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To what extent was Honecker successful in his attempts to improve the international prestige of the GDR? £10.49
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To what extent was Honecker successful in his attempts to improve the international prestige of the GDR?
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This document is an essay evaluating the extent to which Hocker was successful in attempting to improve the international prestige of the DDR, through the determining the effect joining international organisations, state visits and treaties had on the DDR in terms of improving or damaging their pre...

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  • July 12, 2023
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  • 2022/2023
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To what extent was Honecker successful in his attempts to improve the international prestige of
the GDR?

Before Honecker came to power, the GDR didn’t have great international relations and much of a
prestige this was because the GDR was always stuck in the shadow of its older brother, the USSR,
which is why when Honecker came to power in 1971 (after forcing Ulbricht to resign), it was very
important for him to develop and improve the reputation and the international prestige of the GDR.
The GDR started from being reliant and acting as the little brother of the USSR to becoming
financially dependent on the FRG and their loans due to Ostpolitik which aims to improve relations
with the west. Some of Honecker attempts at improving the GDR’s international prestige was the
basic treaty, Helsinki accords and joining the United Nations even though, these attempts improved
the GDR economically and socially it did not mean that its international prestige would improve.

The GDR was mocked and often viewed as a puppet and the little brother of the USSR which didn’t
help their international prestige due to their dependency on the USSR, most of the GDR’s allies were
eastern bloc countries and countries that were apart of the Warsaw pact (which was a military
alliance of the eastern bloc countries to defend against capitalism). When Honecker came into
power the Hallstein doctrine was enforced by the FRG which negatively affected its international
prestige as the doctrine stated if any country recognised the GDR as a separate country to Germany,
then the FRG would cut any diplomatic and economic ties with the country. This affected their
prestige poorly as most countries respected the doctrine as most trade with the more advanced,
prosperous side of Germany. However, in 1972 east and west Germany signed the basic treaty in
which both sides would be recognised by each other as separate states this increased the GDR’s
international prestige as it had some sovereignty to build better relations due to Ostpolitik which
aimed to improve relations between both sides as travel restriction were eased, economic aid was
given, and 48 million phone calls were made. As result, the GDR could join the united nations in 1973
further boosting their international prestige as they could get involved in making worldwide
decisions, one of decisions that were able to make was the Helsinki accords of 1975 which pledged
to respect human rights and agreed to share, scientific developments and technology. However, the
GDR and USSR were able to get around it and still managed lock up “enemies of the state” which
devalues their part in the singing of the Helsinki accords but improves their international prestige as
they signed an international document this highlights that Honecker was successful to boost its
prestige by signing different international documents such as the basic treaty and Helsinki accords.

The GDR had started to become independent after the signing of the basic treaty which enabled the
GDR to be recognised as an independent state not only by the eastern bloc countries but also by the
western allies which boosted their international prestige as their own rival recognise their
independence. Furthermore state visits boosted the GDR’s independence as they were making their
own international connections and alliances without the overshadowing of the USSR making them
for the GDR. The state visits to non-Warsaw pact countries were the most impactful and boosted
their international prestige more as it strengthened their sovereignty and ability to prove that it can
make alliances themselves. However, the GDR started to undermine its international prestige and
sovereignty because it never received an invitation to visit key countries that were allied against
them such as the UK, USA and France. Furthermore, it started to become dependent on western FRG
interest free loans which was aid given to the GDR during Ostpolitik however, these weren’t
completely free as they had conditions to remove land mine, machine guns and free prisoners in
which the GDR complied with, this would ultimately affect their relationship with the USSR as they
are becoming closer and closer to the FRG. This completely undermines their independence and
ability to stand on their own two feet as they have become reliant on the FRG and allowing them to

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