Formation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The split of Germany and the formation of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic

Here's what the false official story says:

Germany in 1945-1949 - Wikipedia

Germany in 1945-1949 or the Occupation of Germany - (the unofficial name of this period is the “zero years”) was a territory in the center of Europe, divided into four zones of occupation, with a practically non-existent economy and destroyed infrastructure, without a full-fledged administration of its own.

German occupation zones.

From the very day the war ended, Germany found itself divided into two parts, controlled by two fundamentally different political economic systems:

three western zones of occupation administered by England, France and the United States of America;
Eastern zone of occupation under Soviet administration.

These were years not only of economic recovery, but also of rethinking the past and the formation of a new way of life.

The “zero years” ended with the formation of two German states - West Germany (May 23, 1949) in the West and East Germany (October 7, 1949) in the East. The occupation forces liberated Germany and were stationed here with the official status of victors, but not liberators, which determined the nature of their relationship with the population. The orders issued by the command were aimed at isolating the troops in order to exclude mutual contacts in any form. However, the soldiers, despite the prohibitions issued many times, found ways to circumvent them.

But here’s what really happened, if you stop listening to Soviet propaganda and turn to irrefutable facts and memories:

The USSR was never a member of the United Nations. His membership in the League of Nations is a lie. (Wikipedia - USSR joined on September 18, 1934; expelled on December 14, 1939)

The USSR was formed in 1953 and from the very beginning was a bankrupt corporation, managed and financed from abroad.
Before 1953 there could be no USSR! Therefore, there could be no automatic membership in either the League of Nations or the UN.

The USSR was a member of the UN Security Council as the main responsible for the damage caused to the planet after its capture around 1950. Now the legal successor of the USSR is Russia (RF)

The USSR government issued loans it received from foreign banks, secured by territories, property, businesses, etc.
In case of non-payment of the debt, the territories left as collateral were seized and legally registered as members of the UN, automatically joining the megastate that settled them.

Both Germany-GDR and West Germany were part of the USSR until 1973. That is, there were no separate Germanias. There was German Russia, or Russia was Germany.

I remember in the late 1960s and early 1970s, almost all children in the USSR had pen pals in Germany, they were called brief freund, but then suddenly this suddenly stopped.

I personally saw these letters from Germany, written in childish handwriting with a slant to the left.

We are told that the de-Germanization of the USSR began after the 2nd World War:

Deportation and expulsion of Germans during and after the Second World War is the process of forced deportation of the German population of Eastern European countries to Germany and Austria, which took place in 1945-1950. after Germany's defeat in World War II. In total, about 12-14 million Germans were subjected to forced eviction.

But this is not true. Back in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Germans and I were best friends; de-Germanization could only begin after both Germany joined the UN in 1973; there had to be very compelling reasons for such harsh propaganda.

Here's what one blogger writes:

"It is quite difficult to believe today that literally in 20-30 post-war years the de-Germanization of the history of the twentieth century could have been carried out so effectively. (I judge by myself - my initial absorption of propaganda cliches took place in the seventies and I had not heard anything at all about the existence of IG Farben, and I thought of Weimar Germany as some kind of impoverished short-term formation like the Makhnovist republics). To make it easier to believe that propaganda can erase the memory of such important events so quickly and successfully, it is appropriate to draw a parallel with the traditional Soviet grievance - the belittling by Western propaganda of the role of the USSR in the Second World War. 40% of young Americans believed that the USSR fought on the side of Germany - this figure was announced in the 70s."

That is, the time indicated is 1965-75, which coincides with the time of both Germany’s accession to the UN. This means that the USSR lost these territories forever.

All dates must be shifted at least 20 years up the chronological scale:

In the so-called USSR, until 1933 and later (according to official history, the USSR was founded in 1922, but this is not true) there were thousands of cities and towns with German names. The so-called USSR from 1919 to 1933 was officially Germany, or rather, it was part of the Weimar Republic. It is difficult to say what percentage of the territory of the USSR and other modern states was part of the Weimar Republic, but as for the former USSR, you can find thousands of settlements with German names and estimate on the map:

Soldiers of the Franco-Prussian War. Part 5_1. German occupation of Russia 1853-1917. German names of Russian cities.
http://armycarus.do.am/publ/gosudarstvo/goroda_strany_armii/soldaty_franko_prusskoj_vojny_chast_5_1_nemeckaja_okkupacija_rossii_1853_1917_gg_nemeckie_nazvanija_rossijskikh_gorodov/27-1-0-45

Soldiers of the Franco-Prussian War. Part 5_2. German occupation of Russia 1853 - 1917 German names of Russian cities.
http://armycarus.do.am/publ/gosudarstvo/goroda_strany_armii/soldaty_franko_prusskoj_vojny_chast_5_2_nemeckaja_okkupacija_rossii_1853_1917_gg_nemeckie_nazvanija_rossijskikh_gorodov/27-1-0-47)

In 1973, both Germany joined the United Nations:

Raising two German flags near the UN building in New York on September 18, 1973

1973 Flags of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany at the UN.

Member states of the United Nations-Wikipedia

The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was admitted to the UN as an observer in 1955.
The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was admitted to the UN as an observer in 1972.

After the annexation of the GDR to the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990, the territory of the GDR became part of the Federal Republic of Germany, today known simply as Germany.

