of contents
- The East German Church and the End of Communism - John P. Burgess - Google Книги
- Accessibility links
- 8 Things That Were Better in East Germany*
- Christianity in East Germany
Although the previous five-year plan had not been fulfilled, the congress once again set very high goals. Due to the strong German tradition of drinking coffee, coffee imports were one of the most important for consumers. A massive rise in coffee prices in —77 led to a quadrupling of the annual costs of importing coffee compared to — This caused severe financial problems for the GDR , which perennially lacked hard currency.
As a result, in mid the Politburo withdrew most cheaper brands of coffee from sale, limited use in restaurants, and effectively withdrew its provision in public offices and state enterprises. Unsurprisingly, the new coffee was generally detested for its awful taste, and the whole episode is informally known as the "coffee crisis". The crisis passed after as world coffee prices began to fall again, as well as increased supply through an agreement between the GDR and Vietnam - the latter becoming one of the world's largest coffee producers in the s.
However, the episode vividly illustrated the structural economic and financial problems of the GDR. Although in the end political circumstances led to the collapse of the SED regime, the GDR's growing international hard currency debts were leading towards an international debt crisis within a year or two. Debts continued to grow in the course of the s to over DM40 bn owed to western institutions, a sum not astronomical in absolute terms the GDR's GDP was perhaps DMbn but much larger in relation to the GDR's capacity to export sufficient goods to the west to provide the hard currency to service these debts.
Much of the debt originated from attempts by the GDR to export its way out of its international debt problems, which required imports of components, technologies, and raw materials; as well as attempts to maintain living standards through imports of consumer goods. The GDR was internationally competitive in some sectors such as mechanical engineering and printing technology. However the attempt to achieve a competitive edge in microchips not only failed, but swallowed increasing amounts of internal resources and hard currency.
Another significant factor was the elimination of a ready source of hard currency through re-export of Soviet oil, which until was provided below world market prices. The resulting loss of hard currency income produced a noticeable dip in the otherwise steady improvement of living standards.
In May , local government elections were held. The public reaction was one of anger, when it was revealed that National Front candidates had won the majority of seats, with 'only' In other words, despite larger-than-ever numbers of voters rejecting the single candidate put forward by the Front an exercise of defiance that carried great risk—including being sacked from a job or expelled from university , the vote had been flagrantly rigged.
In August , Hungary 's reformist government removed its border restrictions with Austria — the first breach in the so-called " Iron Curtain ". The Hungarian government told their furious East German counterparts that international treaties on refugees took precedence over a agreement between the two countries restricting freedom of movement.
The East German Church and the End of Communism - John P. Burgess - Google Книги
Thousands of East Germans also tried to reach the West by staging sit-ins at West German diplomatic facilities in other East European capitals, especially in Prague , Czechoslovakia. The GDR subsequently announced that it would provide special trains to carry these refugees to West Germany, claiming it was expelling "irresponsible antisocial traitors and criminals. Virtually ignoring the problems facing the country, Honecker and the rest of the Politburo celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Republic in East Berlin on October 7.
As in past celebrations, soldiers marched on parade and missiles were displayed on large trucks to showcase the Republic's weaponry. However, the parade proved to be a harbinger.
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Similar demonstrations for freedom of speech and of the press erupted across the country and increased pressure on the regime to reform. One of the largest occurred in Leipzig. Troops had been sent there—almost certainly on Honecker's orders—only to be pulled back by local party officials. In an attempt to ward off the threat of popular uprising, the Politburo ousted Honecker on October Honecker's replacement was Egon Krenz , the regime's number-two man for most of the second half of the s. Although he was almost as detested as Honecker himself, he made promises to open up the regime from above.
Few East Germans were convinced, however; the demonstrations continued unabated. Additionally, people continued to flee to West Germany in increasing numbers, first through Hungary and later through Czechoslovakia. At one point, several schools had to close because there were not enough students or teachers to have classes.
