Repression and control Flashcards
What kind of state was the GDR?
A police state
What was the NVA?
The National People’s Army - the East German military force formed in 1956 out of the People’s Police
What were the various branches of the police?
- KVP
- Criminal police
- Special police
- voluntary police
Who were the KVP?
The parliamentary police who were responsible for internal security - they had been called out in June 1953
What surveillance methods did the Stasi use?
- Phone tapping
- Video surveillance
- Agents following suspects
- Radiation tags
- Honey traps (many prostitutes worked for the Stasi)
- Blackmail
Unofficial collaborator or IM (euphemistically informal collaborator)
The “key weapon” of the Ministry for State Security (MfS) - with their help theMfSspied on the population and tried to gather information on its moods and any attempts at “subversion”
What methods did the unofficial collaborators (IMs) use?
They reported on all areas of society, infiltrated opposition groups and supplied even the most intimate information about their colleagues, friends or fellow pupils
Mary Fulbrook on the system if informing and infiltration
Even though this system was efficient it unwittingly helped destabilise the GDR - by infiltrating opposition groups some informers inevitably aided their work to maintain their credibility
What was the FDJ encouraged to participate in?
Festivals and torchlight parades (this reminded many of Hitler Youth)
- How many newspapers did the GDR have?
- How many people read these newspapers?
- How many of them were controlled directly by the SED?
The GDR had 38 newspapers read by 8.3 million of its citizens; 66 per cent of them were controlled directly by the SED but all their content was subject to SED scrutiny
What was censored in East Germany?
Post from the FRG was censored and telephone calls tapped as a matter of course
In schools, what was the main foreign language taught?
Russian
What shows that students were encouraged to embrace Russian with enthusiasm?
“Learn the language of our friends!”
What languages were far less widespread?
English and French
Why were foreign magazines and newspapers often available to buy?
As it was assumed few could read them
In 1952 Otto Grotewohl had stated that…
art and culture must be subordinate to politics
What was the purpose of art and culture?
To engender support for the regime
What model did art follow?
“Socialist realism”
What is “Socialist realism”?
A form of modern realism imposed in Russia by Stalin following his rise to power characterised in painting by rigorously optimistic pictures ofSoviet life
What was the purpose of “Socialist realism”?
To reflect and promote the ideals of a socialist society
Examples of Socialist realist art in the East German state
- “The Tractor Driver”
- “For Peace and Socialism”
- “The Builders of Socialism”
“The Tractor Driver”
This mural portrays a tractor driver as a hero and symbol of industrial progress
It represents the emphasis on agriculture and the important role of the working class in advancing the country’s development
“For Peace and Socialism”
This painting portrays a scene of factory workers engaged in industrial production with an emphasis on unity and cooperation and productivity of the working class
“The Builders of Socialism”
This monumental painting depicts a group of workers and farmers (both men and women) confidently marching forward - it represents the collective efforts of the working class in building socialism
