East Germany, officially known as German Democratic Republic (abbreviated as GDR or DDR) was an European country which was officially irreligious. It existed between 1949 until 1990, when it reunified with West Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
General censorship[]
Soviet Military Administration in Germany organised Censorship in East Germany in 1945. Its president was Sergei Ivanovich Tiulpanov. The list of banned books (Liste der auszusondernden Literatur) was published in 1946, 1947 and 1948.
Like many Soviet-allied countries prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the East German government applied censorship during its existence from 1949 to 1990, which was practised through a hierarchical but unofficial censorship apparatus, ultimately controlled by the ruling Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED, Sozialistiche Einheitspartei Deutschlands). Through censorship, the socialist point of view on society was ensured in all forms of literature, arts, culture and public communication. Due to the lack of an official censorship apparatus, censorship was applied locally in a highly structured and institutionalized manner under the control of the SED.
The original 1949 version of the East German constitution did not provide for censorship of the press, but did guarantee in article 9, section 2 that "censorship of the media is not to occur". This provision was removed in the 1968 revision of the document, and expanded to become article 27, reflecting the modernization of technology:
- "Every citizen has the right to freely and publicly advance his or her opinion in accordance to the principles of the constitution."
- "The freedom of press, broadcasting and television is warranted."
Despite this, both official and unofficial censorship occurred throughout the history of the GDR, although to a lessened extent during its later years. Because East Germany was effectively a one-party state under the command and guidance of the SED, the freedom of the press and other printing industries was at the will of the ruling party, the regime, and the ideological desires of the people in command. Although apparently contradicting the above provisions, the fact that expression had to be "in accordance with the principles of the constitution" allowed the government to call on issues such as national security, public decency, and other issues covered in national law in order to enforce censorship.
The SED, under the official rubric of Kulturpolitik (cultural policy), established a framework of systematic control in order to exercise control over all literary and artistic production in East Germany. All publishers, as well as all public venues and exhibitions of art and culture, were subject to censorship that ensured the representation of the socialist point of view.
Content which was considered harmful to the regime, or to communist ideologies in general, was strictly forbidden. The definition of what could be harmful included a number of different categories.
Most directly, criticism of communism was not tolerated. This included any criticisms of communism in general, as well as discussion of the contemporary regimes of East Germany and the Soviet Union, and usually of other Soviet-allied states. It also included discussion of the Stasi's activities and methods. Similarly, ideas which were sympathetic of capitalism or fascism, which were seen as the two enemies of communism, were not allowed. Any idea which encouraged resistance to the government, such as conscientious objection, was not to be discussed.
Negative portrayals of the GDR were censored as well. This included criticisms and complaints about the standard of living and education in the country as well as calling attention to pollution and other problems of the industrial system. Republikflucht, or fleeing the GDR for West Germany or other countries, was not to be portrayed at all, nor was discussion of the Berlin Wall.
Lastly, the government enforced strict standards of decency. "Crude" topics, such as homosexuality and pornography, were to be avoided. Similarly, portrayals of any East German as "uncivilized", through extreme violence or delinquency, or the suggestion that East Germans might suffer from problems such as alcoholism or suicidal depression were also to be excluded.
In addition to censoring content, the government also reserved the right to disallow publication or exhibition on the basis of form. Anything not considered a "proper" form was barred. Disallowed forms and techniques included free verse poetry; internal monologue and stream of consciousness; nonsense or avant-garde; and abstract art.
