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Holding on in Berlin: March 1948 and SED Efforts to Control the Soviet Zone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2008

Paul Steege
Affiliation:
Villanova University

Extract

March 18, 1948 dawned cold and rainy in Berlin. Although the city government had proclaimed the hundredth anniversary of the 1848 revolution an official holiday, Berliners awoke to a day that seemed ill-made for personal or political celebrations. One century earlier, some nine hundred persons had died on Berlin's barricades, dramatically challenging the Prussian ancien regime but falling short of their aspirations for a free and unified Germany. After one hundred years that had seen only a brief interlude of tumultuous democracy between the world wars, competing forces in postwar Berlin both claimed the democratic legacy of those barricade battles in a new contest for the city. But that legacy proved difficult to control. For the Soviet-supported Socialist Unity Party (SED), Berlin represented at once the core of the party's expanding power and the greatest threat to its realization. Like the 1848 revolutionaries, the SED leadership in Berlin found the lines between victory and defeat decidedly blurred.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Conference Group for Central European History of the American Historical Association 2005

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References

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11 See, for example, Bark, Dennis L. and Gress, David R., A History of West Germany, vol. 1, From Shadow to Substance 1945–1963 (Oxford and Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell, 1989), 191 and especially chapter 15.Google Scholar

12 See Mastny, Vojtech, The Cold War and Soviet Insecurity: The Stalin Years (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996)Google Scholar. On the SED and its particular sense of insecurity about Berlin, see Hurwitz, Harold, Die Stalinisierung der SED: Zum Verlust von Freiräumen und sozialdemokratischer Identität in den Vorständen, 1946–1949, Schriften des Zentralinstituts für sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung der Freien Universität Berlin, Band 79 (Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag, 1997)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; on the way in which the SED leadership's pre-World War II experience of persecution shaped its postwar worldview, see Epstein, , The Last Revolutionaries, 4470.Google Scholar

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14 Stenographisches Bericht der 5. (19.) Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, December 8, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/36, Bl. 43–4. On the CDU in particular, see Naimark, Norman M., “The Soviets and the Christian Democrats: The Challenge of a ‘Bourgeois’ Party in Eastern Germany, 1945–1949,” East European Politics and Societies 9 (1995): 369–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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17 Stenographisches Bericht der 5. (19.) Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, December 8, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/36, Bl. 49.

18 Stenographisches Bericht der 10. Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, March 26–27, 1947, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/18.

19 Stenographisches Bericht d. 2. Deutscher Volkskongress, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1.01/83, Bl. 150.

20 Stenographisches Bericht der 8. (22.) Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, March 20, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/42, Bl. 22, 24.

21 Bericht von einer Schülerversammlung des Bezirks-Friedrichshain am 16.1.1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/5/974, Bl. 4. The report indicated that this assembly was one of a series arranged by the Soviet Central Command in cooperation with directors of middle and upper schools (Mittel-und Oberschulen) in Berlin.

22 Stimmungsbericht, February 15, 1948 [copy of April 1, 1948], SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/5/974, Bl. 20.

23 On October 20, 1946, the SED finished a disappointing third (behind the SPD and the CDU) in the city's first postwar elections and received only nineteen percent of the vote. Although the party enjoyed massive support from its Soviet backers, these material advantages helped reinforce Berliners' impression of the party as little more than an extended, German arm of the Soviet occupation. See Hurwitz, , Die Stalinisierung der SED, 164 ff.Google Scholar, Schlegelmilch, Arthur, Hauptstadt im Zonendeutschland. Die Entstehung der Berliner Nachkriegsdemokratie 1945–1949, Schriften der Historischen Kommission zu Berlin 4 (Berlin: Haude & Spener, 1993), 344–83Google Scholar; and Creuzberger, Stefan, Die sowjetische Besatzungsmacht und das politische System der SBZ (Weimar, Cologne, and Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, 1996), 8498.Google Scholar

24 Wolfgang Leonhard's account of Walter Ulbricht's assertion that “it must look democratic, but we must have everything in [our] hand” marks simply the most explicit rendering of this assumption. Leonhard, Wolfgang, Die Revolution entläβt ihre Kinder (Cologne and Berlin: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1955), 358.Google Scholar

25 See the Protokoll of the Bezirks-Ausschuss Tiergarten on January 11, 1949; report dated January 20, 1949, LAB, FDGB 136.

