When talking about the political situation of East Berlin it is needed to distinguish between socialism and communism. Some people use these two terms anyhow but actually they have different meanings.

Socialism vs. Communism

Socialism is an economic structure that makes available the factors of production comprising of land, factories and business through the cooperation of the people. The goal is to lessen the gap between the rich and the poor and come up with equitable income.

Communism on the other hand is an outlook on life that seeks to establish a society with hardly any classes. It supports State confiscation of private property and the dismantlement of the State in favor of anarchy. Communism may sometimes have an aspect of central planning, for instance the whole planning of the economy is often made and implemented by the government.

The German Democratic Republic

GDR is formed in 1949 in the Soviet occupied zone of Germany after the end of the World War II. Like any socialist state, East Berlin fallowed the political values of a socialist state despite being the capital and hence administrative seat of the GDR ruled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.

Following the socialist ideologies, the SED developed political measures that aimed at controlling several large-scale ventures together with the public provision of social services. Alas, the GDR did not become outright communism either.

Social Organisation in East Berlin

That is, the GDR had a primarily planned economy in today’s East Berlin The cognition outcomes of the learners are as follows In analyzing the economic system in the GDR, characteristics of a planned economy are noticeable. The means of production being factories, agriculture, and services were owned by the government. Business ownership was not widespread since it was privatized; different critical sectors were controlled by the government.

The most important objective of the GDR in its economics was to attain employment for all and then to distribute materials equally. However, queues, idle times, and shortages were coming running because of the plan – based allocation instead of market-based competition.

Policies and Welfare in East Berlin

That is why the SED government carried out the existing policies designed to address social needs and social injustice in East Berlin. Such needs as healthcare, education, and housing were provided and dear basic needs were subsidized.

University and vocational training were free for all the East Berliners. asmus was also predominantly in the public sector and offered at quite cheap terms reasonably. Nevertheless, the availability and quality of available products were a concern for the consumers most of the time.

Politics and Power Configuration

The political set up of East Berlin was a one party state through the dominance of the Socialists East Democrats SED. There was government regulation of every sphere of public life and restriction of political opposition by means of censorship and informers.

The SED proclaimed that it was pursuing communism however political power was in reality being exercised by the party bureaucrats and not in a truly democratic fashion whereby power would be returned to the people.

The events to be examined in detail in this paper are the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Reunification.

Thus year 1989 with the falling of the Berlin Wall to be precise became a epoch making year in the history of East Berlin. When East and West Germany again joined in 1990, the socialist system which was previously dominant in East Berlin, came to an end.

So, after the reunification East Berlin changed its economy to market one and took the political structure from the Federal Republic of Germany. Some socialist features are still present in the infrastructure of the East Berlin.

Conclusion

East Berlin under the GDR socialist policies as well as attempted communism but, it did not operate as an entirely communist society. The economic structure was of centrally controlled and state owned organizations, priority was given to social needs. However political powers were mostly under political authorities and only restricted political liberalization was allowed.

Generalizing political and economical systems of countries is a critical mistake in studying historical contexts. The reflections of socialism and communism no doubt along with the political and social structure of East Berlin provide enormous nouvelle for the liberal society.