| In 1949 the constitution formally established a | | | | Germany into a leading industrial nation. |
| democratic federal republic and created the states | | | | The main task in 1971 was introduced by |
| chamber and the people's chamber. The third | | | | Honecker to help formulate domestic policy. The |
| Party Congress in July of 1950 began to | | | | program helped re-emphasize Marxism-Leninism |
| emphasize the industrial progress. The industrial | | | | and the international class struggle. The main task |
| sector had employed 40% of the working | | | | restated the economic goal of industrial progress |
| population, and was subjected to further | | | | and was aimed at achieving the context of |
| nationalization, which formed the People's | | | | centralized state planning. Consumer socialism was |
| Enterprises. | | | | the new program that was featured in the main |
| In March of 1953 Stalin died and in June of 1953 | | | | task, which was an effort to magnify the appeal |
| the SED announced the New Course, which was | | | | of socialism |
| to help give workers an improved standard of | | | | From the mid-1970's, East Germany remained |
| living. The policy was initiated by Soviet Unions | | | | poised between the East and the West. The 1974 |
| Georgi Malenkov, who stressed a shift in | | | | amendment to the Constitution designated East |
| investment toward light industry and trade and | | | | Germany as a socialist nation-state of workers |
| greater availability of consumer goods. There | | | | and peasants. Détente helped strengthen |
| were still high quotas though, despite the increase | | | | the ties between the two Germany's and 5 to 7 |
| in consumer goods workers could get. | | | | million West Germans and West Berliners visited |
| By 1961 the socialist sector produced 90% of | | | | East Germany each year. Personal ties between |
| East Germany's agricultural products. However, | | | | the two Germany's were becoming restored and |
| the annual industrial growth rate was declining | | | | East German citizens had more direct contact |
| steadily after 1959. To help this cause, the Soviet | | | | with West German politics and consumer goods. |
| Union recommended that East Germany | | | | The growing international debts of the GDR lead |
| implement the reforms of economist Evsei | | | | to an international debt crisis within a year or two. |
| Liberman. In 1963 Liberman's theories of the New | | | | With continuous debt problems going into the |
| Economic System (NES) were adapted and | | | | 1980's, the end of East Germany followed the |
| introduced. The NES was aimed at creating an | | | | March 1990 elections, as there was a financial |
| efficient economic system and transforming East | | | | collapse in the months up to reunification. |