26 The SPD's complaints about unfairness in the election procedures centered on two components: 1) the lack of direct elections (representation was selected by a multi-tiered delegate system) and 2) the failure to permit the party designation of candidates on the ballots. On this, see Schlegelmilch, , Hauptstadt in Zonendeutschland, 237–42Google Scholar. For the election rules for the March elections, see Vorstandssitzungen d. FDGB (Gross-Berlin): Materialien, 1947–50, SAPMO, DY 34/21738.

27 Stenographisches Bericht der 8. (22.) Parteivorstandssitzung der SED, March 20, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/42, Bl. 49. Schlimme especially noted the creation of “new newspapers” that had been formed to combat the SED in the trade unions. Here, he was referring to the UGO paper, Das Freie WortWochenzeitung für Gewerkschafts- und Sozialpolitik, which began publishing on March 5.

28 Ibid., Bl. 49 ff.

29 “Starke Mehrheit für Gewerkschaftseinheit: Nur 15 Prozent UGO-Stimmen in Berlin,” Tägliche Rundschau (03 11, 1948), 2.Google Scholar

30 Brunner, Detlev, Sozialdemokraten im FDGB. Von der Gewerkschaft zur Massenorganisation, 1945 bis in die frühen 1950er Jahre (Essen: Klartext Verlag, 2000), 276.Google Scholar See also Gill, Ulrich, Der Freie Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund (FDGB). Theorie—Geschichte—Organisation—Funktionen—Kritik (Opladen: Leske und Budnch, 1989), 158–60.Google Scholar

31 Vorläufige Einschätzung der Gewerkschaftswahlen (dated April 13, 1948), SAPMO, NY 4036/728, Bl. 208. For an initially (and inanely) positive assessment of the elections, see the report by Karl Fugger, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/5/32.

32 Nachlass Wilhelm Pieck, SAPMO, NY 4036/728, Bl. 209.

33 Stenographisches Bericht der 10. (24.) Parteivorstandssitzung der SED, May 12–13, 1948, SAPMO DY 30/IV 2/1/46, Bl. 98.

34 “Hitlermethoden der USA—Behoerden: Angst vor der Einheit Deutschlands: Militaerpolizei besetzt SED-Büros in den Berliner Bezirken Kreuzberg, Tempelhof und Neukölln—Protest in der Stadtverordnetenversammlung” and “Eigenartige Motivierung Oberst Howleys,” Tägliche Rundschau (03 12, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

35 The pamphlet in question, “Gangster am Werk,” can be found in English translation in a letter from Robert Murphy to Charles Bohlen (March 19, 1948), NA RG 84 350/57/18/01 Box 9 (Dept. B). The Tägliche Rundschau sought to legitimize the existence of this pamphlet in a brief article a few days later. It argued that the pamphlet was based on reports of American journalists and not (as Radio In the American Sector reported) lies. It referred to a report from Tom Agoston (International News Service) about the murder of the “red-haired queen of the German underworld” and the accompanying scandal for U.S. military forces. See Tägliche Rundschau (03 17, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

36 Letter from the SED Landesvorstand Gr.-Berlin to the AK (Kotikov) re. U.S. raids on SED offices in Tempelhof and Neukölln, dated March 11,1948, LAB, BPA, IV L–2/10/410. Also “Gegen Polzeiterror im US-Sektor: Jelisarow fordert Bestrafung der Schuldigen—Massenprotest der Berliner Werktätigen,” Tägliche Rundschau (03 13, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

37 Stenographisches Bericht der 58. Sitzung der Stadtverordnetenversammlung, March 11, 1948. The Tägliche Rundschau reported only a unanimous vote of protest against the American searches. “Hitlermethoden der USA-Behoerden,” Tägliche Rundschau (03 12, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

