The Challenge of the Seventies and Eighties

Abstract

Since Honecker took over from Ulbricht as party leader in May 1971 the GDR has been subjected to social, economic and political strains, many of which originated outside its borders, but which were aggravated by the internal problems of East German society. The earliest of these strains in the Honecker era arose from the increased contact with the West. Against the background of growing hostility between the Soviet Union and China, and rapprochement between America and China, the Soviet Union pushed the GDR into détente with the West. Thus in Honecker’s first years as SED leader East and West Germany concluded a whole series of agreements, the most important of which was the Basic Treaty, signed in December 1972. These agreements meant de facto, though not formal, recognition of the East German state by the Federal Republic, but they also opened up East Germany to the West. The Traffic Agreement which came into force in October 1972 meant that West Germans could visit acquaintances or simply go touring in East Germany (7, 8). Moreover, an agreement of November 1972 meant that journalists from the Federal Republic and West Berlin — who had previously relied on East German media or gathered information during brief trips to East Germany — were now allowed to set up their own offices in East Berlin.¹³