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East Germany THE REPUBLIC
On October 7, 1949, the formation of the German Democratic
Republic as an independent socialist state superimposed on the
Soviet Zone of Occupation in Germany was announced. There may be
reason to doubt the degree of Soviet devotion to the survival of
an independent East German state at the time; however, there is
no doubt that Ulbricht intended to make his state work and
survive. Although independence had been declared, the republic
did not receive full sovereignty until 1955. It still had no
peace treaties with former enemies, and ultimate authority still
lay with the occupying Soviet forces.
Ministry of the Interior and the Soviet Control Commission
The new status required some changes in the structure of the
governing apparatus of the country and in its relationship with
its occupying power. The degree of direct Soviet involvement in
day-to-day affairs diminished after independence was declared,
and for this and other cosmetic reasons the SMAD became the
Soviet Control Commission. The former German administrations that
had been agencies of the SMAD became ministries of the new
government. The new Ministry of the Interior evolved from the
German Administration of the Interior and maintained its former
directorates and functions.
Although statehood brought many changes in the structure and
functioning of the East German government, only one was of
immediate and particular importance for national security. With
the formation of the republic, all justification for maintaining
political and administrative ties with the West was effectively
abolished. Politically this meant that officials acceptable to
the West no longer had to be tolerated and could be removed from
positions of authority. It also justified measures designed to
establish loyalty to an independent, socialist East German state
among the population. Administratively the country and the
government could be restructured to facilitate policy without
concern for the reaction of Western powers. The new state sought
to ensure its survival by centralizing authority and eliminating
all sources of potential power other than those of the ruling
party. These changes represented a clear-cut move toward a
Soviet-style dictatorship.
Political centralization was marked by another traditional
Soviet device, the establishment of the National Front, the
umbrella organization that facilitates control of all political
parties and mass organizations. Gradually, the emphasis of the
National Front shifted from antifascist to pro-Soviet. As a mark
of this shift, 1950 saw what might be called "the second purge,"
a Soviet-style purge of the membership of the SED, in which all
members turned in their party cards. After careful examination,
cards were reissued to those deemed fit. The most common reason
for refusing to reissue a card was the charge that the cardholder
was a West German agent. In practice, the weight of the purge
fell most heavily on Jews and those communists who had spent the
war in the West. In the case of the Jews, the purge reflected
events taking place in the Soviet Union. In the case of
communists from the West, the purge strengthened Ulbricht's hand
against other party factions.
Along with attempting to improve national security through
political and military means, East German leadership also worked
to create a formal military and police structure. Although the
Soviet Union and its East European allies may have been less
enthusiastic about the creation of East Germany's armed forces
than they were about the creation of the republic itself, the
state needed the trappings of nationhood, including armed forces,
if it was to be recognized as legitimate.
Data as of July 1987
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