Book censorship[]
General[]
The procedural system of literary production allowed the state to exercise control over and coordinate the production of literature in the GDR. Through this system, the state incorporated literature production in its planned based economy. This allowed the state to influence its citizens and interpretations of literature in the GDR. The literature censorship system was composed of a large and complex network of interlocking institutions. The control mechanism for Literature in the GDR was two-fold: Control was applied through the SED itself and through the responsible ministries, sectors and divisions. The censoring process followed specific steps which enabled the government to plan and control the literature which would be published in the GDR. Authors worked together with editors from the publishing houses who were responsible for removing any problematic content from the manuscripts. In order to publish a manuscript, it had to be evaluated by a series of official and unofficial reviewers whose role it was to check the manuscripts for political and cultural appropriateness. After the writer and the editor were done with the manuscript, it was reviewed by two outside readers and an in-house committee for ideological implications. The last instance of power laid within the Ministry of Culture, where the print approval was given. The branch responsible for giving the approval for print was called head office for publishing companies and bookselling trade (Hauptverwaltung Verlage und Buchhandel, HV Verlage) which were directly tied to the SED. Especially difficult texts sometimes were given to a special SED central committee for additional reviewing. With the editor being the first instance of censorship, the outside readers and the committee were the second and the HV the third instance of governmental control over literary publications. Work was allowed to be published if it succeeded the Druckgenehmigungsverfahren and got issued an authorization from the Ministry of Culture, called a Druckgenehmigung. In case the ministry ordered changes to be made before publication, authors had the choice to either agree to them or not have their work published at all.
Instances of book censorship[]
- The Jungle (1906) - this novel by Upton Sinclair was banned in 1956 by the East German government for being uncompatible with Communism.
Film censorship[]
Despite the three consecutive constitutions of the German Democratic Republic proclaiming freedom from censorship, in practice certain films were regulated. The chief reason for censorship in East Germany in cinema was criticism of government policies which the government perceived as a threat to the future of the nation. Censorship of film and other media was strictly de facto; the constitution of the GDR guaranteed freedom of the media and film. However, several forms of soft censorship were used to prevent the public from viewing certain films.
While censorship was, on the surface, officially banned by the GDR constitution, in practice, it was used extensively, particularly when it came to the censorship of American and Western films. During the immediate post WWII period, while the GDR was still working to establish legitimacy, direct censorship was not a viable option. The GDR worked hard to separate its own ideal from American and Western Ideals, which they viewed as a threat to the Communist ideals During the early years of the Republic, between the 1950s and 1970s the East German government employed what they called Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, (FSK) which roughly translates to the Voluntary Self-Regulatory Body of the Film Industry. Though the name would suggest the organization was made up of volunteers, the actual members of the organization were appointed by the GDR government. Many of these members worked in the film industry prior to the split of East and West Germany. These members were tasked with screening each film before it was released to the public. This organization censored numerous American and Western films claiming them to be unfit for public viewing. Although approval of the FSK was not supposed to be explicitly required, many theaters in the GDR refused to show films that were not on the FSK approved list. The inner workings of the FSK were kept mostly secret from German citizens. The GDR's government did not want the average citizen to know they were being censored, in an effort to distance itself from its recent fascist past.
Instances of film censorship[]
- Das Kaninchen bin ich (The Rabbit Is Me) - this dramatic film was banned in 1965 by the East-German Communist government for criticising daily life in the country. While it did not directly referred to politics, the government still perceived it as dangerous criticism of the system. Due to the film's infamy all banned films in the DDR were referred to as "rabbit films". The film remained banned until Germany was unified again in 1990.
- Denk bloss nicht, ich heule (Just Don't Think I'll Cry) - this drama film was banned in 1965 by the East-German Communist government for criticising the regime. It was said "it problematized the oppression of critical young people in East German schools".
- Spur der Steine (Trace of Stones) - this film based on the novel of the same name by Erik Neutsch was banned in 1966 due to conflicts between the ruling Socialist Unity Party and the director Frank Beyer, due to the portrayal of the party in the film.
- Die Russen kommen (The Russians Are Coming) - this film was banned in 1971 by the government due to its theme where a young Nazi lives fearful of the approaching Russian army. Even though the Russians are eventually portrayed in a sympathetic light, the plot was too controversial, especially three years after the Prague Spring.
- Der Frühling braucht Zeit (Spring Takes its Times) - this drama film was banned in East Germany.
- Hände hoch oder ich schieße (Hands Up or I'll Shoot) - this 1965 crime comedy film was refused screening by the East German censors in 1966, ceasing its post-production. Said film was completed only in 2009, making it the last East German film to be released.