On November 9, in an effort to stave off the protests and the mass exodus, the government crafted new travel regulations that allowed East Germans who wanted to go to West Germany either permanently or for a visit to do so directly through East Germany. When a reporter asked when the regulations were to take effect, Schabowski assumed they were already in force and replied, "As far as I know Unprepared, outnumbered, and unwilling to use force to keep them back, the guards finally let them through.
In the following days increasing numbers of East Germans took advantage of this to visit West Germany or West Berlin where they were met by West German government gifts of DM each, called "greeting money". The fall of the Berlin Wall was, for all intents and purposes, the death certificate for Communist rule in East Germany. Krenz, the Politburo, and the Central Committee resigned two days later.
Hans Modrow , who had been appointed prime minister only two weeks earlier, now became the de facto leader of a country in a state of utter collapse. Although the financial problems probably played no role in the opening of the borders on November 9, opening the borders eliminated any West German interest in further supporting the East German state, as West Germany immediately began to work towards a reunification.
In the event, massive West German financial support around half East Germany's budget in following the March elections prevented a financial collapse in the months leading up to reunification.
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Although there were some small attempts to create a non-socialist East Germany, these were soon overwhelmed by calls for reunification with West Germany. There were two main legal routes for this. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic explicitly stated that it was only intended for temporary use until a permanent constitution could be adopted by the German people.
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This was largely out of necessity, because at the time it was written it could not extend its authority to the East. The Basic Law therefore provided a means Article for a new constitution to be written for a united and democratic Germany.
8 Things That Were Better in East Germany*
The other route was Article 23, under which prospective states could accede to the Federal Republic by simple majority vote, in the process accepting its existing laws and institutions. This had been used in for the accession of the state of Saarland. Whilst Article had been expressly designed for the purpose of German reunification, it was apparent in that employing it would require a vastly longer and more complex process of negotiation - and one which would open up many political issues in West Germany, where constitutional reform particularly to respond to changing economic circumstances was a longstanding concern.
Even without this to consider, East Germany was virtually prostrate economically and politically. With these factors in mind, it was decided to use the quicker process in Article Under this route, reunification could be implemented in just six months, and completely sidestep the West German political conflicts involved in writing a new constitution.
Under the pressure of an increasing financial crisis driven partly by mass emigration to West Germany in early and partly by the Federal Republic's refusal to grant the loans that would have been needed to underpin a longer transition period , the Article 23 route rapidly became the frontrunner. The cost of this, however, was that East Germany's nascent democracy died less than a year after it was born, with a set of laws and institutions imposed from outside replacing a set of laws and institutions imposed from above.
Any debate, for example, about the value of the various social institutions such as the childcare, education, and healthcare systems, which had implemented policy ideas discussed in West Germany for decades, and still today was simply ruled out by this legal route. East Germany held its first free elections in March It was to no avail; as expected, the PDS was heavily defeated by the Alliance for Germany , a centre-right coalition dominated by the East German branch of the CDU and running on a platform of speedy reunification with West Germany.
The treaty also declared the intention for East Germany to join the Federal Republic by way of the Basic Law's Article 23 and indeed laid much of the ground for this by providing for the swift and wholesale implementation of West German laws and institutions in East Germany. In mid July most state property - covering a large majority of the East German economy - was transferred to the Treuhand , which was given the responsibility of overseeing the transformation of East German state-owned business into market-oriented privatised companies.
On July 22 a law was passed recreating the five original federal states of East Germany, to take effect on October 14; and on August 31 the Unification Treaty set an accession date of October 3 modifying the State Creation Law to come into effect on that date. The Unification Treaty declared that with few exceptions at accession the laws of East Germany would be replaced overnight by those of West Germany.
The Volkskammer approved the treaty on September 20 by a margin of in effect, voting East Germany out of existence. In September, after some negotiations which involved the United States, the Soviet Union, France, and the United Kingdom, conditions for German reunification were agreed on, with the Allies of World War II renouncing their former rights in Germany and agreeing to remove all occupying troops by With the 12 September signing of the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany , Germany became fully sovereign once more from March 15, On October 3, , East Germany formally ceased to exist.