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39 “Litke und Matern über die Hintergründe,” Tägliche Rundschau (03 13, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

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41 Creuzberger, , Die sowjetische Besatzungsmacht, 164Google Scholar. Although the development of the planned economy in East Germany has garnered significant attention, the DWK remains a decidedly under-researched component of political and economic development in the Soviet Zone of Occupation. There is one rather unsatisfactory book-length analysis: Niedbalski, Bernd, Die Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission (DWK) in der sowjetischen Besatzungszone Deutschlands und ihre Bedeutung für die Herausbildung neuer zentraler Strukturen beim Aufbau von Wirtschaft und Staat (Ph.D. diss., Freie Universität Berlin, 1990)Google Scholar. More usefully, see Zank, Wolfgang, “Wirtschaftliche Zentralverwaltungen und Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission (DWK),” in SBZ-Handbuch. Staatliche Verwaltungen, Parteien, gesellschaftliche Organisationen und ihre Führungskräfte in der sowjetischen Besatzungszone Deutschlands 1945–1949, ed. Broszat, Martin and Weber, Hermann (Munich: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1990), 265–66Google Scholar and Steiner, André, “Die Deutsche Wirtschaftskommission—ein ordnungspolitisches Machtinstrument?” in Das letzte Jahr der SBZ. Politische Weichenstellungen und Kontinuitäten im Prozeβ der Gründung der DDR, Veröffentlichungen zur SBZ/DDR-Forschung im Institut für Zeitgeschichte, ed. Hoffmann, Dierk and Wenkter, Hermann (Munich: Oldenbourg 2000), 85105.Google Scholar

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44 Cited in Creuzberger, , Die sowjetische Besatzungsmacht, 163.Google Scholar

45 Letter from Rossignol, FDGB Gross-Berlin, to the DWK, July 22, 1947, BA-Lichterfelde, DC–15–479, B1. 5.

46 Letter from Klingelhöfer, Gustav to Leuschner, Bruno, dated 08 13, 1947Google Scholar; letter from Leuschner, to Klingelhöfer, , dated 08 23, 1947Google Scholar in Organisation der Wirtschaftsplanung in Groß- Berlin und Einbeziehung in der Planung der SBZ, Oct. 1946–Sept. 1949, BA-Lichterfelde, DC–15–479, Bl. 8–9.

47 Letter from Kressmann, W. (Magistrat, Abt. f. Wirtschaft) to Leuschner, Bruno (DWK), dated 09 20, 1947Google Scholar; letter from Leuschner to Magistrat, Abt. f. Wirtschaft, dated October 10, 1947 in Organisation der Wirtschaftsplanung in Groß-Berlin und Einbeziehung in der Planung der SBZ, Oct. 1946–Sept. 1949, BA-Lichterfelde, DC–15–479, Bl. 10–11.

48 Stenographisches Bericht der 8. (22.) Parteivorstandssitzung der SED, March 20, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/42, Bl. 7.

49 It is worth noting that of the eight SED members in the DWK Sekretariat, all but one had previously been members of the KPD. This assessment is based on the Secretariat of June 1948. Zank, “Wirtschaftliche Zentralverwaltungen,” 266, 282. Zank emphasizes the DWK's subordination to the SED by referring to a resolution of the SED Central Secretariat in which “Die DWK ist zu beauftragen …” (cited on 266).

50 Besetzung der leitenden Funktionen in der Deutschen Wirtschafts-Kommission (dated April 2, 1948) in Wilhelm Pieck Papers, SAPMO, NY 4036/687, Bl. 1–3.

