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Unlock This CourseAfter the Wall went up in 1961, most East Germans could not visit the West at all. Families were split, and many had relatives in the Federal Republic (FRG). Once the agreements of the early 1970s were in place, the two Germanys slowly allowed more contact. The GDR hoped to gain from it, but it was also nervous about it.
Key terms:
From 1964 pensioners could visit relatives in the West for up to four weeks a year. Later, younger East Germans could also go for urgent family matters, such as a wedding or a funeral, and more were allowed in the 1980s. By 1987 there were millions of visits a year. Western visitors came the other way and had to pay the minimum exchange.
From the late 1970s about 25 million parcels and packets a year crossed the border from West to East. Few East German homes had a telephone and lines to the West were limited, so letters and parcels were the main link. The GDR post office checked the parcels.
The GDR needed hard currency to buy machinery and food from the West. Contact with the FRG brought it in through several routes:
The loans were a huge help. They gave the GDR time at the moment when its debts were rising, which you can read about in the lesson Economic Problems in the 1980s. But they did not fix the real problems, and the GDR became more dependent on the West.
Parcels brought coffee, chocolate, clothes and other goods that were scarce in the shops. Intershops and loans paid for more imports. People with relatives in the West were often better off than others, and visits gave them a chance to see the West for themselves.
Living standards depended on having Western relatives, so some people did far better than others. Seeing the West made the GDR's shortages look worse. The economy relied more on Western loans, and the leaders worried that contact would weaken their control.
Overall, contact and Western money raised living standards for many East Germans and kept the economy going for longer. They also showed how far behind the West the GDR was.
This is the style of Paper 2 Section A, question (b). Study the two sources, then answer the question.
Source A (from a statement by Philipp Jenninger, a minister in the West German government, 25 July 1984, translated)
'Last summer, when the banks loaned billions to the GDR and the federal government guaranteed the loan package, we spoke with good reason of "trust in return for trust." ... The measures presently resolved by the GDR serve to improve and facilitate travel in both directions ... will also continue to advocate persistently for improvements and easements in tourist traffic ...'
Source B (from a draft report to the SED Politburo, the GDR's ruling committee, on Erich Honecker's visit to the FRG, 15 September 1987, translated)
'It was agreed that economic cooperation between combines ... and foreign trade companies in the GDR and companies in the FRG should be further developed ... The GDR expressed its commitment to introducing some easements on travel and visitor traffic regulations ... The events and results of Comrade Erich Honecker's visit reflect the enhanced prestige of the GDR ...'
How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about relations between the two Germanys? Explain your answer. [8 marks]
Source A supports Source B in showing that money and travel were linked to better relations. Source A says banks 'loaned billions to the GDR', while Source B says economic cooperation 'should be further developed'. Both also say that travel was becoming easier: Source A says the GDR's measures 'improve and facilitate travel in both directions', and Source B says the GDR would introduce 'some easements on travel'.
However, the sources differ in tone and in what they stress. Source A talks of 'trust in return for trust' and says the FRG 'will also continue to advocate persistently for improvements', so it wants much more freedom to travel. Source B says only 'some easements', and presents the changes as a GDR success that 'reflect the enhanced prestige of the GDR' rather than a favour done for ordinary people.
Overall, Source A supports Source B strongly on the facts, since both say that economic ties and travel were improving. It supports it much less on the meaning, since the FRG sees the changes as a first step and the GDR sees them as a limited gain.
What lifts it to the top level: it cross-refers both sources with short quotations, covers agreement and difference, and ends with a judgement on how far.
Use a short quotation from Source A and one from Source B in the same paragraph, and always finish by saying how far (strongly, partly or hardly) the sources agree.