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The German Democratic Republic, 1949–90

Western influences on the GDR

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 2

Overview

Recall questions on West German television, the Valley of the Clueless, Intershops and parcels, western music, and the Biermann affair.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Process

How did Western media influence the GDR?

Key term

What was the Valley of the Clueless?

Who and when

How did western popular culture affect GDR youth?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What did the agreements of 1970–72 achieve?

    Model answer

    They normalised relations between the two German states, including the Basic Treaty.

  2. 2

    How did Western media influence the GDR?

    Model answer

    West German radio and television were widely watched despite official disapproval.

  3. 3

    How did West German television reach the GDR?

    Model answer

    Broadcasts covered most of the country, and by the 1970s the state gave up jamming, so most East Germans watched western news and entertainment nightly.

  4. 4

    What was the Valley of the Clueless?

    Model answer

    The area around Dresden that could not receive West German television, whose inhabitants were notably less informed about the outside world.

  5. 5

    What effect did western television have?

    Model answer

    It made western prosperity visible daily, contradicted official news, and gave East Germans a shared frame of reference with West Germans.

  6. 6

    How did western consumer goods circulate in the GDR?

    Model answer

    Through parcels from western relatives, Intershops selling for hard currency, and Genex mail order paid for from the West, all of which highlighted a two-tier economy.

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