Television censorship[]
Censorship of mass media in East Germany began with the restructuring and centralization of the media networks in East Germany. Production was set up centrally in Berlin, while print media was outsourced to local SED-offices. The centralized, SED-led news information service ADN (Allgemeine Deutsche Nachrichtendienst) had the monopoly on news distribution and so controlled which information could appear in GDR media. Through this institutional structure, censorship was applied indirectly, which made official censorship unnecessary. Any distribution of non-GDR news was forbidden. The central organ of the SED (and therefore the main newspaper in the GDR) was called 'Neues Deutschland'. This newspaper owned by the SED reported daily on developments within the party and the state in general. Like the print media, radio and television were also state-controlled. There were five[dubious – discuss] state-controlled TV-channels, which distributed SED-approved information and culturally appropriate entertainment.
Other censorship[]
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Also see[]
| Communist world! (1922-1991) | |
|---|---|
| The Warsaw Pact and the military | Warsaw Pact - People's Republic of Albania (left) - German Democratic Republic- Czech Socialist Republic- Warsaw Pact Rail - USSR -People's Republic of Poland - Hungarian People's Republic - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - People's Republic of Bulgaria - Polish People's Republic - Romanian Popular Republic - Romanian People's Republic - Soviet 5.45x39mm - Soviet Southern Group of Forces -Seven days to the River Rhine (1979) - Jüterbog Airfield -Topoľčany Army Barracks and bunker system - Brezhnev Doctrine - Soviet war in Afghanistan - Vladivostok Navel base - Murmansk Navel base - Archangelsk Navel base - Kaliningrad Navel base - Sevastopol Navel base - Kazan Higher Tank Command School and related tank factory - Burevestnik Airport - People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (de facto, but not de jure) - AK-47\Kalashnikov assault rifle - Red Army - Kartsev-Venediktov Design Bureau (OKB-520) - KhPZ Factory No. 183 in Kharkiv/Malyshev Factory - Mikhail Kalashnikov - Soviet Opytnoye Konstruktorskoye Buros (OKBs) - Eastern bloc - Tupolev Tu-160- 9M14 Malyutka - RPG-7 - R-7 ICBM - Tupolev Tu-95 |
| The Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance (ComEcom) nations |
Council for Mutual Economic Assistance - SovRoms - Mongolian People's Republic - Cuba - Vietnam - North Vietnam - German Democratic Republic- Czech Socialist Republic - USSR - Mongolian People's Republic - People's Republic of Poland - Hungarian People's Republic - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - People's Republic of Bulgaria - Polish People's Republic - People's Republic of Albania (left) - Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (never fully joined) - Romanian Popular Republic -Romanian People's Republic - North Korea (de facto, but not de jure to avoid worrying the PRC) - Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (wanted to join, but never got round to doing so) - People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (de facto, but not de jure) - Eastern bloc |
| Other Soviet allies. | People's Republic of the Congo - People's Republic of Benin – Republic of Seychelles – Democratic Republic of Madagascar - Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia - People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia - People's Revolutionary Government (Grenada) - Junta of National Reconstruction (Nicaragua) - Libyan Arab Jamahiriya - People's Democratic Republic of Algeria - Jamaica - Grenada |
| The ones with nukes | USSR - Cuba (gave them up) - Cuban Missile Crisis - Tupolev Tu-160 - R-7 ICBM - Tupolev Tu-95 - People's Republic of China |
| The Sino-Soviet Split | Sino-Soviet Split - USSR - Zhou Enlai - Nikita Khrushchev - Mao Zedong - Pol Pot - People's Republic of China People's Republic of Albania |
| The end of it | Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 - Fall of the Berlin wall - Soviet "Era of Stagnation" - Dissolution of the Soviet Union - Singing Revolution - Baltic Republics of the Soviet Union- The political dissolution of the Soviet Union and why it broke up afterwards - Soviet war in Afghanistan - Chernobyl disaster -Glasnost - Perestroika |
