1.4a Why were the economic problems of the GDR so severe by the late 1980s?

Question 1

What was the GDR’s debt to Western nations in the 1980s?

Answer 1

40 billion DM

Question 2

What was the GDR’s GDP at in the 1980s?

Answer 2

250 billion DM

Question 3

Which newspaper well represents the problem of growing national debt?

Answer 3

‘Schurer-Papier’ who projected the need to increase national exports by 500%

Question 4

What did the GDR severely lack that hindered the economy?

Answer 4

Exports

Question 5

How did the GDR’s desperation for money lead to added inefficiency?

Answer 5

They sold their oil to the Soviets which forced them to use lignite which was much more inefficient

Question 6

Between 1986-88, exports of heavy industry fell by __%

Answer 6

30%

Question 7

Who was the GDR’s economic crisis kept secret from?

Answer 7

Honnecker

Question 8

Who did the restriction of economic information alarmingly include?

Answer 8

The GDR’s own economics minister

Question 9

How were the FRG involved in the GDR’s debt crisis?

Answer 9

They had enough money to keep propping ther GDR up

Question 10

How did Gorbachov worsen the GDR’s national debt?

Answer 10

Decided not to increase financial support for the GDR

Question 11

GDR expenditure on subsidising housing, education, health and welfare:
1980 - ____ DM
1985 - ____ DM

Answer 11

GDR expenditure on subsidising housing, education, health and welfare:
1980 - 72.9 billion DM
1985 - 112.3 billion DM

Question 12

How did good healthcare help to reduce opposition to the SED?

Answer 12

Provided public satisfaction and gratefulness

Question 13

How did good healthcare help the GDR’s prestige?

Answer 13

Encouraged productivity and provided some international prestige

Question 14

Why was there such a strain on the GDR’s healthcare system?

Answer 14

Ageing population

Question 15

How did the industrial output of the GDR put strain on the healthcare system?

Answer 15

Pollutants caused respiratory issues

Question 16

The GDR had the worst ____________ in Europe

Answer 16

Air Pollution

Question 17

Why is the town of Bitterfield relevant?

Answer 17

It would’ve been declared unfit for human habitation according to UN air pollution laws

Question 18

Honnecker demanded that __% of all factories’ output had to consist of consumer goods

Answer 18

5%

Question 19

WHat did Honnecker’s demand for all factories to produce consumer goods result in?

Answer 19

Strange production like steel mills producing microwaves of very poor quality

Question 20

What grew in 1985 for the first time in GDR history?

Answer 20

The private sector

Question 21

The private sector only had __% of net national product

Answer 21

2.8%

Question 22

What areas was the private sector particularly important in?

Answer 22

Car parts and modern technology

Question 23

What was the culture in the GDR regarding getting your hands on goods?

Answer 23

swapping

Question 24

What does the term ‘Buckware’ or ‘duck goods’ mean?

Answer 24

Illegal acts like bribing to receive goods

Question 25

What goods were particularly difficult to obtain?

Answer 25

Fruit and vegetables

Question 26

Why was it still difficult to get your hands on things that were produced in the GDR?

Answer 26

They were mostly exported

Question 27

What made the GDR people very conscious of their lack of luxuries?

Answer 27

Access to FRG media

Question 28

In what year did a FRG concert turn their speakers towards the GDR to allow them to hear David Bowie?

Answer 28

1987

Question 29

In 1989, what type of countries made up most of the GDR’s imports and exports?

Answer 29

non-Socialist countries

Question 30

By 1989, __% of the GDR’s trade was with the FRG

Answer 30

20%

Question 31

What did the FRG do to help GDR dissidents?

Answer 31

Bought their freedom

Question 32

How many dissidents did the FRG buy freedom for?

Answer 32

34,000

Question 33

When did the scheme of buying the freedom of dissidents start?

Answer 33

1963

Question 34

Over the entire scheme of buying the freedom of dissidents, how much money did the GDR obtain?

Answer 34

3 billion DM

Question 35

What question did the FRG’s continued support for the GDR raise?

Answer 35

Were the FRG so bad?

Question 36

In 1989, why did the FRG finally stop loaning money to the GDR?

Answer 36

They had lost interest in helping them because of the political collapse