History of East Germany Part II

The history of East Germany from the 1950s through the 1970s was characterized by several failed attempts to revise the country’s economic policy in the style of the Soviet Union. At the end of Stalin’s reign as leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev declared that the Soviet political ideology would shift away from Stalinism. Many academic members of the government of East Germany also agreed that reforms were needed, but they were systematically purged from their positions and given long prison sentences. Walter Ulbricht, the secretary of the SED, initiated the Second Five Year Plan, which emphasized a rethinking and updating of the industrial complex in East Germany, one which emphasized technological progress. This included the development of nuclear energy, an increase of production quotas, and a renewed focus on heavy industry. Reforms for agriculture were also planned, but these took significantly longer to implement.

By the mid-1960s, most of the farms and private businesses in East Germany were publicly controlled. The SED had replaced the Second Five Year Plan with the Seven Year Plan, which called for an increase in per capita production, as well as an 85 percent increase in productivity. Many East German citizens were relocated during this time in order to meet this goal. When industrial productivity remained low, and even decreased, East Germany implemented policies suggested by the Soviet Union that were known collectively as the New Economic System. These were designed to decentralize economic decision-making. This, in turn, was replaced by the Economic System of Socialism in 1968, which reintroduced centralized planning vertically integrated most industries. The ESS was also officially abandoned in 1970 when production goals remained out of reach yet again.

During the 1970s, a program that returned the focus of the economic policy of East Germany to that of Marxism-Leninism was introduced. This new economic outline, known as the Main Task, promised to bring Soviet-style socialism to the East German worker, and return the working class to its rightful place of importance. This effort was reinforced by propaganda that was designed to sell socialism to the masses by providing more goods to the working class. Wages and the availability of consumer goods increased. The program also included an initiative to refurnish and renovate existing apartment complexes, as well as the construction of new ones. New rent subsidies were introduced, keeping the cost of living low. Workers were also given more benefits, such as paid maternity leave for females and retirement packages for older citizens. This shifted the focus to the worker.