The Federal Republic of Germany continues to remain a member of the UN while the GDR ceased to exist.
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The question immediately arises: what about the 1st and 2nd World Wars, in which Russia (USSR) fought with Germany? Where are the tens of millions killed, where are the destroyed cities, factories, villages?
These wars did not exist, which the deceitful and vile Soviet intelligentsia told us about in order to hide from the judgment of history and deceive the captured population of the Soviet Union.

How could Germany fight against the USSR, when Germany was part of the USSR until 1973, just as 14 republics were part of the USSR before its collapse - this is all in our memory!

None of the former Soviet republics could voluntarily join the UN - this meant that it broke away from the Soviet of Deputies and went over to the side of the sworn enemy - America. Look in the English Wiki, almost all the former Soviet republics joined the UN only after the collapse of the USSR:

What happened instead of the 1st and 2nd World Wars? Why is there such destruction throughout the country, buildings and roads covered in silt and mud? Why was there a constant total shortage throughout the post-war years?

But the intelligentsia did not tell us about this.

If today's GDR and West Germany were part of the USSR, formed in 1953, until 1973, then where did Nazi Germany disappear to?

But she didn’t disappear anywhere.

The answer is that the USSR was that same Nazi Germany from the moment of its formation.
Remember, the USSR had a powerful military industry to the detriment of civilian production, which is why there was a constant shortage of consumer goods.

The USSR was increasing its military power in order to take revenge for the defeat after the capture of the planet.

The USSR government took loans from foreign bankers, with these funds they financed wars and revolutions around the world, helped “brotherly” countries, trying to make allies out of them. In the second half of the 1950s, all of Africa was on fire, then a revolution happened in Cuba, with the help of the USSR.
Then the production of mustard gas and phosgene began, which was used to poison all living things.

For this, the megastate took both Germanys from the USSR.

In order to cover up the traces of the criminal past and appear legitimate and peace-loving in the eyes of posterity, the USSR government treated the peaceful Germans extremely cruelly. We heard that Stalin deported the Germans, and with this deportation they covered up the eviction of the Germans already in the 1970s, and not in the 1940s-50s.

I knew many Germans in the former USSR, when they began to leave for Germany in the late 1980s, it was a shock to everyone. Nobody knew that these were Germans, they did not stand out from the rest of the population in anything, except for accuracy, conscientiousness, honesty and diligence, they had no crime.

The Soviet government hid the truth about its criminal activities. In order to whitewash oneself and disown the past, it was necessary to find a scapegoat. They made a whole people of them - ordinary Soviet Germans, who did not deserve such a cruel expulsion from the USSR. The leadership and the middle staff - those who made decisions and carried them out - must answer for all crimes.
Simple Soviet Germans and I are friends in misfortune: we lived together in harmony in a country that was mistakenly considered a stronghold of world peace. But, as it turned out, behind this mask of peacefulness was hiding a well-armed, cruel bandit.

Cold War in Germany. The American occupation of 1945 actually happened in the 1960s and 70s
Who knows how peacefully the process of both Germany's accession to the UN took place?

Russian-language Wikipedia talks very vaguely about the membership of both Germanys in the UN since 1973, there seem to be links to resolutions, but they do not work.

Officially - German Democratic Republic German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik)
Officially - Federal Republic of Germany (until 1990) Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland)

Security Council Resolution: S/RES/335 (1973) dated June 22, 1973
GA Resolution: A/RES/3050 (XXVIII) dated 09/18/1973

May 23, 1949 - The Federal Republic of Germany is founded in Trizonia, the three united zones of occupation of Germany (USA, UK and France).

October 23, 1955 - a referendum was held in Saarland (German: Saarland, a French protectorate), whose residents voted to join Germany

September 12, 1990 - The Treaty on the Final Settlement regarding Germany was signed between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, as well as Great Britain, the USSR, the USA and France.

October 3, 1990 - German reunification took place. The GDR ceased to exist and became part of the Federal Republic of Germany.

IG Farben - the main weapon of the 20th century

Germany

The German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) is a socialist state founded on October 7, 1949 in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany and the eastern (Soviet) sector of Berlin. The republic officially ceased to exist and was united with the Federal Republic of Germany at 00:00 Central European Time on October 3, 1990.

On June 9, 1945, on the territory where Soviet troops were located, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SVAG, ceased to exist in October 1949 after the proclamation of the GDR and the Soviet Control Commission was formed in its place), its first commander-in-chief was G.K. . Zhukov.

The proclamation of the GDR took place five months later in response to the creation of the three western occupation zones of the Federal Republic of Germany; on October 7, 1949, the Constitution of the GDR was proclaimed.

The most important milestones in the history of the GDR:

July 1952 - at the II Conference of the SED, a course was proclaimed to build socialism in the GDR

The conditions for economic recovery in the GDR were noticeably more difficult than in the Federal Republic of Germany: there were more fierce battles on the Eastern Front of World War II, which resulted in enormous destruction, a significant share of mineral deposits and heavy industrial enterprises ended up in the Federal Republic of Germany, and reparations to the USSR also placed a heavier burden.

At the beginning of 1952, the question of German unification was raised. By decision of the UN, a commission was created to conduct general elections. However, by Stalin’s decision, representatives of the commission were not allowed into the territory of the GDR. Stalin's death the following year did not change the situation.

