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The Birth of the German Democratic
Republic
As with the birth of the FRG, the formation of a separate nation-state
in the Soviet zone also took only a few years. In late 1947, the SED convened
the "German People's Congress for Unity and a Just Peace" in Berlin. To
demonstrate the SED's claim of responsibility for the political future
of all Germans, representatives from the Western zones were invited. The
congress demanded the negotiation of a peace treaty for the whole of Germany
and the establishment of a German central government. An SED-controlled
organization was founded to win support for the realization of these demands
in all occupation zones.
The Second People's Congress, held in March 1948, proposed a referendum
on German unity, rejected the Marshall Plan, and recognized the Oder-Neisse
border, which separated the Soviet zone from territory that was administered
by Poland but that had once been part of Germany. Thereafter, few Western
politicians had any doubts about the goals of the SED-sponsored congress.
The congress elected a People's Council and created a constitutional committee
to draft a constitution for a "German Democratic Republic," which was
to apply to all of postwar Germany. The constitutional committee submitted
the new constitution to the People's Council, and it was approved on March
19, 1949.
The Third People's Congress, its membership chosen by the SED, met in
May 1949, just after the ending of the Berlin blockade. Apparently reacting
to current events in the Western zones, where the Basic Law establishing
the West German government in Bonn had just been approved, the congress
approved the draft constitution of the German Democratic Republic (GDR,
or East Germany).
A new People's Council, elected during the Third People's Congress,
was convened for the first time on October 7, 1949, and the constitution
of the GDR went into effect the same day. The Soviet military administration
was dissolved, and its administrative functions were transferred to East
German authorities. The People's Council was renamed and began its work
as the Volkskammer (People's Chamber), the parliament of the GDR. A second
parliamentary chamber, the Länderkammer (Provincial
Chamber), consisting of thirty-four deputies, was constituted by the five Land diets on October 11, 1949. Wilhelm Pieck became the first
president of the GDR on the same day, and the newly formed cabinet, under
the leadership of Otto Grotewohl, was installed on October 12, 1949.
According to the first constitution of the GDR, its citizens enjoyed
certain basic rights, even the right to strike. In reality, however, there
was little freedom. According to the constitution, both the Council of
State (Staatsrat) and the Council of Ministers (Ministerrat) were elected
by and responsible to the Volkskammer. All parties and mass organizations
represented in this body were united in the National Front, under the
ideological leadership of the SED. The Volkskammer was a mere forum for
speeches and mock debates. In reality, all policy matters were decided
by the Politburo of the SED, on which most important functionaries of
the Council of State and the Council of Ministers had a seat.
The party structure of the SED had been reorganized in the image of
the Communist Party of the Soviet Union even before the foundation of
the GDR, and the system of nomenklatura, with its strict system
of ideological education and selection of candidates for all functions
in party and state, was introduced. Within a few months, East Germany
became a model for all other satellites of the Soviet Union.
- Postwar Occupation and Division
- The Establishment
of Occupation Zones
- The Nuremberg
Trials and Denazification
- Political Parties
and Democratization
- The Creation of the Bizone
- The Birth of the Federal Republic
of Germany
- The Birth of the German Democratic
Republic
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