The SED and the Protestant Churches Flashcards
The aim of the SED in the 1950s in regards to the Protestant Churches
To limit their influence and control them
The former senior Stasi officer told…
Anna Funder that as many as 65% of Church leaders were informers
Mary Fulbrook has identified the key phases in the relationship between the SED, Church and State - what are these
Antagonism and rapprochement, 1945-69
Co-operation, 1969-78
Compromise and contention, 1978-89
Religious education
(May 1946) the Law for Democratic German Schools outlawed religious education
From January 1951 religious children could face discrimination (over 300 expelled from school in the following few years)
Jugendweihe
In 1954 the state introduced Jugendweihe as a secular alternative to confirmation. This was usually taken at 14 and marked the rite of passage from childhood to becoming a young adult
What were candidates taught in preparing for Jugendweihe?
An atheistic world view
What per cent of teenagers took the Jugendweihe?
17% in 1954
90% by 1969
To nor comply and take the Jugendweihe was seen as…
a great disadvantage to education and career
Religious affiliation seemed on the decline, especially among the young - what shows this?
a 1969 survey suggested 43% of children under 14 had no religious belief
What was formed in 1957?
The Ministry of Church Affairs
What was the aim of the Ministry of Church Affairs?
To co-ordinate and direct Church activities in the best interests of the state
What did Ulbricht announce in October 1960?
“Christianity and the humanistic goal of Socialism were not compatible”
The GDR Churches still received __ per cent of their budget from the FRG (1968)
40
Bishop Schönher 1971 speech
“We want to be a Church not alongside, not against, but a Church within socialism”
Ostpolitik and the Protestant Churches
Toleration of and co-operation with the Churches was in keeping with Ostpolitik
