A village that seceded from the GDR. Formation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR)

Until the early 1970s, the Germans and I were the most best friends, almost every Soviet schoolboy had a pen pal in Germany: a briefreund.
However, after the accession of both Germanys to the UN, everything changed dramatically, and de-Germanization began, which the Soviet government carried out very cruelly.

Here is what the false official story tells:

Germany in 1945-1949 - Wikipedia

Germany in 1945-1949 or the Occupation of Germany - (the unofficial name of this period - "zero years") was a territory in the center of Europe, divided into four zones of occupation, with a practically absent economy and a destroyed infrastructure that did not have a full-fledged own administration.

Zones of occupation in Germany.

From the very day the war ended, Germany was divided into two parts, controlled by two fundamentally different political and economic systems:

three western zones of occupation under the control of England, France and the United States of America;
Eastern zone of occupation under the control of the Soviet administration.

These were years not only of economic recovery, but also of rethinking the past and the formation of a new way of life.

The "zero years" ended with the formation of two German states - Germany (May 23, 1949) in the West and the GDR (October 7, 1949) in the East. The occupying troops liberated Germany and were stationed here with the official status of winners, but not liberators, which determined the nature of their relationship with the population. The orders issued by the command were aimed at isolating the troops in order to exclude mutual contacts in any form. However, the soldiers, despite repeated bans, found ways to get around them.

But what happened in reality, if you stop listening to Soviet propaganda, turn to both irrefutable facts and memories:

The USSR has never been a member of the United Nations. His membership in the League of Nations is a lie. (Wikipedia - USSR joined September 18, 1934; excluded December 14, 1939)

The USSR was formed in 1953 and from the very beginning was a bankrupt corporation, managed and financed from abroad.
Until 1953 there could be no USSR! Therefore, he could not automatically be a member of either the League of Nations or the UN.

The USSR was a member of the UN Security Council as the main defendant for the damage caused to the planet after its capture in about 1950. Now the legal successor of the USSR is Russia (RF)

The government of the USSR processed loans it received from foreign banks secured by territories, property, businesses, etc.
In case of non-payment of the debt, the territories left as collateral were seized and legally registered as members of the UN, automatically joining the mega-state that settled them.

Both Germany, the GDR and the FRG, were part of the USSR until 1973. That is, there were no separate Germanys. There was Germanorossia, or Russia was Germany.

I remember in the late 1960s and early 1970s, almost all children in the USSR had pen pals in Germany, they were called brief freund, but then suddenly this stopped abruptly.

I personally saw these letters from Germany, written in children's handwriting with an inclination to the left.

We are told that the de-Germanization of the USSR began after the 2nd World War:

Deportation and expulsion of Germans during and after World War II is the process of forced deportation of the German population of Eastern European countries to Germany and Austria, which took place in 1945-1950. after Germany's defeat in World War II. In total, about 12-14 million Germans were subjected to forced eviction.

But this is not true. Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Germans and I were best friends, de-Germanization could only begin after both Germanys joined the UN in 1973, there must have been very good reasons for such tough propaganda.

Here is what one blogger writes:

"It is hard enough to believe today that literally in 20-30 post-war years the de-Germanization of the history of the twentieth century could have been carried out so effectively. (I judge by myself - the initial absorption of propaganda clichés took place in the seventies and I didn’t hear anything about the existence of IG Farben, but I thought of Weimar Germany as some kind of impoverished short-term formation like the Makhnovist republics). To make it easier to believe that propaganda can erase the memory of such important events so quickly and successfully, it is appropriate to draw a parallel with the traditional Soviet resentment - the belittling of the role of the USSR in the Second World War by Western propaganda. 40% of young Americans believed that the USSR fought on the side of Germany - this figure was voiced in the 70s"

That is, the time 1965-75 is indicated, which coincides with the time when both Germanys joined the UN. And this means that the USSR lost these territories forever.

All dates must be shifted at least 20 years up the chronological scale:

In the so-called USSR until 1933 and later (according to official history, the USSR was formed in 1922, but this is not true) there were thousands of cities and towns with German names. The so-called USSR from 1919 to 1933 was officially Germany, or rather, was part of the Weimar Republic. It is difficult to say what percentage of the territory of the USSR and other modern states was part of the Weimar Republic, but as for the former USSR, you can find thousands of settlements with German names and estimate on the map:

Soldiers of the Franco-Prussian War. Part 5_1. German occupation of Russia 1853-1917 German names of Russian cities.
http://armycarus.do.am/publ/gosudarstvo/goroda_strany_armii/soldaty_franko_prusskoj_vojny_chast_5_1_nemeckaja_okkupacija_rossii_1853_1917_gg_nemeckie_nazvanija_rossijskikh_gorodov/27-1-0-45

Soldiers of the Franco-Prussian War. Part 5_2. German occupation of Russia 1853 - 1917 German names of Russian cities.
http://armycarus.do.am/publ/gosudarstvo/goroda_strany_armii/soldaty_franko_prusskoj_vojny_chast_5_2_nemeckaja_okkupacija_rossii_1853_1917_gg_nemeckie_nazvanija_rossijskikh_gorodov/27-1-0-47)

In 1973, both Germanys joined the United Nations:

Hoisting of two German flags outside the UN building in New York on September 18, 1973

1973 Flags of the GDR and the FRG at the UN.

Member states of the United Nations - Wikipedia

The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was admitted to the UN as an observer in 1955.
The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was admitted to the UN as an observer in 1972.

After the annexation of the GDR to the FRG on October 3, 1990, the territory of the GDR became part of the FRG, today known simply as Germany.

The FRG continues to be a member of the UN while the GDR ceased to exist.
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The question immediately arises: what about the 1st and 2nd World Wars, in which Russia (USSR) fought against Germany? Where are the tens of millions killed, where are the destroyed cities, factories, villages?
There were no these wars, about which the deceitful and vile Soviet intelligentsia told us in order to hide from the court of history and deceive the trophy population of the Soviet Union.

