Germany, 1945-55

I - The Soviet Zone

Dismemberment

By the terms of Germany’s surrender in May 1945 – the ‘Berlin Declaration’ – German land was given to Poland, and the rest of the country was divided into four ‘zones’, occupied and initially administered by the USSR, the USA, Britain and France. Berlin was similarly divided into four ‘sectors’.

In August 1948, the USA, Britain and France combined their zones into ‘Trizonia’, which became in May 1949 the Federal Republic of Germany (‘West Germany’). As this was the start of the Cold War, however, the Soviet Zone remained separate, becoming the German Democratic Republic (‘East Germany’) in October 1949.

Germany in 1947

Denazification

Denazification in the Soviet sector had two principles – first to destroy Nazism but, second, to establish Communism as the ruling political force.

1. The Public Space

    •  All trace of Nazism was removed – flags, posters, insignia etc. – and it was illegal to display them.

2. Purge of Nazi Party Members

    •  122,000 Nazi Party officials were removed from government, administration, and industry, and imprisoned. The process was conducted by the NKVD, and the camps were run as the Soviet Gulag; perhaps as many as 80,000 of prisoners died.

    •  Tribunals were set up, run by trusted Germans, to convict former members of the Nazi Party; those found guilty were imprisoned, or banned from office. The process was wound up in 1948 after screening between ⅓ and ½ million individuals.

3. War Crimes Trials

    •  The Leipzig War Crimes Trials (1945-1946) dealt with industrialists accused of using forced labour.

4. Re-education and Propaganda

The Soviet Zone implemented a comprehensive program to ‘re-educate’ the population in socialist and anti-fascist values.

    •  Children’s literature was heavily censored.

    •  Schools, universities, and media underwent ideological transformation, emphasizing the idea that socialism was the answer to fascism.

    •  Propaganda portrayed the Soviet Union as a liberator and friend of the East German people, and Soviet methods of persuasion – youth groups, rallies, festivals and the secret police – were used to build support.

    •  Especial care was taken to look after the POWs returning from horrific conditions in Soviet camps, fearing that they might be violently anti-Soviet. 1948 was declared the ‘Year of the Returnee’, and the SED’s: Volkssolidaritat (‘People's Solidarity’) welfare organisation worked with the churches and 6,000 women’s local anti-fascist committees to look after their physical and mental rehabilitation (though the latter seems to have been rough and ready – see Source A). In 1949, hundreds of Heimkehrer (‘homecomer’) conferences were held to assert the GDR's friendship with the USSR.

5. Government

    •  A Communist Party was established – the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany: SED), led by Walter Ulbricht – and the Soviets, although they kept their promise to hold elections, made sure that it became the governing party.

Rebuilding

1. Economic Reconstruction Under Soviet Control

The Soviets sought to rebuild the economy through state ownership and centralized planning:

    •  Large industries were nationalized under the Volkseigene Betriebe (‘People's Enterprises’: VEB). By 1950, over 75% of industrial output was from state-owned firms.

    •  The Two-Year Plan (1949-1950) and Five-Year Plan (1951-1955) – which aimed to increase industrial output by 35%, focusing on sectors like energy and chemicals – set targets for rebuilding and growth. They achieved modest growth at the expense of shortages of consumer goods.

    •  Universities prioritized subjects like engineering and science, and schools emphasized technical skills … though the school-leaving qualification, the Abitur, also measured political loyalty.

2. Land Reform and Redistribution

The communist Bodenreform (‘land reform’) of 1945 nationalised all private properties larger than 100 hectares. Large estates (Junker land) were confiscated, partly to punish individuals linked to the Nazi regime but also to eliminate the elite class. Some 7,000 estates (totalling 2.5m hectares) were confiscated from the Junkers, and distributed to ½ million peasants and landless labourers.

    •  The Bodenreform was extended to farms >20ha in 1949 and, after 1952, the government began to ‘collectivize’ farming by setting up Agricultural Production Cooperatives; as it had in Russia in the 1930s, this caused disruption and resistance, so production fell far short of targets.

3. Development of Socialist Urban Planning

    •  East Berlin became a symbol of socialist rebuilding, exemplified by the Stalinallee project (begun 1952), featuring grand, Stalinist-style apartment blocks for workers.

    •  Urban planning prioritized functional housing and public amenities, though resources were limited due to reparations and the focus on heavy industry.

    •  Building in the countryside fell far short of targets; of 37,000 new houses planned by the end of 1948, only 748 were completed.

4. Removal and Sovietization of Industry

Economic revival was greatly hampered as the Soviets confiscated industrial infrastructure as reparations:

    •  By 1946, c.1,800 industrial plants had been transported to the USSR. This was at the same time a punishment for Nazi crimes, and to replace Soviet industry destroyed in the war … but also to destroy capitalism in East Germany.

    •  As a response to the American ‘Marshall Plan’ (which poured money into the western economies), Stalin set up Comecon in 1949 to coordinate the economies of eastern Europe. However, the Soviet bloc did not have the money to fund anything nearly as ambitious as the Marshall Plan, and Comecon – which coordinated Soviet bloc economies for the benefit of the USSR – actually made matters worse.