| Economics | Sakhalin Island - Life under communism - Food cards- Collective farms- Yugoslavian Agricoles - Political Committee of the Communist Party of China - Soviet political organs - Soviet Social Apparatus - The purveyors of crappy Cold War era Easter Block cars - Mirny Diamond Mine - Magnitogorsk - Virgin Lands campaign - Soviet Opytnoye Konstruktorskoye Buros (OKBs) - The Agrokomerc Affair - Wuxi (diode) Factory 742 - Jiangnan Radio Factory - Agrokomerc - Kartsev-Venediktov Design Bureau (OKB-520) - KhPZ Factory No. 183 in Kharkiv/Malyshev Factory- Eastern bloc |
| Politics and Geo-politics | Sakhalin Island - Stalin Monument (Budapest) - Communist Party of the Soviet Union - Khrushchev Thaw- Tito–Stalin Split- Life under communism - Hungarian Revolution of 1956 - Cold War - Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia - Soviet "Era of Stagnation" - Soviet 'oligophrenics' and 'oligophrenia' - Soviet political organs - Soviet Social Apparatus - Russian and Soviet Leaders between 1917 and 2018 - Stalin's purges and ethnic cleansing- Closed Soviet locations - Gulags - Berlin Wall - Détente - Sino-Soviet Split - Brezhnev Doctrine - Stalin's cult of personality - De-Stalinisation -Glasnost - Perestroika - Kuril Islands - Rybachy Peninsula - Kaliningrad Oblast - Eastern bloc - The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union - 1952 Egyptian revolution -Sandinistas - Cuban Revolution - Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 |
| Technology and outer space | Sputnik 1 - Soviet Space Program - Mirny Diamond Mine - Magnitogorsk - Virgin Lands campaign - Tatra trams#T3 and T3R.P trams - M62 locomotive - TEP80 locomotive -Soviet MSI nMOS chip - Soviet Ice Breaker Lenin - Chernobyl disaster - AK-47\Kalashnikov assault rifle -Soviet Opytnoye Konstruktorskoye Buros (OKBs)- The Space Race - Mikhail Kalashnikov - Yuri Gagarin - Vostok rocket-Soyuz rocket - Baikonur Cosmodrome - Plesetsk Cosmodrome - Zenit 2 - Tupolev Tu-160 - R-7 ICBM |
| People | Stalin Monument (Budapest) - Vladimir Lenin - Leonid Brezhnev - Mikhail Kalashnikov - Yuri Gagarin - Nikita Khrushchev - Joseph Stalin - Stalin's cult of personality - De-Stalinisation - Mikhail Gorbachev - Ho Chi Minh - Fidel Castro - Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej - Mohammad Najibullah - Maurice Bishop - Zhou Enlai - Salvador Allende - Dr. Kwame Nkrumah - Gamal Abdel Nasser - Pol Pot - Michael Manley - Maurice Bishop - Colonel Muammar Gaddafi |
| Important places | Sakhalin island - Moscow - Nakhodka Port - Vladivostok Navel base - Murmansk Navel base - Arkangelsk Navel base - Kalinningrad Navel base - Sevastopol Navel base - Kazan Higher Tank Command School and related tank factory -Burevestnik Airport- Jüterbog Airfield - Topoľčany Army Barracks and bunker system - Kuril Islands - Berlin Wall - Mirny Diamond Mine - Magnitogorsk - Rybachy Peninsula - St. Petersburg - Closed Soviet locations - Kaliningrad Oblast - Wuxi (diode) Factory 742 - Jiangnan Radio Factory - Agrokomerc -KhPZ Factory No. 183 in Kharkiv/Malyshev Factory - Wuxi (diode) Factory 742 - Jiangnan Radio Factory - Agrokomerc - Baikonur Cosmodrome - Plesetsk Cosmodrome |
| Systems of state repression | What is a police state? - Státní bezpečnost/Štátna bezpečnosť (StB/ŠtB) - Committee for State Security (KGB) - Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye (GRU) - Stasi - Securitate -Gulag - Political disappearances - Berlin Wall - A Bulgarian umbrella assassination – Komitet za dǎržavna sigurnost (CSS) - Censorship East Germany - Communist Party of the Soviet Union - The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union |
| The political heretics who were
not really true communists |
