GDR

This chapter looks at the fall of communism in the GDR. The state was created by the Soviet Union in response to the Marshall Plan following the Berlin airlift, when Stalin abandoned ambitions of a united Germany under Soviet control. The East German rulers knew that the existence of the country was solely dependent on Soviet rule; thus, the GDR was among the most dogmatic countries of the Bloc. The biggest problem GDR authorities faced were escapes to West Germany—not only weakening the state, but also proving the superiority of the Western system. The collapse of communism in the GDR resulted in incorporation of the GDR into the FRG.