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Action Policies that led to protests within the German Democratic Republic and their impact
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Action Policies that led to protests within the German Democratic Republic and the impact of the uprising.
The 1953 uprising in East Germany started with strike action by East Berlin construction workers on 16 June and later turned into a widespread rebellion against the Communist German Democratic Republic government. It involved more than one million people in about 700 localities (Richardson-Little 126).
The 17 June 1953 protest was brought about several policies. One of these action policies was the SED economic policy, which favoured the development of heavy industry at the expense of the production of food and consumer goods, these led to a severe crisis in supplying products to the public. Langguth explains that the other policy that contributed to the protest was “the decision to raise the work norms (working more hours for the same pay)” (245). The Central Committee decided to make some changes to address the harsh economic times, which included higher prices, higher taxes, and increased work quotas by 10%. If the new quotas failed to be met, then workers risked a reduction in their salaries.
According to Lindström Sol, ‘‘the first impact of the uprising was preventing discontentment from escalation into a broader conflict’’ (131). Secondly, the government never again attempted to introduce arbitrary blanket norm increases, such as it tried in May and June 1953 (Harsch,219).
Works Cited
Harsch, Donna. Revenge of the domestic: Women, the family, and communism in the German Democratic Republic. Princeton University Press, 2018.
Langguth, Gerd. The Green Factor in German Politics: From Protest Movement to Political Party. Routledge, 2019.
Lindström Sol, Sofia. “Artists’ voices in cultural policy: careers, myths and the creative profession after German unification: by Simone Wesner, London, Palgrave McMillan, 2018, 197 pp.,€ 96.25 (hardcover), ISBN: 978-3-319-76057-5.” (2020): 131-133.
Richardson-Little, Ned. The Human Rights Dictato
: Socialism, Global Solidarity and Revolution in East Germany. Cambridge University Press, 2020.