Saal Schloss Rötha

Soviet Occupation Zone & GDR: Basics and Overview

In what ways was the expropriation of cultural property carried out after 1945 in the Soviet Occupation Zone and in the GDR? See here for historical background and information on basic research and literature recommendations.

Historical Background

The aim of the political, economic and social transformations that began in the Soviet Occupation Zone on 8 May 1945 and were continued by the GDR state from 7 October 1949 was to follow the model of the Soviet Union (USSR). This objective was not arrived at through the free will of the population as expressed in democratic elections but was established under the protection of the occupying power in that key positions were filled with communist cadres and opposition efforts were deliberately weakened.

After the merger of the KPD and the SPD in 1946, the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) regarded itself as the sole bearer of social progress. Its self-image as the “party of the German working class” gave rise to its all-embracing claim to leadership at all levels in the “socialist workers’ and peasants’ state”. Throughout the period of its rule through to 1989 (the “dictatorship of the proletariat”), the consolidation of this claim always included the expropriation of private property without compensation in favour of the state (“Volkseigentum” – “people’s property”).

Expropriation was not only carried out based on relevant laws but also by bending and abusing the law and by other unfair means such as the involvement of the Ministry for State Security (MfS or “Stasi”). Private property expropriated from the socialist state served, among other things, to obtain urgently needed foreign currency in that it was sold to the “non-socialist economic area” (NSW).

It was characteristic of expropriations in the Soviet Occupation Zone that there was sweeping criminalisation of arbitrarily defined groups without establishing individual guilt (“land-owning aristocrats”, “war profiteers”). One typical feature of expropriations in the GDR was the criminalisation of individuals based on constructed or distorted accusations of guilt (“economic criminals”, “deserters from the republic”, “speculators”).

Unresolved property issues were excluded from the Basic Treaty drawn up between the two German states in 1972 and reserved for a later agreement. Retransfers of expropriated private property were regulated by federal law from 1990 onwards (under the Property Act – “Vermögensgesetz”, VermG) and from 1994 (under the Compensation Act – “Entschädigungs- und Ausgleichsleistungsgesetz”, EALG).

Key Events

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Contact persons in the Department for Cultural Property Losses in Europe in the 20th Century

Dr. Uwe Hart­mann
Head
Tel: +49 (0) 391 727 763 14
E-Mail: uwe.hart­mann@kul­tur­gut­ver­lus­te.de

Ma­thi­as Dei­nert
Research Advisor – Confiscation of Cultural Assets in the Soviet Occupation Zone/GDR
Tel: +49 (0) 391 727 763 32
E-mail: ma­thi­as.dei­nert@kul­tur­gut­ver­lus­te.de

Sa­bi­ne Kra­mer
Project Management and Documentation – Soviet Occupation Zone/GDR
Tel: +49 (0) 391 727 763 43
E-mail: sa­bi­ne.kra­mer@kul­tur­gut­ver­lus­te.de

Further Content

old depot of Potsdam Museum
Funding
More information on the funding of basic research in the area “Soviet Occupation Zone and GDR”
Cover "Provenire" volume 3
Materials
Publications, events and exhibitions relating to the expropriation of cultural assets in the area “Soviet Occupation Zone and GDR”
Volkseigentum Tisch
Retransfers
The approach to retransfers of cultural property expropriated in the Soviet Occupation Zone and the GDR