How could Germany fight against the USSR, when Germany was part of the USSR until 1973, just as 14 republics used to be part of the USSR before its collapse, this is all in our memory!

None of the former Soviet republics could arbitrarily join the UN, which meant that it broke away from the Soviet of Deputies and went over to the side of the sworn enemy "-America. Look at the English Wiki, almost all former Soviet republics joined the UN only after the collapse of the USSR:

And what happened instead of the 1st and 2nd World War? Why such destruction all over the country, buildings covered with silt and mud, roads, why was there a constant total deficit in all the post-war years?

But the intelligentsia did not tell us about this.

If today's GDR and FRG were part of the USSR, formed in 1953, until 1973, where did Nazi Germany disappear to?

And she didn't disappear.

The answer lies in the fact that the USSR was the same Nazi Germany from the moment of its formation.
Remember, the USSR had a powerful military industry to the detriment of civilian production, and therefore there was a constant shortage of consumer goods.

The USSR was building up its military power in order to take revenge for the defeat after the capture of the planet.

The government of the USSR took loans from foreign bankers, financed wars and revolutions around the world with these funds, helped "brotherly" countries, strive to make them allies. In the second half of the 1950s, all of Africa was on fire, then the revolution happened in Cuba, with the help of the USSR.
Then the production of mustard gas and phosgene began, with which all living things were poisoned.

For this, the megastate took away both Germany from the USSR.

In order to cover up the traces of the criminal past and in the eyes of the descendants to look legitimate and peaceful, the government of the USSR in the highest degree dealt cruelly with peaceful Germans. We heard that Stalin deported the Germans, and with this deportation they covered the eviction of the Germans already in the 1970s, and not in the 1940s-50s.

I knew many Germans in former USSR when they began to leave for Germany in the late 1980s, it was a shock for everyone. No one knew that they were Germans, they did not stand out among the rest of the population, except for accuracy, conscientiousness, honesty and diligence, they had no crime.

The Soviet government hid the truth about their criminal activities. To whitewash himself and disown the past, it was necessary to find a scapegoat. They made a whole people - ordinary Soviet Germans, who did not deserve such a cruel expulsion from the USSR. For all crimes, the leadership and the middle composition must be held accountable - those who made decisions and carried them out.
We are friends in misfortune with ordinary Soviet Germans: we lived together in harmony in a country that we mistakenly considered a stronghold of peace throughout the world. But, as it turned out, a well-armed brutal bandit was hiding behind this mask of peacefulness.

Cold War in Germany. The American Occupation of 1945 actually happened in the 1960s and 70s
Who knows how peacefully the process of accession of both Germanys to the UN took place?

The Russian-language Wikipedia is very vague about the membership of both Germanys in the UN since 1973, it seems that there are links to resolutions, but they do not work.

Officially - German Democratic Republic German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik)
Officially - the Federal Republic of Germany (until 1990) the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland)

Security Council Resolution: S/RES/335 (1973) dated 06/22/1973
GA resolution: A/RES/3050 (XXVIII) of 18.09.1973

May 23, 1949 - The Federal Republic of Germany is founded in Trizonia, the three combined zones of occupation of Germany (USA, Great Britain and France).

October 23, 1955 - a referendum was held in Saar Saar (German: Saarland, protectorate of France), whose inhabitants voted for joining Germany

September 12, 1990 - the Treaty on the final settlement with respect to Germany was signed between the FRG and the GDR, as well as Great Britain, the USSR, the USA and France.

October 3, 1990 - German reunification takes place. The GDR ceased to exist and became part of the Federal Republic of Germany.

IG Farben - the main weapon of the twentieth century

In the period from 1949 to 1990, two separate states existed on the territory of modern Germany - the communist GDR and the capitalist West Germany. The formation of these states was associated with one of the first serious crises of the times cold war, and the unification of Germany - with the final fall of the communist regime in Europe.

Reasons for separation

The main and, perhaps, the only reason for the division of Germany was the lack of consensus among the victorious countries regarding the post-war structure of the state. Already in the second half of 1945, the former allies became rivals, and the territory of Germany became a point of collision between two conflicting political systems.

The plans of the victorious countries and the separation process

The first projects concerning the post-war structure of Germany appeared as early as 1943. This issue was raised at the Tehran Conference, where Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt met. Since the conference took place after the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Kursk, the leaders of the "Big Three" were well aware that the fall of the Nazi regime would occur within the next few years.

The most daring project was proposed by the American president. He believed that five separate states should be created on German territory. Churchill also believed that after the war, Germany should not exist within its former borders. Stalin, who was more worried about the opening of a second front in Europe, considered the question of the division of Germany premature and not the most important. He believed that nothing could further prevent Germany from becoming a single state again.

The question of the dismemberment of Germany was also raised at subsequent meetings of the leaders of the Big Three. During the Potsdam Conference (summer 1945), a system of four-sided occupation was established:

England
USSR,
France.

It was decided that the Allies would consider Germany as a whole and encourage the emergence of democratic institutions on the territory of the state. The solution of most issues related to denazification, demilitarization, the restoration of the economy destroyed by the war, the revival of the pre-war political system, etc., required the cooperation of all the winners. However, immediately after the end of the war, it became increasingly difficult for the Soviet Union and its Western allies to find a common language.

The main reason for the split among the former allies was the reluctance of the Western powers to liquidate German military enterprises, which was contrary to the demilitarization plan. In 1946, the British, French and Americans united their zones of occupation, forming Trizonia. On this territory, they created a separate system of economic management, and in September 1949 it was announced the emergence of a new state - the Federal Republic of Germany. The leadership of the USSR immediately took retaliatory measures by creating the German Democratic Republic in its zone of occupation.

