East Germany Between Past And Future

Abstract

Economically and industrially, the German Democratic Republic is one of the most advanced people's democracies. Its standard of living can be compared to that of Czechoslovakia, and is higher than that of the Soviet Union. It is by far the second economic power of the Soviet bloc and it has, in certain economic spheres, achieved an undisputed supremacy. Yet, it is at the same time, the weakest and most threatened of the people's democracies, and the one most burdened with uncertainties and dangers. This paradox is, of course, based on the fact that Germany is divided, and the adverse influence which West Germany continues to have on the people of the German Democratic Republic. What remains to be explained, however, is why this division has such a one-sided impact whilst in Viet-Nam and Korea it is the reverse which seems to be the case. In order to determine what kind of relations have come to exist between the people and the regime, it is necessary to go back to the historical circumstances of Germany's division and to the emergence of the German Democratic Republic.