These revision notes provide an in depth summary of this specific chapter of AQA History in the Study of The quest for political stability: Germany, 1871–1991. They can be used directly as lecture notes or can be reduced further to more of a summary of the topic.
History Revision – The Drive to reunification (22)
The situation in E Gr
- All E Gr’s had known their system was corrupt
- They were aware former leader Erich Honecker and his followers had luxury homes,
luxury cars etc however, extent of corruption amongst even minor officials was
staggering
- Fear in W Gr politics was that outpouring of anger against state officials would become
outpouring of popular fury turning ‘peaceful revolution’ into wave of bloody retribution
- Speed of events following opening of Ber wall surprised everyone
- Nobody in November 1989 could envisage how quickly momentum for reunification
would pick up
Causes of E Gr collapse
- Matter of debate whether the GDR was doomed to fail from the beginning
- Not key to know but good to have idea – Not on course but good extra knowledge
- GDR living on borrowed time ever since Ber wall built – if couldn’t hold onto citizens
without locking them in, it would never survive
- Collapse of Com in E EU and policies of Gorbachev in Soviet Union
- As momentum shifted towards détente, E-W relations
- Civic revolution in the GDR – shows SED’s refusal to tolerate loyal criticism meant
critics had little alternative but a revolution from below
- Ostpolitik
- Opening border between Hung and Austria May 1989
o Meant E Gr’s could travel to W via Hungary – opened the floodgates
- Once borders opened there seemed little prospect the GDR could survive
- Civil unrest, Soviet regime willing to intervene and swelling emigration was the perfect
storm
Role of Helmut Kohl
- Unification long way from minds of E Gr’s who voiced dissent in Autumn 1989
- Groups within the Civic Movement wanted to deal with shortcomings in the GDR
o Wanted public debate and democratic decision making by a responsible and
accountable government
What they got was unification with the Capitalist West
- This occurred largely due to the energetic intervention of Kohl
- In 1989 Kohl’s chancellorship wasn’t progressing, with political scandal and growing
support for both R and L
- Political and economic problems resulting from collapse of E Gr government authority
threatened to push both E and W Gr into crisis
- Most significant problem was the dire economic state of the GDR
- From summer 89, GDR citizens continued to leave for the W for better material
prospects
o Was becoming clear the GDR couldn’t survive economically on its own for long
Loss of skilled labour
Disruption of production
Collapse of local administration
Social and psychological impact of collapse
o All contributed to growing crisis in GDR which government couldn’t control
Also other factors pushing Kohl into action besides economic meltdown:
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