The events of June 17, 1953 led to the fact that, instead of levying reparations, the USSR began to provide economic assistance to the GDR. In the context of the aggravation of the foreign policy situation around the German question and the mass exodus of qualified personnel from the GDR to West Berlin, on August 13, 1961, the construction of a system of barrier structures between the GDR and West Berlin began - the “Berlin Wall”.

In the early 1970s. a gradual normalization of relations between the two German states began. In June 1973, the Treaty on the Basic Principles of Relations between the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany came into force. In September 1973, the GDR became a full member of the UN and other international organizations. On November 8, 1973, the GDR officially recognized the Federal Republic of Germany and established diplomatic relations with it.

In the second half of the 1980s, economic difficulties began to increase in the country; in the fall of 1989, a socio-political crisis arose, as a result of which the SED leadership resigned (October 24 - Erich Honecker, November 7 - Willy Stoff). On November 9, the new Politburo of the Central Committee of the SED decided to allow citizens of the GDR to privately travel abroad without valid reasons, as a result of which the “Berlin Wall” spontaneously fell. After the victory of the CDU in the elections on March 18, 1990, the new government of Lothar de Maizière began intensive negotiations with the German government on issues of German unification. In May and August 1990, two Treaties were signed containing the conditions for the accession of the GDR to the Federal Republic of Germany. On September 12, 1990, the Treaty on the Final Settlement regarding Germany was signed in Moscow, which contained decisions on the entire range of issues of German unification. In accordance with the decision of the People's Chamber, the GDR joined the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990.

Creation of the German Democratic Republic

On October 7, 1949, the German People's Council proclaimed the creation German Democratic Republic. Wilhelm Pieck became the first president of the GDR, and Otto Grotewohl became the head of the Provisional Government. Five months before the adoption of the constitution and the proclamation of the GDR, the Federal Republic of Germany was proclaimed in West Germany. Since the official creation of the GDR occurred after the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, East German leaders had a reason to blame the West for the division of Germany.

Economic difficulties and worker discontent in the GDR

In 1952, the SED proclaimed that socialism would be built in the GDR. Following the Stalinist model, the leaders of the GDR imposed a rigid economic system with central planning and state control. Heavy industry was given priority for development. Ignoring the dissatisfaction of citizens caused by the shortage of consumer goods, the authorities tried by all means to force workers to increase labor productivity.

After Stalin's death, the workers' situation did not improve, and they responded with an uprising on June 16-17, 1953. The action began as a strike by East Berlin construction workers. The unrest immediately spread to other industries in the capital, and then to the entire GDR. The strikers demanded not only an improvement in their economic situation, but also the holding of free elections. The authorities were in a state of panic. The paramilitary "People's Police" lost control of the situation, and the Soviet military administration brought in tanks.

After the events of June 1953, the government switched to a policy of carrots and sticks. More lenient economic policies (the New Deal) included lower production standards for workers and increased production of some consumer goods. At the same time, large-scale repressions were carried out against the instigators of unrest and disloyal functionaries of the SED. About 20 demonstrators were executed, many were thrown into prison, almost a third of party officials were either removed from their posts or transferred to other jobs with the official motivation “for losing contact with the people.” Nevertheless, the regime managed to overcome the crisis. Two years later, the USSR officially recognized the sovereignty of the GDR, and in 1956 East Germany formed its armed forces and became a full member of the Warsaw Pact.

Another shock for the countries of the Soviet bloc was the 20th Congress of the CPSU (1956), at which Chairman of the Council of Ministers N.S. Khrushchev exposed Stalin’s repressions. The revelations of the leader of the USSR caused unrest in Poland and Hungary, but in the GDR the situation remained calm. The improvement in the economic situation caused by the new course, as well as the opportunity for dissatisfied citizens to “vote with their feet”, i.e. emigrate across the open border to Berlin, helped prevent a repeat of the events of 1953.

Some softening of Soviet policies after the 20th Congress of the CPSU encouraged those members of the SED who did not agree with the position of Walter Ulbricht, a key political figure in the country, and other hardliners. The reformers, led by Wolfgang Harich, a university teacher. Humboldt in East Berlin, advocated democratic elections, workers' control in production and the "socialist unification" of Germany. Ulbricht managed to overcome this opposition of the “revisionist deviationists.” Harich was sent to prison, where he stayed from 1957 to 1964.

Berlin Wall

Showing support for the GDR, Khrushchev took a tough line against Berlin. He demanded that the Western powers effectively recognize the GDR, threatening to close access to West Berlin. (Until the 1970s, the Western powers refused to recognize the GDR as an independent state, insisting that Germany must be unified in accordance with the post-war agreements.) Once again, the scale of the exodus from the GDR assumed daunting proportions for the government. In 1961, more than 207 thousand citizens left the GDR (in total, more than 3 million people moved to the West since 1945). In August 1961, the East German government blocked the flow of refugees by ordering the construction of a concrete wall and barbed wire fence between East and West Berlin. Within a few months, the border between the GDR and West Germany was equipped.