The five recreated states in its former territory acceded to the Federal Republic, while East and West Berlin reunited to form the third city-state of the Federal Republic. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. August Learn how and when to remove this template message. This article includes a list of references , but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations.
Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. September Learn how and when to remove this template message. Uprising of in East Germany. State Secretary for Church Affairs. East German coffee crisis. Monday demonstrations in East Germany and Die Wende.
German reunification and die Wende. The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, Harvard University Press, The Fall of the Soviet Empire. Countries of Eastern and Central Europe during their Communist period. Eastern Bloc Warsaw Pact Comecon. And no wonder there was a spot for every kid: The adult-to-child ratio was just 1 to 9. Recycling was vital business in the GDR, and not first and foremost for environmental reasons. The state lacked in raw materials and relied on recycling to bridge the gap. Kids could collect bottles, scrap metal, or paper as well as aerosol cans, paper bags, books, glasses, camera film, aluminum foil, and more and get paid for it.
My friend Kristin told me: That was a good way to make new use of old stuff, created a community feeling and provided kids with an opportunity to earn some money. In two hours, you could fill your trolley and earn 8 or 10 marks. For 8 marks you could pay for your school lunch for three weeks.
Christianity in East Germany
As soon as the GDR agency in charge of recycling stopped paying in , the volume of materials it collected dived by 90 percent. Soon after, it was forced to close all 16, recycling centers and fire 11, staff. Bockwurst, white-flour rolls, mustard from Bautzen, Spree River pickles. Cuisine across northern Germany is nothing to crow about — neither in the east nor the west. But Ossies say the GDR sausages were tastier and still today swear that the very best come from the region of Thuringia south of Berlin.
The meat products from Thuringia are mouthwatering, especially for any American who grew up with baloney and olive loaf. What I remember about East German Bockwurst was not the meat but the thin piece of stale white bread made with cheap flour that came with it — and that it cost about a quarter. People across Central and Eastern Europe say the best jokes were aimed at the Communist regimes and thus had something subversive about them.
Why are there no bank robberies in the GDR? Because you had to wait 12 years for a get-away car! The Ossi to the Wessi: GDR mothers donated , liters of milk. West Germany had nothing comparable. While western Germany has also been affected by secularisation processes, this tendency here is much weaker and church membership is much higher, The major change that took place in the Protestant and Catholic churches in eastern Germany after Unification was probably a political one, that is, that they were re-established as public bodies receiving public funding. The secular is thus an inevitable part of any research project on religion and its meanings and practices in eastern Germany.
It cannot be assumed that religion is the dominant source of morality. The study of religion must necessarily be linked to considerations of the legal and demographic status of religious communities and institutions. This research project will take into account the results of previous research in eastern Germany.
However, instead of adopting one narrative of secularisation fully, more appropriate answers will be sought out. Therefore, the investigation will work along the following two axes. West East Germany was regarded by its neighbours to the east as the wealthiest socialist country, an image that was reinforced by the many investigations of consumer culture in the GDR. On the other hand, East Germans could follow discourse of West German prosperity and freedom closely, for instance on West German television.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the socio-economic differentiation between inhabitants has changed fundamentally resulting in feelings of disappointment, followed by experiences of unemployment and loss of social security. A major element creating tension in this regard is hence located within one Germany: East Germany was united with West Germany. Everyday life in eastern Germany seems to be ridden by sentiments that are linked to moral discourses in which the socialist past itself comes to be regarded as a source of morality, even by religious communities. For the research project it is important to take into account not only the increasingly mixed population in this area persons raised in East Germany, West Germany and abroad , but also how East and West have influenced one another in the sphere of religion and its separation from a secular sphere.
For instance, during socialism, some churches in East Germany maintained their contacts with West German churches, which resulted in financial support, but also in the adoption of West European pedagogical models.