Creation of the German Democratic Republic

In the Soviet occupation zone, the creation of the German Democratic Republic was legitimized by the institutions of the People's Congresses. The 1st German People's Congress met in December 1947, it was attended by the SED, LDPD, a number of public organizations and the KPD from the western zones (the CDU refused to take part in the congress). The delegates came from all over Germany, but 80% of them represented residents of the Soviet zone of occupation. The 2nd Congress was convened in March 1948 and was attended by delegates from East Germany only. It was elected German people's council, whose task was to develop a constitution for a new democratic Germany. The council adopted a constitution in March 1949, and in May of the same year, elections were held for delegates to the 3rd German People's Congress, which were carried out according to the model that became the norm in the Soviet bloc: voters could only vote for a single list of candidates, the vast majority of whom were members of the SED . The 2nd German People's Council was elected at the congress. Although the SED delegates did not form a majority in this council, the party secured its dominant position through party leadership of delegates from social organizations (youth movement, trade unions, women's organization, cultural league).

On October 7, 1949, the German People's Council proclaimed the creation German Democratic Republic. Wilhelm Pick became the first president of the GDR, and Otto Grotewohl became the head of the Provisional Government. Five months before the adoption of the constitution and the proclamation of the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany was proclaimed in West Germany. Since the official creation of the GDR took place after the creation of the FRG, East German leaders had a reason to blame the West for the split of Germany.

Economic difficulties and discontent of workers in the GDR

Throughout its existence, the GDR experienced constant economic difficulties. Some of these were the result of scarcity of natural resources and weak economic infrastructure, but most were the result of policies pursued by Soviet Union and the East German authorities. On the territory of the GDR there were no deposits of such important minerals as coal and iron ore. There was also a lack of high-class managers and engineers who fled to the West.

In 1952, the SED proclaimed that socialism would be built in the GDR. Following the Stalinist model, the leaders of the GDR imposed a rigid economic system with central planning and state control. Heavy industry was subject to predominant development. Ignoring the dissatisfaction of citizens caused by the shortage of consumer goods, the authorities tried by all means to force workers to increase labor productivity.

After Stalin's death, the situation of the workers did not improve, and they responded with an uprising on June 16-17, 1953. The uprising began as a strike of construction workers in East Berlin. The unrest immediately spread to other industries in the capital, and then to the entire GDR. The strikers demanded not only the improvement of their economic situation, but also the holding of free elections. The authorities were panic-stricken. The paramilitary "People's Police" lost control of the situation, and the Soviet military administration brought in tanks.

After the events of June 1953, the government switched to a policy of carrots and sticks. Softer economic policy("New Deal") provided for a reduction in output standards for workers and an increase in the production of certain consumer goods. At the same time, large-scale repressions were carried out against the instigators of unrest and disloyal functionaries of the SED. About 20 demonstrators were executed, many were thrown into prison, almost a third of party officials were either removed from their posts or transferred to other jobs with official motivation "for losing contact with the people." Nevertheless, the regime managed to overcome the crisis. Two years later, the USSR officially recognized the sovereignty of the GDR, and in 1956 East Germany formed the armed forces and became a full member of the Warsaw Pact.

Another shock for the countries of the Soviet bloc was the 20th Congress of the CPSU (1956), at which the Chairman of the Council of Ministers N.S. Khrushchev exposed the Stalinist repressions. The revelations of the leader of the USSR caused unrest in Poland and Hungary, but in the GDR the situation remained calm. The improvement in the economic situation caused by the new course, as well as the opportunity for disgruntled citizens to "vote with their feet", i.e. emigrate across the open border in Berlin helped prevent a repeat of the events of 1953.

Some softening of Soviet policy after the 20th Congress of the CPSU encouraged those members of the SED who did not agree with the position of Walter Ulbricht, a key political figure in the country, and other hardliners. The reformers, led by Wolfgang Harich, a lecturer at the University. Humboldt in East Berlin, advocated democratic elections, workers' control of production, and the "socialist unification" of Germany. Ulbricht also managed to overcome this opposition of the "revisionist deviationists". Harich was sent to prison, where he stayed from 1957 to 1964.

Berlin Wall

Having defeated the supporters of reforms in their ranks, the leadership of East Germany embarked on an accelerated nationalization. In 1959, the mass collectivization of agriculture and the nationalization of numerous small enterprises began. In 1958, about 52% of the land was under private sector, by 1960 it was brought up to 8%.

Demonstrating support for the GDR, Khrushchev took a tough stance against Berlin. He demanded de facto recognition from the Western powers of the GDR, threatening to block access to West Berlin. (Until the 1970s, the Western powers refused to recognize the GDR as an independent state, insisting that Germany should be unified in accordance with post-war agreements.) Once again, the scale of the exodus of the population from the GDR that began was terrifying for the government. In 1961, more than 207,000 citizens left the GDR (in total, more than 3 million people moved to the west since 1945). In August 1961, the East German government blocked the flow of refugees by ordering the construction of a concrete wall and barbed wire fences between East and West Berlin. Within a few months, the border between the GDR and West Germany was equipped.

Stability and prosperity of the GDR

The exodus of the population stopped, the specialists remained in the country. There was an opportunity to carry out more effective state planning. As a result, in the 1960s and 1970s, the country managed to achieve a level of modest prosperity. The rise in living standards was not accompanied by political liberalization or weakening of dependence on the USSR. The SED continued to tightly control the fields of art and intellectual activity. East German intellectuals experienced much greater limitations in their work than their Hungarian or Polish counterparts. The well-known cultural prestige of the nation rested mainly on left-wing writers of the older generation, such as Bertolt Brecht (together with his wife, Helena Weigel, who directed the famous Berliner Ensemble theater group), Anna Segers, Arnold Zweig, Willy Bredel and Ludwig Rennes . But there are also some new significant names, among them - Christa Wolf and Stefan Geim.

