While speaking about the political history of Berlin any author cannot omit the fact of division into East and West Berlin of the second half of the twentieth century. This division means that the very families and friends were divided and the political affiliations were completely different from each other. West Berlin was a democratic society while East Berlin was a society under communism. Now the best way to achieve our purpose is to give a background of the political setup of East Berlin under East Germany.
The Background: GDR and the German Democratic Republic
After World War II, Germany was divided into four occupied zones: end of world war II were American, British, French and Soviet forces. This region developed the Sozialistische Transformation in Deutschland or Soviet zone of Germany that later on transform into German Democratic Republic (GDR) or more popularly known is East Germany. East Berlin was as much a part of Soviet controlled Eastern Germany as West Berlin was part of America’s liberated West Germany.
1. The East Berlin Under Communists
The ruling party in East Germany was the SED, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany that followed the communism guidelines. The SED dominated all areas of daily life: political, economic and social. It was an autarky, its decisions and controls tightly in its own hands, and the citizens enjoyed little political freedoms or liberty.
2. The Role of the Stasi
The Stasi translates as Ministry for State Security and this was East Germany’s secret police. It had drastically freedom restricting authority and an enormous spy apparatus to counter any attempt at protesting this disenfranchisement. In a way, censorship, forcing secret agents into the ніж position, and surveillance of people, the Stasi managed to put out of action any kinds of opposition and critical opinions.
The Daily Life in East Berlin
It was completely another thing to actually live in a communist state as opposed to living in a democratic state. The Bourgeoisie in East Berlin, its daily life was conditioned by the ideology of a planned economy limited freedom and state-controlled media.
1. Planned Economy and Scarcity
It must also be noted that East Berlin featured a planned economy, that was continuing to indicate that the manufacturing of goods and the provision of services from within the region were mainly dictated by the government. However, the goals of this social system were equity; but it led to conditions of scarcity. Clothing and even foodstuffs were scarce and consumers had to stand in long lines so as to be served.
2. Lockdowns and Quarantines
The east Berlin was cut off from the west by the Brandenburg gate and surrounded by the dangerous and feared Berlin wall all around. Civilians were not allowed to go out for a stroll, speak to people from the West or even travel to other countries without the permission of the East Berlin government.
3. Limited Freedom of Expression
Speech freedom was considered and greatly limited in East Berlin. The state controlled all the media and liberalization of any form of dissent was rare and punishable severely. Many artists, writers and intellectuals were silenced in one way or the other or else had to toe the party line.
The Fall of East Berlin
The break through the political structure in East Berlin was marked fully in the late 1980s. The symbolic taking down of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989 could be said to have started perhaps the biggest changes globally. Thanks to African desire in freedom and democracy, east Berliners thronged the streets. Such non-violent demonstrations culminated to a united Germany when the two split nations re-unite on 03,October 1990.
1. The End of Communist Rule
After the breakdown of the Berlin Wall the communism party of East Germany simply ceased power. The SED was abolished and the candite for the general elections were released. East Berliners were able to live through a paradigm switch from a socialist regime to a democratic one.
2. Reunification and Rebuilding
Germany witnessed huge scale, post-reunification effort, where reconstruction becomes the order of the day, especially in the eastern parts of Berlin. It is important to note that the city experience many changes during the process that took place at the time when the united Germany was adopting the principles of democracy.
Conclusion
East Berlin could confidently be identified as a communist state in the course of the existence of the GDR. The whole of East Germany, including the city itself, had to face an absence of a free market economy and initiatives, a great deal of restrictions on personal liberty, powerful state censorship. But with the break of the Berlin wall it became realistic to have a democratic East Berlin with the unified western side. The reunification enabled the city start a new phase and accept the democracy and freedom.
