Politics of East Germany
Encyclopedia
The German Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, or DDR, commonly known in English as East Germany) was created as a socialist republic on 7 October 1949 and began to institute a government based on that of the Soviet Union
. The equivalent of the Communist Party
in East Germany was the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany
, SED), which along with other parties, was part of the National Front of Democratic Germany
. It was created in 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of Germany
(KPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany
(SPD) in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany. Following German reunification
, the SED was renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).
The other political parties ran under the joint slate of the National Front, controlled by the SED, for elections to the Volkskammer
, the East German parliament. The other parties were:
Elections were held but were effectively controlled by the SED and state hierarchy, as noted by Hans Modrow
and others.
The Volkskammer also included representatives from the mass organisations like the Free German Youth
(Freie Deutsche Jugend or FDJ), or the Free German Trade Union Federation
. In an attempt to include women in the political life in East Germany, there was even a Democratic Women's Federation of Germany
with seats in the Volkskammer.
Non-parliamentary mass organisations which nevertheless played a key role in East German society included the German Gymnastics and Sports Association (Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund or DTSB) and People's Solidarity
(Volkssolidarität, an organisation for the elderly). Another society of note (and very popular during the late 1980s) was the Society for German-Soviet Friendship
.
On 18 March 1990, the only free elections in the history of the GDR
were held, producing a government whose major mandate was to negotiate an end to itself and its state.
during his tenure as first secretary of the SED. After Ulbricht was forced to relinquish that position in 1971, the prestige and authority of the council correspondingly began to decline. However, although it was no longer the de facto supreme executive organ, Erich Honecker
's assumption of the chairmanship of the Council of State in October 1976 represented a renewal of its importance. A similar move was made in the Soviet Union when Leonid Brezhnev
became head of state. It is reasonable to assume that given East Germany's close adherence to Soviet practices, the increased invisibility of the Council of State since the late 1970s can be traced at least in part to parallel developments in the Soviet Union. Related to the takeover of the council's chairmanship by Honecker is the fact that after 1977 the number of individuals who were simultaneously members of the council and of the SED's Central Committee Secretariat increased.
In referring to the Council of State, the Constitution declared that it consisted of the chairman, deputy chairmen, members, and secretary; it did not specify the number of deputy chairmen and members. In 1987, under the chairmanship of Honecker, there were eight deputy chairmen and seventeen members. In addition to Honecker, two of the deputy chairmen, Horst Sindermann
and Willi Stoph
, were members of the Politbüro
of the SED; Stoph was also chairman of the Council of Ministers, and Sindermann was president of the People's Chamber. Four of the deputy chairmen of the Council of State represented the other four political parties, as did four of its seventeen members. The day-to-day functions of the council were carried on by a staff consisting in 1987 of twenty offices and departments, all of which were headed by SED members. Despite the presence of non-SED members as deputy chairmen and members of the leadership group, SED control was guaranteed by the presence of Honecker, Stoph, Sindermann, and Egon Krenz
, probably the four most powerful individuals in the country.
In the mid-1980s, the functions performed by the Council of State included representing the country abroad and ratifying and terminating international treaties; supporting local assemblies in the implementation of their economic and budgetary plans; administering electoral laws that govern the selection of local assemblies on the community, city, county, and district levels; discharging responsibilities for the maintenance of the country's defense with the assistance of the National Defense Council
; and administering the activities of the Supreme Court and the Office of the Prosecutor General to ensure their actions were congruent with the Constitution and the civil law. In this area, the Council of State possessed additional responsibility for proclaiming amnesties and pardons.
In 1987 the Council of Ministers consisted of a chairman, two first deputy chairmen, and nine deputy chairmen, all of whom constituted an inner circle called the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. The chairman of the Council of Ministers, Willi Stoph, was head of the government (prime minister). Stoph, a representative of the old guard and a Politbüro member since 1953, was again appointed council chairman in 1986. Unlike the nine deputy chairmen, the two first deputy chairmen, Politbüro members Werner Krolikowski and Alfred Neumann
, generally had not been responsible for specific ministerial portfolios.