51 DWK Beschluss S 15/48 in SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/6.02/114, Bl. 18. See also Zank, , “Wirtschaftliche Zentralverwaltungen,” 266.Google Scholar

52 Part of the motivation for assuming control of the VdgB lay in an effort to counter the influence that owners of large and well-to-do farms continued to exert within that organization. See Zank, , “Wirtschaftliche Zentralverwaltungen,” 267.Google Scholar

53 DWK Beschluss S8/48, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/6.02/114, Bl. 9.

54 Zank, , “Wirtschaftliche Zentralverwaltungen,” 269–70.Google Scholar

55 Ibid., 270.

56 Aktennotiz über eine Besprechung bei der Deutschen Wirtschaftskommission am 21. Mai 1948, LAB, BPA, IV L–2/6/307. Regarding the establishment of the Berlin Industrie- u. Handelskontor, see the memo from Hans Mummert to Stadtrat Klingelhöfer, dated March 18,1948, LAB, BAP, IV L–2/6/305. Here, it is worth noting that the Soviet zone excluded even the Soviet sector of Berlin.

57 The Joint Export-Import Agency (JEIA) was the combined export-import body for the Bizone. The final agreement on its establishment was reached on February 3, 1947. See, for example, Clay, Lucius D., Decision in Germany (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1950), 199, 474.Google Scholar

58 Aktennotiz über eine Besprechung bei der Deutschen Wirtschaftskommission am 21. Mai 1948, LAB, BPA, IV L–2/6/307.

59 Sek. f. Wirtschaft Bruno Baum: StV Fraktion d. SED, 1947–48, LAB, BPA, IV L–2/13/452. Baums assertion is almost certainly an exaggeration of the actual state of affairs as evidenced by a report on a discussion about the removal of “technical drawings” from Berlin also included in the file. At the meeting (which included Stadtrat Klingelhöfer as well an SED official from the Economic Department), the participants discussed how copies of drawings were typically submitted along with repair orders, and all reiterated their desire to maintain (AEG) production capacity in Berlin.

60 See, for example, “Klingelhöfer und Magistrat verantwortlich fuer die Ausplünderung Berlin,” Tägliche Rundschau (04 1, 1948), 1Google Scholar. “Wir fordern Schutz Berlins! Verstärkte wirtschaftliche Kontrollmaßnahmen erforderlich,” Neues Deutschland (05 23, 1948) in SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/6.02/81, Bl. 22.Google Scholar

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62 The London Conference continued in two sessions until June 1948. its decisions included such critical steps as the acceptance of the western zones into the Marshall Plan and the determination of an international agency to control the Ruhr industrial area. Most important, however, was its recommendation to proceed with the creation of a West German state. Shlaim, Avi, The United States and the Berlin Blockade, 1948–1949: A Study in Crisis Decision-Making (Berkeley and London: University of California Press, 1983), 3334Google Scholar. See also Kleßmann, Christoph, Die doppelle Staatsgründung. Deutsche Geschichte 1945–1955, 5th ed. (Bonn: Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 1991), 166.Google Scholar

63 See Shlaim, The United States and the Berlin Blockade, 113 ffGoogle Scholar. For a detailed and insightful examination of the Allied Control Council in Germany, see Mai, Gunther, Der Alliierte Kontrollrat in Deutschland 1945–1948. Alliierte Einheit—deutsche Teilung?, Institut für Zeitgschichte (ed.), Quellen und Darstellungen zur Zeitgeschichte 37 (Munich: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1995).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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65 American Military Governor Lucius Clay countered suggestions that the Western Powers offer to reconvene the ACC by emphasizing that they were unlikely to receive a better opportunity to exit the body without significant political damage. See Mai, Gunther, Der alliierte Kontrollrat, 469.Google Scholar

66 Carolyn Eisenberg effectively elaborates the lack of any real American or British interest in pursuing a unified Germany. See Eisenberg, Carolyn Woods, Drawing the Line: The American Decision to Divide Germany, 1944–1949 (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 485 ff.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

67 Stenographisches Bericht der 6. (20.) Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, January 14–15 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1 /38, Bl. 35–36.

