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The German Democratic Republic, 1949–90

Honecker and the development of a GDR identity

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2

Overview

Recall questions on Abgrenzung, the socialist reading of German history, control of the media, Olympic success and the state doping programme.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Who and when

What did the GDR use to build national identity?

Numbers

Why was sport so important to the GDR?

Key term

What lay behind GDR sporting success?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What did the GDR use to build national identity?

    Model answer

    Sport, especially Olympic success and women's sport.

  2. 2

    What was propaganda used for?

    Model answer

    To promote loyalty to the socialist state and the SED.

  3. 3

    What was Abgrenzung?

    Model answer

    Honecker's policy of demarcation from West Germany, asserting that the GDR was a separate socialist nation rather than part of one German nation.

  4. 4

    How was a distinct GDR identity promoted?

    Model answer

    Through a socialist reading of German history claiming Luther, Bach and the peasant wars, its own anthem and symbols, and constant contrast with fascist West Germany.

  5. 5

    How was the mass media organised?

    Model answer

    All newspapers, radio and television were state controlled, with Neues Deutschland as the party paper and the news programme Aktuelle Kamera setting the official line.

  6. 6

    Why was sport so important to the GDR?

    Model answer

    Olympic success gave international recognition and a source of pride; the GDR won more medals per head than any country, finishing second in the 1976 medal table.

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AThe government admitted 96 dead and 333 wounded.
BOther estimates run to several hundred dead.
COpponents claimed thousands.

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