In 1987 four of the nine deputy chairmen represented the four non-SED political parties allowed to operate in East Germany. The four non-SED deputy chairmen were the minister of posts and telecommunications - Rudolf Schulze of the CDU; the minister of environmental protection and water management - Hans Reichelt of the DBD; the minister of justice - Hans-Joachim Heusinger of the LDPD; and the chairman of the State Contract Court - Manfred Flegel of the NDPD. The other five positions held by deputy chairman on the Presidium of the Council of Ministers were occupied by members of the Central Committee of the SED. Two of the appointees, Günther Kleiber
and Gerhard Schürer, a candidate member, were also Politbüro members. Of the thirty-three regular members on the council, including both ministers and nonministers, nineteen were concurrently members of the Central Committee of the SED, and two were also Politbüro members. The latter were Erich Mielke, minister of state security, and Hans Joachim Böhme, minister of university and technical affairs.
According to the Constitution, all members of the Council of Ministers were formally elected to their posts by the People's Chamber for a five-year term. In fact, these decisions probably emanated from the Politbüro and the Central Committee of the SED. The Council of Ministers was required to work closely with the People's Chamber, and according to its administrative guidelines, the council was required to have all its legal drafts and decisions approved by the People's Chamber before they became law. In practice, the converse was true; the People's Chamber was obliged to approve those actions that were undertaken by the council and then routinely submitted to the legislature. Similarly, the People's Chamber was given the formal responsibility of selecting the membership of the council; in practice such personnel decisions were made by the Politbüro. The legislature was then expected to approve the selections.
The Council of Ministers was responsible for providing the People's Chamber with the major legal drafts and decisions that subsequently were to be promulgated by the parliament. The work style of the Council of Ministers was a collective one. It normally met on a weekly basis to discuss problems and plans put forward by individual ministers. It also confirmed decisions that were already made by the Presidium. The Presidium was of special importance because of its responsibility for handling the affairs of the council when the full body was not in session.
Specific functional responsibilities of the Council of Ministers included directing and planning the national economy; solving problems growing out of membership in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon--see Appendix B); coordinating and implementing social policy decisions that have been agreed upon with the support and concurrence of the Free German Trade Union Federation
(Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund--FDGB); instructing and controlling subordinate levels of government, i.e., the councils at district, county, and community levels that implemented the laws and decisions of the central government; improving the functioning of the system of "democratic centralism
" within the state apparatus; and carrying out the basic foreign policy principles of the socialist state.
In fact, separation of powers did not exist in the East German system of government. Although the Constitution asserted the independence of the courts, it also subordinated the judiciary to the political authorities and their political goals. Judgeships were restricted to Communists of proven loyalty. The regime officially considered law and justice the tools for building a communist society and declared it the duty of all judicial and legal officers to serve this end. In effect, legal and judicial organs served as agencies for promoting official doctrine, and the careers of personnel in the system were dependent on their political ratings as determined by higher state and party officials.
At the top of East Germany's legal system was the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Office of the Prosecutor General. In 1987 the heads of these offices were, respectively, Hans-Joachim Heusinger (LDPD), Heinrich Toeplitz (CDU), and Josef Streit (SED). The Prosecutor General appointed prosecutors throughout East Germany, including those active in military courts; he could dismiss them, and they were "responsible to him and bound by his instructions." The Office of the Prosecutor General was also responsible for supervising "strict adherence to socialist legality and protecting citizens from violations of the law." The role of the Ministry of Justice, which was not mentioned in the Constitution, appeared to be largely formal and propagandistic.
The organs of justice were the Supreme Court, regional courts, district courts, and social courts. Military jurisdiction was exercised by the Supreme Court and military tribunals and courts. The specific areas of responsibility for each level of the court system are defined by law. Professional and lay judges of the courts are elected for five years by corresponding representative bodies, except district court judges, who were elected directly by the citizenry. They were subject to dismissal for malfeasance and for violations of law and the Constitution in the performance of their duties.