Stability and prosperity of the GDR

It should also be noted that East German historians, such as Horst Drexler and other researchers of German colonial policy 1880-1918, in whose works a reassessment of individual events in recent German history were carried out. But the GDR was most successful in increasing its international prestige in the field of sports. A developed system of state sports clubs and training camps has produced high-quality athletes who have achieved amazing success at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games since 1972.

Changes in the leadership of the GDR

Ulbricht's successor as first secretary of the SED was Erich Honecker. A native of the Saarland, he joined the Communist Party at an early age and, after his release from prison at the end of World War II, became a professional SED functionary. For many years he headed the youth organization "Free German Youth". Honecker intended to strengthen what he called "real socialism." Under Honecker, the GDR began to play a prominent role in international politics, especially in relations with Third World countries. After the signing of the Basic Treaty with West Germany (1972), the GDR was recognized by the majority of countries in the world community and in 1973, like the FRG, became a member of the UN.

Collapse of the GDR

The coming to power in the USSR of M.S. Gorbachev and his policies of perestroika and glasnost undermined the basis of existence of the ruling SED regime. East German leaders recognized the potential danger early and abandoned perestroika in East Germany. But the SED could not hide information about changes in other countries of the Soviet bloc from the citizens of the GDR. West German television programs, which residents of the GDR watched much more often than East German television products, widely covered the progress of reforms in Eastern Europe.

The dissatisfaction of most East German citizens with their government reached a climax in 1989. While neighboring Eastern European states quickly liberalized their regimes, the SED cheered the brutal suppression of the June 1989 Chinese student demonstration in Tiananmen Square. But it was no longer possible to contain the tide of impending changes in the GDR. In August, Hungary opened its border with Austria, allowing thousands of East German holidaymakers to emigrate to the west.

At the end of 1989, popular discontent resulted in colossal protest demonstrations in the GDR itself. "Monday demonstrations" quickly became a tradition; hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of major cities of the GDR (the most massive protests took place in Leipzig) demanding political liberalization. The GDR leadership was divided over how to deal with the dissatisfied, and it also became clear that it was now left to its own devices. At the beginning of October, M.S. arrived in East Germany to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the GDR. Gorbachev, who made it clear that the Soviet Union would no longer interfere in the affairs of the GDR to save the ruling regime.

Honecker, who had just recovered from major surgery, advocated the use of force against protesters. But the majority of the SED Politburo did not agree with his opinion, and in mid-October Honecker and his main allies were forced to resign. Egon Krenz became the new General Secretary of the SED, as did Honecker, the former leader of the youth organization. The government was headed by Hans Modrow, secretary of the Dresden district committee of the SED, who was known as a supporter of economic and political reforms.

The new leadership tried to stabilize the situation by meeting some of the demonstrators' particularly widespread demands: the right to free exit from the country was granted (the Berlin Wall was opened on November 9, 1989) and free elections were proclaimed. These steps turned out to be insufficient, and Krenz, having served as head of the party for 46 days, resigned. At a hastily convened congress in January 1990, the SED was renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), and a truly democratic party charter was adopted. The chairman of the renewed party was Gregor Gysi, a lawyer by profession who defended several East German dissidents during the Honecker era.

In March 1990, citizens of the GDR participated in the first free elections in 58 years. Their results greatly disappointed those who had hoped for the preservation of a liberalized but still independent and socialist GDR. Although several newly emerged parties advocated a "third way" distinct from Soviet communism and West German capitalism, a bloc of parties allied with the West German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) won a landslide victory. This voting bloc demanded unification with West Germany.

Lothar de Maizière, leader of the East German CDU, became the first (and last) freely elected prime minister of the GDR. The short period of his reign was marked by great changes. Under the leadership of de Maizières, the previous management apparatus was quickly dismantled. In August 1990, five states abolished in the GDR in 1952 were restored (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia). On October 3, 1990, the GDR ceased to exist, uniting with the Federal Republic of Germany.

Federal Republic of Germany.

After the defeat of Germany in the Second World War and the surrender of Hitler's army, the territory of the country was occupied by the troops of the allied states: the USSR, the USA, England and France. In accordance with the decision of the Potsdam Conference (July 17 - August 2, 1945), Germany was divided into 4 occupation zones. General management was concentrated in the Union Control Council.

At the end of 1946, separate administration of the three western zones was created. The logical consequence of this was the division of Germany and the formation of two independent states. The decision on this was made in 1948 at the London Conference of six Western powers: the USA, England, France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. Based on the decisions of the conference, the military governors of the United States, Great Britain and France in the occupied zones authorized the prime ministers of the governments of the German states to begin developing a draft constitution for the future state - the Federal Republic of Germany. The project was prepared and discussed in the Parliamentary Council. This council consisted of 65 deputies elected by the state parliaments and 5 representatives with an advisory vote from West Berlin.

On May 8, 1949, the Parliamentary Council meeting in Bonn adopted the draft fundamental law and submitted it to the Landtags for ratification. Between 18 and 21 May 1949, the parliaments of all states except Bavaria approved the draft constitution.

The new constitution, which came into force on May 23, 1949, restored democratic institutions of government and governance and was in many ways similar to the Weimar Constitution of 1919.

The new German state is built on the principles of federalism. It was formed from 10 lands (currently - 14), independent in their budget and independent of each other. Each of the states has its own Landtag and its own government, which has significant autonomy.