East German historians should also be noted, such as Horst Drexler and other researchers of the German colonial policy of 1880-1918, in whose works a reassessment of individual events of recent German history. But the GDR was most successful in raising its international prestige in the field of sports. An extensive system of state-run sports clubs and training camps has produced high-profile athletes who have achieved astonishing success in the Summer and Winter Olympics since 1972.

Changes in the leadership of the GDR

By the end of the 1960s, the Soviet Union, still firmly in control of East Germany, began to show dissatisfaction with the policies of Walter Ulbricht. The leader of the SED actively opposed the new policy of the West German government led by Willy Brandt aimed at improving relations between West Germany and the Soviet bloc. Dissatisfied with Ulbricht's attempts to sabotage Brandt's eastern policy, the Soviet leadership forced his resignation from party posts. Ulbricht retained the minor post of head of state until his death in 1973.

Ulbricht's successor as first secretary of the SED was Erich Honecker. A native of the Saarland, he joined the Communist Party early, and after his release from prison at the end of World War II, he became a professional SED functionary. For many years he headed the youth organization Free German Youth. Honecker set out to consolidate what he called "real socialism". Under Honecker, the GDR began to play a certain role in international politics, especially in relations with the countries of the Third World. After the signing of the Basic Treaty with West Germany (1972), the GDR was recognized by most countries of the world community and in 1973, like the FRG, became a member of the UN.

The collapse of the GDR

Although there were no more mass uprisings until the late 1980s, the East German population never fully adapted to the SED regime. In 1985, about 400,000 citizens of the GDR applied for a permanent exit visa. Many intellectuals and church leaders openly criticized the regime for its lack of political and cultural freedoms. The government responded by increasing censorship and expelling some prominent dissidents from the country. Ordinary citizens expressed outrage at the system of total surveillance carried out by an army of informers who were in the service of the Stasi secret police. By the 1980s, the Stasi had become a kind of corrupt state within a state that controlled its own industrial enterprises and even carried out speculative transactions in the international currency market.

The coming to power in the USSR of MS Gorbachev and his policy of perestroika and glasnost undermined the basis for the existence of the SED ruling regime. East German leaders recognized the potential danger early on and abandoned restructuring in East Germany. But the SED could not hide from the citizens of the GDR information about changes in other countries of the Soviet bloc. West German television broadcasts, which were watched much more frequently by the inhabitants of the GDR than East German television productions, provided extensive coverage of the course of reforms in Eastern Europe.

The dissatisfaction of most East German citizens with their government culminated in 1989. While neighboring Eastern European states were rapidly liberalizing their regimes, the SED welcomed the brutal suppression of a Chinese student demonstration in June 1989 in Tiananmen Square. But it was no longer possible to contain the wave of impending changes in the GDR. In August, Hungary opened its border with Austria, allowing thousands of East German vacationers to emigrate to the west.

At the end of 1989, popular discontent resulted in colossal protest demonstrations in the GDR itself. "Monday Demonstrations" quickly became a tradition; hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of large cities of the GDR (the most massive demonstrations took place in Leipzig) demanding political liberalization. The leadership of the GDR was divided on the question of how to deal with the disaffected, in addition, it became clear that it was now left to its own devices. In early October, M.S. arrived in East Germany to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the GDR. Gorbachev, who made it clear that the Soviet Union would no longer interfere in the affairs of the GDR to save the ruling regime.

Honecker, who had just recovered from a serious operation, advocated the use of force against the protesters. But most members of the SED Politburo did not agree with his opinion, and in mid-October Honecker and his main allies were forced to resign. Egon Krenz became the new general secretary of the SED, as did Honecker, the former leader of the youth organization. The government was headed by Hans Modrow, secretary of the Dresden district committee of the SED, who was reputed to be a supporter of economic and political reforms.

The new leadership attempted to stabilize the situation by accommodating some particularly widespread demands of the demonstrators: the right to leave the country freely (the Berlin Wall was opened on November 9, 1989) and free elections were proclaimed. These steps were not enough, and Krenz, after serving as head of the party for 46 days, resigned. At a hastily convened congress in January 1990, the SED was renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), and a truly democratic party charter was adopted. Gregor Gysi, a lawyer by profession who defended several East German dissidents during the Honecker era, became chairman of the renewed party.

In March 1990, the citizens of the GDR participated in the first free elections in 58 years. Their results greatly disappointed those who hoped for the preservation of a liberalized but still independent and socialist GDR. Although several newly emerging parties advocated a "third way" other than Soviet communism and West German capitalism, a bloc of parties allied with the West German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won a landslide victory. This electoral bloc demanded unification with West Germany.

Lothar de Maizière, leader of the East German CDU, became the first (and last) freely elected Prime Minister of the GDR. The short period of his reign was marked by great changes. Under the leadership of de Maizière, the former control apparatus was quickly dismantled. In August 1990, five lands were restored that were abolished in the GDR in 1952 (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia). On October 3, 1990, the GDR ceased to exist, united with the Federal Republic of Germany.

Germany

The division of Germany into the FRG and the GDR

The geopolitical results of World War II were disastrous for Germany. It lost its statehood for several years and its territorial integrity for many years. Was torn off 24% of the territory Germany occupied in 1936, including East Prussia, divided between Poland and the USSR. Poland and Czechoslovakia received the right to evict ethnic Germans from their territories, as a result of which a stream of refugees moved into Germany (by the end of 1946, their number amounted to about 9 million people).

By decision of the Crimean Conference, the territory of Germany was divided into four zones of occupation: Soviet, American, British and French. Similarly, Berlin was divided into four sectors. At the Potsdam Conference, the main principles of the occupation policy of the Allied states (demilitarization, denazification, decartelization, democratization of Germany) were agreed upon. However, the lack of firm agreements with the German problem led the administrations of the occupation zones to apply the Potsdam principles at their own discretion.

