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East Germany The Technical Intelligentsia
The technical intelligentsia is a broadly formed social group
comprising those who, in the words of one observer, "directly or
indirectly do the brain work" of managing the country. Thomas A.
Baylis, a social scientist who has studied the East German
technical intelligentsia, estimated the numerical strength of
this group at about 3 percent of the total population in the
early 1970s (7 to 8 percent of the work force). He included in
this group "the chief governmental planners and economists;
bureaucrats with important economic, technical, or scientific
responsibilities; industrial managers; physical scientists and
mathematicians; engineers; and educators and journalists in
scientific, technical, and economic fields." The political elite
has recognized the utility, indeed the necessity, of the
technical intelligentsia in helping to develop and run the
economy and society. The Constitution calls upon the
intelligentsia to ally itself with the working class and other
sections of the population for "the planning and management of
social development in accordance with the most advanced
scientific knowledge."
Two subgroups constitute the technical intelligentsia: the
old intelligentsia, which is made up of members of the prewar
upper middle class, and the new intelligentsia, which includes a
generation of technocrats trained under the watchful eye and
guidance of the political elite. During the 1940s and 1950s,
party leaders replaced many of the old intelligentsia who held
positions in education, government, and the legal professions. In
these areas, standards of performance were relaxed so that
politically reliable and tested individuals could assume key
positions. Scientists, technicians, managers, engineers, and
planners could not be replaced as easily. Authorities, therefore,
sought to co-opt these more technically minded individuals.
Initially an effort was made to re-educate them politically, that
is, to inspire in them a loyalty to the government and to
Marxist-Leninist ideals. Ultimately the aid of the intelligentsia
was purchased by offering members of the group attractive
material rewards and high social status. For example, in the mid1970s special individual contracts were concluded with those
whose skills were most sorely needed. Base salaries ranged from
4,000 to 15,000 GDR marks per month. (This was five to twenty
times the average monthly income of an industrial worker at that
time.) In addition an attractive package of benefits was tailor
made for the technical intelligentsia. They received priority in
housing; their children were admitted to the universities;
bonuses and extra paid holidays were stipulated in their
contracts; and they were provided with pension plans guaranteeing
incomes of up to 90 percent of their preretirement incomes.
Private shops and clubs were established to cater to their needs.
To satisfy a personal need for recognition, honorary titles,
e.g., Honorary Chief Engineer, Honored Inventor, Distinguished
Scientist of the People, and medals were awarded for a job well
done. These perquisites set the old technical intelligentsia
apart from the general population. The wooing of the old
intelligentsia also created a certain amount of tension and
frustration within the party ranks. The older dogmatists
distrusted the intelligentsia because of their lack of political
commitment; the younger cadres resented the inequitable
distribution of benefits. East German leaders consider the new
technical intelligentsia to be a stratum rather than a social
class, that is, members of a nonantagonistic group drawn from and
committed to the working class and separated from it only insofar
as their work involves intellectual labor. The long-term approach
of the political leadership has been to create and train a new
generation of managers, scientists, and technicians who were
politically "reliable" as well as technically competent. This new
intelligentsia was to embody the true "socialist personality,"
reflecting the interests of the working class and living in a
spirit of collective unity. Bonuses and benefits were similar to
those extended to the old intelligentsia. The state also awarded
the new intelligentsia various kinds of honorary titles similar
to those given to the old intelligentsia.
Data as of July 1987
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