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to visit West Germany or the unavailability of certain items at the neighborhood store. Sallies against "the system" at this level are generally tolerated, but outright attacks on the political leadership are taboo and invite stern retribution.
Other evidence that "a correct socialist attitude" has not been fully implanted are readily available. Rock music and long hair, for example, frequently have been portrayed as tools of capitalistic subversion, although as of 1973 these "youthful aberrations" were tolerated. High party officials continue to inveigh against juvenile delinquency, or "hooliganism" as they call it. In addition, the regime has acknowledged alcoholism as a considerable problem. The high incidence of divorce and extramarital relations also suggests that a systematized existence does not necessarily bring the high standards of morality preached by the regime.
By and large, however, antiregime and antisocial behavior is a relatively minor concern in a state in which regimentation has become a way of life. Personal documentation is constantly required, and police checks are common. Job mobility is severely restricted, and variant behavior is viewed with suspicion. What regular authorities fail to detect, police informers may ferret out. Political offenses, though considerably less frequent than in earlier days, usually result in harsher punishment than standard crimes, and, once accused, the individual's chances for acquittal are slim. Then too, a personal existence as such is sharply diminished by reason of the fact that an individual is merged into a series of collectives—for work, play, and political and social activity. Within that context, he is expected to conform in realization of the socialist dictum that cooperation with one's "comrades" and obedience to the rules of the team are the highest goals.
Centralized direction by the regime of the nation's intellectual and cultural life provides another means for the perpetuation of mass subservience fo the state. Radio, television, and the press bear witness to the greatness of the nation and the wisdom of the party with a constancy, volume, and uniformity seemingly guaranteed to promote boredom. Motion pictures and theatrical productions frequently supply only a slightly less rigorous political indoctrination. Unhappily for the regime, Western influences such as radio and TV broadcasts are available in sufficient quantity to provide a standard of comparison for those East Germans who care to take advantage of them. On balance, however, the regime's domestic propaganda is the major factor. Pervasive and thus largely unavoidable, it must eventually seep into the individual's being.
Doubtless the most powerful instrument of control is the ruling Socialist Unity Party itself. About 1.9 million East Germans are Communist party members, but some only nominally so. In addition, the party directs a 350,000-man Workers Militia, a paramilitary force, admittedly of unknown effectiveness, charged with putting down civil unrest. Basic party organizations are established in factories, collective farms, production cooperatives, police units, state and economic administrations, scientific and educational institutions, residential areas, and any other place a small group may congregate. At this level, trained functionaries propagate the regime's message to the extent that their sometimes limited skill and their auditors' frequently limited interest allow.
When propaganda and political agitation fail, the government may still enforce its will on the populace by resort to the police, the courts, and the prisons. De-Stalinization and liberalization as practiced elsewhere in Eastern Europe, however, have also taken root in East Germany, albeit somewhat tentatively, and in the process the government's use of terror tactics has abated. Memories of state oppression persist, however, and they serve to discourage overt dissidence. Even then it is important to note that bloodlust was more a Soviet than an East German aberration and that Ulbricht disposed of opponents in less brutal fashion than Stalin. Generally, the regime in recent years has preferred to cow rather than crush its opponents. A domesticated critic is living proof of the regime's ability to triumph. Purges would only invite comparisons to events of the Hitler era.
The maintenance of public order on a day-to-day basis falls to the People's Police and the State Security Service (SSD), both responsible to national and not local authority. The SSD, operating covertly, has been the feared instrument of political control, although today to a considerably lesser extent than formerly. Summary punishment is no longer a feature of the East German system. Arrests, indictments, and trials are conducted according to established procedures. Acquittals; reversals of sentences, and pardons are now conceivable. By constitutional writ the East German is entitled to any of the same rights and privileges as the citizen of a Western democracy. In practice the individual is judged according to the degree that his behavior detracts from the well-being of the state.
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110020-1