The leadership of the Soviet military administration in Germany immediately took steps to form an obedient regime in its zone. The local committees spontaneously created by the anti-fascists were disbanded. To solve administrative and economic issues, central departments were created. main role they were played by communists and social democrats. In the summer of 1945, the activities of 4 political parties were allowed: Communist Party Germany (KPD), the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Liberal Democratic Party of Germany (LDP). Theoretically, all permitted parties enjoyed equal rights, but in practice the Soviet government frankly preferred the KKE.

Based on the notion that Nazism was a product of capitalism and denazification implies a struggle against capitalist influence in German society, the Soviet government in the first months of the occupation seized "commanding heights" in the economy. A bunch of large enterprises were nationalized on the basis that they belonged to the Nazis or their supporters. These enterprises were either dismantled and sent to the Soviet Union as reparations, or continued to operate as Soviet property. In September 1945, a land reform was carried out, during which more than 7,100 estates with an area of more than 100 hectares were expropriated free of charge. About 120 thousand landless peasants, agricultural workers and migrants received small allotments from the created land fund. The reactionaries were dismissed from the civil service.

The Soviet administration forced the SPD and the KPD to unite into a new party called the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). In subsequent years, control by the communists became more and more severe. In January 1949, the SED conference decided that the party should become a Leninist "party of a new type" along the lines of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Thousands of socialists and communists who disagreed with this line were expelled from the party in a purge. In general, the same model was used in the Soviet zone of occupation as in other Eastern European countries. She meant the Stalinization of the Marxist party, the deprivation of the independence of the “middle class” parties, further nationalization, repressive measures and the virtual elimination of the competitive electoral system.

The Western states acted in Germany as authoritarianly as the Soviet administration in its own zone. The anti-fascist committees were disbanded here as well. Land governments were established (in the American zone during 1945, in the British and French in 1946). Appointment to posts was carried out by a strong-willed decision of the occupying authorities. In the western occupation zones, the KKE and SPD also resumed their activities. The CDU was created, with which it established relations of the "commonwealth"; the Christian Social Union (CSU) was created in Bavaria; this party bloc began to be called the CDU / CSU. The liberal democracy camp was represented by the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

Soon the United States and Great Britain came to the conclusion that the revival of the German economy was vital to the recovery of Western Europe. The Americans and the British moved to concerted action. The first steps towards the unification of the western zones were made at the end of 1946, when the American and British administrations agreed to unite the economic management of their zones from January 1, 1947. The so-called Bizonia was formed. The Bizonia administration received the status of parliament, i.e. acquired political rice. In 1948, the French also annexed their zone in Bizonia. The result was Trizonia.

In June 1948, the Reichsmark was replaced by the new "Deutsche mark". The healthy tax base created by the new currency helped Germany join the Marshall Plan in 1949.

Monetary reform led to the first clash between West and East in the Cold War was beginning. In an effort to isolate their occupation zone from the influence of the Western economy, the Soviet leadership rejected both Marshall Plan assistance and the introduction of a new currency in their zone. It also relied on the introduction of the German mark in Berlin, but the Western Allies insisted that the new currency become legal tender in the western sectors of the city. In order to prevent the penetration of the new brand into Berlin, the Soviet administration impeded the transport of goods from the west to Berlin by rail and road. On June 23, 1948, the supply of Berlin by rail and road was completely blocked. The so-called Berlin Crisis emerged. The Western powers organized an intensive air supply ("air bridge"), which provided everything necessary not only for the military garrisons of Berlin, but also for its civilian population. On May 11, 1949, the Soviet side admitted defeat and ended the blockade. The Berlin crisis is over.

The strengthening of the confrontation between the USSR and the countries of the West made it impossible to create a single German state. In August 1949, general parliamentary elections were held in West Germany, which brought victory to the CDU / CSU party, and on September 7, the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany was proclaimed. In response, on October 7, 1949, the German Democratic Republic was proclaimed in the east of the country. So, in the fall of 1949, the split of Germany received legal formalization.

1952 The United States, Britain and France signed an agreement with the FRG, which ended the formal occupation of West Germany, but their troops remained on German territory. 1955 between the USSR and the GDR was signed an agreement on the full sovereignty and independence of the GDR.

West German "economic miracle"

In the parliamentary (Bundestag) elections of 1949, two leading political forces were determined: the CDU / CSU (139 mandates), the SPD (131 mandates) and the “third force” - the FDP (52 mandates). The CDU/CSU and the FDP formed a parliamentary coalition, allowing them to create a joint government. Thus, in Germany, a “two-half” party model has developed (in contrast to the two-party model in the USA and Great Britain). This model was kept in the future.

The first chancellor (head of government) of the FRG was the Christian Democrat K. Adenauer (he held this position from 1949 to 1963). A characteristic feature of his political style was the desire for stability. An equally important circumstance was the implementation of an exceptionally effective economic course. Its ideologist was the permanent Minister of Economics of Germany L. Erhard.

The social market economy model created as a result of Erhard's policy was based on the concept of ordoliberalism (from German "Ordung" - order). Ordoliberals defended the free market mechanism, not in spite of, but thanks to state intervention. They saw the basis of economic well-being in strengthening the economic order. At the same time, key functions were given to the state. Its intervention was supposed to replace the action of market mechanisms, but to create conditions for their effective functioning.

hard period economic reform fell on 1949-1950, when the liberalization of pricing caused an increase in prices with a relative decrease in the level of incomes of the population, and the restructuring of production was accompanied by a surge in unemployment. But already in 1951 there was a turn to the side, and in 1952 the rise in prices stopped, and the unemployment rate began to decline. In subsequent years, there was an unprecedented economic growth: 9-10% per year, and in 1953-1956 - up to 10-15% per year. The Federal Republic of Germany took second place among Western countries in terms of industrial production (and only at the end of the 60s was pushed aside by Japan). Large exports made it possible to create a significant gold reserve in the country. The German currency has become the strongest in Europe. In the second half of the 1950s, unemployment practically disappeared, and real incomes of the population tripled. Until 1964, the gross national product (GNP) of the FRG increased 3 times, and it began to produce more products than all of pre-war Germany. At that time, they started talking about the German "economic miracle".

