Divided Germany: How did the east of the country differ from the west then?
At the beginning of November 1989, an event took place that effectively sealed the fate of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp as a whole: the Berlin Wall fell, and East and West Germany were finally united.
The period of divided Germany is considered one of the most interesting events of the 20th century, and the consequences of partition are still debated today. Most often, historians are concerned with how East and West Germans lived, how their level of life and development differed.
Progress of the GDR and the FRG after World War II
Since East and West Germany started in comparable conditions after the war, it should be noted that the eastern part of the country experienced much more destruction from hostilities compared to the west.
The GDR refused to participate in the Marshall Plan, but by the mid-1950s its economic development had significantly accelerated and surpassed the pace of West Germany. In 1953, the cost of maintaining Soviet troops accounted for only 5% of the GDR’s budget.
While the FRG in the 1950s surpassed Great Britain and France in economic development, reaching almost 210%, the GDR had a figure of 240%. In the mid-1950s, East Germany’s industrial power increased by about 250 percent, and annual output growth was about 12 percent.
However, this could not mask the deep problems of the planned economy. As a result of the development of heavy industry and the desire to control inflation, the GDR was forced to cut back on the production of consumer goods, which eventually led to mass strikes on June 17, 1953. The country has not been able to provide itself with food, relying only on domestic resources.
To solve its financial difficulties, the GDR was forced to focus on the export of industrial equipment and chemical products. Over time, however, it became increasingly difficult for the GDR government to cope with its financial problems.
Berlin Wall
Due to the obsolescence of production facilities, foreign exchange earnings in the GDR budget began to decrease. The success of the FRG forced the leadership of the GDR to think about an important question: Would they be able to provide a sufficient standard of living for a workers’ and peasants’ economy? Unlike the Soviet Union, Germans have traditionally had high levels of consumption.
It should be noted that the GDR imported 25% of grain, 15% of meat, 10% of eggs and 9% of oil. The import of coffee and chocolate from the countries of the socialist bloc was banned. As early as the 1950s, cooperatives began to form, and the process of collectivization of agriculture was launched in the GDR.
Life on the Other Side of the Wall
In an effort to isolate itself from Western influence, the GDR built a “concrete curtain.” The East, in the truest sense of the word, completely cut itself off from the West, and since then has become different in an extensive list of factors.
Nutrition
If you look at life in the GDR from the point of view of a Soviet person, he might consider it better than his own. However, for Western visitors, especially in stores, the limited choice of goods was obvious.
After the erection of the Berlin Wall, a chain of grocery stores called Konsum appeared in the GDR, where citizens could choose from five varieties of sausages and cheeses. The assortment of these outlets also included confectionery, butter, fish products, canned vegetables produced in Bulgaria and Hungary.
Food products from the GDR
In addition, the shops of the GDR provided a selection of quality wines, a variety of beers, tea, coffee and cocoa. Basic necessities such as toothpaste and soap were freely available. In the GDR, the analogue of the Soviet Berezka chain of stores was Intershop, which has now turned into modern duty-free stores.
In addition to food, there were household appliances, cosmetics, elite alcohol and expensive tobacco products, which the locals purchased for German stamps. On the black market, you could buy typical American goods, such as jeans or tape recorders.
Housing conditions
Residential areas in the GDR were similar to those in the Soviet Union, both in layout and architectural style. However, there was one noticeable difference – the bathroom was located between the floors.
Soviet construction in Berlin
For residents living in two adjacent stairwells, the toilet was shared. It is interesting to note that mass construction according to the Soviet model was carried out by Soviet architects in the period from the 1970s to the 1980s.
Moreover, they were also engaged in the reconstruction of buildings after the Second World War.
Transport
After the construction of the Berlin Wall, transport in Germany faced a number of problems related to the suspension of traffic between East and West Germany.
Because of this, many Germans began to use private cars as a means of transportation. The Trabant car brand became especially popular: during the existence of the GDR, Zwickau factories produced more than 3 million units of the people’s car of the East.
After the end of the war, the GDR had excellent opportunities for the development of the automotive industry due to the presence of two car factories in the country. At that time, millions of people lived in the GDR, and communication with the rest of the world was maintained through the local air carrier Interflug.
Trabant Factory
The company was founded in 1958 and existed for more than 3 decades, providing air traffic between the GDR and other countries of the world. Based at Berlin’s Schönefeld Airport, the company’s fleet consisted exclusively of Soviet-made aircraft: Il-14, Il-18, Il-62 and Tu-134.
Interflug operated flights to the countries of the socialist camp, and its last flight took place on April 30, 1991, from Vienna to the capital of East Germany.
Religion & Culture
Although German law ensured freedom of religion, after the Berlin Wall was built, many churches were destroyed and religious freedoms curtailed. However, only 30% of the population of the GDR considered themselves atheists, while others were Protestant or Catholic.
German Democratic Republic (GDR)
In the GDR, censorship was less stringent than in the USSR, and cultural restrictions were more lenient. The German language used in the GDR differed from the German language used in the Federal Republic of Germany, mainly due to the presence of Soviet ideological terms in the dictionary.
Music
When it came to music, the GDR government was much stricter. Rock music could lead to arrest, and many East Germans were forced to listen to Western music through walls and attend clandestine concerts with a limited number of listeners.
East Berlin 80s