From Schmidt to Kohl - How GDR authorities reacted to the "Bonner Wende"

Abstract

Germany in the early 1980s was defined and shaped by the aftermath of WWII. People had to constantly fear the escalation of the so called “Cold War” and were still suffering from the tense relationship between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). One of the most important political challenges in Europe was the “Ostpolitik”, the guideline of regulating the relationship between the two Germanies.

While the GDR was under the long-term leadership of Erich Honecker (SED, 1976–1989), the Federal Republic had to digest a vote of no confidence, which meant the end of chancellery for Helmut Schmidt (SPD, 1974–1982). It was the first ever successful vote-of-no-confidence in the young history of the FRG. Ten years before opposition leader Dr. Rainer Barzel (CDU / CSU) had tried to overthrow Chancellor Willy Brandt (SPD) with a vote of no confidence but failed.

As abruptly as the end of the thirteen-year-old social-liberal coalition may appear today, its crisis has been apparent for months: the threat of US-based medium-range missile deployment due to the NATO double-track decision and the problematic economic situation brought both left and right Wings of the SPD as well as SPD and FDP farther and farther apart.

The Bonner Wende and its impact on the GDR has not yet been discussed properly, the author of this thesis feels. Documents from the Political Archive in Berlin are available after a block for Thirty Years. This might be an explanation for the lack of research about this topic. The relevant time frame is between 1982 and 1983, these documents are only freely visible for six to seven years. For that reason, this thesis tries to enlarge the knowledge about the Bonner Wende and the GDR´s reaction to it.