The West German "economic miracle" was due to a number of factors. Chosen by Erhard economic system where liberal market mechanisms were combined with a targeted tax and credit policy of the state. Erhard succeeded in getting firm anti-monopoly legislation passed. A significant role was played by revenues from the Marshall Plan, the absence of military spending (before the FRG joined NATO), as well as the influx of foreign investment ($350 billion). In German industry, which was destroyed during the war years, there was a massive renewal of fixed capital. The introduction of the latest technologies that accompanied this process, combined with the traditionally high efficiency and discipline of the German population, caused a rapid increase in labor productivity.

Agriculture developed successfully. As a result of the agrarian reform of 1948-1949, carried out with the assistance of the occupying authorities, land property was redistributed. As a result, most of the land fund passed from large owners to medium and small ones. In subsequent years, the share of those employed in agriculture decreased steadily, however, extensive mechanization and electrification of peasant labor made it possible to ensure a general increase in the production of this sector.

The social policy, which encouraged direct relations between entrepreneurs and workers, turned out to be very successful. The government acted under the motto: "Neither capital without labor, nor labor without capital can not exist." have been expanded pension funds, housing construction, a system of free and preferential education, vocational training. The rights of labor collectives in the field of production management were expanded, but their political activity was prohibited. The wage system was differentiated depending on the length of service at a particular enterprise. In 1960, the “Law on the Protection of the Rights of Working Youth” was adopted, and since 1963, a minimum leave was introduced for all workers. The tax policy encouraged the transfer of part of the wage fund into special "people's shares", which were distributed among the employees of the enterprise. All these government measures made it possible to ensure an adequate growth in the purchasing power of the population in the conditions of economic recovery. Germany was in the grip of a consumer boom.

In 1950, Germany became a member of the Council of Europe and began to take an active part in negotiations on European integration projects. In 1954, Germany became a member of the Western European Union, and in 1955 joined NATO. In 1957, Germany became one of the founders of the European Economic Community (EEC).

In the 1960s, a regrouping of political forces took place in Germany. The FDP supported the SPD and, forming a new coalition, the two parties formed a government in 1969. This coalition lasted until the early 1980s. During this period, the social democrats W. Brandt (1969-1974) and G. Schmidt (1974-1982) were chancellors.

A new political regrouping took place in the early 80s. The FDP supported the CDU/CSU and withdrew from the coalition with the SPD. In 1982, the Christian Democrat G. Kohl became chancellor (he held this post until 1998). He was destined to become chancellor of a united Germany.

German unification

During the forty post-war years, Germany was divided by the Cold War front into two states. The GDR was losing more and more to West Germany in terms of economic growth and living standards. The Berlin Wall, built in 1961 to prevent the flight of citizens of the GDR to the West, became a symbol of the Cold War and the split of the German nation.

In 1989, a revolution began in the GDR. The main demand of the participants in the revolutionary uprisings was the unification of Germany. In October 1989, the leader of the East German Communists E. Honecker resigned, and on November 9 the Berlin Wall fell. The unification of Germany became a practical task.

It was no longer possible to contain the process of German unification. But in the West and East of the country, different approaches to the future unification have been formed. The Constitution of the FRG provided for the reunification of Germany as a process of joining the lands of East Germany to the FRG, and assumed the liquidation of the GDR as a state. The leadership of the GDR sought to unify through a confederal union.

However, in the elections in March 1990, the GDR defeated the non-communist opposition led by the Christian Democrats. From the very beginning, they advocated the speedy reunification of Germany on the basis of the FRG. On June 1, the German mark was introduced into the GDR. On August 31, the Treaty between the FRG and the GDR on the establishment of state unity was signed.

It only remained to agree on the unification of Germany with 4 states - the USSR, the USA, Great Britain and France. To this end, negotiations were held according to the "2 + 4" formula, that is, between the FRG and the GDR, on the one hand, and the victorious powers (USSR, USA, Great Britain and France), on the other. The Soviet Union made a fundamentally important concession - it agreed to the retention of the membership of a united Germany in NATO and the withdrawal of Soviet troops from East Germany. On September 12, 1990, the Treaty on the Final Settlement with regard to Germany was signed.

On October 3, 1990, 5 lands restored in East Germany became part of the FRG, and the GDR ceased to exist. December 20, 1990 was formed the first Spilnonimets government headed by Chancellor G. Kohl.

Economic and social achievements, problems of the 90s

Contrary to optimistic forecasts, the socio-economic consequences of German reunification turned out to be ambiguous. The hopes of the East Germans for the miraculous economic effect of the unification did not come true. The main problem was the transfer of the command-administrative economy of the 5 eastern lands to the principles of a market economy. This process was carried out without strategic planning, by trial and error. The most "shocking" version of the transformation of the economy of East Germany was chosen. Its features include the introduction of private property, the decisive denationalization of state-owned enterprises, the tight deadlines for the transition period to a market economy, etc. Moreover, East Germany received socio-economic and political forms organization of society immediately and in finished form.

The adaptation of the economy of the eastern lands to the new conditions was quite painful and led to a reduction in industrial production in them to 1/3 of the previous level. The German economy emerged from the state of crisis caused by the unification of the country and negative trends in the world economy only in 1994. However, the restructuring of industry, adaptation to the new conditions of a market economy caused a sharp increase in unemployment. In the mid-90s, it covered more than 12% of the workforce (more than 4 million people). The most difficult situation with employment has developed in East Germany, where the unemployment rate exceeded 15%, and the average wage lagged significantly behind the "old lands". All this, as well as the influx of foreign workers, caused growing social tensions in German society. In the summer of 1996 mass protests broke out, organized by trade unions.

