The Exile in Germany

THEMA

Structure:-Government of the GDR-Government of the FRG-Isolation of the GDR-Living Conditions in the GDR-Escapes from the GDR-Deprivations of citizenship (example Wolf Biermann)

Government of the GDR(German Democratic Republic)• Founded in 1949• Leading Politicans: Wilhelm Pieck Walter Ulbricht Otto Grotewohl Erich Honecker• Capital: East Berlin• Governmental System: Dictatorship of one Party (SED=

Socialist Unity Party of Germany); People‘s Republic • Economical System: Command Economy• Member of the Eastern Bloc

Government of the FRG(Federal Republic of Germany)

• Founded in 1949• Leading Politicans (until 1990) Konrad Adenauer Theodor Heuss Erich Köhler• Capital: Bonn• Governmental System: Democracy; Federalism• Economical System: social market economy• Member of the Western Bloc

Isolation of the GDR

REASONS:•Fear of losing workers to the FRG•Afraid of an economical collapse •Refusal of the Western systems•Cold War between the two blocs

EXECUTION:•Propaganda against the Western World•Prohibition of the departure to Western States•Prohibition of Western media

Living Conditions in the GDR

• Government apportions goods• Less liberty in choosing your jobs• Observation of the community by the Stasi (State‘s Police)• Apportion of flats and houses• Less posibilities to travel• Government fixes the wages

Escapes from the GDR• Until 1961 (building of the Berlin Wall): less difficult to get out of the GDR• From 1961: Border Police is

commanded to shoot escapers Escapers chances are little

EXAMPLES: Flight tunnels under the Wall Spectacular flight in selfmade balloon Hiding in a car to get across the border

Deprivations of citizenship• This means the person is

not longer a member of the State

• GDR uses the deprivation to get critics and opposition members out of the state/ keep away the oppostion opinions away from community

EXAMPLE WOLF BIERMANN•Born in 1936•Songwriter and artist•Settled to GDR•Nov ´65: Concert prohibition and prohibition of publishing•Had concerts in FRG•One of the most radical critics of the GDR•Deprivation of citizenship in 1975 goes to FRG•Protests from GDR & FRG•Today he‘s popular all over the world