Under the Constitution, the Supreme Court, as the highest organ of the legal system, directed the jurisdiction of all lower courts and was charged with ensuring the uniform application of the law on all levels. The highest court not only had the right of extraordinary appeal as a measure of control over the lower courts but on occasion serves as a link in the chain of command by issuing general legal directives. According to Article 93 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court "directs the jurisdiction of the courts on the basis of the Constitution, the laws, and their statutory regulations. . . . It ensures a uniform application of the law by all courts." The directive function of the Supreme Court went far beyond that of supreme courts in Western systems, which as a rule do not give legally binding instructions to the lower courts concerning specific questions of law. The Supreme Court was responsible to the People's Chamber and, between the latter's sessions, to the Council of State. Internally, the organization of the high court consisted of an assembly, a presidium, and three functional administrative divisions known as collegiums for criminal justice, military justice, and civil, family, and labor law. The assembly, which was directed in its plenary sessions by the Supreme Court Presidium, consisted of fifteen directors of the district courts, the chairmen of the higher military courts, and all professional judges.
Each district court was presided over by a professional judge and two jurors in cases of original jurisdiction and by three professional judges in cases of appellate jurisdiction. The district courts had appellate jurisdiction in civil cases and original jurisdiction in major criminal cases such as economic crimes, murder, and crimes against the state.
The county court was the lowest level of the judiciary system, and each of the country's counties had at least one such court, which was presided over by a professional judge and two lay assessors. The majority of all criminal and civil cases were tried at this level; county courts had jurisdiction over cases not assigned elsewhere and civil cases involving only small amounts of property.
In addition to the regular law courts, East Germany also developed an extensive system of community and social courts (gesellschaftliche Gerichte), known also as "conflict or arbitration commissions" (Konflikt-und Schiedskommissionen). The first were formed in state-owned and private enterprises, health and educational institutions, offices, and social organizations. The second were established in residential areas, collective farms, and cooperatives of manual laborers, fishermen, and gardeners. Created to relieve the regular courts of their minor civil or criminal case loads, the jurisdiction of the courts applied to labor disputes, minor breaches of the peace, misdemeanors, infringements of the law, truancy, and conflicts in civil law. These courts were composed of lay jurors elected by their respective constituencies. Party officials at the community level generally influenced the nomination of jurors to the community courts and exercised considerable influence on the outcome of cases heard at this level.
Others
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. The equivalent of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
in East Germany was the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (Socialist Unity Party of Germany
Socialist Unity Party of Germany
The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
, SED), which along with other parties, was part of the National Front of Democratic Germany
National Front (East Germany)
The National Front of the German Democratic Republic was an alliance of political parties and mass organisations in East Germany...
. It was created in 1946 through the merger of the Communist Party of Germany
Communist Party of Germany
The Communist Party of Germany was a major political party in Germany between 1918 and 1933, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned in 1956...
(KPD) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
(SPD) in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany. Following German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, the SED was renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).
The other political parties ran under the joint slate of the National Front, controlled by the SED, for elections to the Volkskammer
Volkskammer
The People's Chamber was the unicameral legislature of the German Democratic Republic . From its founding in 1949 until the first free elections on 18 March 1990, all members of the Volkskammer were elected on a slate controlled by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , called the National Front...
, the East German parliament. The other parties were:
- Christlich-Demokratische Union Deutschlands (Christian Democratic Union of GermanyChristian Democratic Union (East Germany)The Christian Democratic Union of Germany ) was an East German political party founded in 1945. It was part of the National Front with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany until 1989....
, CDU), merged with the West-German CDU after reunification - Demokratische Bauernpartei Deutschlands (Democratic Farmers' Party of GermanyDemocratic Farmers' Party of GermanyThe Democratic Farmers' Party of Germany ) was an East German political party. The DBD was founded in 1948. It had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer, as part of the National Front. The DBD participated in all GDR cabinets...