Legislative power belongs to a bicameral parliament: the upper house is the Bundesrat (Union Council), the lower house is the Bundestag.

Bundesrat - consists of 41 members and expresses the interests of the constituent entities of the federation. The government of each state appoints its representatives to the Bundesrat. The number of votes that a given “land” has in the chamber is determined by the size of its population. Lands with a population of up to 2 million people have 3 votes, from 2 to 6 million - 4 votes, and over 6 million - five.

The Bundestag was elected by the entire people of Germany and consists of 496 members. Half of the deputies are elected in the districts using a majority system of relative majority through direct voting. The other half is based on party lists nominated in each land according to a proportional system. Each voter in Germany is given two votes. The first is for the election of a deputy in an electoral district, the second is for elections according to land lists. The party that received less than 5% of the second votes shared representation in parliament.

The system of central government bodies is based on the principle of separation of powers.

According to the Constitution, the head of the Federal Republic of Germany is the President, who is elected for a term of 5 years by a specially assembled Federal Assembly. The President can participate in government meetings, promulgate laws, and can, in some cases, dissolve the Bundestag. However, most presidential acts require mandatory countersignature from the Federal Chancellor or the relevant minister.

Real executive power is concentrated in the government and especially in the hands of its chairman, the chancellor. The candidacy of the chancellor is proposed by the president. He is then elected by a majority vote of the Bundestag. The Chancellor appoints and dismisses ministers, determines the domestic and foreign policy of the state. He is the only minister constitutionally responsible to the Bundestag.

The federal government has the power to issue regulations to implement federal laws, as well as issue general administrative regulations. The government is actively involved in the legislative process.

In the system of central government bodies of Germany, a special place is occupied by the Federal Constitutional Court, consisting of two senates of 8 judges each. The members of the court are elected in equal numbers by the Bundestag and the Bundesrat. The Constitutional Court has broad competence - interpreting the Constitution, checking the compliance of federal and state law with the basic law, resolving disputes between the federation and the states, etc. The court can also overturn parliamentary laws if they do not comply with the “spirit and letter” of the constitution.

In general, Germany did not know either a deep confrontation of forces with a real prospect of leftist participation in the government, or acute conflicts between the executive and legislative branches, which allows us to conclude that the West German political system was particularly strong.

German Democratic Republic.

In accordance with the Potsdam Agreement, the USSR occupied the eastern part of Germany: the lands of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Thuringia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt. A special body of the Soviet military administration in Germany was created - SVAG. Soon the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) was involved in government activities. It was formed in April 1946 as a result of the merger of the communist and social democratic party organizations. In September-October 1946, elections to local governments and state parliaments were held throughout East Germany. The SED received more than 50% of the votes in the municipal elections and 47% in the Landtag elections.

At the same time, socialist reforms followed. The property of the monopolies was confiscated, and agrarian reform was carried out. The focus was on the collectivization of agriculture.

In September 1947, the 2nd congress of the SKPG took place. He proposed convening a German People's Congress to determine the future fate of the state. The East German People's Congress (March 1948) elected the so-called German People's Council and tasked it with drafting a constitution for the future GDR.

In 1949, the People's Council announced the introduction of a new Constitution establishing the German Democratic Republic as an independent state.

The Constitution of the GDR of 1949 determined that the highest body of power was the People's Chamber (400 deputies), elected for 4 years by universal, direct and equal elections. By secret ballot, the People's Chamber elects its Presidium, in which each faction is represented, numbering at least 40 deputies. Representation of the Länder is carried out by the Chamber of Länder, which is elected by local Landtags. The Chamber of Lands received limited rights: it can protest against a law adopted by the People's Chamber within 14 days, but the final decision belongs to the latter.

Both chambers have jurisdiction over the election of the President. He is elected for 4 years, represents the republic in international relations, receives diplomatic representatives, exercises the right to pardon, etc. The government is formed by a representative of the faction that is the strongest in the People's Chamber. The People's Chamber approves the composition of the government and its program. The government is responsible to the House.

In 1952, the historical division of the country into lands was eliminated and a new administrative-territorial division of the GDR was established into 14 districts and 217 districts. The Chamber of Lands and Landtags were abolished. Local power began to be exercised by district and regional assemblies, which elected their own councils (executive authorities).

In 1952, the SED conference decided to build socialism in the GDR. 16 years after this, the new constitution of the GDR in 1968 declared the victory of socialist production relations.

Meanwhile, West Germany was increasingly ahead of East Germany in terms of living standards and the degree of industrial and democratic development. Socialism has discredited itself.

At the end of the 80s, the situation in the world changed. The Cold War, the confrontation between capitalist and socialist systems, has ended. Under these conditions, the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR became possible, and it took place in 1989.

Thus, after the First World War, Germany became a victim of the confrontation between world systems and again lost its integrity. However, this time the unification of the state was accomplished not by force, as in the time of Bismarck, but through a peace agreement.

Revealing development of law In Germany, it is important to note the Civil Code of 1896, which became the first in the history of Germany to codify civil law unified for the entire country. The German civil code is largely based on Roman law. The norms of the code are contained in the general part (the first book). In addition, the code contains 4 more books: the second is devoted to obligations, the third – to property law, the fourth – to family law and the fifth – to inheritance law.

