©GRACEAMELIA 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
GDR Exam Study Guide Solutions
Yalta - Ans:✔✔--divide Germany into 4 zones
-Poland given land to compensate for the USSR keeping land from Poland in 1939
Postsdam - Ans:✔✔--denazification
-demilitarisation
-deindustrialisation= help pay reparations
-democratisation
Soviet Zone popuation - Ans:✔✔--19 million 1947
-women to men 1.35:1
-for every 100 working people 58 who were not
-lot of young and elderly people; high dependency ratio
Stalin's view fro Germany - Ans:✔✔--no desire to become a communist republic
-wanted to reunite Germany
Page 1/42
, ©GRACEAMELIA 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
-'anti-facist democracy' = hoping to deploy German communist under Soviet administration
Soviet Military Administration - Ans:✔✔--created June 1945
-50,000 Soviet and German members
-responsible for 4 areas : military affairs, economy, civil administration and political question
Merger of KPD and SPD - Ans:✔✔--created SED
-bigger party to win elections
-by 1948 summer 0.2 million members
-couldn't win elections in 1946 SED won less than 20% of the popular vote
Eradication of Nazism - Ans:✔✔--former party members sent to concentration camps ; 43,000 died in
camps from 1945-49
-September 1945 Land reforms; 33% of useful agriculture land was taken, 2 million heaters was
redistributed
-October 1945 Confiscation of property
-Education was opened up to the working class; in 1945 working class 3% of university vs 58% in 1950
Reparations payments - Ans:✔✔--54 billion Ostmarks
Page 2/42
, ©GRACEAMELIA 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
-dismantelling industrial plants, actual money payments
-reparations to keep Germany weak
-suffered 29% loss in wartime capacity
Western zones co-operation - Ans:✔✔--Bizonia in 1946
-Trizonia 1949
-two distinct Germany's
-March 1948 Russian representatives left ACC over plans of new currency
-FRG in May 1949
Berlin Blockade - Ans:✔✔--2,325,808 tons flown into Berlin
-blockade failed and showed how the West could not abandon Berlin
System of government - Ans:✔✔--Volkskammer, parliment, represented by proportional representation
-Landkammer represented the 5 states of the GDR and determined policy at Land level
Political control - Ans:✔✔-Article 6 and 8 gave authorities full power
-Supreme Court 1949 given authority to implement article 6
Page 3/42
, ©GRACEAMELIA 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
-Central commission for State control set up to investigate those felt to pose any threat to the regime
-Ministry of state security 1950 = all powerful
Purges in 1950's - Ans:✔✔--stasi grew 8x 1950-52
-began arresting potential opponents; anti-semetic policy
-no show trials too close to west
-trials were in secret led to arrest and exile
SED domination - Ans:✔✔--council of ministers (Volskammer) had to comply with SED decisions
-SED dominated public sector jobs 49% by 1950 had working class backgrounds
-emphasis on ideological purity as much as administrative efficency
SED's governance - Ans:✔✔--SED was governed by Politburo; emphasis on central control
-in July 1952 Lander dissolved to be replaced by 15 regional organisations; growing centralisation in
guise of greater democracy
-constitution of rights was an illusion, true power resided with the SED
-
Socialist economic planning - Ans:✔✔--1950 state planning
Page 4/42
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
GDR Exam Study Guide Solutions
Yalta - Ans:✔✔--divide Germany into 4 zones
-Poland given land to compensate for the USSR keeping land from Poland in 1939
Postsdam - Ans:✔✔--denazification
-demilitarisation
-deindustrialisation= help pay reparations
-democratisation
Soviet Zone popuation - Ans:✔✔--19 million 1947
-women to men 1.35:1
-for every 100 working people 58 who were not
-lot of young and elderly people; high dependency ratio
Stalin's view fro Germany - Ans:✔✔--no desire to become a communist republic
-wanted to reunite Germany
Page 1/42
, ©GRACEAMELIA 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
-'anti-facist democracy' = hoping to deploy German communist under Soviet administration
Soviet Military Administration - Ans:✔✔--created June 1945
-50,000 Soviet and German members
-responsible for 4 areas : military affairs, economy, civil administration and political question
Merger of KPD and SPD - Ans:✔✔--created SED
-bigger party to win elections
-by 1948 summer 0.2 million members
-couldn't win elections in 1946 SED won less than 20% of the popular vote
Eradication of Nazism - Ans:✔✔--former party members sent to concentration camps ; 43,000 died in
camps from 1945-49
-September 1945 Land reforms; 33% of useful agriculture land was taken, 2 million heaters was
redistributed
-October 1945 Confiscation of property
-Education was opened up to the working class; in 1945 working class 3% of university vs 58% in 1950
Reparations payments - Ans:✔✔--54 billion Ostmarks
Page 2/42
, ©GRACEAMELIA 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
-dismantelling industrial plants, actual money payments
-reparations to keep Germany weak
-suffered 29% loss in wartime capacity
Western zones co-operation - Ans:✔✔--Bizonia in 1946
-Trizonia 1949
-two distinct Germany's
-March 1948 Russian representatives left ACC over plans of new currency
-FRG in May 1949
Berlin Blockade - Ans:✔✔--2,325,808 tons flown into Berlin
-blockade failed and showed how the West could not abandon Berlin
System of government - Ans:✔✔--Volkskammer, parliment, represented by proportional representation
-Landkammer represented the 5 states of the GDR and determined policy at Land level
Political control - Ans:✔✔-Article 6 and 8 gave authorities full power
-Supreme Court 1949 given authority to implement article 6
Page 3/42
, ©GRACEAMELIA 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
-Central commission for State control set up to investigate those felt to pose any threat to the regime
-Ministry of state security 1950 = all powerful
Purges in 1950's - Ans:✔✔--stasi grew 8x 1950-52
-began arresting potential opponents; anti-semetic policy
-no show trials too close to west
-trials were in secret led to arrest and exile
SED domination - Ans:✔✔--council of ministers (Volskammer) had to comply with SED decisions
-SED dominated public sector jobs 49% by 1950 had working class backgrounds
-emphasis on ideological purity as much as administrative efficency
SED's governance - Ans:✔✔--SED was governed by Politburo; emphasis on central control
-in July 1952 Lander dissolved to be replaced by 15 regional organisations; growing centralisation in
guise of greater democracy
-constitution of rights was an illusion, true power resided with the SED
-
Socialist economic planning - Ans:✔✔--1950 state planning
Page 4/42