G. Kohl called for comprehensive savings. The government had to go for an unprecedented increase in taxes, which accounted for more than half of total earnings, for a drastic reduction in government spending, including economic support for the eastern lands. All this, as well as G. Kohl's course towards a further reduction in social programs, ultimately led to the defeat of the ruling conservative-liberal coalition in the next parliamentary elections.

The rise to power of the Social Democrats

The 1998 elections brought victory to a new coalition formed by the SPD (received 40.9% of the vote) and the Green Party (6.7%). Before the official entry into the coalition, both parties have developed a large, well-done government program. It provided for measures to reduce unemployment, revise the tax system, close 19 nuclear power plants, the remaining ones, etc. The government of the "pink-green" coalition was headed by the Social Democrat G. Schroeder. In the context of the economic recovery that began, the policy of the new government proved to be very effective. The new government did not abandon the savings in public spending. But these savings were achieved not by curtailing state social programs, but mainly at the expense of land budgets.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Germany, with its 80 million population, became the largest state in Western Europe. In terms of industrial production, the level of economic development, it ranks third in the world, second only to the United States and Japan.

Thus, back in 1945, at a meeting in Potsdam, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill divided Germany into four occupation zones and established a four-sided administration of Berlin. This agreement was to remain in force until the Soviet Union, the USA, Britain and France agreed on the creation of an all-German state and concluded a peace treaty with it.

The Cold War "buried" these plans. In September 1949, a new state appeared on the territory of the three western occupation zones - the Federal Republic of Germany. In response, in October of that year, Stalin created the German Democratic Republic.

Federal Republic of Germany (FRG)

In September 1949, the ruling circles of the United States, Britain and France completed the split of Germany, forming a separate state in the western part of the country. The monopolies of West Germany were given the opportunity to create their own state as payment for the participation of the FRG in the aggressive imperialist blocs headed by the USA. Simultaneously with the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany on September 21, 1949, the occupation statute, developed by the governments of the United States, Britain and France, came into force, which retained the supreme power in the Federal Republic of Germany for these powers.

The Statute of Occupation defines the powers reserved to the occupying authorities in the exercise of their sovereignty, which is held by the governments of France, the United States and the United Kingdom.

In order to ensure the achievement of the main objectives pursued by the occupation, these powers (for the occupying powers) are specifically reserved.

The governments of the United States, Great Britain and France took the path of refusing to implement the decisions of the Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945), which provided for the demilitarization of Germany, the eradication of German militarism and Nazism, the elimination of monopolies and the broad democratization of the country.

In the western zones of occupation of Germany, demilitarization and denazification were practically not carried out. Many former Nazis again took up important posts.

The Soviet Union consistently advocates the development of friendly relations with the entire German people. Considering that the normalization of relations between the USSR and the FRG would help strengthen peace in Europe, solve the German problem and develop mutually beneficial trade, on June 7, 1955, the Soviet government addressed the government of the FRG with a proposal to establish direct diplomatic, commercial and cultural relations between both countries. And in September 1955, both governments exchanged letters on the establishment of diplomatic relations and the establishment of embassies.

Taking a course towards restoring the power of monopoly capital in West Germany and splitting the country, the Western powers set themselves the goal of reviving German militarism in order to use it later in their own interests against the USSR and other socialist countries. It is not surprising, therefore, that the repeated proposals of the Soviet Union aimed at preserving the unity of Germany were rejected by the Western powers, who considered West Germany as their future political and military ally.

The occupying authorities of the Western powers contributed in every possible way to the restoration and strengthening of the economic and political positions of the West German bourgeoisie and helped it to consolidate its forces. Parties were created to represent the interests of monopoly capital. In the FRG, a state apparatus was created, with the help of which monopoly capital could strengthen and expand its positions and control the entire life of the country. The Western powers forbade the organization of the Socialist Unity Party in West Germany. This policy, combined with the anti-communist stance of the leaders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), prevented the unification of the communists and social democrats.

The labor movement was also in the process of recreating proletarian organizations. The lack of unity in the West German labor movement seriously hampered the struggle of the progressive forces against the split of the country. The constitution of the FRG formally proclaimed the basic democratic rights of citizens - their equality before the law, freedom of the individual, equality of men and women, freedom of political views, press, assembly, etc. The adoption of these clauses to a certain extent took into account the intensification of the struggle of West German workers for their interests .

The expression of the systematic line of the Western powers aimed at splitting Germany was the creation in 1947 of the so-called "Bison", which united the American and British zones of occupation, and then "Trizonia" (in 1948), as well as the implementation of a separate monetary reform.

After the creation of the FRG, the Western powers set out to restore the military-industrial potential and rearmament of West Germany, to involve it in military blocs directed against the USSR and other socialist countries.

Chancellor Konradom Adenauer did everything possible to carry out the plans for the remilitarization of the FRG, which were nurtured by the West German monopolies. In August 1950, he handed over to the American High Commissioner a memorandum in which he "reiterated his readiness to make a contribution in the form of a German contingent in the event of the creation of a Western European army." The Western powers agreed to this proposal of the German Chancellor. Revanchist demands aimed at revising the results of the Second World War became more and more the basis of the official policy of the ruling circles of the FRG.

Having set a course for the remilitarization of the country, the Adenauer government rejected all the peace initiatives of the Soviet Union, in particular, its draft peace treaty with Germany of March 10, 1952. And on March 26, 1952, the Western powers signed a general treaty on relations with the FRG, according to which the formal occupation of West Germany, but the troops of the USA, England and France remained on its territory. But the entire working class, all the democratic forces of the country resisted the policy of restoring West German monopoly capital and its course towards the remilitarization of West Germany. And despite the persecution, the communists continued to fight against the remilitarization of the country, for overcoming the split in Germany.

As for the development of the economy and politics, by the beginning of the 60s, the FRG was more and more declaring itself to be the leader of the Western European states. Its ruling circles stepped up their foreign economic and foreign policy activity. But by the end of the 1960s, Germany had already touched on the economic and political crises.

