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East Germany The Political Elite
About 1 percent of the population belongs to what may be
termed the political elite. This group includes party leaders at
the national, district, and county levels; key persons in the
state government and in industry, media, and education; and the
heads of mass organizations. In their hands rests the bulk of
political power and influence. They form the vanguard of society
and purport to rule in the name of the working class.
The communist party in East Germany, the SED, is not,
technically speaking, a mass political party. Yet the SED has a
membership considerably larger than its counterparts in other
East European communist countries. In 1986 SED membership
(including candidates) was 2,304,121, or 13.2 percent of the
adult population. One out of every six citizens over the age of
eighteen belonged to the party. SED leaders have long boasted of
their success in bringing workers into the party and in promoting
to leadership positions those whose social origin is the working
class. According to the SED's own statistics, the proportion of
workers in the party has grown steadily and in 1984 reached 58.1
percent. The proportion of intelligentsia and cooperative farmers
within party ranks has consequently declined, and in 1984 these
two groups constituted 22.4 percent and 4.8 percent of the
membership, respectively. Despite many differences in age,
education, and social background, party members form a special
social group, to some extent, in that they share a consciousness
of belonging to a privileged section of the population. Career
advancement is tied closely to party membership, and most top
positions in government, industry, media, and education are held
by party members
(see The Socialist Unity Party of Germany
, ch.
4).
The rank-and-file membership in reality wields little
political power and has almost no voice in decision making and
policy formulation. Out of the over 2 million party members,
approximately 500,000 belong to the
Nomenklatur (see Glossary),
who are appointed to leading positions in the party,
state, and economy. Members of the Nomenklatur make sure
the system works, i.e., that policy directives are carried out,
that production quotas are filled, that the educational system
produces students equipped to fill priority positions, that the
proper "socialist outlook" is reflected in the media, and so
forth.
Membership in the political elite is based on a combination
of party loyalty, training and on-the-job performance, and
personal friendships. Party loyalty is by far the most important
criterion. It involves a blend of devotion to Marxist-Leninist
principles, loyalty to the state, commitment to socialist
internationalism, and strict adherence to party discipline. An
individual's record of political activity and length of service
in the party and related mass organizations in large measure
determine the likelihood of rising to a top leadership role
within the party hierarchy. In the late 1940s and 1950s, party
loyalty tended to displace all other considerations in selection
of candidates for leading positions. Longtime party activists,
most of whom had been active in the Communist Party of Germany
before World War II and many of whom had received their training
in the Soviet Union, were placed in control of the government
after the war. Loyalists with little or no practical
administrative or technical experience took charge of major
industries. These members of the "old guard" tended to be party
dogmatists.
Since the 1960s, a growing emphasis has been placed on
performance-related criteria. It is no longer enough to be a
loyal party activist; the aspiring candidate must also possess a
certain amount of talent and skill, oftentimes based on intensive
scientific and technical education. The professionalization of
the party leadership is apparent in the structural breakdown of
the Politburo. In 1984, of twenty-five full and candidate members
of the Politburo, fifteen had an elementary school education,
five had completed high school or technical school, and 20 had a
university degree. In 1946, by comparison, thirteen of the
fourteen Politburo members had only an elementary school
education. In early 1987, almost three-quarters of the Central
Committee members (including candidates) were graduates of a
university or technical school.
Elite membership is linked to the web of personal friendships
and political alignments that party activists weave as they rise
in the hierarchy. There is an "old-boy" network that operates
within the SED, particularly at the highest levels of party
leadership. Thus, for example, Ulbricht, first secretary of the
SED from the time of its establishment to his retirement
(removal) in 1971, surrounded himself with trusted friends who
had spent the war years with him in the Soviet Union. Honecker,
his successor, has selected his friends and associates from the
Free German Youth (Freie Deutsche Jugend--FDJ) apparatus to fill
key political positions.
The members of the political elite display many of the
characteristics of a new class, a class that has replaced the old
landed aristocracy and upper class of the prewar era. Members of
the political elite share a conscious social identity and a
commitment to communist ideology. While tensions sometimes
surface between the older, more dogmatic party leaders and the
younger, more pragmatic members, both have a prevailing
commitment to the system and a vested interest in maintaining it.
Differences relate primarily to style and not ideology.
Individual commitment is generally strengthened as members of
cadres rise in the political hierarchy. Members of the political
elite also share a common life-style and receive certain benefits
by virtue of their position. They are materially better off than
the population at large; they have access to comfortable housing;
and their children are ensured a place at a university. In
addition they are permitted freer travel abroad. The political
elite is a relatively stable group. Unless serious doubt is cast
upon a member's party loyalty or unless the member's job
performance is very poor, his or her position remains fairly
secure.
At the same time, membership in the elite is not closed.
Virtually anyone can advance in the party hierarchy by displaying
a balanced blend of political loyalty and talent. As time passes,
however, the political elite may become a self-perpetuating
social class as members attempt to secure for their children the
same privileges they themselves have enjoyed.
Data as of July 1987
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