, DBD), merged with the West German CDU after reunification - Liberal-Demokratische Partei Deutschlands (Liberal Democratic Party of GermanyLiberal Democratic Party of GermanyThe Liberal Democratic Party of Germany ) was a political party in East Germany. Like the other allied parties of the SED in the National Front it had 52 representatives in the Volkskammer.-Foundation:...
, LDPD), merged with the West German FDP after reunification - Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (National Democratic Party of GermanyNational Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)The National Democratic Party of Germany was an East German political party that acted as an organisation for former members of the NSDAP, the Wehrmacht and middle classes...
, NDPD), merged with the West German FDP after reunification
Elections were held but were effectively controlled by the SED and state hierarchy, as noted by Hans Modrow
Hans Modrow
Hans Modrow is a German politician, best known as the last communist premier of East Germany. He currently is the honorary Chairman of the Left Party....
and others.
The Volkskammer also included representatives from the mass organisations like the Free German Youth
Free German Youth
The Free German Youth, also known as the FDJ , was the official socialist youth movement of the German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Unity Party of Germany....
(Freie Deutsche Jugend or FDJ), or the Free German Trade Union Federation
Free German Trade Union Federation
The Free German Trade Union Federation, in German Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund , was the trade union federation in East Germany. It was part of the National Front and had representatives in the Volkskammer....
. In an attempt to include women in the political life in East Germany, there was even a Democratic Women's Federation of Germany
Democratic Women's Federation of Germany
Democratic Women's Federation of Germany was a mass organisation with representation in the Volkskammer which primarily fought for women's issues in East Germany....
with seats in the Volkskammer.
Non-parliamentary mass organisations which nevertheless played a key role in East German society included the German Gymnastics and Sports Association (Deutscher Turn- und Sportbund or DTSB) and People's Solidarity
People's Solidarity
People's Solidarity, or Volkssolidarität in German, was an organisation for elderly people in East Germany from 1949 to 1990. It was one of many important non-parliamentary mass organisations in the former socialist country...
(Volkssolidarität, an organisation for the elderly). Another society of note (and very popular during the late 1980s) was the Society for German-Soviet Friendship
Society for German-Soviet Friendship
The Society for German-Soviet Friendship was an East German organisation set up to encourage closer co-operation between the German Democratic Republic and the Soviet Union....
.
On 18 March 1990, the only free elections in the history of the GDR
East German general election, 1990
Legislative elections were held in the German Democratic Republic on 18 March 1990. It was the first—and as it turned out, only—free parliamentary election in East Germany, and the first truly free election held in that part of Germany since 1933...
were held, producing a government whose major mandate was to negotiate an end to itself and its state.
State Council
Designated as an organ of the People's Chamber, the Council of State (Staatsrat der DDR) was largely a creation of Walter UlbrichtWalter Ulbricht
Walter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
during his tenure as first secretary of the SED. After Ulbricht was forced to relinquish that position in 1971, the prestige and authority of the council correspondingly began to decline. However, although it was no longer the de facto supreme executive organ, Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker
Erich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
's assumption of the chairmanship of the Council of State in October 1976 represented a renewal of its importance. A similar move was made in the Soviet Union when Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev – 10 November 1982) was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , presiding over the country from 1964 until his death in 1982. His eighteen-year term as General Secretary was second only to that of Joseph Stalin in...
became head of state. It is reasonable to assume that given East Germany's close adherence to Soviet practices, the increased invisibility of the Council of State since the late 1970s can be traced at least in part to parallel developments in the Soviet Union. Related to the takeover of the council's chairmanship by Honecker is the fact that after 1977 the number of individuals who were simultaneously members of the council and of the SED's Central Committee Secretariat increased.