Distinctive features of the German Civil Code are: the absence of general legal definitions; the paragraphs of the code are very detailed and descriptive in nature.

During the period of imperialism (the first half of the 20th century), the top of monopoly capital merged with the state apparatus. In this regard, one of the features of civil law of this period is state intervention in the sphere of economic activity. The principles of administrative law penetrate into civil law; Mandatory norms often take the place of the dispositive norms usual for bourgeois civil law. The principles of freedom of contract, sanctity of contract, and free competition are violated. The principle of the sanctity of the contract and its binding force on the parties has also been shaken.

After Hitler seized power in Germany and the establishment of the fascist regime in the country, the German Civil Code was not abolished. However, since 1933, a number of laws have been issued changing the norms of the GGU, aimed at the direct abolition of equality, built on the idea of ​​​​racism and fascist eugenics. Laws were also passed aimed at securing the economic position of monopolies.

After the defeat of fascism in World War II, fascist legislation was repealed and the German Civil Code was restored throughout Germany, which remained in effect only in the Federal Republic of Germany, while a new civil code was adopted in the GDR.

With the creation of a unified Germany in 1871, the Criminal Code of the North German Confederation of 1870 was put into effect throughout its entire territory. It consisted of three parts. The first contained provisions on the differentiation of criminal acts into crimes, misdemeanors and police violations; on the liability of German citizens in the event of offenses committed abroad and some other introductory regulations. The second part outlined general issues of criminal law: the stages of the crime, complicity, mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The third part included rules relating to certain types of crimes, i.e. was a special part of the code.

Among the crimes, state crimes came first: insulting the emperor and local sovereigns, counterfeiting, calls for disobedience to state authorities, etc.

The German criminal code provided for quite severe punishments: death penalty, imprisonment in a workhouse, imprisonment, placement in a fortress, arrest, restriction of rights, and a fine. The main purpose of punishment was deterrence, especially when it came to serious crimes. Those who committed state crimes against religion and property were punished most severely. At the same time, in the Code there is a desire to build a punitive system taking into account the personality of the criminal and the gravity of the crime he committed.

The Weimar Republic retained the Criminal Code of 1871. However, the code was re-edited, the remnants of Prussian feudalism were removed from it, and the scope of application of capital intrigue was reduced.

After the end of World War II, on the basis of the Potsdam Agreements, fascist criminal legislation was abolished. The validity of the Criminal Code of 1871 was restored with editorial corrections until 1933.

With the adoption of the 1949 Constitution, there was a movement towards democratization and criminal law. The death penalty was abolished.

Thus, the development of German law is based on the continental system. The main source of law in Germany is the law.

The German Democratic Republic, or GDR for short, is a country located in the Center of Europe and has been marked on maps for exactly 41 years. This is the westernmost country of the socialist camp that existed at that time, formed in 1949 and became part of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990.

German Democratic Republic

In the north, the border of the GDR ran along the Baltic Sea; on land it bordered on the Federal Republic of Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Its area was 108 thousand square kilometers. The population was 17 million people. The capital of the country was East Berlin. The entire territory of the GDR was divided into 15 districts. In the center of the country was the territory of West Berlin.

Location of the GDR

The small territory of the GDR had sea, mountains and plains. The north was washed by the Baltic Sea, which forms several bays and shallow lagoons. They are connected to the sea through straits. She owned the islands, the largest of which were Rügen, Usedom and Pel. There are many rivers in the country. The largest are the Oder, Elbe, their tributaries Havel, Spree, Saale, as well as the Main, a tributary of the Rhine. Of the many lakes, the largest are Müritz, Schweriner See, and Plauer See.

In the south, the country was framed by low mountains, significantly indented by rivers: from the west the Harz, from the south-west the Thuringian Forest, from the south the Ore Mountains with the highest peak Fichtelberg (1212 meters). The north of the territory of the GDR was located on the Central European Plain, to the south lay the plain of the Macklenburg Lake District. To the south of Berlin lies a strip of sandy plains.

East Berlin

It was practically restored from scratch. The city was divided into occupation zones. After the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany, its eastern part became part of the GDR, and the western part was an enclave, surrounded on all sides by the territory of East Germany. According to the constitution of Berlin (West), the land on which it was located belonged to the Federal Republic of Germany. The capital of the GDR was a major center of science and culture in the country.

The Academies of Sciences and Arts and many higher educational institutions were located here. Concert halls and theaters have hosted outstanding musicians and artists from all over the world. Many parks and alleys served as decoration for the capital of the GDR. Sports facilities were built in the city: stadiums, swimming pools, courts, and competition grounds. The most famous park for residents of the USSR was Treptow Park, in which a monument to the liberating soldier was erected.

Big cities

The majority of the country's population were urban residents. In a small country, there were several cities whose population exceeded half a million people. Large cities of the former German Democratic Republic, as a rule, had a fairly ancient history. These are the cultural and economic centers of the country. The largest cities include Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig. East German cities were heavily damaged. But Berlin suffered the most, where fighting took place literally for every house.

The largest cities were located in the south of the country: Karl-Marx-Stadt (Meissen), Dresden and Leipzig. Every city in the GDR was famous for something. Rostock, located in northern Germany, is a modern port city. World-famous porcelain was produced in Karl-Marx-Stadt (Meissen). In Jena there was the famous Carl Zeiss plant, which produced lenses, including for telescopes, and famous binoculars and microscopes were produced here. This city was also famous for its universities and scientific institutions. This is a city of students. Schiller and Goette once lived in Weimar.