68 Ibid., Bl. 40.

69 “Berlin und Trieste—Brennpunkte der Weltpolitik,” Der Kurier (03 22, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

70 “Vorwand oder Vorspiel?” Der Kurier (03 23, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

71 See, for example, A. and Tusa, J., The Berlin Airlift, 106 ffGoogle Scholar. and Haydock, , City under Siege, 125–27.Google Scholar

72 The positive Soviet assessment of the impact that these restrictions were having on the German population's view of the Western Powers is discussed in Narinsky, Mikhail, “The Soviet Union and the Berlin Crisis, 1948–9,” in The Soviet Union and Europe in the Cold War, 1943–53, ed. Gori, Francesca and Pons, Silvio (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1996), 64.Google Scholar

73 Although in most accounts it often seems to be. See A. and Tusa, J., The Berlin Airlift, 106 ff.Google Scholar

74 See the City Assembly debate of this topic, Stenographisches Bericht der 64. Sitzung der Stadtverordnetenversammlung, April 15, 1948, 12 ff.

75 Mdl Brandenburg, Abt. Polizei: Befehl Nr. 2—Aktion Ring, April 1, 1948, Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv (Br. LHA), Ld. Br. Rep. 203, VP, Nr. 102, Bl. 148.

76 “Erweiterung des Interzonenverkehrs: Zusätzliche Bestimmungen zum Regime an der Demarkationslinie und an den Verbindungswegen zwischen den Zonen,” Tägliche Rundschau (04 1, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

77 Volkspolizei Operativstab, Tagesmeldungen, Br. LHA, Ld. Br. Rep. 203, VP, Nr. 51, Bl. 462. This point counters somewhat American assessments of these descriptions as merely a “propaganda campaign.” See the secret memo from Robert Murphy to the secretary of State (April 1, 1948) in U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States 1948, vol. 2, Germany and Austria (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1973), 884.Google Scholar

78 See Naimark, , The Russians in Germany, 193Google Scholar; also, Zank, Wolfgang, Wirtschaft und Arbeit in Ostdeutschland 1945–1949. Probleme des Wiederaufbaus in der sowjetischen Besatzungszone Deutschlands, Studien zur Zeitgeschichte 31 (Munich: R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1987), 1829.Google Scholar

79 Airgram from U.S. Political Advisor for Germany; No. A–269; April 8, 1948 (mailed April 14, 1948), NA, RG 84 350/57/18/02 Box 215.

80 In addition to Stivers, , “The Incomplete Blockade,”Google Scholar see Hallen, Andreas and Lindenberger, Thomas, “Frontstadt mit Lücken: Ein Versuch über die Halbwahrheiten von Blockade und Luftbrücke,” in Der Wedding—hart an der Grenze. Weiterieben in Berlin nach dem Krieg, ed. Geschichtswerkstatt, Berliner (Berlin: Nishen Verlag, 1987), 182200Google Scholar; and Steege, Paul, “Totale Blockade, totale Luftbrücke? Die mythische Erfahrung der ersten Berlinkrise, 1948–1949,” in Sterben für Berlin? Die Berliner-Krisen 1948: 1958, ed. Ciesla, Burghard, Lemke, Michael, and Lindenberger, Thomas (Berlin: Metropol Verlag, 1999), 5977.Google Scholar

81 See Steege, Paul, “More than an Airlift: Constructing the Berlin Blockade as a Cold War Battle, 1946–1949” (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1999), especially chapter 5.Google Scholar

82 Stenographisches Bericht der 8. (22.) Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, March 20, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/42, Bl. 20. Note the similarity to his remarks in January. See note 12.

83 This fact served as one of the principal arguments of Volkskongress opponents as well. They argued that Germans' support of national unity was self-evident and did not require any artificial movement to express it. Paul Löbe (SPD) made this point in his speech on March 18, 1948. See Berlin (West Berlin) Landesarchiv, , Berlin. Behauptung von Freiheit und Selbstverwaltung, 434.Google Scholar

84 Stenographisches Bericht der 8. (22.) Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, March 20, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/42, Bl. 20. The final text of the initiative was slightly different. It called on the occupying powers either to pass a law or to permit a plebiscite on a law with this wording: “Germany is an indivisible, democratic Republic, in which the states should be granted rights similar to those contained in the constitution of the German Reich of August 11, 1919.” See the copy of a signature form in Nachlass Wilhelm Pieck, SAPMO, NY 4036/762, Bl. 159.

