The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED)
A GDR without a wall, without the Stasi and without party rule would not have been possible, even if some people dreamed of it at the time and today many mourn an idealised GDR that never existed. The SED leadership had an unrestricted monopoly on power. It was the authoritative, all-determining and all-controlling political force, whose »leading role« was even enshrined in the GDR constitution. Although there was a normal everyday life and even a happy life in the GDR – which is widely publicised in the GDR Museum – the state was and remained a dictatorship without guaranteed »civil rights« and without democratic participation. The fall of SED rule in autumn 1989 was therefore almost inevitably the end of the GDR state.
Founding of the SED
In the Admiralspalast in Berlin on 21/22 April 1946, the SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) and the KPD (Communist Party of Germany) merged to form a new party, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). This merger took place under pressure from the Soviet occupying power. Propagandistically, it was characterised by the unity of the working class, the division of which had made Hitler's seizure of power possible in 1933. Wilhelm Pieck (KPD) and Otto Grotewohl (SPD) became the leaders of the newly founded party. Symbolically, they joined hands as an expression of unification, which later became the motif for the SED party badge. However, the equal co-operation between Communists and Social Democrats was soon to prove to be an illusion. From 1948 at the latest, discussions within the party were increasingly restricted. Social Democrats were sidelined and even arrested unless they submitted unconditionally, like Otto Grotewohl.
Fig.: Exhibition DDR Museum: GDR Compact. Unity Party – © DDR Museum
»Die Partei hat immer recht« (»The party is always right«)
The SED developed into the state party after the founding of the GDR in 1949. It controlled politics, the economy and society on the basis of Marxist-Leninist ideology. In party purges between 1948 and 1951, opponents of the system were excluded in order to form a party modelled on the Soviet model – a so-called »Partei neuen Typus« (»new type of party«). From 1950, the SED further expanded its influence by controlling central administrative and personnel decisions. As a result, important positions were filled with loyal party cadres, which enabled the SED to control the entire social and political order according to its own ideas. The party exercised a monopoly on the truth. In favourable cases, a dissenting opinion was regarded as mental or character immaturity; in unfavourable cases, it was a crime punishable by severe penalties. The claim to unconditional rule is reflected in the refrain of the SED's official anthem: »Die Partei, die Partei, die hat immer recht!« (»The party, the party, is always right!«).
The four periods of SED leadership
From 1949 until his death in 1960, Wilhelm Pieck was the first and only president of the GDR, but his role was more of a representative one, and he was increasingly absent due to illness and old age. The real power lay with Walter Ulbricht, the General Secretary of the SED, effectively the highest political position in the GDR.
In 1960, Ulbricht became Chairman of the newly formed State Council and thus officially head of state. He had been a leading member of the KPD since 1918. He spent the Nazi era in exile in the Soviet Union, and returned to Germany with other KPD functionaries in 1945. His task was to introduce a political order in line with Soviet ideas. What this would look like was initially unclear. But over the following years, all political opposition was suppressed by force, the economy was centralised and the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 to stop thousands of GDR citizens from fleeing. In 1971, Ulbricht was removed from power with the approval of the Soviet Union and replaced by Erich Honecker.
Honecker had been active in the communist movement since his youth, and was imprisoned during the Nazi era. After the Second World War, he quickly rose through the ranks and was already Secretary of the Central Committee under Ulbricht in 1958. During his time in office, Honecker strictly rejected reforms and at the same time turned the GDR into a repressive surveillance state. The economic situation became increasingly difficult and dissatisfaction among the population grew. Honecker was finally overthrown in 1989. Egon Krenz took over as the last General Secretary of the SED, but failed in his attempt to save the GDR. He resigned after just a few weeks, and the SED system that had been created over decades finally collapsed.
Fig.: Exhibition DDR Museum: The Party Officials Table – © DDR Museum
The role of the SED in everyday life
The overarching goal of the SED was to create a unified socialist society in which all GDR citizens lived according to the party's guidelines. The extensive system of surveillance and repression ensured political control and sidelined potential opponents of the system. This claim to leadership by the SED and its omnipresent influence characterised social life in the GDR until the peaceful revolution in 1989, which ultimately led to the collapse of the SED regime and the reunification of Germany. The SED was therefore present in all areas of life in the GDR, for example in education. Ideological principles were already taught in early childhood education, which permeated all educational institutions in the GDR. The SED also played a central role in the world of work. It held regular party meetings in factories and production facilities to inform comrades about the political guidelines and goals of the higher party bodies. Party discipline and adherence to socialist principles were mandatory. The leisure activities of GDR citizens were also strongly influenced by the SED. Mass organisations such as the Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) (Free German Youth, FDJ) combined ideological education with leisure activities. Art and culture were also influenced by the party: literature, theatre and film were intended to convey Marxist-Leninist ideals and spread socialist ideas. All media served as a propaganda tool for the SED - television, press and radio used a uniform, wooden language. Criticism was only possible with regard to everyday trivialities in the form of »information from the population«. Opposition to the party's decisions was strictly forbidden.
Abb.: Ausstellung DDR Museum: Abhörraum des Mfs gekoppelt an eine nachempfundene WBS 70-Plattenbauwohnung – © DDR Museum
The political legacy of the SED: continuity or a new beginning?
When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in the Soviet Union in March 1985, far-reaching changes began, which also led to unrest within the SED. His new policy of transparency (glasnost) and reorganisation (perestroika) paved the way for this. Suddenly, it was possible to discuss things openly and express one's own opinion. Among other things, working groups were formed that led to internal debates within the party. Between 1985 and 1989, a gradual process of dissolution began within the party structures of the SED. At the top, however, the outdated leadership prevented a generational change and a real transformation.
At the end of February 1990, the PDS, which had emerged from the SED, presented its party programme for the Volkskammer elections on 18 March 1990 with Gregor Gysi as its central figure. At this time, disorientation and fear of the future prevailed. Nevertheless, as a small grouping, the PDS managed to survive the political upheaval with Gysi as its defining face.
Today, the Left Party, which emerged from the PDS, is experiencing a phase of renewal and is gaining popularity again. The future will show whether this is a genuine awakening or a new edition of failed concepts.
Educated, controlled and monitored
At the DDR Museum, we show how the SED tried to determine the lives of people in the GDR. Everyday life in the GDR moved between omnipresent paternalism and the attempt to preserve or even create freedom. Many people withdrew from politics by fleeing into the private sphere, retreating into so-called social niches or into the churches. The family, circles of friends and even the work collective were also able to offer safe havens against the control and mistrust of state authorities.
We also look at the GDR's party system and the role of socialist symbolism. Flags, slogans and party symbols served as »visual agitation« and characterised the cityscape and the workplace. But the political control did not only have an outward effect – the permanent surveillance also left psychological traces. Visitors can experience what it felt like to be constantly watched and what influence this had on their own thoughts and actions. The exhibition makes it clear how deeply the SED intervened in various areas of life. It not only shows how the GDR system functioned, but also the impact it had on people's everyday lives.
