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East Germany Honecker and East-West Rapprochement
Honecker combined loyalty to the Soviet Union with
flexibility toward détente. At the Eighth Party Congress in June
1971, he presented the political program of the new regime. In
his reformulation of East German foreign policy, Honecker
renounced the objective of a unified Germany and adopted the
"defensive" position of ideological Abgrenzung. Under this
program, the country defined itself as a distinct "socialist
state" and emphasized its allegiance to the Soviet Union.
Abgrenzung, by defending East German sovereignty, in turn
contributed to the success of détente negotiations that led to
the Four Power Agreement on Berlin (Berlin Agreement) in 1971 and
the Basic Treaty with West Germany in December 1972.
The Berlin Agreement and the Basic Treaty normalized
relations between East Germany and West Germany. The Berlin
Agreement (effective June 1972), signed by the United States,
Britain, France, and the Soviet Union, protected trade and travel
relations between West Berlin and West Germany and aimed at
improving communications between East Berlin and West Berlin. The
Soviet Union stipulated, however, that West Berlin would not be
incorporated into West Germany. The Basic Treaty (effective June
1973) politically recognized two German states, and the two
countries pledged to respect one another's sovereignty. Under the
terms of the treaty, diplomatic missions were to be exchanged and
commercial, tourist, cultural, and communications relations
established. In September 1973, both countries joined the United
Nations, and thus East Germany received its long-sought
international recognition.
The Main Task, introduced by Honecker in 1971, formulated
domestic policy for the 1970s. The program re-emphasized MarxismLeninism and the international class struggle. During this
period, the SED launched a massive propaganda campaign to win
citizens to its Soviet-style socialism and to restore the
"worker" to prominence. The Main Task restated the economic goal
of industrial progress, but this goal was to be achieved within
the context of centralized state planning. Consumer socialism--
the new program featured in the Main Task--was an effort to
magnify the appeal of socialism by offering special consideration
for the material needs of the working class. The state
extensively revamped wage policy and gave more attention to
increasing the availability of consumer goods. The regime also
accelerated the construction of new housing and the renovation of
existing apartments; 60 percent of new and renovated housing was
allotted to working-class families. Rents, which were subsidized,
remained extremely low. Because women constituted nearly 50
percent of the labor force, child-care facilities, including
nurseries and kindergartens, were provided for the children of
working mothers. Women in the labor force received salaried
maternity leave which ranged from six months to one year. The
state also increased retirement annuities
(see Population Structure and Dynamics
, ch. 2).
Data as of July 1987
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