85 Ibid., Bl. 22.

86 Note especially Grotewohl's comments beginning on SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/42, Bl. 18. On this issue, see also A. and Tusa, J., The Berlin Airlift, 103.Google Scholar

87 Stimmungsbericht über die Stellungnahme der Bevölkerung zur Frage: “Was halten Sie von der gegenwärtigen politischen Lage und wie beurteilen Sie ihre Weiterentwicklung?” in Treptow (copy April 6, 1948), DY 30/IV 2/5/974, Bl. 50.

88 Ibid., Bl. 39.

89 Stenographisches Bericht der 10. (24.) Parteivosrtandssitzung d. ZK der SED, May 12–13, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/46, Bl. 61–2.

90 See Hurwitz, , Die Stalinisierung der SED, 416Google Scholar. The two parties to which Pieck referred were the Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany (Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschlands, or DBD) and the National-Democratic Party of Germany (National-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands, or NDPD). The DBD was established on April 29, 1948, the NDPD on May 25. Both parties were wholly subservient to the SED. See Weber, , DDR. Grundriβ der Geschichte, 28, 287.Google Scholar

91 Stenographisches Bericht der 10. (24.) Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, May 12–13, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/46, Bl. 96 ff.

92 Prof. DrKastner, , “Das Deutsche Volk hat das Wort: Der Sinn des Volksbegehren,” Tägliche Rundschau (05 23, 1948), 3.Google Scholar

93 “Der erste Tag des Volksbegehrens: Starke Beteiligung in der Ostzone und Berlin—Sabotageversuche der Einheitsgegner in der Berliner Westbezirken,” Tägliche Rundschau (05 25, 1948), 1.Google Scholar

94 Copy of British Statement on the “Volksbegehren” in Berlin, May 21, 1948, LAB, STA Rep. 101, Nr. 170.Bl. 2b.

95 Stenographisches Bericht der 11. (25.) Parteivorstandssitzung d. ZK der SED, June 29–30, 1948, SAPMO, DY 30/IV 2/1/48, Bl. 238. Some western officials challenged the validity of the count, claiming that they were able to sign signature lists multiple times without hindrance or asserting that signatures were gained under false pretenses (e.g., on a list of persons claiming their homes to be vermin free). For some of these critiques, see the discussion in the Stenographisches Bericht der 69. Sitzung der Stadtverordnetenversammlung, May 25, 1948, 24 ff.

96 See the City Assembly debate from April 29, 1948, Stenographisches Bericht der 66. Sitzung der Stadtverordnetenversammlung. Also, LAB, Rep. 280 (LAZ-Sammlung), Sta.-Ort. Nr. 8503/25.

97 Friedensburg letter to the Allied Kommandatura on the Volksbegehren decision, May 28, 1948, LAB, STA Rep. 101, Nr. 170, Bl. 2j–2k.

98 Andreas-Friedrich, Ruth, Battleground Berlin: Diaries 1945–194S, trans. Boerresen, Anna (New York: Paragon House Publishers, 1990), 213.Google Scholar

99 “Heraus zur März-Demonstration,” LAB, Rep. 280 Sta.-Ort. Nr. 1230.

100 Weber, Hermann, Geschichte der DDR, rev. ed. (Munich: DTV, 1999), 41.Google Scholar

101 On the ways that the GDR's economic weakness undermined its claims to political legitimacy and expanded the leverage of East German workers, see Kopstein, Jeffrey, The Politics of Economic Decline in East Germany, 1945–1989 (Chapel Hill and London: University of North Carolina Press, 1997)Google Scholar. On the ambiguous operation of control mechanisms in the GDR, see also the collection of essays in Jarausch, Konrad H., ed., Dictatorship as Experience: Towards a Socio-Cultural History of the GDR (New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 1999)Google Scholar. On the GDR's stability, see, for example, Epstein, , The Last Revolutionaries, 7.Google Scholar

102 Thanks to my colleague Seth Koven for first suggesting this formulation.