In referring to the Council of State, the Constitution declared that it consisted of the chairman, deputy chairmen, members, and secretary; it did not specify the number of deputy chairmen and members. In 1987, under the chairmanship of Honecker, there were eight deputy chairmen and seventeen members. In addition to Honecker, two of the deputy chairmen, Horst Sindermann
Horst Sindermann
Horst Sindermann was a Communist German politician and one of the leaders of East Germany.-Early life:Sindermann was born in Dresden as the son of the Saxon Social Democratic politician Karl Sindermann...
and Willi Stoph
Willi Stoph
Willi Stoph was an East German politician. He served as Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic from 1964 to 1973, and again from 1976 until 1989.-Biography:...
, were members of the Politbüro
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
of the SED; Stoph was also chairman of the Council of Ministers, and Sindermann was president of the People's Chamber. Four of the deputy chairmen of the Council of State represented the other four political parties, as did four of its seventeen members. The day-to-day functions of the council were carried on by a staff consisting in 1987 of twenty offices and departments, all of which were headed by SED members. Despite the presence of non-SED members as deputy chairmen and members of the leadership group, SED control was guaranteed by the presence of Honecker, Stoph, Sindermann, and Egon Krenz
Egon Krenz
Egon Krenz is a former politician from East Germany , and that country's last Communist leader...
, probably the four most powerful individuals in the country.
In the mid-1980s, the functions performed by the Council of State included representing the country abroad and ratifying and terminating international treaties; supporting local assemblies in the implementation of their economic and budgetary plans; administering electoral laws that govern the selection of local assemblies on the community, city, county, and district levels; discharging responsibilities for the maintenance of the country's defense with the assistance of the National Defense Council
National Defense Council of East Germany
The National Defense Council of the German Democratic Republic was created in 1960 as the supreme state body of the GDR in charge of national defense matters, including mobilization planning...
; and administering the activities of the Supreme Court and the Office of the Prosecutor General to ensure their actions were congruent with the Constitution and the civil law. In this area, the Council of State possessed additional responsibility for proclaiming amnesties and pardons.
Council of Ministers
The Council of Ministers (Ministerrat der DDR) was the government of East Germany and the highest organ of the state apparatus. Its position in the system of government and its functions and tasks were specified in the Constitution as amended in 1974 as well as in the "Law on the Council of Ministers of the German Democratic Republic" of October 1972. Whereas earlier the Council of Ministers had been described as the "executive organ of the People's Chamber," the 1972 statute defined the council as the "government." According to the new law, the Council of Ministers was to "carry out the decisions of the party of the working class on the basis of the laws and decisions of the People's Chamber." The Constitution (as amended in 1974) significantly expanded the functions of the Council of Ministers at the expense of the Council of State.In 1987 the Council of Ministers consisted of a chairman, two first deputy chairmen, and nine deputy chairmen, all of whom constituted an inner circle called the Presidium of the Council of Ministers. The chairman of the Council of Ministers, Willi Stoph, was head of the government (prime minister). Stoph, a representative of the old guard and a Politbüro member since 1953, was again appointed council chairman in 1986. Unlike the nine deputy chairmen, the two first deputy chairmen, Politbüro members Werner Krolikowski and Alfred Neumann
Alfred Neumann
Alfred Neumann may refer to:*Alfred Neumann , politician*Alfred Neumann *Alfred R. Neumann, first president of the University of Houston–Clear Lake*Alfred Neumann See also:...
, generally had not been responsible for specific ministerial portfolios.
In 1987 four of the nine deputy chairmen represented the four non-SED political parties allowed to operate in East Germany. The four non-SED deputy chairmen were the minister of posts and telecommunications - Rudolf Schulze of the CDU; the minister of environmental protection and water management - Hans Reichelt of the DBD; the minister of justice - Hans-Joachim Heusinger of the LDPD; and the chairman of the State Contract Court - Manfred Flegel of the NDPD. The other five positions held by deputy chairman on the Presidium of the Council of Ministers were occupied by members of the Central Committee of the SED. Two of the appointees, Günther Kleiber
Günther Kleiber
Günther Kleiber is a former communist politician from the German Democratic Republic . He was a member of the politburo of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany from 1984 to 1989, and a member of the GDR government as minister for machinery, agricultural machinery and vehicle construction from...
and Gerhard Schürer, a candidate member, were also Politbüro members. Of the thirty-three regular members on the council, including both ministers and nonministers, nineteen were concurrently members of the Central Committee of the SED, and two were also Politbüro members. The latter were Erich Mielke, minister of state security, and Hans Joachim Böhme, minister of university and technical affairs.