In 1969, the SPD-FDP coalition government was formed. Willy Brandt, chairman of the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany), became Federal Chancellor, and Walter Scheel, chairman of the FDP (Free Democratic Party), became Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In area foreign policy the government showed a realistic approach to assessing the situation that had developed in post-war Europe, it took into account the desire of broad circles of the West German population for detente, their desire to put an end to the dangerous remnants of the Cold War. The Brandt-Scheel government agreed to improve relations with the socialist countries and accepted the Soviet Union's proposal for negotiations. As a result, on August 12, 1970, the Moscow Treaty was signed between the USSR and the FRG. Both sides expressed their desire to promote the development of peaceful relations between all European states, pledged to resolve their disputes exclusively by peaceful means and to refrain in their mutual relations from the threat or use of force. Of key importance was the third article of the treaty, which enshrines the inviolability of the borders of all states in Europe. The Moscow Treaty created the necessary political prerequisites for a serious turnaround in Soviet-West German relations, which were normalized on the basis of the FRG's renunciation of claims to change the existing European borders.

Of great importance for easing tensions in Europe was the agreement signed in September 1971 by four powers - the USSR, Great Britain, the USA and France on West Berlin, an important clause of which was the provision that West Berlin is not integral part the Federal Republic of Germany and will not be governed by it in the future.

The conclusion of the Moscow Treaty, the negotiations of L. I. Brezhnev with W. Brandt in the Crimea in September 1971, especially the visit of L. I. Brezhnev in May 1973 to Germany gave impetus to the development of economic ties between the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Germany, set them for quality new level. Of great importance was the signing in May 1973 of an agreement between the USSR and the FRG on the development of economic, industrial and technical cooperation for a period of 10 years.

German Democratic Republic (GDR)

In October 1949, the Western imperialist powers completed the division of Germany by creating a separate West German state. Under these conditions, the democratic and patriotic forces of Germany decided that the time had come to take the fate of the country into own hands, to repulse the resurgent German militarism, to prevent the spread of the power of revanchists and fascists to all of Germany. To this end, the democratic forces of East Germany on October 7, 1949, proclaimed the establishment of the German Democratic Republic. The GDR emerged as the first state of workers and peasants in the history of Germany. Exercising supreme power here, the Soviet Military Administration (SVAG) carried out whole line measures for demilitarization, denazification and democratization, created favorable conditions for the formation of a united peace-loving democratic Germany.

The struggle of the peace-loving forces of the German people for a new Germany was led by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Immediately after the legalization of its activities on June 11, 1945, the Central Committee of the KKE addressed the people with an appeal containing a program for democratic reforms throughout the country. The KKE oriented the working class and the working masses towards the establishment of an anti-fascist-democratic system in Germany as well. It called for the creation of new organs of state administration from below, the punishment of war criminals, the expulsion of Nazis from administrative and economic bodies and their replacement by anti-fascists, the liquidation of monopoly associations and the transfer of large industrial enterprises, Junker estates, as well as banks and the hands of the people. The appeal of the KKE was approved by the working class and other sections of the German people, as well as by all democratic parties and organizations.

The unity of action of the working class in East Germany was the basis for establishing a firm alliance between the working class and the peasantry, the petty and middle bourgeoisie.

With the defeat of fascism, the old state apparatus was liquidated. In East Germany, the Nazis were removed from administrative and economic institutions. On the initiative of the communists and other anti-fascists and with the support of the SVAG, new authorities (Landtags of the Lands) were created on the ruins of the Nazi Reich, which expressed and defended the interests of the broad masses of the people.

Of great importance for the strengthening of the new anti-fascist-democratic system in East Germany was the liquidation of the property of monopoly capital, this most important pillar of fascism. Fulfilling the Potsdam decisions, in October 1945, the SVAG sequestered all property belonging to the Nazi state, war criminals, active Nazis, and monopolies that participated in the outbreak of war.

the most important distinctive feature The development of Germany after liberation was the interweaving of the social (class) struggle of the masses with the struggle against the splitting actions of the American-British imperialists and German reactionaries, which prevented the creation of a single independent German state. Of great importance in the struggle for the national unity of the country were the decisions of the 2nd German People's Congress, held in March 1948. It proclaimed the slogan of the struggle for a united German Democratic Republic, elected the governing body of the movement - the German People's Council. He adopted the draft constitution of the GDR, proclaimed on October 7, 1949 the formation of the German Democratic Republic.

The government of the GDR proclaimed as its program the struggle for the implementation of further democratic transformations, the economic and cultural upsurge of the German people, for national unity, for friendship and cooperation with the Soviet | Union and all the peace-loving peoples of the world. The formation of the GDR met with the full support and approval of the Soviet government, which immediately recognized it and transferred to the government of the GDR all the administrative functions that belonged to the SVAG. The formation of the GDR was a turning point in the history of the German people, a powerful blow to German imperialism and militarism.

Thus, as regards relations between the Soviet Union and the GDR, in 1954 the Government of the Soviet Union was invariably guided by the desire to contribute to the settlement of the German problem in accordance with the interests of strengthening peace and ensuring the national reunification of Germany on democratic principles.

In view of this situation, and as a result of the negotiations that the Soviet government has held with the government of the German Democratic Republic, the government of the USSR recognizes the need to take further steps to meet the interests of the German people, namely:

1. The Soviet Union is establishing the same relations with the German Democratic Republic as with other sovereign states.

The German Democratic Republic will freely decide at its own discretion its internal and external affairs, including questions of relations with West Germany.

2. The Soviet Union retains in the German Democratic Republic the functions connected with ensuring security, arising from the obligations imposed on the USSR under the agreements of the four powers.

The Soviet government took note of the statement of the government of the German Democratic Republic that it would comply with the obligations arising for the German Democratic Republic from the Potsdam Agreement on the development of Germany as a democratic and peace-loving state, as well as the obligations associated with the temporary presence of Soviet troops on the territory of the GDR.