Karl-Marx-Stadt (1953-1990)

This city, founded in the 12th century in the state of Saxony, now bears its original name - Chemnitz. It is the center of textile engineering and textile industry, machine tool manufacturing and mechanical engineering. The city was completely destroyed by British and American bombers and rebuilt after the war. Small islands of ancient buildings remain.

Leipzig

The city of Leipzig, located in the state of Saxony, was one of the largest cities in the German Democratic Republic before the unification of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany. Another large city in Germany is located 32 kilometers from it - Halle, which is located in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Together, the two cities form an urban agglomeration with a population of 1,100 thousand people.

The city has long been the cultural and scientific center of Central Germany. It is famous for its universities as well as fairs. Leipzig is one of the most developed industrial areas in East Germany. Since the late Middle Ages, Leipzig has been a recognized center of printing and bookselling in Germany.

The greatest composer Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as the famous Felix Mendelssohn, lived and worked in this city. The city is still famous today for its musical traditions. Since ancient times, Leipzig has been a major trading center; until the last war, famous fur trades took place here.

Dresden

A pearl among German cities is Dresden. The Germans themselves call it Florence on the Elbe, as there are many Baroque architectural monuments here. The first mention of it was recorded in 1206. Dresden has always been the capital: since 1485 - of the Margraviate of Meissen, since 1547 - of the Electorate of Saxony.

It is located on the Elbe River. The border with the Czech Republic runs 40 kilometers from it. It is the administrative center of Saxony. Its population numbers about 600,000 inhabitants.

The city suffered greatly from US and British air raids. Up to 30 thousand residents and refugees, most of them old people, women and children, died. During the bombing, the residence castle, the Zwinger complex, and the Semper Opera were severely destroyed. Almost the entire historical center lay in ruins.

To restore architectural monuments, after the war, all surviving parts of the buildings were dismantled, rewritten, numbered and taken out of the city. Everything that could not be restored was cleared away.

The old city was a flat area on which most of the monuments were gradually restored. The GDR government came up with a proposal to revive the old city, which lasted almost forty years. New neighborhoods and avenues were built for residents around the old city.

Coat of arms of the GDR

Like any country, the GDR had its own coat of arms, described in Chapter 1 of the constitution. The coat of arms of the German Democratic Republic was a superimposed golden hammer, representing the working class, and a compass, representing the intelligentsia. They were surrounded by a golden wreath of wheat, representing the peasantry, intertwined with the ribbons of the national flag.

Flag of the GDR

The flag of the German Democratic Republic was an elongated panel consisting of four stripes of equal width, painted in the national colors of Germany: black, red and gold. In the middle of the flag was the coat of arms of the GDR, which distinguished it from the flag of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Prerequisites for the formation of the GDR

The history of the GDR covers a very short period of time, but it is still studied with great attention by scientists in Germany. The country was severely isolated by Germany and the entire Western world. After the surrender of Germany in May 1945, there were occupation zones, there were four of them, since the former state ceased to exist. All power in the country, with all management functions, was formally transferred to the military administrations.

The transition period was complicated by the fact that Germany, especially its eastern part, where German resistance was desperate, lay in ruins. The barbaric bombings of British and US aircraft were aimed at intimidating the civilian population of cities that were liberated by the Soviet army and turning them into a pile of ruins.

In addition, there was no agreement between the former allies regarding the vision of the future of the country, which is what subsequently led to the creation of two countries - the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic.

Basic principles of German reconstruction

Even at the Yalta Conference, the basic principles of the restoration of Germany were considered, which were later fully agreed upon and approved at the conference in Potsdam by the victorious countries: the USSR, Great Britain and the USA. They were also approved by the countries participating in the war against Germany, in particular France, and contained the following provisions:

• Complete destruction of the totalitarian state.
• Complete ban on the NSDAP and all organizations associated with it.
• Complete liquidation of the punitive organizations of the Reich, such as the SA, SS, and SD services, since they were recognized as criminal.
• The army was completely liquidated.
• Racial and political legislation was repealed.
• Gradual and consistent implementation of denazification, demilitarization and democratization.

The solution to the German question, which included the peace treaty, was entrusted to the Council of Ministers of the victorious countries. On June 5, 1945, the victorious states promulgated the Declaration of the Defeat of Germany, according to which the country was divided into four occupation zones governed by the administrations of Great Britain (the largest zone), the USSR, the USA and France. The capital of Germany, Berlin, was also divided into zones. The resolution of all issues was entrusted to the Control Council, which included representatives of the victorious countries.

Parties of Germany

In Germany, to restore statehood, the formation of new political parties that would be democratic in nature was allowed. In the eastern sector, the emphasis was on the revival of the Communist and Social Democratic Parties of Germany, which soon merged into the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (1946). Its goal was to build a socialist state. It was the ruling party in the German Democratic Republic.

In the western sectors, the main political force was the CDU (Christian Democratic Union) party formed in June 1945. In 1946, the CSU (Christian Social Union) was formed in Bavaria on this principle. Their main principle is a democratic republic based on market economics with private property rights.