5. Migration to the West

    •  Between 1945 and 1952, millions fled the Soviet Zone to West Germany, seeking better living conditions and freedom.

    •  The loss of skilled workers and professionals created labor shortages and further strained reconstruction efforts.

Life in East Germany, 1945-55

1. Shortages

Severe shortages persisted due to war destruction, Soviet reparations, and the prioritization of heavy industry; living standards lagged way behind West Germany:

    •  Basic necessities, including food, clothing, and consumer goods, were rationed, and while rationing was officially abolished in 1950, food shortages persisted.  Diets were monotonous and unnutritious, with limited access to fresh produce or consumer goods.  Black markets flourished, with goods bartered or traded for hard currency.

    •  Housing: Bombing during WWII had destroyed 40% of housing in urban areas. Rebuilding was slow, and many lived in overcrowded, poorly maintained apartments or temporary shelters. Construction projects like the ‘Stalinallee’ were far from meeting demand.

    •  Transport networks, heavily damaged during the war, were only slowly rebuilt. Railways prioritized goods transport, leaving passenger services overcrowded and unreliable. This was especially limiting because few people owned a car.

    •  Healthcare:: The GDR aimed to provide universal healthcare, but shortages of medical equipment and medicines were common. However, efforts were made to rebuild hospitals and train medical staff.

    •  Unemployment: Initially, there was a labour shortage due to war deaths and the large number of men in POW camps; even when the POWs returned, state employment policies and industrial expansion kept demand for labour high. By 1950, employment in state-owned enterprises (VEBs) ensured job security, albeit often with low wages and limited worker rights.

2. Society

    •  Oppression & Propaganda: Political control was strict under the Socialist Unity Party (SED), with the terrifying Stasi ('State Security' – the secret police) formed in 1950 to monitor dissent; freedom of speech and movement were curtailed. In 1947 the anti-fascist women’s committees were dissolved, and their work put under the control of the state organisation: the Democratic Women’s Union.

    •  Social Inequalities: divisions grew between SED elites, factory workers, and rural populations. High-ranking party members often enjoyed better access to housing, food, and education.

    •  Culture and Leisure: There was an official paranoia which needed to ensure that all leisure time was appropriate to socialism. State-sponsored cultural activities like theatre, music, and literature promoted socialist values and discouraged ‘bourgeois’ or Western influences … like dancing, jazz, and Western films. Non-productive events such as flower festivals and beer-fests were discouraged. Instead, the State encouraged hobby fairs (such as stamp-collecting) and clubs (such as local history societies) which it then sought to control: so that, eg, amateur theatre groups were put under the Association of German People's Theatres, ramblers were assigned to the Sports League etc.

3. Religion and the Church

    •  The Soviet Zone initially saw the Church as a threat, but realised that it was too embedded to do anything about. Nobody was put to death for their religion, and just 15 Catholic priests were arrested for political reasons 1945-61 … and none after 1961.

    •  Religious groups, particularly Protestants, resisted indoctrination and were closely monitored by the state.

4. Women

The GDR’s attitude to women was conflicted:

    •  Women played a critical role in rebuilding urban areas, often working in the voluntary Trümmerfrauen ('rubble women') teams that cleared the debris of destruction in 1945.

    •  Especially until the POWs returned home, due to war deaths, women were the heads of household and almost the only workforce available, particularly in heavy industry and education.

    •  In 1946 the government guaranteed “equal pay for equal work” and banned gender discrimination in education. The 1949 GDR constitution granted formal equality, and access to childcare and maternity leave improved.

HOWEVER, traditional domestic roles persisted, especially after the POWs returned.

    •  Women continued to work, but this often burdened them with dual responsibilities, and pay disparities and discrimination persisted. To their fury, they were sacked from jobs requiring the carrying of heavy loads, exposure to chemicals or risk of accident.

5. Youth

    •  Education reforms and youth organizations like the Free German Youth (FDJ) indoctrinated children with socialist values and limited contact with Western media and ideas.

    •  Some youths rebelled against state control, inspired by western influences such as rock ’n’ roll and fashion. The ‘obsession’ with dances was so great that the government eventually gave up trying to prevent them, and organised official dances, with interludes for socialist acts such as accordion groups and short theatre presentations!

6. Heimat

Historians Celia Applegate (1990) and Mary Fulbrook (2008) found that – despite the oppression and economic failures – most people in East Germany seem to have been content. Applegate put this down to a deep-seated love of the Heimat – the homeland.

    •  Realising this, the State encouraged Heimat events, and argued that it was a socialist concept based on shared class.

    •  One Young Pioneers leader argued that outdoors expeditions were vital to give young people a love of the Heimat which would help them understand the need to defend it against western warmongers.

    •  In 1955, Heimatkunde (‘Homeland Studies’) was made a compulsory school subject.

7. Failure

Two facts, however, suggest that all was not well in the GDR:

    •  Migration: Between 1945 and 1952, at least 3 million people fled the Soviet Zone to West Germany, seeking better living conditions and freedom.

    •  The 1953 Uprising: In 1953, Stalin’s death coincided with shortages of food and the introduction of compulsory military service in the GDR. The result was a violent uprising which involved about 1 million people in towns across East Germany. It was brutally suppressed: 5,000 people were arrested and 1,200 served long prison sentences.