People's Republic of Albania (criminal dictatorship) - Mao Zedong (mad) - Enver Hoxha (a mafia don) - Pol Pot (evil) - Nicolae Ceauşescu (evil) - Democratic Kampuchea (evil) - Khmer Rouge (evil) - The PRC (evil then state capitalist) - Communist Party of Kampuchea (evil) - The Shining Path (evil) - North Korea (despotism)- Red Brigades (in Italy) (criminal syndicate) - Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) (criminal syndicate) - Daniel Ortega (evil) - Kim Il-Sung (despot) - People's Republic of China (evil then state capitalist) - Provisional Military Government of Socialist Ethiopia (evil) - People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (evil) - Somali Democratic Republic (Black nationalist) – People's Republic of Mozambique (Black nationalist) – People's Republic of Angola (criminal syndicate) - People's Revolutionary Government (Grenada) (not fully communist and liked the UK as much as they did Cuba) - Junta of National Reconstruction (Nicaragua) (evil) - Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (evil) - People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (not fully communist) - Grenada (not fully communist and liked the UK as much as they did Cuba) - Jamaica (not fully communist and liked the UK as much as they did Cuba) - Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (not fully communist) - Michael Manley (not fully communist and liked the UK as much as they did Cuba) - Maurice Bishop (not fully communist and liked the UK as much as they did Cuba) - Colonel Muammar Gaddafi (evil) |
| The founding nations | Russian SFSR - Ukrainian SSR - Byelorussian SSR - Transcaucasian SFSR - Bukharan People's Soviet Republic - Khorezm People's Soviet Republic - Tashkent Soviet -Communist Party of the Soviet Union - The Bolshevik Party |
| Bolshevik\Soviet annexations | Estonia (annexed) - Latvia (annexed) - Lithuania (annexed) - Kaliningrad Oblast (annexed) - Finnish Civil War (the Reds lost) - Mongolian People's Republic (annexation failed) - The Far Eastern Republic (annexed) - Far Eastern Republic (annexed) - Tuvan People's Republic (annexed) - Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (annexed) - State of Buryat-Mongolia (annexed) - Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (annexed) - Kronstadt Republic (crushed) - Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus (SSRB) (crushed)- The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR) (crushed) |
| Other former European, Central Asian
and Iranian puppet or client states |
Litbell - Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (LSSR) - Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic - Soviet Republic of Naissaar - Latvian SSR of 1919-1920 - The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) - Bolshavik Russia - Lemko-Rusyn People's Republic- West Ukrainian People's Republic - Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic - Hungarian Soviet Republic - People's State of Bavaria - Bavarian Soviet Republic - The Soviet Republic of Odessa - Kiev called the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR) - Petrograd Soviet - East Turkestan Republic (ETR) - Persian Socialist Soviet Republic - Soviet Republic of Gilan - Azerbaijan People's Government - Republic of Mahabad (1946) - Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic |
| Other stuff | Life under communism - Sputnik 1- Khrushchyovka - When is not a Yugo to a Yugo? - Soviet Space Program - The purveyors of crappy Cold War era Easter Block cars- Vietnam War - 1950–1953 Korean War - Family in the Soviet Union - Radio Moscow - Tatra trams#T3 and T3R.P trams - M62 locomotive - TEP80 locomotive - Stalin's cult of personality - De-Stalinisation - Soviet medals - Colombian conflict (1964–present) - Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-Tupamaros - The Agrokomerc Affair - Peruvian conflict - Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement - Cambodian genocide - The Jewish Holocaust and Roma Porajmos in the Baltic states - Italian Communist Party -"Reds under the bed" - The Holodomor - Colombian conflict (1964–present) - Peruvian conflict - 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution - Sandinistas - Guerrilla Army of the Poor - Viet Cong - Pathet Lao - Soviet 'oligophrenics' and 'oligophrenia' - New Jewel Movement - The 'false' Cold War theory - All the Communist countries during the Cold War - People's Liberation Army (of China) - People's Republic of China |
External links[]
- Censorship in East Germany at Wikipedia