Political confrontations on the issue of the post-war structure of Germany between the USSR and the rest of the coalition countries were so serious that their further aggravation would have led either to a split in the state or to a new war.

Formation of the German Democratic Republic

In December 1946, Great Britain and the USA, ignoring numerous proposals from the USSR, announced the unification of their two zones. They began to call it “Bisonia” for short. This was preceded by the refusal of the Soviet administration to supply agricultural products to the western zones. In response to this, transit transportation of equipment exported from factories and factories in East Germany and located in the Ruhr region to the USSR zone was stopped.

At the beginning of April 1949, France also joined “Bizonia”, resulting in the formation of “Trisonia”, from which the Federal Republic of Germany was subsequently formed. So the Western powers, conspiring with the big German bourgeoisie, created a new state. In response to this, the German Democratic Republic was created at the end of 1949. Berlin, or rather its Soviet zone, became its center and capital.

The People's Council was temporarily reorganized into the People's Chamber, which adopted the Constitution of the GDR, which was subject to popular discussion. On September 11, 1949, the first president of the GDR was elected. It was the legendary Wilhelm Pieck. At the same time, the government of the GDR was temporarily created, headed by O. Grotewohl. The military administration of the USSR transferred all functions for governing the country to the government of the GDR.

The Soviet Union did not want the division of Germany. They were repeatedly made proposals for the unification and development of the country in accordance with the Potsdam decisions, but they were regularly rejected by Great Britain and the United States. Even after the division of Germany into two countries, Stalin made proposals for the unification of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany, provided that the decisions of the Potsdam Conference were respected and Germany was not drawn into any political or military blocs. But Western states refused this, ignoring the decisions of Potsdam.

Political system of the GDR

The form of government of the country was based on the principle of people's democracy, in which a bicameral parliament operated. The country's political system was considered to be bourgeois-democratic, in which socialist transformations took place. The German Democratic Republic included the former German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The lower (people's) house was elected by universal secret ballot. The upper house was called the Land Chamber, the executive body was the government, which was made up of the prime minister and ministers. It was formed through an appointment made by the largest faction of the People's Chamber.

The administrative-territorial division consisted of lands consisting of districts divided into communities. The functions of the legislative bodies were performed by the Landtags, the executive bodies were the state governments.

The People's Chamber - the highest body of the state - consisted of 500 deputies, who were elected by secret ballot by the people for a period of 4 years. It was represented by all parties and public organizations. The People's Chamber, acting on the basis of laws, made the most important decisions on the development of the country, dealt with relations between organizations, compliance with the rules of cooperation between citizens, government organizations and associations; adopted the main law - the Constitution and other laws of the country.

Economy of the GDR

After the division of Germany, the economic situation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was very difficult. This part of Germany was very much destroyed. The equipment of plants and factories was exported to the western sectors of Germany. The GDR was simply cut off from its historical raw material bases, most of which were located in the Federal Republic of Germany. There was a shortage of natural resources such as ore and coal. There were few specialists: engineers, executives who left for Germany, frightened by propaganda about the brutal reprisals of the Russians.

With the help of the Union and other commonwealth countries, the economy of the GDR gradually began to gain momentum. Enterprises were restored. It was believed that centralized leadership and a planned economy served as a restraining factor for economic development. It should be taken into account that the restoration of the country took place in isolation from the western part of Germany, in an atmosphere of fierce confrontation between the two countries and open provocations.

Historically, the eastern regions of Germany were mostly agricultural, and in the western part, rich in coal and metal ore deposits, heavy industry, metallurgy and mechanical engineering were concentrated.

Without financial and material assistance from the Soviet Union, it would have been impossible to achieve a rapid restoration of industry. For the losses that the USSR suffered during the war, the GDR paid it reparation payments. Since 1950, their volume has been halved, and in 1954 the USSR refused to receive them.

Foreign policy situation

The construction of the Berlin Wall by the German Democratic Republic became a symbol of the intransigence of the two blocs. The Eastern and Western blocs of Germany increased their military forces, and provocations from the Western bloc became more frequent. It came down to open sabotage and arson. The propaganda machine was working at full capacity, taking advantage of economic and political difficulties. The Federal Republic of Germany, like many Western European countries, did not recognize the GDR. The aggravation of relations peaked in the early 1960s.

The so-called “German crisis” also arose thanks to West Berlin, which, legally being the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, was located in the very center of the GDR. The border between the two zones was conditional. As a result of the confrontation between the NATO blocs and the countries belonging to the Warsaw bloc, the SED Politburo decided to build a border around West Berlin, which consisted of a reinforced concrete wall 106 km long and 3.6 m high and a metal mesh fence 66 km long. It stood from August 1961 until November 1989.

After the merger of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany, the wall was demolished, leaving only a small section that became the Berlin Wall memorial. In October 1990, the GDR became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The history of the German Democratic Republic, which existed for 41 years, is intensively studied and researched by scientists of modern Germany.

Despite the propaganda discrediting of this country, scientists are well aware that it gave Western Germany a lot. In a number of parameters, it has surpassed its Western brother. Yes, the joy of reunification was genuine for the Germans, but there is no point in belittling the importance of the GDR, one of the most developed countries in Europe, and many in modern Germany understand this very well.