According to the Constitution, all members of the Council of Ministers were formally elected to their posts by the People's Chamber for a five-year term. In fact, these decisions probably emanated from the Politbüro and the Central Committee of the SED. The Council of Ministers was required to work closely with the People's Chamber, and according to its administrative guidelines, the council was required to have all its legal drafts and decisions approved by the People's Chamber before they became law. In practice, the converse was true; the People's Chamber was obliged to approve those actions that were undertaken by the council and then routinely submitted to the legislature. Similarly, the People's Chamber was given the formal responsibility of selecting the membership of the council; in practice such personnel decisions were made by the Politbüro. The legislature was then expected to approve the selections.
The Council of Ministers was responsible for providing the People's Chamber with the major legal drafts and decisions that subsequently were to be promulgated by the parliament. The work style of the Council of Ministers was a collective one. It normally met on a weekly basis to discuss problems and plans put forward by individual ministers. It also confirmed decisions that were already made by the Presidium. The Presidium was of special importance because of its responsibility for handling the affairs of the council when the full body was not in session.
Specific functional responsibilities of the Council of Ministers included directing and planning the national economy; solving problems growing out of membership in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon--see Appendix B); coordinating and implementing social policy decisions that have been agreed upon with the support and concurrence of the Free German Trade Union Federation
Free German Trade Union Federation
The Free German Trade Union Federation, in German Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund , was the trade union federation in East Germany. It was part of the National Front and had representatives in the Volkskammer....
(Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund--FDGB); instructing and controlling subordinate levels of government, i.e., the councils at district, county, and community levels that implemented the laws and decisions of the central government; improving the functioning of the system of "democratic centralism
Democratic centralism
Democratic centralism is the name given to the principles of internal organization used by Leninist political parties, and the term is sometimes used as a synonym for any Leninist policy inside a political party...
" within the state apparatus; and carrying out the basic foreign policy principles of the socialist state.
Judiciary
Like all other aspects of the government administration of East Germany, the party was the ultimate decision maker in the operation of the legal system. The Constitution, however, provided for the right of citizens to a voice in the judicial process and the selection of judges, directly or through their elected representatives. It further provided for citizen participation in the administration of justice in an effort to deter crime. Basic guarantees for justice were said to derive from the "socialist society, the political power of the working people, and their state and legal system."In fact, separation of powers did not exist in the East German system of government. Although the Constitution asserted the independence of the courts, it also subordinated the judiciary to the political authorities and their political goals. Judgeships were restricted to Communists of proven loyalty. The regime officially considered law and justice the tools for building a communist society and declared it the duty of all judicial and legal officers to serve this end. In effect, legal and judicial organs served as agencies for promoting official doctrine, and the careers of personnel in the system were dependent on their political ratings as determined by higher state and party officials.
At the top of East Germany's legal system was the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Office of the Prosecutor General. In 1987 the heads of these offices were, respectively, Hans-Joachim Heusinger (LDPD), Heinrich Toeplitz (CDU), and Josef Streit (SED). The Prosecutor General appointed prosecutors throughout East Germany, including those active in military courts; he could dismiss them, and they were "responsible to him and bound by his instructions." The Office of the Prosecutor General was also responsible for supervising "strict adherence to socialist legality and protecting citizens from violations of the law." The role of the Ministry of Justice, which was not mentioned in the Constitution, appeared to be largely formal and propagandistic.
The organs of justice were the Supreme Court, regional courts, district courts, and social courts. Military jurisdiction was exercised by the Supreme Court and military tribunals and courts. The specific areas of responsibility for each level of the court system are defined by law. Professional and lay judges of the courts are elected for five years by corresponding representative bodies, except district court judges, who were elected directly by the citizenry. They were subject to dismissal for malfeasance and for violations of law and the Constitution in the performance of their duties.
Under the Constitution, the Supreme Court, as the highest organ of the legal system, directed the jurisdiction of all lower courts and was charged with ensuring the uniform application of the law on all levels. The highest court not only had the right of extraordinary appeal as a measure of control over the lower courts but on occasion serves as a link in the chain of command by issuing general legal directives. According to Article 93 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court "directs the jurisdiction of the courts on the basis of the Constitution, the laws, and their statutory regulations. . . . It ensures a uniform application of the law by all courts." The directive function of the Supreme Court went far beyond that of supreme courts in Western systems, which as a rule do not give legally binding instructions to the lower courts concerning specific questions of law. The Supreme Court was responsible to the People's Chamber and, between the latter's sessions, to the Council of State. Internally, the organization of the high court consisted of an assembly, a presidium, and three functional administrative divisions known as collegiums for criminal justice, military justice, and civil, family, and labor law. The assembly, which was directed in its plenary sessions by the Supreme Court Presidium, consisted of fifteen directors of the district courts, the chairmen of the higher military courts, and all professional judges.
Each district court was presided over by a professional judge and two jurors in cases of original jurisdiction and by three professional judges in cases of appellate jurisdiction. The district courts had appellate jurisdiction in civil cases and original jurisdiction in major criminal cases such as economic crimes, murder, and crimes against the state.
The county court was the lowest level of the judiciary system, and each of the country's counties had at least one such court, which was presided over by a professional judge and two lay assessors. The majority of all criminal and civil cases were tried at this level; county courts had jurisdiction over cases not assigned elsewhere and civil cases involving only small amounts of property.
In addition to the regular law courts, East Germany also developed an extensive system of community and social courts (gesellschaftliche Gerichte), known also as "conflict or arbitration commissions" (Konflikt-und Schiedskommissionen). The first were formed in state-owned and private enterprises, health and educational institutions, offices, and social organizations. The second were established in residential areas, collective farms, and cooperatives of manual laborers, fishermen, and gardeners. Created to relieve the regular courts of their minor civil or criminal case loads, the jurisdiction of the courts applied to labor disputes, minor breaches of the peace, misdemeanors, infringements of the law, truancy, and conflicts in civil law. These courts were composed of lay jurors elected by their respective constituencies. Party officials at the community level generally influenced the nomination of jurors to the community courts and exercised considerable influence on the outcome of cases heard at this level.
Politicians of note in East Germany
Leaders and their key positions - see also Leaders of East GermanyLeaders of East Germany
The political leadership of East Germany was in the hands of several offices.Prior the proclamation of an East German state, the Soviets established in 1948 the German Economic Commission as a de facto government in their occupation zone...
- Heinrich RauHeinrich RauHeinrich Gottlob "Heiner" Rau was a German communist politician during the time of the Weimar Republic; subsequently, during the Spanish Civil War, a leading member of the International Brigades and after World War II an East German statesman.Rau grew up in a suburb of Stuttgart, where he early...
Chairman of the German Economic CommissionGerman Economic CommissionThe German Economic Commission was the top administrative body in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany prior to the creation of the German Democratic Republic ....
(predecessor of the East German government), (1948-1949) - Erich HoneckerErich HoneckerErich Honecker was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic as General Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1971 until 1989, serving as Head of State as well from Willi Stoph's relinquishment of that post in 1976....
(General Secretary of the Socialist Unity PartySocialist Unity Party of GermanyThe Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing party of the German Democratic Republic from its formation on 7 October 1949 until the elections of March 1990. The SED was a communist political party with a Marxist-Leninist ideology...
(SED), 1971-89; Chairman of the Council of State, 1976-89) - Walter UlbrichtWalter UlbrichtWalter Ulbricht was a German communist politician. As First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party from 1950 to 1971 , he played a leading role in the creation of the Weimar-era Communist Party of Germany and later in the early development and...
(General Secretary of the SED, 1950-71; Chairman of the Council of State, 1960-73) - Wilhelm PieckWilhelm PieckFriedrich Wilhelm Reinhold Pieck was a German politician and a Communist. In 1949, he became the first President of the German Democratic Republic, an office abolished upon his death. He was succeeded by Walter Ulbricht, who served as Chairman of the Council of States.-Biography:Pieck was born to...
(Chairman of the SED - jointly with Otto Grotewohl, 1946-50, ; State President, 1949-60) - Otto GrotewohlOtto GrotewohlOtto Grotewohl was a German politician and prime minister of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 until his death. According to Roth , "He was a figurehead who led various economic commissions, lobbied the Soviets for increased aid, and conducted foreign policy tours in the attempt to break...
(Chairman of the SED - jointly with Wilhelm Pieck, 1946-50; Chairman of the Council of Ministers, 1949-64) - Willi Stoph (Chairman of the Council of Ministers, 1964-73 and 1976-89; Chairman of the Council of State, 1973-76)
- Egon Krenz (General Secretary of the SED, 1989; Chairman of the Council of State, 1989)
- Hans Modrow, last socialist head of government
- Lothar de MaizièreLothar de MaizièreLothar de Maizière is a German christian democratic politician. In 1990, he served as the only democratically elected Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic, and as such was the last leader of an independent East Germany....
, first (and only) non-socialist head of government - Günter SchabowskiGünter SchabowskiGünter Schabowski is a former official of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , the ruling party during most of the existence of the German Democratic Republic...
, famous for his role (as a government spokesman) in the fall of the Berlin WallBerlin WallThe Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
Others
- Erich MielkeErich MielkeErich Fritz Emil Mielke was a German communist politician and Minister of State Security—and as such head of the Stasi —of the German Democratic Republic between 1957 and 1989. Mielke spent more than a decade as an operative of the NKVD during the rule of Joseph Stalin...
- Wilhelm KülzWilhelm KülzWilhelm Külz was a German politician . In 1926 he was interior minister of the Weimar Republic. After 1945 he took actively part in establishing the LDPD...
- Günter MittagGünter MittagGünter Mittag was a German member of parliament, secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany , and a central figure in the German planned economy.-Biography:...
- Robert HavemannRobert HavemannRobert Havemann was a chemist, and an East German dissident.He studied chemistry in Berlin and Munich from 1929 to 1933, and then later received a doctorate in physical chemistry from the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute....
- Gregor GysiGregor GysiDr. Gregor Gysi is a German attorney and key politician of the socialist left-wing political party The Left . He played an important role in the end of communist rule in East Germany in 1989, and was a main figure in the post-reunification Party of Democratic Socialism...
- Harry TischHarry Tischthumb|200px|Harry Tisch in 1983.Harry Tisch was the head of the Free German Trade Union Federation between 1975 and 1989....
- Hermann Axen
- Hilde BenjaminHilde BenjaminHilde Benjamin was an East German judge and Minister of Justice. She is best known for presiding over a series of political show trials in the 1950s....
- Johannes R. BecherJohannes R. BecherJohannes Robert Becher was a German politician, novelist, and poet.-Early life:Johannes R. Becher was the son of Judge Heinrich Becher. In 1910 he tried to commit suicide with a friend; only Becher survived. From 1911 he studied medicine and philosophy in Munich and Jena...
See also
- History of the German Democratic RepublicHistory of the German Democratic RepublicThe German Democratic Republic , , often known in English as East Germany, existed from 1949 to 1990. It covered the area of the present-day German states of...
- Communist stateCommunist stateA communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state...
- Leaders of East GermanyLeaders of East GermanyThe political leadership of East Germany was in the hands of several offices.Prior the proclamation of an East German state, the Soviets established in 1948 the German Economic Commission as a de facto government in their occupation zone...
- National Front (East Germany)National Front (East Germany)The National Front of the German Democratic Republic was an alliance of political parties and mass organisations in East Germany...
- List of Volkskammer members (9th election period)